UK Spec for Malaysia Driving Condition

[ciklee]

Hi all,I need advise/help on what are things to modify/change on a UK spec E60 to suit our climate and fuel conditions.Introduction:I'm a student in the UK and planning to buy an E60 to bring home. Model-wise, I'm looking at either a 525i or 525d, which I think has adequate performance for my usage. Budget-wise, I can only afford early E60s circa 2004, which most probably has either M54B25 or M57D25 engine, respectively. Preferably an MSport model, although an SE would be fine as well.Question 1: What are the basic things to be done first? I'm planning to change/flush all the fluids i.e. engine oil, transmission, power steering, brake and coolant. Depending on condition, I may change engine mountings and suspension bushes too for a quieter and comfortable drive, as well as the auxiliary belts. Some suggested that I change the tyres as well since they might not be suitable for our weather. I also read somewhere in the forum that I should change the thermostat too. May I know why? How about the rubber hoses, do these need to be changed as well assuming there's no crack? I was thinking along the lines of rubber quality used for UK spec car might not be suitable for our weather, similar argument with the tyres. Are there anything else I might have missed? Question 2: Do I need to modify anything on the aircond system? Maybe bigger compressor, condenser? Do I need to replace the aircond gas or it is the same one used in Malaysia? How about the gas pressure/quantity used? I'm assuming since Malaysia is alot hotter, the car might need more gas compared to UK. No?Question 3: What do I need to modify to suit our lower fuel quality (both for petrol or diesel model)? I read somewhere that the car needs to be detuned? I wasn't sure what detune actually means in this case? Do i need to change the ignition timing and/or compression setting? Change injector? Remap ECU? There's also suggestion to remove the Diesel Particulate Filter (DPF) on the 525d because of excessive clogging caused by our diesel's higher sulphur content. What are the effects if i don't remove it? I thought the DPF can self-clean itself (catalyst regeneration) so why would it still get clogged?Question 4: What are other things to look out for? What is the minimum I-Drive software version should I get (or just upgrade to the latest one, whatever it is)? Can the leather material used for the seats survive the temperature or should I just settled for fabric instead?Question 5: What problem(s) specific to E60 (especially 525i/525d) should I look for when test driving? I've read that the active steering is a common problem. Anything else?Sorry, too many questions but I hope all sifus can help. i'm a total newbie with BMW (and diesel car), so wanted to make sure I have all angles covered before I actually go ahead and buy one. Also, please feel free to add other useful tips and tricks.Cheers!

 

[haywire]

Not sure if the M-Sport E60 was released yet in 2004? I thought it was 2005.

Didnt do much to my e39 air-con system, works just fine for me.

One thing you should be looking at when purchasing the car: undercarriage rust. Nothing much you can do about it, it will exist on UK cars, its just how bad the condition you are willing to accept. Dont be surprised later.

 

[haywire]

The leathers are fine, if you are worried then use leather conditioners frequently la. For me I think, if the car is not leather, means the original purchaser is a bit stingy and tight, hence fhe car could be very lowly specced and would only have basic options. I could be wrong, maybe he liked the fabric more though. Just my thought.

 

[SilverBullet]

check on your radiator too..last time i brought mine in found out that the radiator is in bad condition..."londeh" is the word...had to replace the whole thing..cost me around rm1k..

btw, agreed with junud on the rust issues...one of the first few things u need to do when ur car arrives in M'sia = spray anti-rust or undercoat to the undercarriage..

 

[ciklee]

oh ya, forgot about the rust issue. how much is the anti-rust spray coating and where to get it done? can any body repair shop do it?

bro haywire, did you de-tune your car so that it can run on our low quality fuel? or is it pretty much plug-and-play?

any diesel owner can comment on maintainability of BMW oil burners? would the diesel fuel cause havoc with the fuel pump and injectors? do you need to always add additive to the fuel every fill up? I've read in the forum that the swirl flap might disintegrate and damage the engine beyond economical repair due to design problem with the flap itself. has BMW resolved the problem? from one article i read, the swirl flap can be removed completely without any effect whatsoever on engine performance. however, it was written by a company that sells plugs that replace the flaps so their side-effect assessment might be wee bit bias. any diesel owner has removed the flaps and notice any negative side effects?

