[The Silver Slammer]

In the 335i world right now, looking to upgrade to a 550i due to the potential of the N63.

What are the quickest, easiest ways to make good reliable HP on this platform?

From experience on other platforms it seems like there are a few things necessary. Intake (or just high flow drop in filters), catless DPs, tune (flash preferred). Not familier with N63 so not sure if a charge pipe (s) and upgraded intercoolers are necessary.

Would like to be somewhere in the 500-550 whp range

Your experience please...

Thanks

[xxpanipuri]

i think catless DP / exaust and tune would make that power...

you can also upgrade turbos and intercoolers to make more...

BPC in NC has a tune which i've heard rave reviews on...

i did the mission performance tune for my n63tu (engine and trans) and it has been phenomenal....

[warpeacelove]

badblack550xi

[warpeacelove]

Originally Posted by xxpanipuri

i think catless DP / exaust and tune would make that power...

you can also upgrade turbos and intercoolers to make more...

BPC in NC has a tune which i've heard rave reviews on...

i did the mission performance tune for my n63tu (engine and trans) and it has been phenomenal....

Does the BPC Tune allow Passing inspection using their tune?

[ezaircon4jc]

Originally Posted by The Silver Slammer

...the potential of the N63.

...ways to make good reliable HP on this platform?.

From what I've read here and elsewhere (and from my dealer SA) that is almost an oxymoron...

[The Silver Slammer]

Originally Posted by ezaircon4jc

From what I've read here and elsewhere (and from my dealer SA) that is almost an oxymoron...

I've read here and elsewhere the exact opposite...imagine that? And of course the dealer is gonna tell you that.

I know the 3 series (N54, N55) is that way but seems this N63 doesn't take much to make real good power and keep it together.

[cdmulders]

Originally Posted by The Silver Slammer

I've read here and elsewhere the exact opposite...imagine that? And of course the dealer is gonna tell you that

You might have missed ezaircon4jc's point. I believe the oxymoron is using N63 and reliable in the same sentence. The N63TU appears to be more reliable. Your quick review of threads on this forum will reveal considerable issues with the N63 experienced by many.

[Supahone]

Having owned a 2011 550i for about 6 months now and after a handful of highway battles with similar makes... I think I would frown away from a down pipe and other hardware bolt ons. The car is plenty quick for realistic highway "excusions". I would make sure it had a fresh tune up, good tires perhaps install a throttle box for more sensitivity and maybe a simple JB4 tune just to get a tad more torque while bringing down the power curve lower on the rpm range as the vehicle tends to misfire passed 6k in my experience especially when using the paddles to stretch shift points.

[ezaircon4jc]

Originally Posted by cdmulders

You might have missed ezaircon4jc's point. I believe the oxymoron is using N63 and reliable in the same sentence. The N63TU appears to be more reliable. Your quick review of threads on this forum will reveal considerable issues with the N63 experienced by many.

EXACTLY!!!!! For me, it's like using "good" and "morning" in the same sentence! Those two words barely being in the same paragraph !

My SA said there was a ventilation design flaw in the N63 and they see a LOT of them in the service dep't. Doesn't help that all that heat is concentrated in a tight space with few avenues of escape. The N55, not so much. He tells me that the walnut blasting that the N54 needed doesn't apply to the N55 as they improved and redesigned the PCV system ventilation. I have an EXCELLENT relationship with my SA (he's as close as a brother) he gives me the inside scoop on many things and has yet to be deceitful with me.

[ziekxq]

Avoid 550s at all cost n63 or n63tu or even the new m550. They are all but realiable cars. I would only suggest getting 550 on a lease.

[BlackWidow]

I’ve owned the N63 for 5 years. It’s not reliable by any means especially if power is your goal. When I initially tuned, it exposed all the weak points of the engine. I replaced injectors, coils, MAFs, just to rid the Drivetrain Malfunctions under WOT. Not to mention my first engine went kaboom with maintenance every 5k miles. There are many threads here and everywhere (Bang Lawsuit) that exposes the issues. This is just the realism, I love my N63 but if I could go back before this car loan, I would’ve went V8 with another brand (Mercedes). BMW has yet to get a motor bigger than a 6 cylinder right (S65, S85, S63, N63, N63tu, all have their issues and they’re all bmw’s somewhat recent V8 and V10 platforms).

