[pw0n]

Originally Posted by johnung

I've been at this a year and a half and I'm a meticulous nut job when it comes to researching the hell out of stuff. I've got detailed posts on all of your categories if you want to look them up so I'm just going to give you my recommendations.

1) Tons written about this that you can look up. Bottom line is that BMW builds their engines to handle a lot more boost and has safeguard systems in place that tuners stay within to keep engines healthy. Only common weak point are cheap plastic charge pipes that break even with stock tunes.

2) Stock Bosch plugs and gap are fine for Stage1 tune, just change them every 30k instead of 60k. Don't worry about why. If techs who work on these engines every day say to do it then do it. Always cheap insurance on an expensive engine.

Stage2 tune requires colder plug and smaller gap for boost levels. Bosch plugs are brittle and break when gapped down. Colder NGKs such as 97506 for N55 Engine gapped down to 0.020" to 0.022". Need a motorcycle gap gauge that goes that small from Snap-On (free shipping online). Order BMW spark plug socket from eBay/China for $3-$4 Arrives 3 weeks. Change NGKs every 20k miles.

Change oil every 3k-5k miles. Most important thing is to use a BMW LongLife-01 certified oil on the fine print on back of oil container. Never use LL-04, that's for European high sulfur content gasoline. I use Castrol European Formula 0W-40 because it's cheap and available. $25/5qt jug at Walmart. N55 takes 6.9 Quarts. Mann filter kits with the two o rings and washer are $8-$9 on Amazon and elsewhere. Black metal oil housing wrench is in almost every auto parts store for $4, only they are marked 86mm for Volvo. Fits BMW perfectly. Get a Dimple magnetic oil drain plug for about $35. Cheap insurance!

Lots of different opinions on changing auto transmission fluid that you can read. If/when I change mine I will use a ZF pan/filter for $150. Not paying double for BMW name on it. Will use ZF fluid too.

3) No correlation between tune on oil gasket leak. Just keep an eye out for any oil on front of engine and change gasket immediately

4) Read posts from Mike at X-PH on intercoolers. He's a guru. FMIC size is a related factor but it's really the quickness of the airflow through the intercooler and its ability to maintain the intake/boost pressure that prevents turbo lag. 90+% of the aftermarket intercoolers are heavy cheap units with bar & plate design. They work great in constant high rev environments like the racetrack because the revs don't come down.

BMW uses a light weight stock intercooler that is a tube & fin design which is much faster flow so it keeps boost pressure up to keep turbo lag at a minimum for daily driving like starting from a dead stop when light turns green, changing lanes in traffic and merging on highways. Only the stock intercooler is sized for stock boost so after multiple Stage1 green light runs heat soak/high intake temperature can occur and the BMW failsafe engine measures kick in to reign in your acceleration. You realize how much heat soak you had before, after installing a FMIC.

The Wagner Competition series (Comp EVO1 and Comp EVO2) are the only tube & fin aftermarket FMICs that I know of. I'm running a Wagner Competition EVO1 for the least turbo lag on a Stage2 BM3 daily driver. Larger Competition EVO2 is often purchased by guys intending to track or to eventually upgrade to a larger turbo.

5) If you are doing catted DP, CP and FMIC then just install BootMod3 Stage2 for whatever wastegate and local 91/93 octane gas you have available. No reason not to. I just upgraded to the latest revision of BootMod3 Stage2 N55 EWG 93 Octane with the new automatic transmission tune. It's smooth and powerful. Car has never run better.

Quality and fitment is everything with these aftermarket parts otherwise it's either a giant headache to install or expensive to troubleshoot nagging problems caused by leaks. If you are going to buy a bunch of these parts at once call Mike at X-PH. He stocks everything and will work out the best price for you. Extremely knowledgeable and has given me the consistently best advice based on the needs that I've expressed to him.

Here are my recommendations to you:

Evolution Raceworks Charge Pipe (change o-rings at each end) best quality and fitment!

Wagner Competition FMIC (change O-rings at input and output and install in correct direction or you'll get air leaks)

Best catted downpipes in order are below. I'd get one of those three. Change crush washer at top of DP and clamp at bottom. Top clamp is usually reusable but I'd buy one to have on hand and return if not used. Bolt to connect to car's mounting bracket is built-in to stock DP. So buy an assortment of stainless steel bolts, nuts, washers and lock washers from Lowe's/HomeDepot. Some of the sizes used may have been M8-1.25 20mm-25mm long. See photo.

Catted Downpipes
1)Fabspeed
2)Wagner
3)Evolution Raceworks

Fabspeed uses HJS cats-best in the world. Guaranteed no Check Engine Lights and has 93% of the performance of catless DP. I live in a tough emissions state and easily justified higher cost after reading how much NJ/NY guys were spending on labor to deinstall/ reinstall DPs every year to pass emissions. Don't need that annual hassle either.
Plus the Fabspeed catted Downpipe sounds amazing with the M Performance exhaust!

Bryan at Kies Motorsports is a great NJ guy who makes incredible how-to videos! Can't go wrong there!

Hope this helps!

Many thanks johnung - appreciate the time and effort you put into this post!

Quick question regarding spark plugs on Stage 1 vs Stage 2, I was hoping to switch between the two Stages (is this even advisable?) for when I want the extra power. I daily commute the car (~50mi / day) and traffic isn't the prettiest in Seattle, so I figured Stage 2 would be overkill for every day needs. Anyways, can I run Stage 2 using Bosch plugs, and conversely, can I run Stage 1 using NGKs?

Also, appreciate the little extra details you provided - I do my own oil changes and had no idea about those dimple magnetic drain plugs. Good stuff!

EDIT: ALSO, do torque values matter when installing FBO parts?