 

[haywire]

didnt do anything to my engine (i want to uptune, not detune!!). changed engine oil, somw fluids, hoses, tyres, thats it. dont worry so much la...all the recons cars from UK also didnt do so much to their car.

the swirl flap for the diesel can be replaced with a blanking cap, no issue with engine performance. the swirl flap's function is only when the car is stationary, to reduce fuel consumption while idling. yoy wont lose performance by removing it. Im a member of UK BMW forum as well so have been following the threads regarding the swirl flap issue.

 

[alantiong]

why would anyone wanna detune their engine.. and who on earth gave you the that malaysian fuel is of lower grade??

 

[rpmnut]

oh ya, forgot about the rust issue. how much is the anti-rust spray coating and where to get it done? can any body repair shop do it?

bro haywire, did you de-tune your car so that it can run on our low quality fuel? or is it pretty much plug-and-play?

any diesel owner can comment on maintainability of BMW oil burners? would the diesel fuel cause havoc with the fuel pump and injectors? do you need to always add additive to the fuel every fill up? I've read in the forum that the swirl flap might disintegrate and damage the engine beyond economical repair due to design problem with the flap itself. has BMW resolved the problem? from one article i read, the swirl flap can be removed completely without any effect whatsoever on engine performance. however, it was written by a company that sells plugs that replace the flaps so their side-effect assessment might be wee bit bias. any diesel owner has removed the flaps and notice any negative side effects?

Malaysian petrol is perfectly alright. No need to detune cars to run on local fuel. However, diesels may not be able to take our high-sulphur Euro2M diesel. The E60 525d was tuned for Euro3/4 standards and in most cases, would be equipped with a particulate filter for the exhaust. Running on Malaysian Euro2M diesel will eventually ruin these filters.

Another note on BMW diesels on the E39/E60 - they're known to snap their swirl flaps. If these get ingested into the engine, they can cause thousands in damage. Many engines would have been modified by removing these flaps, sacrificing some low-end torque. Check if you're intending to get a diesel.

Between the petrol and diesel cars though, I'd plump for the petrol E60's. They're far easier to maintain outside of the official dealerships.

As for "tropicalising" your BMW, local BMW's run larger radiator cores, larger water pumps, more powerful cooling fans and different thermostat settings compared to EU/UK spec cars. If you want to be safe, you'd have to change the whole lot, which may prove quite pricey. My recommendation - run your car in local weather for a few weeks unmodified when it arrives. See if it can cope with our local heat. If it does, really no need to worry.

One thing you may need to change are the tyres though. Especially if you're currently on Winter tyres. They just won't cope with our kinda road temp.

 

[haywire]

Another note on BMW diesels on the E39/E60 - they're known to snap their swirl flaps. If these get ingested into the engine, they can cause thousands in damage. Many engines would have been modified by removing these flaps, sacrificing some low-end torque. Check if you're intending to get a diesel.

From what I read, removing the swirl flap does not affect the performance of the car. The swirl flaps are purely there to improve fuel consumption during idling, such as waiting at the traffic light when the swirl flap are opened. Most of the time when driving it is closed. So will not affect the performance of the car, apart from a little different in FC during idling.

 

[rpmnut]

From what I read, removing the swirl flap does not affect the performance of the car. The swirl flaps are purely there to improve fuel consumption during idling, such as waiting at the traffic light when the swirl flap are opened. Most of the time when driving it is closed. So will not affect the performance of the car, apart from a little different in FC during idling.

From what I've read on forums and mags about the infamous swirl flaps on BMW diesels, these flaps close at low engine rpm's to do two things:

(i) Aid combustion at low engine rpm's by "swirling" intake air to encourage better fuel atomisation - this has a nice side-effect of improving driveability by bumping up torque at low rpm's; and
(ii) They aid emissions control by reducing the production of soot from diesel combustion in the absence of assisted induction from the turbo at low rpm's..

You're right though, in that the moment you open the throttle, the flaps open fully, so in everyday driving, you probably won't feel any difference.

The flaps are programmed to open fully beyond 2250 rpm, subject to the ECU registering the following parameters:

DDE5.0/DDE6.3
The swirl flaps generally open when
* the coolant temperature < 14 °C OR
* the amount of fuel > 24 mg OR
* engine speed > 2250 rpm OR
* the intake temperature < -5 °C

You can order blanking plates to replace the troublesome flaps on-line.

