[Shiny.E90]

Hello everyone so I’ve had a modded 335i N54 for about 20k miles. All of my friends have been blowing their motors left and right lately and just has me a little concerned. I’m running MHD stage 2+ tune fbo and inlets. I change my oil every 3-4K miles. I don’t really redline it unless I’m racing and that I maybe do a 40 roll like once/twice every 4-5 months. I usually keep the car from 3-5k rpm and wait for oil temps to warm up to at least 160 F before doing that. I’ve heard the pistons are the weak points on these things. The car has 153k miles on it currently

[iqraceworks]

If your friends are blowing up motors......they are doing something wrong. N54's are stout.

[Smgs1992]

What are they doing to blow them up? You have to be pretty dumb given how sophisticated the N54 DME is. These engines can take over 800whp on stock internals a bolt on tune car shouldn't be blowing up unless you're very negligent

[iqraceworks]

Yep....with all the safeties built into the DME....it's pretty tough to hurt the motor. Bad fuel...goes into limp mode. Too much timing..goes into limp mode. Under/over boost...goes into limp mode. Coolant too hot...goes into limp mode. Detects knock...goes into limp mode....etc,etc,etc.

How are they actually "blowing up" their motors? Sounds like something a 16yr old would say....

[rick100]

He never said what cars his friends are driving though ....

On a n54 I ll probably be more worry about blowing the turbos or something else before the motor... Either way expensive repair ...

as long as you keep up with fresh fluid and routine maintenance I think you ll be fine

[Shiny.E90]

Yeah see my friends have a C5 Z06, Evo 10, Focus ST, etc. none of them have 335’s so that’s why I was asking but it’s reassuring to hear all of that about the DME.

[dmatre]

How likely are you to 'money-shift'?

[iqraceworks]

Originally Posted by Shiny.E90

Yeah see my friends have a C5 Z06, Evo 10, Focus ST, etc. none of them have 335’s so that’s why I was asking but it’s reassuring to hear all of that about the DME.

It can be good and bad. Sometimes it's annoying as hell to have the car go into limp mode from a bad sensor, or some other minor issue. I'd rather have no nanny protection on the motor......but that's just me.

[Shiny.E90]

Originally Posted by dmatre

How likely are you to 'money-shift'?

It’s an automatic so pretty unlikely

[ragingpanda]

Highly unlikely to blow the motor as long as you keep up with maintenance. With that being said, I've seen people blow up their motors due to negligence such as failing to replace their leaking injectors.

[Smgs1992]

Eves as much as I love them blown engines are fairly common 3 of my friends have. Focus ST isn't that uncommon either
That said though make sure you take care of maintenance as things such as leaky injectors or a slipped serpentine belt can destroy a N54

[pjr710]

Originally Posted by Shiny.E90

Hello everyone so I’ve had a modded 335i N54 for about 20k miles. All of my friends have been blowing their motors left and right lately and just has me a little concerned. I’m running MHD stage 2+ tune fbo and inlets. I change my oil every 3-4K miles. I don’t really redline it unless I’m racing and that I maybe do a 40 roll like once/twice every 4-5 months. I usually keep the car from 3-5k rpm and wait for oil temps to warm up to at least 160 F before doing that. I’ve heard the pistons are the weak points on these things. The car has 153k miles on it currently

you blow your motor when something is a small problem that can turn into a big problem.

as these guys said the BMW is pretty "smart" so it can actively save itself from blowing up.

however you have to ask what can blow up your engine.

the more to the "limit" you push the engine the more you are going to risk.

So for example the hotter your engine gets the easier it can ignite if your gas wasn't perfect.

Another example could be rod bearings, maybe you have a bearing that is slightly unevenly worn, if you push things to the limit that slight imperfection could turn into a perament problem.

If your friends are blowing up engines then i hate to say it, but IMO they are retarded, unless it's some major accident like a wastegate spring failed or something like that.

When i hear people "blowing engines" frequently that make me thing they have no idea how the mechanics work and therefore don't know what they are actually doing.

you yourself say you are "MHD stage 2+ tune fbo and inlets" .... do you even know what that all does? Or did you just do it b/c you saw others do it and saw that MHD recommends FBO to go stage 2+?

what your doing with stage 2+, inlets, and FBO is adding more boost and putting your turbos into an area that may be approaching the limit of their efficiency range.

The higher your boost gets and the more your turbos work overtime the higher your IATs get and the more "precise" you A/F ratio has to be.

When I hear you say "you don't redline that much" ... i would actually say you are better off redlining at a lesser tune.

My personal opinions are that I stay away from the limit if i care about my vehicle and if its a DD.

I'd consider your car as you are maxing it out, it's like running a marathon.

So if you are worried about your car blowing up, don't push it to the limit with stage 2+ boost on stock turbos.

Get bigger turbos and a proper tune OR beat it up all you want on stage 1.

Also always watch your IATs, always watch your oil temps, and DON'T beat the car up OR the turbos until your engine oil is at operating temps.

[335e92tx]

take oil samples. watch for trends and oil use. When anything changes then you got a prob. Go with an oil catch can. Oil in the air mixture will cause detonation, and that will complicate trying to make power..

[feuer]

Originally Posted by 335e92tx

take oil samples. watch for trends and oil use. When anything changes then you got a prob. ..

Nuh, doesn’t really work like that. Oil sample won’t tell you much and parts can fail at any point in time. You get clean bill of health, you go to drive, bearing spins, throw a rod, burn valve, crack piston, or ring.....any engine can blow, at any time....

[Red_Bean_Bun]

N54 engines are sturdy - rarely see them fail even with MHD OTS tunes.

[335e92tx]

Originally Posted by feuer

Nuh, doesn’t really work like that. Oil sample won’t tell you much and parts can fail at any point in time. You get clean bill of health, you go to drive, bearing spins, throw a rod, burn valve, crack piston, or ring.....any engine can blow, at any time....

They usually give some kind of warning. Unless its way over commited. For one, metal will show up in advance. How far in advance is the question.

now if its using oil and someone is still trying to make 18PSI and 8+ degrees, thats something else entirely.

Yes, N54s will spin bearings. but that comes after oil pressure begins to drop.. bc of wear..

[feuer]

Originally Posted by 335e92tx

They usually give some kind of warning. Unless its way over commited. For one, metal will show up in advance. How far in advance is the question.

now if its using oil and someone is still trying to make 18PSI and 8+ degrees, thats something else entirely.

Yes, N54s will spin bearings. but that comes after oil pressure begins to drop.. bc of wear..

Have you had N54 that didn’t make 18psi, pulled timing, wasn’t dropping oil pressure, didn’t show any warnings on oil report and spun bearings?

[ctuna]

broken belt
http://www.bimmerfest.com/forums/sho....php?t=1231881
http://www.e90post.com/forums/showpo...3&postcount=23
https://www.oxwerkzperformance.com/
http://www.e90post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1477111
https://www.e90post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1305990

not blown but destroyed if your belt brakes.