[akshay1234]

Hey guys, here is a short review of the official BMW performance power kit and exhaust for the 320d. I'm from India so all speeds are in kilometers per hour, and I've converted prices to $. I had bought the car new for about $100,000 lol, and its got quite a few options.

As soon as I got the 320d, I knew the stock power was not going to be enough. Sure it was quick, at 7.6 seconds to a 100. But it didn't feel that quick, and after driving faster cars I had a desire to bump up the power.

Now there were many options to tune it, which were basically either tuning boxes or remaps. The stock power of the car was 184bhp and 380nm of torque. This was reasonable, compared to other cars which make the same power from bigger engines. When I had just bought my car in October the dealership told me that BMW were coming up with a remap for the car, and it would cost a few thousand dollars. We had just bought the car so didn't look into it much.

I started looking at brands like Steinbauer, AC Schnitzer, and Hartge all of which had some good tuning boxes, which controlled the fuelling and the air. So they were almost as good as remaps, and the box could be removed before sending the car in for a service. That was a major concern since I had opted for BSI (total service package) so that being void would mean a lot of money in the drain. Also looked at some remaps like Superchips, but those involved opening up of the ECU which I was against.

A few months passed by and I got more information on the BMW power kit, and they had a special offer going on in which it was available for $3000. I went and had a TD of a car which had this installed, and I knew then I had to get this. The car seemed much quicker, more responsive and more refined. Anyway after pondering over it for 2 weeks I decided to get it, and then the dealership sprung a surprise where they said the special offer was over and the price was now $4200. I was pretty pissed with this and decided to not buy it at that point.

Anyway again in September last year, I decided enough of having a stock car, something had to be done. Now while the other tuning options were just a tuning box or a remap, the BMW power kit changed quite a few parts which were -
- New ECU with remap, made to order for each car.
- New larger intercooler.
- New larger cooling fan, from the 325d.
- New airducts.
- New performance exhaust.

This was obviously going to be better in the long run, since they were taking care of many other parameters which only a software could not. The claimed power figures after the kit were 205bhp and 420 odd nm, but I am sure these are underrated since the car feels like it has more power than that.

So decided to order it this September, and since Infinity (dealer whom I bought the car from) had messed up earlier with the price, I stuck to Navnit (the other dealer in town). The kit took a bit longer than expected to come (Finally ordered it in October and got it in November end). Dropped the car off on a Saturday and was told they would need 2 days to complete the installation. On the day promised I got the car back.

Now having driven 2 cars with the kit installed I knew what to expect, but after having had the kit for a month I can give better inputs now.

The first thing a 320d owner will notice is that the car is more silent, the engine clatter is much less and it seems smoother. Nothing like the 6 cylinder engines but certainly much more refined than the stock car. As soon as you start driving, the car feels much more responsive. The 320d already had the most responsive engine out of the lot (3, A4 and C 2 litre engines) and now its something else. Hardly any turbo lag, and the engine is ready to go as soon as you touch the accelerator.

Get on the move, and the in gear acceleration times seemed to be highly improved. The torque begins around the same point, but doesn't seem to become less until much higher RPMs. Now put your foot even halfway down on a surface which doesn't have great grip, even some concrete roads and you will notice the traction control light blinking. 3rd gear now seems to have the same push as 2nd gear did earlier, and the same for 4th gear.

At higher speeds, say above 100 the car is a different animal altogether. It now just blitzes past a 100 and is at the double ton before you know it. The old car would be 30kmph slower at the same time. The engine feels less stressed at these speeds too. Have gone upto about 235kmph till date.

BMW seems to have tuned the car very well, the power and torque is linear and not very peaky. Yes the turbo push around 2000rpm is very much there and it is massive, but driving the car in traffic is not an issue at all. Also thanks to the extra power the gears now shift up earlier, and the torque converter locks earlier thanks to the gearbox software being updated too. Both of these result in slightly better mileage. Brilliant!

Now earlier, the engine would lose steam after around 3500rpm, like many diesel engines. Now the car pulls to the redline, at 4500rpm without any hesitation, and even sounds much better.

I also don't really have to worry about continuously pushing the car, because the cooling fan and larger intercooler take care of any heat related issues. I am sure they will help in the hot Indian climate too.

Let me get to the performance silencer. It is basically just a less restrictive, and lighter end can. I'm not really sure if, and how much power/torque gain it gives, but those twin pipes sure look better than the stock tailpipe. At idle the exhaust makes no noise, but start driving the car and it does have a throaty roar. It sounds nothing like a petrol, but I heard a 640d going all out the other day, and it does sound pretty similar though not as loud. The power kit is also available without this, and is cheaper by $1000 odd then.

To sum it up, this is a must have for any 320d owner who wants more power from their car. With this kit the car will leave a 525d in its dust, yes the 530d is still quicker by a fair margin. It improves the refinement, driveability, fuel efficiency and overall performance. What more do you want?

Yes it does cost a fair amount. Is it worth the amount? Probably not, but then what choice do you have if you want a complete package, which doesn't affect your cars BSI or warranty.

[andrey_gta]

Clean car

[akshay1234]

Originally Posted by andrey_gta

Clean car

Thank you, you wouldn't believe how difficult it is keeping the car clean and scratch and dent free in Mumbai.

[BMW 320XD MKD]

I installed on my BMW 320D xDrive on February 2013, till now I have problem after 3500 rpm, my car have bid drops between 3500-4000rpm after second gear.

Several times I was in Official BMW service, They have tried several testing, put new computer, and nothing was changed. They put back original kit and was everything normal.

When I informed BMW Munich for this problem, they suggest to clean the head of motor )) to solve this problem. My car has only 50K miles.

When I ask for refunding the money, they don't agree with my propose.

What to do, please help me.