illtww

Georgieb

Any update on how your tune is performing?

I am thinking of doing this first then exhaust 2nd...

2004 525i.

Georgieb

Good morning Illtww,
The tune and car are still performing at an optimum level (to the best of my knowledge). There have been no mechanical or functional hiccups since I did the upgrades last spring. Safe to say that this modification was definitely worth the investment. So much so that I decided to keep the E60 for another year before attempting the transition to the X6.

Cheers and good luck with your install. Let us know how it goes.

bbl

hi Georgie
this is my intake manifold. do you know if i can follow your mod?
http://bmwfans.info/parts/catalog/E6...nifold_system/

Georgieb

Good morning bbl,
The manifold found in the 525i (depending on your engine type) is a single-stage manifold. You will need to upgrade to a three-stage manifold with additional support components. Your engine configuration needs to be N52B30 3.0L. The manifold part number is 11617559523.

Cheers

arix

First of all you need to make sure if you got N52B30 or N53B30. It has slightly different manifolds, but internally they are bit different engines. This upgrade can be done for both of them, just the outcome is different. N52B30 you are expecting to have 250 bhp and N53B30 272bhp in the end. I did this mistake and it was pretty expensive, as I thought my engine is N52B30 and ordered all brand new parts, but it turned out it is N53B30. So, it had to buy all parts for N53B30 and return N52B30, so lost all shipping fees, and did not get fully refund because some parts were unpacked, so basically lost around 40% of its value.

I have used the following tuner for ECU map (http://mosselmanturbo.co.uk/remappin...25i-e90-218hp/) in the end from 191 whp it made 242whp. The same dyno, just few days different. Sad, I do not have a prints as never got sent to me from the company who dynode the car, tried to chase them but no luck so just give up in the end.


If there is anyting you need to know just let me know.

Ricapar

Ouch! That sucks about the N52/N53 mixup. Aside from the having to return stuff and shipping fees... How much did the N52 stuff cost you?
Overall, has that boost in HP been worth the $$?

I have a 2007 525xi, built in late 2006 - so I know it's the N52 engine. I'm quite tempted to do the intake manifold swap.. Just a 'tad worried about the amount I'd be putting into it vs what I get out of it.

bbl

morning Georgie
mine is a 2500cc for sure, hong kong don't have 525 e60 in 3000cc.
i had compared all the parts, i found only the manifold parts # is different than your list.
so i don't know if it is going to help if change this manifold. and if i need to reprogram after changed.
and i found the 530 manifold had 523 at the last 3 digit, i'm not sure if it is come off from the 523.

sorry, how to define stage 1, 2 and 3 mods?

arix

It came close to £800 only for parts. Next it took me 3 different tuning companies until I found mosselman tune which worked as supposed to work with this intake. I had other tunes from companies who claimed that it will work, but it did not feel what I have expected (honestly it did not feel at all ) and I am glad I continued searching for correct tune otherwise this mode will be worthless.

Without tune you will feel that you got extra torque and nothing else, but with correct tune it is totally different car, you can even feel when valves open around 3000rpm and 5000rpm, the best improvement is from 5000rpm up to redline. Before this mode you can feel how engine is struggling to rev past 5000rpm, but now with this mod is pretty hard not to hit rev limiter in 1st and 2nd gear if you drive it hard.

If you have tune company which can program ecu to work with this intake, I would say this is the first mod you should do to your N52/N53 B30 525i if you want to feel proper hp gains.

metroE60

Awesome mod. Is it certain I can't do this to my 04 525i with the M54 engine.... It desperately needs power.

bryanread

I want to thank Georgieb for posting this thread and motivating me to do the same. Here's my story. By way of mechanical background, I've replaced sparkplugs, coils, brakepads, flushed brakefluid, etc. I've never attempted anything along the lines of replacing a camshaft. I own a 2006 525i with 85,000 miles. I came across the thread early in the year and starting reading up on the process in earnest. In August I found a 3-stage manifold on-line at Sambucci in NYC for $225 via car-part.com. It only came with one of the two adjuster units so I order the other and the additional parts needed from bmwmercedesparts.com for about $250. In September I took a Friday off and attempted to replace the my 1-stage manifold with the 3-stage manifold. I was at it all day and was getting close Saturday morning when I realized that the oil separater was somehow attached to the manifold and I didn't know how to decouple the two parts. I came to the realization I was in over my head. So around noon on Saturday I called the tow truck and had the car towed to the nearest dealer (BMW of Sterling) for $118. The Service Rep said that he'd have his mechanic look it over before completing the job since the dealer has to warranty the work and they can't warranty non-standard upgrades. (He also complemented me for admitting I got in over my head when that sometimes isn't the case with backyard mechanics.) A couple of days later he called saying that they could complete the manifold swap for about $850. I was hoping it would be less labor, but was glad that it wasn't $850 to put the 1-stage manifold back in place. Then I called Active Autowerke which confirmed that the software upgrade was available for my N52 525i and said that the tune is tweaked based in whether or not CAI is installed, a K&N Filer is in place, or a performance exhuast is installed. Based on searching CAI impacts I found mixed results and opted to not go that route. I did the same for K&N Filter and also emailed Mike Miller (Roundel Tech Talk) who recommended against K&N Filters except for those models for which there are no other options. I then bought a Remus exhaust from bavauto.com for about $650 (on sale from $900) and had it installed at Midas for $100. Finally I contacted the local AA dealer nearby (Elite Autohaus in Silver Spring, MD) about getting the AA N52 tune. The AA website doesn't actually list a tune available for E60 N52 because those requests are uncommon. Elite Autohaus called AA to ensure it could be done and then went ahead with the installation which took about 3 hours. The tune was normally $499, but was discounted 15% for the holidays. The car drives great!! The first day the "Service Engine Soon" light remained on each entire trip, but yesterday and today the SES light isn't illuminating after initial start up. I thought about getting the "Simon Tool" from AA for $350 which allows for installing different software tunes, but determined that the only time I'd need it is while driving in a 91-octane state. Jack from Elite Autohaus emailed me the files for both the stock tune and the AA upgrade in case I ever get the Simon Tool. Thanks to all previous posters who made this information available. I really enjoy my car and I hope to keep it a long long time.