[535_BiTurbo]

I still think the 7k redline is too high which is probably why all these bearings are being spun on non tus and tus.

[hovik92]

So I've had my 2012 N63 550i since October of 2017. It is heavily modified. As far as power goes, car has N63intake.com Carbon Fiber V3 intakes, gutted downpipes, full valved exhaust, 3.5 TMAP sensors, 2 step colder gapped plugs, and it has a stage 3 tune stacked with a JB4. It's been very reliable since I replace things as soon as something feels as though it may be an issue. Also, most parts on this car that go bad are not that expensive if you find a decent deal online (ECStuning, FCPeuro, etc...). So what I do if I'm ever free for a day or two, i replace parts such as the "Y" coolant pipes, radiator hoses ahead of time. I've had small issues such as needing plugs/coils and I even had my engine mounts go bad but that's normal for any car making decent power.

[warpeacelove]

Originally Posted by hovik92

So I've had my 2012 N63 550i since October of 2017. It is heavily modified. As far as power goes, car has N63intake.com Carbon Fiber V3 intakes, gutted downpipes, full valved exhaust, 3.5 TMAP sensors, 2 step colder gapped plugs, and it has a stage 3 tune stacked with a JB4. It's been very reliable since I replace things as soon as something feels as though it may be an issue. Also, most parts on this car that go bad are not that expensive if you find a decent deal online (ECStuning, FCPeuro, etc...). So what I do if I'm ever free for a day or two, i replace parts such as the "Y" coolant pipes, radiator hoses ahead of time. I've had small issues such as needing plugs/coils and I even had my engine mounts go bad but that's normal for any car making decent power.

Teach them rookies. We have the same modified parts and car. Learn the game before commenting also make sure your mechanic is GOOD and know what's the appropriate parts to get minimizing the chances of future issues.

[The Silver Slammer]

I appreciate ya'lls input. The good and bad. I honestly think its a matter of perspective. We buy bimmers cause they are the ultimate driving machines, not the ultimate commuter/economy car. We like spirited driving, 1/4 mile tracks and the occasional mexico 1/2 mile event

The trade off is a high maintenance car to take care of that isn't the cheapest either. But they look good, perform very well and if you do keep up with all the maintenance they will treat you right, even modified. I've had several and have loved them more and more over the years.

With a few mods I'm just shy of 400whp on my 335i and it has been very reliable, and just flat amazingly fun to drive, but I'v had to keep up on everything, and keep a close eye on it week by week, even day by day. I've had a couple little quirks but if I had followed the book I'd not have the issues I've had. It's never let me down or stranded me. I think i'm in the safety zone and don't want to wade any further in deep water for fear of major issues.

That's what I hope to achieve with my next bimmer, good power, good reliability, fun to drive and hopefully no major issues. I think as long as I stay in known mod territory and follow good maintenance practices, maybe even go beyond that I should be good.

I've also found, most people are on these forums for one of two reasons.

1. Performance knowledge and upgrades.
2. Issues they're having with their cars.

Usually they are going beyond the "safety zone" and venturing out into unknown territory "deep water". By doing so they discover a lot...limitations and potential power. These are they looking for performance, and keep pushing the envelope past where it can be reliable.

The second group thought if they drive a bimmer like a toyota it'll be as good to them as the toyota was. They soon find out the fallacy there and end up here in the second category having issues with their car, big or small.

So on these forums you usually only hear of performance or problems.
Lesson learned here is don't expect to get an overall experience of a toyota camry (reliability even with neglect) out of a BMW (performance with careful consistent maintenance) and vice versa.

[BlackWidow]

Originally Posted by The Silver Slammer

I appreciate ya'lls input. The good and bad. I honestly think its a matter of perspective. We buy bimmers cause they are the ultimate driving machines, not the ultimate commuter/economy car. We like spirited driving, 1/4 mile tracks and the occasional mexico 1/2 mile event

The trade off is a high maintenance car to take care of that isn't the cheapest either. But they look good, perform very well and if you do keep up with all the maintenance they will treat you right, even modified. I've had several and have loved them more and more over the years.

