johnnymegs

Hey,
I'm a new member so I'm not sure about posting. Posted this in the new members forum also.

I just picked up an '08 535 xi (E60) which i believe has the N54 engine. I am looking for mod recommendations that won't break the bank. I'm thinking of the JB+ from burger motorsports and replacing the air filter. Not sure if putting in a drop in performance filter or a new cone system is the right way to go. I am also thinking of exhaust mods. I've seen some info on throttle body spacers. Not sure about that.

Please comment
Thanks

seablue550i

Check out the Cobb tuner. It is a plug and play hand held tuner. Very easy to install and makes great power gains. Also go with an aFe dual cone intake and downpipes. Best 3 mods for that car. Once you have downpipes you can also run stage 2 on the tune.

west

+1

Booyaazaa

+1

Go with a cobb ap, get dci's, install ***less DP's and go to ProTuning freaks to get a protune with a E30 map. After this you'll be smiling every time you step on the gas. Just make sure your maintenance is up to date on the car, oil change, plugs, and coils.

johnnymegs

Thanks guys, I will look into this. The only thing i see that bothers me is that the aFe dual cone intakes will be pressed up against the hood insulation. Is removing the insulation something that is done a lot?

info@trinityautosport

I wouldnt recommend the AFE open cone intakes. there have been threads in the past that discussed the matter of heat soak where the intakes ended up soaking in the hot air from the engine instead. for an intake setup we recommend the RPI ram air scoop that utiilizes the stock airbox, but has shown its gains when tested on the dyno.

johnnymegs

A little more reading and I think the scoop is the way to go. Are block off plates really necessary or are the benefits minimal? If anyone can comment more on down pipes it would be a big help.

west

Air scoops on a forced induction car, eh? I left em on my supercharged 550i for no reason other than I didn't want holes left in the car where they were originally screwed in. If I had a 535i and had to pick between scoops or a higher-flow DCI that sucks potentially warmer air from around the engine (remember guys, the air is eventually sucked in past the air filter and heated much much much more by the turbo regardless if it's being fed from the engine bay or the front grille), I'd go with the DCI by a long shot. Also consider that the RPI scoop won't be able to pressurize the turbo at the rate the turbo is trying to suck in air.

If the car were naturally aspirated, then going with an AFE or other pull-air-from-the-engine-bay intake would be up for debate, but at that point you're looking at trade-off's between IAT's and flow restrictions. As in, will the additional flow overcome the negatives imposed by heat. Both play a factor in the motors ability to function efficiently.

Anyone taken a video of an RPI scoop going 70mph down the highway? After owning them I've been a tad curious if they flex under load.

ETNav382

+1 to what West said and block off plates are for M5s.

Booyaazaa

OP- any DCI will rub a little on the hood insulation which is no big deal. I personally run both BMS dci's and the rpi scoop. The dci's allow the intake of larger volumes of air and the scoop helps direct air into the stock intake tube hidden behind the grill. Our engines do run hot however that's why you upgrade the fmic. Also once you start moving it is not a real issue unless you are doing laps at Thunderhill in the summer, then get a meth kit. The other big upgrade is getting ***less DP's. These will let your turbos to spool up quicker by allowing exhaust gas to pass through the exhaust system with less restriction.