Down on power, 2004 3.0i...

M

Markyboy

Member
 Truro, Cornwall
I did a rolling road day with some friends about 8 months ago and only made 211 so somewhat down on the 230ish she should be, my friends cars mostly managed their book figures and in some cases a bit over so I'm guessing the RR was pretty accurate.

8 months on a mate has a 1998 328i which has done 170k miles...it should have been 40bhp down when new and despite the mileage on a rolling start there is nothing in it. Mine has only done 30k and is well maintained with new plugs, filters etc with a tank of Optimax.

I also have a poor cold start, it nearly stalls before the rpm bounces back up if it hasn't been out for a day or two. MPG is also down about 10% on what it once was.

wondering where to start....would an IVC cause all the above? I'm planning on looking at that, DISA and MAF. Hopefully not VANOS too.

Added a pic too, had it since 2009 and dont think I've added any since . :thumbsup:

DSC_2250_zpsfeffrvnn.jpg
 
Mine did that rough idle on cold start. Replaced the disa and cleaned up the ICV (the valve inside was caked in muck, causing the valve to stick) and it's been fine ever since.
 
You'll be able to tell if the vanos seals are on their way out as you'll hear a rattle from the vanos unit
 
85genius said:
You'll be able to tell if the vanos seals are on their way out as you'll hear a rattle from the vanos unit
Click to expand...

Sorry buts that's not strictly true, they may rattle when they get really bad but the two I have done didn't have a rattle. When they were taken apart the seals were obviously perished so were definately in need of replacement. If you believe the likes of Besian Systems website they think all seals are done by about 20k or so and progressively get worse from there. Meaning that the vast majority of M54 engined Beemers out there must have knackered seals!

The first set I did on a 330ci were flagging a code in the ECU but no warning lights, hence why I did them. The second set on my Z4, I did when I got it with no codes present, just because of what I had seen years earlier in my wifes 330ci.
I did notice a difference in how the car drove in both cases with a marginal (approx 1mpg) increase in fuel economy.


Not that I think its the OP's issue is the vanos!
 
I put my E85 3.0i on rolling road around April time it made approx 211,215 and 216 which I thought was brilliant really for a 12yr old car. I know bmw state 231bhp but they are really 228bhp just like e446 330ci from factory and that's if they are that. You wouldn't know unless testing one straight away on delivery, some make bang on the figure others don't. This is my 5th bmw with M54 I've rolling road tested 3 and also remaped 3 of them. They were all under, non made what bmw quoted reason being all dyno's are different and can be calibrated in favour to make gains seem better etc so usually they say give a tolerance of 10% each way. This is why its all pub talk really about peak figures when no one actually drives at peak power for long your engine would blow up.

From my 10yr exp in the bmw game and being around many tuned bmw's and rolling road days. Poor VANOS seals is 99% always the reason the car is down on power. If you have the car read in live mode whilst on the dyno you should even be able to see after 2000 rpm on the curve if the vanos unit is poor the curve wouldn't be linear it would be lumpy. Vanos in bmw is like a Hondas V-tech remember its vital to performance of the engine.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/BMW-Twin-Double-Dual-VANOS-seals-repair-upgrade-kit-M52TU-M54-M56-Viton-PTFE-/150803109377?hash=item231c90d601:g:HdcAAOSwU9xURuqn
 
goldbcfc said:
I put my E85 3.0i on rolling road around April time it made approx 211,215 and 216 which I thought was brilliant really for a 12yr old car. I know bmw state 231bhp but they are really 228bhp just like e446 330ci from factory and that's if they are that. You wouldn't know unless testing one straight away on delivery, some make bang on the figure others don't. This is my 5th bmw with M54 I've rolling road tested 3 and also remaped 3 of them. They were all under, non made what bmw quoted reason being all dyno's are different and can be calibrated in favour to make gains seem better etc so usually they say give a tolerance of 10% each way. This is why its all pub talk really about peak figures when no one actually drives at peak power for long your engine would blow up.

