ucsbwsr

I am helping my buddy David get his E61 ready for SEMA. Some of you may have seen photos of this thing floating around on the internet, which makes sense as it grabs a lot of attention. There has been A LOT of custom work done to it, including a custom metal widebody, a crazy stereo, and a full custom interior.

David is the owner of VIP Modular and RSV Forged, so it makes sense this wagon is focused on wheels, fitment, and style. After giving him a ride in my 500+awhp wagon he had confidence I could help him improve the function and performance of his E61.

The car needed some love in the maintenance department to get it back to par and running well. Once the issue are resolved it will be time for a few choice upgrades. He has some nice bolt-ons already like AR DPs, ER intercooler and chargepipe, a custom exhaust, a custom tune, and a bad-ass set of R1 Concepts brakes.

This thread will be build-style and I will update it as things progress.

Hope you enjoy,
Evan

4 Wagons at the shop! 2 E91s and 2 E61s (Mine was parked outside)

ucsbwsr

The gauge cluster is a Christmas tree with error messages and the list of codes I pulled with INPA was very long. The car runs rough and has misfires so it is time to start with the basics.

New plugs, throttle body service, and a valve cleaning.

Island Road

Looking good Evan seems like you have your hands full with this one. Looking at those plugs as seem as though 1 might be leaky injectors and also VC gasket leak can't tell if that's oil or gas but the plugs do not look healthy in the least bit. How many miles, when is the last time coils were done as well, ever a recall done on the injectors? With the RR550 going in might be time to upgrade to some NGK and S55 plugs. I would pull the injectors as well to see what kind of condition they are in or at least run a test to see if they might be leaking.

Lotus99

wow, another gorgeous E61!

Can I ask what is the "throttle body service" about? Hadn't heard of that as a maintenance item...

ucsbwsr

There has been more work done to the car then what I posted above, I was trying to spread out the updates over a couple days/weeks.

I have already installed and coded new injectors. Coils will be easy to asses and replace as needed with the other 2 "misfire culprits" already done. The wagon has 103,000 miles and the history is not well documented.

NGKs won't be necessary with the moderate power levels he will be running on pump. Gapped NGKs seem to come into play more in the 600whp range. I can attest to the oem plugs working just fine with my setup.


It is a term that a dealership would use when charging you $500 to remove the throttle body and clean the carbon and oil build up on the backside. lol

I would assume build up like that happens on most DI cars, and although not as important and build up on valves, everything helps. Plus cleaning things appeases my mild OCD.

Evan

Lotus99

It's just that I had my N54 walnut blasted by another enthusiast, and I don't recall him doing that, so I was wondering how important it is / how often it's done. I only had 40,000 miles on that engine though, but it's tuned, so it needed a walnut blast somewhat.

EDIT - I checked with him (zenocchio on the forum - look up my post about the awesome work he does if you want), and he did it as well as put on a new gasket!

ucsbwsr

Sorry for the delay on the update, the last couple weeks were busy. Continuing...


New injectors installed and coded


Rerouted ugly hard plastic brake booster line, BEFORE


AFTER


Cleared a "custom" tune and flashed his car with the BMS Pump Backend via MHD.


Installed a JB4 and updated the firmware.


Flashed the transmission with the SAT File.


He had a faulty O2 Sensor that was replaced. The last person who installed his AR Designs DPs wasn't too careful with the sensor routing...


Hexons RR550s and VTT Inlets!


Install time


The joys of working on an xi vehicle, subframe is already dropped.


Another angle


Oem turbos and inlets out.


Old vs. New


Oem vs VTT


Oem vs Hexon


Cleaned up


Installing studs


Coolant and oil lines cleaned, new o-rings installed, and reassembled.


In with the new


VTT Inlet fitment


So tight!


VTT Inlets require some special attention to keep them from contacting belts and pulleys.


Close up


Another angle


Luckily there is some room to work with.


Zip Ties fix everything.


Use one zip tie on the middle of the fan shroud and one on the far driver-side edge of the shroud, make sure they are tight and won't slide out of position as these are key areas to keep tension.


Close but all good!


Daylight on the correct side


The Friday before SEMA.




Static vs. Air



A couple pics I snapped at SEMA

sterile stork

Great work, Evan! It's certainly a lot of fun to watch you have you had at different projects.

What is your advise for procuring INPA?

Lotus99

Sweetness... Drool...

What's he going to be running for fuel typically? Can't recall if he runs meth or not.

I'm toying myself with one day upgrading my N54 turbos, and I don't want to bother running meth. For now, luckily, I do have access to an E85 gas station, but I don't know if I can count on that forever, as I don't think the demand is there for the guy to keep running it.

If I was to conservatively aim for upgraded turbos on 94 octane (ours doesn't have ethanol) gas to run the upgraded turbos on, is it worth upgrading? I'm stage 2+ right now.

What about if I could count on E85?

I ask because it seems so many people run the upgraded turbos with meth, and there are hardly any dynos on regular gas or E30 mixes, vs. stock to see the potential bumps in power.

pocholin

David and Evan,

Amazing work you guys have done, it is a lot of work! It looks really good and aggressive, a show car for sure!