With a few mods I'm just shy of 400whp on my 335i and it has been very reliable, and just flat amazingly fun to drive, but I'v had to keep up on everything, and keep a close eye on it week by week, even day by day. I've had a couple little quirks but if I had followed the book I'd not have the issues I've had. It's never let me down or stranded me. I think i'm in the safety zone and don't want to wade any further in deep water for fear of major issues.

That's what I hope to achieve with my next bimmer, good power, good reliability, fun to drive and hopefully no major issues. I think as long as I stay in known mod territory and follow good maintenance practices, maybe even go beyond that I should be good.

I've also found, most people are on these forums for one of two reasons.

1. Performance knowledge and upgrades.
2. Issues they're having with their cars.

Usually they are going beyond the "safety zone" and venturing out into unknown territory "deep water". By doing so they discover a lot...limitations and potential power. These are they looking for performance, and keep pushing the envelope past where it can be reliable.

The second group thought if they drive a bimmer like a toyota it'll be as good to them as the toyota was. They soon find out the fallacy there and end up here in the second category having issues with their car, big or small.

So on these forums you usually only hear of performance or problems.
Lesson learned here is don't expect to get an overall experience of a toyota camry (reliability even with neglect) out of a BMW (performance with careful consistent maintenance) and vice versa.

Join the N63 Member Facebook Group. Far more useful than this forum. The main developer for the platform is there, Sergey (badblack550xi on here), he’s the main person who tunes the non TU and created the only non issue CAI for our engine.

[135i_vs_]

I have the BPC Stage 1 tune on my 11' 550i xDrive. Absolutely love it. It is emissions friendly tune, it does not delete anything. I am satisfied with the power it has now and I am not itching for more. Should be pushing over 500hp/500tq+ to the crank.

If you go with their Stage 2, it requires catless DPs. I personally stay away from the catless DPs because they will trigger the check engine light. Tunes simply just auto clear it every time you start the car, which I am not a fan of either.

[badblack550xi]

N63 cars are cheap to buy, i consider it best bang for the buck. buy one with good repair/ service record, low miles. Because the car has so many issues the amount of people who know how to repair it is very big now driving parts and repair cost down. BMW stepped up and repairing/replacing engines giving money back. Once you have all the basic issues that this engine has taken care of it's a blast to own! that's why i bought another one. =D

[535_BiTurbo]

Originally Posted by hovik92

So I've had my 2012 N63 550i since October of 2017. It is heavily modified. As far as power goes, car has N63intake.com Carbon Fiber V3 intakes, gutted downpipes, full valved exhaust, 3.5 TMAP sensors, 2 step colder gapped plugs, and it has a stage 3 tune stacked with a JB4. It's been very reliable since I replace things as soon as something feels as though it may be an issue. Also, most parts on this car that go bad are not that expensive if you find a decent deal online (ECStuning, FCPeuro, etc...). So what I do if I'm ever free for a day or two, i replace parts such as the "Y" coolant pipes, radiator hoses ahead of time. I've had small issues such as needing plugs/coils and I even had my engine mounts go bad but that's normal for any car making decent power.

Whats it making?

[hovik92]

Originally Posted by 535_BiTurbo

Whats it making?

550 whp and around 600 wtq

[budmun]

To chime in on the reliability:

I purchased my 550 with a blown motor and did the swap myself to a brand new unit from BMW (they pretty much are giveng them away). The BMW mechanics that I spoke too all say they have done a ton of swaps in the 550s; that being said they all say the revised motors have been tweeked to fix the issues that cause grenading. Something to consider in high mile n63s; if the motor was swapped then I would be less concerned about catastrophic failure. Seems like inflection point for the original motors is just over 100,000 miles based on my research - so assuming a 550 with a swap would get at least 100,000 out of the new motor you can get a sence of how much life is left.

The cars are pretty quick with no mods; pretty sure a jb4 would be enough for most people.