From my 10yr exp in the bmw game and being around many tuned bmw's and rolling road days. Poor VANOS seals is 99% always the reason the car is down on power. If you have the car read in live mode whilst on the dyno you should even be able to see after 2000 rpm on the curve if the vanos unit is poor the curve wouldn't be linear it would be lumpy. Vanos in bmw is like a Hondas V-tech remember its vital to performance of the engine.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/BMW-Twin-Double-Dual-VANOS-seals-repair-upgrade-kit-M52TU-M54-M56-Viton-PTFE-/150803109377?hash=item231c90d601:g:HdcAAOSwU9xURuqn
Click to expand...


maybe a silly question but dose my 2.0i have a vanos?
 
yes I think all bmw have vanos units its just the variable timing that adjust the cam postion to alter between a little and full throttle amking it more efficient works basically same as V-tech in Hondas. Yours maybe just single vanos though as bigger engines like 3.0i had double vanos best way is to check what engine you have cant remember myself if that's M52 or N52. Google bmw engines wiki and it will list them all and model variants
 
goldbcfc said:
I put my E85 3.0i on rolling road around April time it made approx 211,215 and 216 which I thought was brilliant really for a 12yr old car. I know bmw state 231bhp but they are really 228bhp just like e446 330ci from factory and that's if they are that. You wouldn't know unless testing one straight away on delivery, some make bang on the figure others don't. This is my 5th bmw with M54 I've rolling road tested 3 and also remaped 3 of them. They were all under, non made what bmw quoted reason being all dyno's are different and can be calibrated in favour to make gains seem better etc so usually they say give a tolerance of 10% each way. This is why its all pub talk really about peak figures when no one actually drives at peak power for long your engine would blow up.

From my 10yr exp in the bmw game and being around many tuned bmw's and rolling road days. Poor VANOS seals is 99% always the reason the car is down on power. If you have the car read in live mode whilst on the dyno you should even be able to see after 2000 rpm on the curve if the vanos unit is poor the curve wouldn't be linear it would be lumpy. Vanos in bmw is like a Hondas V-tech remember its vital to performance of the engine.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/BMW-Twin-Double-Dual-VANOS-seals-repair-upgrade-kit-M52TU-M54-M56-Viton-PTFE-/150803109377?hash=item231c90d601:g:HdcAAOSwU9xURuqn
Click to expand...

I hoped that well run in at 30k miles then it would have been capable of making close to book figures if it is ever going to, especially when some of the cars were showing much more than expected. What really makes me think something may be amiss is the same performance as a 170k mile 328 that should have been somewhat slower brand new before it did 170k miles.

Do you think its worth remapping the M54 having had a few?

I'm going to check out the MAF and ICV and then get it down to the local experts for some diagnosis on the VANOS during a power run. The torque curve I got last time had a flat spot from about 3250 to 3500 which at a guess may be when the VANOS changes over. No big deal to do the seals over the winter if that turns out to be the case.

I'm thinking the poor cold starting is probably independent on the lack of power.
 
i wouldn't be to concerned about a old 328 keeping up, ive had 4 of them and all felt pretty much as quick as my 3.0 z4.
 
I've remaped 3 of my M54 engine bmw's so id say yes of course many will tell you its not worth it as all they do is compare figure gains to a car with a turbo and don't understand cars really. Only two companies id use are Evolve or BW chiptune (or AP tuning as their a dealer for Bw chiptune)

I have another E46 330ci now though got it last week its not as quick as a Z4 3.0i as the torque is better in the Z4 so feels more quicker to me. At higher speeds though I'd say the E46 is better I could do 120 mph with one hand on steering wheel easily and the car feels like it would love to hit 155mph if I keep going. In my Z4 id bottle it anytime over a 100mph I could never imagine doing 155mph in that. I never had the Z4 long so never remaped It but when I get another will be first thing to do. Id imagine it would feel like the sports bitton is constantly pressed after a remap on Z4 having even more bhp/torque after

+1 for ECU remap
 
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