[aren93]

Guys I don't know much about all the mechanical stuff but can I make my 335i faster by upgrading rods/pistons and parts of my engine/motor? Someone mentioned to me and I'm just curious.

[135Pats]

If you are serious, yes you can build the motor to numerous different specs. Stroke it out, low compression, long rod, whatever. Then swap to a large single turbo that moves at least 70LB/Min, and depending on model year you may need a stand alone. Add port fuel or the HPFP upgrade and have at it. Get the wallet out but it would be badass. A built N55 would be tremendous.

[melloww22]

Aren93 - if you are serious "Do It" this community would appreciate you greatly.

[aren93]

Originally Posted by 135Pats

If you are serious, yes you can build the motor to numerous different specs. Stroke it out, low compression, long rod, whatever. Then swap to a large single turbo that moves at least 70LB/Min, and depending on model year you may need a stand alone. Add port fuel or the HPFP upgrade and have at it. Get the wallet out but it would be badass. A built N55 would be tremendous.

Wow that sounds bad ass...your getting me excited here and yes I'm serious. I'm going to dig deeper into this and may start something soon and thanks for the information. Yeah I plan on making my car a "project car" eventually so I need to start saving up for all these expensive parts.

[aren93]

Originally Posted by melloww22

Aren93 - if you are serious "Do It" this community would appreciate you greatly.

Yes I am serious! I'm going to do more research and figure out how I can get started.

[Ozzie335i]

Originally Posted by aren93

Yes I am serious! I'm going to do more research and figure out how I can get started.

aren93, if you've got the coin to run with this, you've got an audience. Both N55 & N54. Do post results.

[aren93]

Originally Posted by Ozzie335i

aren93, if you've got the coin to run with this, you've got an audience. Both N55 & N54. Do post results.

OK I need to find out around how expensive this will really be first and I'll go from there

[Nugget]

If you're serious call Alex at ABR Houston.

[Dark_Knight_335]

I'm in too- sub'd and at attention!

[mike5809]

Originally Posted by aren93

OK I need to find out around how expensive this will really be first and I'll go from there

It will cost a lot (I know that is a relative term) but from taking the first bolt out to starting it up I wouldn't be surprised it it cost more than $10,xxx if you building the top/bottom end (I assume a shop is doing the work for you). Considering just forged pistons will probably set you back close to $1,200 and probably a bit more for rods if you upgrade them.

You will also probably need other supporting mods, ie; clutch, fuel, etc.

[weehe126]

In my opinion, no one knows if you would gain power from changing internals. No one has lost a rod or cracked a case yet. Now if there was a way to stroke it, then yes that will make more power. But new pistons, i doubt it. Probably your best starting point is the VAC stage 3 head. I am not sure if it fits N55s, but I bet they can make it.

[Sidewinderpb]

Potential is boundless with many doll hairs 😂😂

[04gto]

There is ALWAYS power to be gained by balancing internal engine components, reducing rod and piston weight, polishing the grind on various parts to make them smoother and provide less resistance. You can take apart just about any engine, balance, "Blue print" it and make more power. The question is not "if" you will make more power, but how much power you will make.

[JETmn]

Since you don't seem to be sure about the mechanical stuff, what are your goals? I doubt you need to build the engine. You certainly could and it might gain you a small amount of power, but building the engine is usually just to be able to handle higher HP. With this engine being so high compression I could see a benefit to lowering the compression if you are going with a big turbo. You will be pushing the power curve up top by doing that (lose low end and gain top end).

I would throw a single on it first and see how it goes. I bet you can hit 700whp and not have to worry about building the engine.

[wgknestrick]

Engine internals are done to safely support more HP/torque, not necessarily make more themselves. The biggest thing holding your car back is that tiny turbo on it, not the internals.

Once you tear into a factory assembled engine, there are usually more chances of something going wrong than right. If you want to increase HP, then heads (porting and larger valves) are where you can make some significant HP, but again, you need the airflow to realize those gains. That stock turbo is not pushing enough air to justify doing anything else at this point. I haven't seen a single N55 with a large enough turbo on it to justify full engine builds. That day will come, but we aren't there yet.

