[mikew2069]

Originally Posted by shivaswrath

Mike, what's the ID of the pipe on both ends? I'm buying the charge pipe today and getting some breezeclamps (http://www.amazon.com/Breeze-Constan...=breeze+clamps)

I don't think those are going to do any good. Metal on metal.

[shivaswrath]

Originally Posted by mikew2069

I don't think those are going to do any good. Metal on metal.

The clamps go over the hose between the charge pipe and IC...there's no hose in the f30 IC to TB connections?

[Mike@N54Tuning.com]

Here are pics of the damage.. Similar failure point we have seen as the E9X N55 Pipe..

.

[RoundelM3]

Very interesting. I ran 15 lbs. of boost in my 2007 E92 335i for about 30,000 miles with the OEM CP and never had any type of charge pipe failure. Interesting that it happens at the flange, though. Maybe someone overtightened the clamp or it was subjected to extreme cold/heat? I think it's somewhat premature to declare that the F30 CP is beginning to fail after only a few examples. It could be something similar to the relatively small number of auxiliary cooling fans that failed in M-Sport cars that was resolved by the supplier. That said, it's somewhat disappointing that we still get a plastic CP instead of metal.

[Mike@N54Tuning.com]

Originally Posted by roundel335

Very interesting. I ran 15 lbs. of boost in my 2007 E92 335i for about 30,000 miles with the OEM CP and never had any type of charge pipe failure. Interesting that it happens at the flange, though. Maybe someone overtightened the clamp or it was subjected to extreme cold/heat?

I don't think you can really over tighten the factory c-clip mechanism.

The N54 Charge Pipe is not as prone to failure as the N55 E9X pipe but was prone to leaks. With the N55 E9X I recommend everybody upgrade if tuning the car, and this seems to be the case with the F30 N55 pipe as well.

Mike

[Sedan_Clan]

Good info to know.

[2blu]

Glad mine came in today. I hate feeling paranoid when driving my car, especially in -30c weather...

Initial ER CP quality is truly top notch. Give Mike@n54tuning a shout, great service from this guy time and time again.

[tdizzle]

Originally Posted by Mike@N54Tuning.com

With the N55 E9X I recommend everybody upgrade if tuning the car, and this seems to be the case with the F30 N55 pipe as well.

Mike

It's probably a better safe than sorry mod. ALthough, who knows the chances of failure really are. Has there been any noted cases in the F30? The case that you're noting here was under factory boost, so basically it's a part that can fail, just like every other part.

It's probably not a bad idea to get one if you are modding the car and running substantially more boost than stock (say Map 7 JB4). I doubt we'll see any more failures in a stage 1 JB4 than a stock car or a PPK car though.

I'm debating getting one myself, but only once I go DP and want to swap to Map 2. It's a toss up though as I'll probably never run E85 and Map 7.

[2blu]

Originally Posted by tdizzle

I'm debating getting one myself, but only once I go DP and want to swap to Map 2. It's a toss up though as I'll probably never run E85 and Map 7.

I'm running DP with JBP Map 2, will probably never run map 7 but will most likely run map 5 once it becomes available.

To me it is a better safe than sorry mod. I would hate to have to be deprived of my car and wait for an OEM CP to come in and to have to deal with the dealership blaming my mods for the failure. It's known to be one of the weakest links of our cars and I know 2 guys locally who have had busted CP on modded cars so I wanted to avoid that headache.

It's not like 100% of the modded cars bust their CP, but of the 4 ppl I know, 2 have busted their CP and 2 are still on the stock one running higher boost.

[inChargeOfIT]

Originally Posted by shivaswrath

The clamps go over the hose between the charge pipe and IC...there's no hose in the f30 IC to TB connections?

There are no hoses between the IC and TB with the stock CP. The ER charge pipe comes in two sections with a short bit of hose to connect them (comes with two hose clamps).

The charge pipes on both sides connect to the intercooler using metal clips similar to the clip that connects the CP to the TB; however, the metal clips are held in place by - evil - plastic retaining clips. They are bastards to get off and the single biggest pain when installing the CP.

* look through this thread for more info regarding the CP/IC connections: http://www.f30post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=932195

[Mike@N54Tuning.com]

Originally Posted by inChargeOfIT

The charge pipes on both sides connect to the intercooler using metal clips similar to the clip that connects the CP to the TB; however, the metal clips are held in place by - evil - plastic retaining clips. They are bastards to get off and the single biggest pain when installing the CP.

* look through this thread for more info regarding the CP/IC connections: http://www.f30post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=932195

That seems to be the common consensus

Mike

[Mike@N54Tuning.com]

Also.. If anybody else has any pics from their failed pipes please post here, so we can use this thread as a reference post for all the possible failure points to keep an eye out for.

Thanks
Mike

[speedster2333]

Just had my charge pipe blow on my 2011 n55 with PPK1 and BMW is claiming they don't cover broken parts.
Forgot to take pictures

[speedster2333]

I will say that the breakage looks identical to the above picture.

[Koti335i]

Originally Posted by speedster2333

I will say that the breakage looks identical to the above picture.

If you have xdrive contact er, they just contacted me about a new model.

[tdizzle]

It seems failures are few and far between. Out of all the cars out there and the hundreds if no thousands running mods I've heard of only a handful of these failing.

[Koti335i]

Terry at bms recommends the aftermarket chargepipe. Might as well listen to someone who is sort of paving the way for us who want to get faster.

[dcg71]

Mine failed around 37000km. No tune, completely stock. Suspect we'll see more as the F30 begins to age.

[Mobster1983]

Originally Posted by Mike@N54Tuning.com

Also.. If anybody else has any pics from their failed pipes please post here, so we can use this thread as a reference post for all the possible failure points to keep an eye out for.

Thanks
Mike

So I just ran across this threat today and it sounds like the same thing that happened to my car last weekend. I have a 2014 335i with 7,000 miles on it. The car is completely stock. Description of the issue is here: http://f30.bimmerpost.com/forums/sho...d.php?t=989481

The description the mechanics gave me was intake tube disconnected from the throttle body. The location the SA showed me was that exact location that is in your first picture, the large plastic tube disconnected from the TB. They inspected it and found no damage, and said it was odd that it just came off.

I am not sure if this is the same thing you are talking about here on this thread since the names are slightly different, but it sure looks the same to me. A little concerned that this happened to a brand new car.

[Jeff@TopGearSolutions]

Originally Posted by Mobster1983

So I just ran across this threat today and it sounds like the same thing that happened to my car last weekend. I have a 2014 335i with 7,000 miles on it. The car is completely stock. Description of the issue is here: http://f30.bimmerpost.com/forums/sho...d.php?t=989481

The description the mechanics gave me was intake tube disconnected from the throttle body. The location the SA showed me was that exact location that is in your first picture, the large plastic tube disconnected from the TB. They inspected it and found no damage, and said it was odd that it just came off.

I am not sure if this is the same thing you are talking about here on this thread since the names are slightly different, but it sure looks the same to me. A little concerned that this happened to a brand new car.

It's the same part in question.

[ocarioca1m]

Just became another charge pipe failure statistic. Mine lasted one week running on map 2. Is it normal for the engine to show low oil level when it happens? Had to add 2 quarts of oil.

[inChargeOfIT]

Originally Posted by ocarioca1m

Just became another charge pipe failure statistic. Mine lasted one week running on map 2. Is it normal for the engine to show low oil level when it happens? Had to add 2 quarts of oil.

Increased boost causes the oil loss (and likely the CP failure).