You can see a vid of the flaps here:

[video=youtube;PU3PykUSjH4]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PU3PykUSjH4&feature=related[/video]

 

[doc9802]

BMW E92 320d (2010) or E92 320i (2010)

Hi..I am planning to bring back a bmw coupe m sport from the UK..but not sure which two of these models 320i or 320d is a better bet..

Both models comes with risk..
1. E92 320i - there is a very big and long thread in e90 post forum uk,(http://www.e90post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=136258)
discussing about what looks to me like a faulty engine design (4cylinder) mainly issue with fuel injectors/coil packs, ECU, software etc

2. E92 320d - there is nothing major discussed with regards to this model's engine reliability in e90 post forum uk.. but there is risk of using Malaysia Diesel 2M on a UK E92 320d engine (especially with the newer models with efficiency dynamics as these is made for Diesel 3M/4M)..I have been trying to look for any major complaints with regards to diesel incompatiblity but could not really find one..really hope if someone can tell me about their experience/problems/issue using a diesel engine from UK/Europe (which is specifically made for Diesel 3M/4M)..

I would really appreciate oppinions on which car is the least risky to bring to Malaysia E92 320i (2010) or E92 320d (2010) urgently as I am planning to purchase it next week.

 

[Patera60E]

mine is direct from UK .... didnt change anything... still in good condition... just take a look at the radiator cap.... needs changing often....

 

[Alex5522]

Hi..I am planning to bring back a bmw coupe m sport from the UK..but not sure which two of these models 320i or 320d is a better bet..

Both models comes with risk..
1. E92 320i - there is a very big and long thread in e90 post forum uk,(http://www.e90post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=136258)
discussing about what looks to me like a faulty engine design (4cylinder) mainly issue with fuel injectors/coil packs, ECU, software etc

2. E92 320d - there is nothing major discussed with regards to this model's engine reliability in e90 post forum uk.. but there is risk of using Malaysia Diesel 2M on a UK E92 320d engine (especially with the newer models with efficiency dynamics as these is made for Diesel 3M/4M)..I have been trying to look for any major complaints with regards to diesel incompatiblity but could not really find one..really hope if someone can tell me about their experience/problems/issue using a diesel engine from UK/Europe (which is specifically made for Diesel 3M/4M)..

I would really appreciate oppinions on which car is the least risky to bring to Malaysia E92 320i (2010) or E92 320d (2010) urgently as I am planning to purchase it next week.

Bro why not open your own thread ?

 

[ciklee]

Finally bought myself an E60 after few months of search and research. Ends up getting the 525i petrol 2004 model with M54B25 engine, after taking into account my budget, performance, maintenance and running costs. The car comes with leather, electric and heated front seats, PDC but no navigation though. So far the car has been very nice to drive.

I'm planning several mods for the car and will definitely looking for help/advise/recommendation from everyone in here. So stay tune...

 

[haywire]

For your info from my own experience, my car was fine with no problems when I drove it in the UK. Now back in Malaysia, after 8 months I had to change the whole cooling system (radiator, expansion tank, cap, bleed screw, exspansion tank etc) and recent checks has revealed that most of my bushes are shot. Perhaps the Malaysian weather has taken its toll. But I guess thats the joy of BMW ownership :4:

 

[ciklee]

Hi Bro Haywire,

The bushes are part of wear-and-tear items, so they must be replaced sooner or later I guess. Or are you suggesting the grade of rubber material used to make these bushes are not suitable for Malaysian weather? But I'm quite surprise to hear that you need to change the whole cooling system on your car. Are they different parts altogether, I mean bigger version of their UK counterparts i.e. bigger radiator, bigger expansion tanks, etc? Do you have to change the thermostat as well? Some say Malaysian spec car has different engine temperature setting.

 

[haywire]

Hi Bro Haywire,

The bushes are part of wear-and-tear items, so they must be replaced sooner or later I guess. Or are you suggesting the grade of rubber material used to make these bushes are not suitable for Malaysian weather? But I'm quite surprise to hear that you need to change the whole cooling system on your car. Are they different parts altogether, I mean bigger version of their UK counterparts i.e. bigger radiator, bigger expansion tanks, etc? Do you have to change the thermostat as well? Some say Malaysian spec car has different engine temperature setting.

Change old for new, same parts again no difference for Malaysia.

 

[paultantk]

The UK 320i should be running the 170hp direct injection 4 cylinder engine right?