All you will do is lighten your wallet and probably ruin your car. I've been there, done that on my STI. Don't ruin your BMW, and learn from my mistakes. There comes a time when you have to cure your mod bug because it will ruin your car and you won't be able to sell it. Your car is probably fast enough for what you do with it as it sits. If not, wait a year and put a stage2 turbo in it with fuel mods. Many problems will be solved by then. Right now, you don't know what you don't know....and you will have to solve problems with a stage 2 car at this point to get it perfect. I mean no offense with this, but if you aren't comfortable doing all this work yourself, you aren't ready for this. You can't always rely on other people to pioneer for you.

There hasn't been enough development yet on the N55 to jump in yet IMO. I'm even skeptical of the stage 2 turbos at this point because there isn't enough data out or long term feedback. Something new, bigger, and better is always around the corner too. If you have money burning a hole in your pocket, put it towards paying off your car, or towards your next one.

[e92proper]

Originally Posted by wgknestrick

Engine internals are done to safely support more HP/torque, not necessarily make more themselves. The biggest thing holding your car back is that tiny turbo on it, not the internals.

Once you tear into a factory assembled engine, there are usually more chances of something going wrong than right. If you want to increase HP, then heads (porting and larger valves) are where you can make some significant HP, but again, you need the airflow to realize those gains. That stock turbo is not pushing enough air to justify doing anything else at this point. I haven't seen a single N55 with a large enough turbo on it to justify full engine builds. That day will come, but we aren't there yet.

All you will do is lighten your wallet and probably ruin your car. I've been there, done that on my STI. Don't ruin your BMW, and learn from my mistakes. There comes a time when you have to cure your mod bug because it will ruin your car and you won't be able to sell it. Your car is probably fast enough for what you do with it as it sits. If not, wait a year and put a stage2 turbo in it with fuel mods. Many problems will be solved by then. Right now, you don't know what you don't know....and you will have to solve problems with a stage 2 car at this point to get it perfect. I mean no offense with this, but if you aren't comfortable doing all this work yourself, you aren't ready for this. You can't always rely on other people to pioneer for you.

There hasn't been enough development yet on the N55 to jump in yet IMO. I'm even skeptical of the stage 2 turbos at this point because there isn't enough data out or long term feedback. Something new, bigger, and better is always around the corner too. If you have money burning a hole in your pocket, put it towards paying off your car, or towards your next one.

Definitely well said and very true. I've built one VQ from my 1st 350z and 3 Honda motors when I was a kid for a few turbo projects back in the day. I definitely would build a motor on a project car or something in the future but not on my daily BMW. I would love to get my daily BMW to 500whp but that's about it, much more is really unrealistic for daily use and it compromises the whole point of the car IMO.

[aren93]

Based on all your replies and opinions I am most likely not going to touch my motor lol. It seems a lot more pricey than I expected with possibly further increased problems and I'd rather spend that money on a new turbo. But in the future I will most definitely do this, for now I guess I'll wait on Pure Stage 2 Thanks all for the replies and info though. My goals are around 600-700 whp so I guess I won't need to touch the motor anyways.

[elinstylez]

Aren, your money is better spent getting an M4. I'm not throwing away any more money on my n55 lol.

[aren93]

Originally Posted by elinstylez

Aren, your money is better spent getting an M4. I'm not throwing away any more money on my n55 lol.

Lmao yeah but I don't have money to get an M4 now so I've got to work with what I have I feel like these cars have a lot of potential though so I'm going to keep pushing for more

[elinstylez]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Ug7o8sAjnU

[turbo_chris]

Aren, have you ever driven a 600-700hp 335i? N55's are still pretty far away from those #'s. You will need a completely different turbo setup, port injection, trans/clutch upgrade, LSD, etc to put up with that power level. If you aren't doing the labor yourself it can easily get into the $20k+ territory for parts, labor, and tuning.

Getting to 500whp is achievable now. You will still need $8-10k in parts, labor, and dyno time to do it. I can assure you that 500whp is more than enough power to keep you entertained for a while.

[aren93]

Originally Posted by elinstylez

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Ug7o8sAjnU

Wow that's bad ass!!!