[GTBrandon]

Just wondering if anybody has performed either of these on our engines. I know walnut was a big thing on the n54's and have heard from some it is not as necessary for the n55's. Also I have not seen many subjects on seafoam for these engines so I thought I would throw it in here as well. Any thoughts/experience appreciated!

[AGONXF30]

Are you burning any oil? If you are not, then there is barely any oil going into the intake manifold runners, head intake runners and valves. My N55 may burn a Liter/QT of oil in 10K (I do oil changes between 5 and 10K) depending on drive style, but I rarely have to put oil in it.

[obert]

Walnut blasting will be way better than sea foam.

[mr_kay]

I looked at mine when I was doing my oil filter housing gasket Bc I had to pull the manifold out a little. They looked pretty clean with ~65k on it. I burn about a quart of oil every 8-10k. You can probably split the manifold enough to take a peek in there in around 15 minutes. Each case seems to be different, I've seen some e90 n55 pictures that were terrible.

[STR8-6IX]

seafoam doesnt do much, if anything at all. do a walnut blast. what mileage are you at?

[enjoythemusic]

Agree with others, walnut. Occasional use of Techron cleaner (every 3k miles) is also beneficial imho.

[hardparker]

WMI = clean manifold forever!

[Tchao]

Originally Posted by enjoythemusic

Agree with others, walnut. Occasional use of Techron cleaner (every 3k miles) is also beneficial imho.

You do know we have direct injection...injector/valve cleaners wont work.

[enjoythemusic]

Originally Posted by Tchao

You do know we have direct injection...injector/valve cleaners wont work.

You're right, sorry, i deal with many cars and just got the BMW so forgot.

[FSociety]

Run some E85 to clean your carbon build up
I haven't seen any Fxx series N55 needing to do walnut blast

[izaazk]

They have a spray version of intake cleaner / seafoam that can be sprayed into throttle body....

Anyone ever use one ... ? Im thinking about running a can or so of sea foam or some sort of valve cleaner... my n55 f30 seems like it can use it after i drive all highway and harsh

[Orion4]

Originally Posted by enjoythemusic

You're right, sorry, i deal with many cars and just got the BMW so forgot.

Actually, Seaform or Techron (BMW Injector Cleaner), which I prefer, does work, but only for the combustion side of the system, ie- injectors, combustion chamber. Due to the configuration of DI systems, the backside does not get "washed" by the fuel as in earlier systems and that is what walnut blasting addresses.

My 09 335i (N54) had 55K on it when the blasting was performed. When they pulled the manifold off to blast it and showed me the buildup, i was amazed. I was burning any measurable oil, but the carbon buildup was impressive!

The N55 is supposedly less susceptible to the DI carbon issue and unless you are seeing a decrease in MPG &/or drop-off in measurable performance, a blasting is probably not necessary. As mentioned above, just run Techron Fuel Injector cleaner through your tank every 3-5k miles.

[Big_CG]

Has anyone with N55 and any amount of mileage actually documented that there is carbon buildup on the intake valves? With the N54 there are tons of stories, but I haven't seen anyone say the walnut blasting is necessary on N55 even with 100k+ miles.

[Krelle]

No chemicals can clean this carbon build up which becomes kind of ceramic like hard.

Walnut cleaning or baking Soda, (Natriumbicarbonate / Natriumhydrogencarbonate) is The Thing to use for soot/soda blowing.

Which ever you choose I recommend changing the oil shortly after. Both product may enter the oil but does no harm, guess I'm just carefull
/Krelle