[johnung]

Originally Posted by Breezin

Sorry I was on vacation for 2 weeks...2 weeks away from my car was too long, but in better news. I ordered all the parts, i should have the Wagner intercooler in by mid next week, and the charge pipe and o-rings should be here in the next couple of days! I also returned my dinan springs and switched them out for the Eibechs (SP?) i felt from what i was hearing that everyone that had them absolutely loved them. Hopefully over the next two weeks after everything is installed i will have updated pictures, and possibly be able to hit the mountain roads before the snow comes haha.

I also went and bought a new pair of non RFTs; Hankook EvoII and the ride feels so much better. Not sure if you're still on your RFTs but i would consider switching if at all possible.

Thanks by the way!

That's cool. Sounds like you are about to have some fun! Please keep us posted on your experiences.

On your tire comment....I made a decision to stick with runflats since the car is used for trips and don't want to deal with an 18" spare taking up the entire trunk. When the current Pirellis (225/45-18) wear out, I'll probably go to larger Bridgestone Driveguard 245/40-18 all around on my stock BMW 400M 18.0" wheels. Did a tire post and had a lot of great discussion on tire size options. Driveguards are supposed to be the best all around runflat, especially in bad weather/snow, according to TireRack and also some BMW dealer folks who I trust.

[Breezin]

Originally Posted by johnung

That's cool. Sounds like you are about to have some fun! Please keep us posted on your experiences.

On your tire comment....I made a decision to stick with runflats since the car is used for trips and don't want to deal with an 18" spare taking up the entire trunk. When the current Pirellis (225/45-18) wear out, I'll probably go to larger Bridgestone Driveguard 245/40-18 all around on my stock BMW 400M 18.0" wheels. Did a tire post and had a lot of great discussion on tire size options. Driveguards are supposed to be the best all around runflat, especially in bad weather/snow, according to TireRack and also some BMW dealer folks who I trust.

My dealership said when i bought the car i have BMW assistance of whatever its called that they will come tow my car free of charge, or anything along those lines. So i decided if thats the case and i also have AAA, then if i get a flat tire i will be alright. I also bought a spare rim and tire that i keep at my house, but i understand where you're coming from with that. I don't mind the run flats, unlike most people on here who hate them, however i figured id give it a try for the length of these tires last and i'll make a decision when it comes to new tires on whether to switch back to run flats. My winter tires are run flats because i don't want to be stranded in the winter time waiting for a tow truck, so i haven't made the switch completely!

[ProperBimmer]

Originally Posted by johnung

As a followup:
The temperature the last two days has dropped into the 70's but it has been raining constantly so humidity is 100%. My oil temp has actually been higher, in the 240-250 degree range than it was when the temp was 98 degrees. But the important thing is no heat soak at all. With the new Wagner Competition EVO1 the power is always there. I forget all my physics from years ago but I guess that the saturated air is more difficult to compress and cool, so the engine is running hotter. But it's all a guess with only an oil temperature gauge and no other monitoring tools. The important thing is that the responsiveness and power are there all of the time and no heat soak condition under heavy use as it had before.

My f30 stock never goes above 235-240, many articles on here saying only useful mods are dp and cp. Anybody I've ever talked to regarding tuned f30's says fmic is a waste of money.

[johnung]

Very good points! Gotta choose and prioritize your mods based on your own goals. Here are a few thoughts...

I hope that I didn't confuse things by my comments about my observed oil temperature. There isn't a direct correlation between upgrading an intercooler and the oil temperature of an engine. The oil temp gauge just happens to be a stock gauge on the dash. I wasn't expecting to see any change in oil temperature at all after the installation of my ER charge pipe and Wagner Competition EVO1 intercooler. When I saw a measurable change, I thought that it was worth posting.

Charge Pipe is a must considering how many people post that their stock plastic charge pipe broke. The larger, smoother and straighter (Evolution Racewerks) charge pipe that I have has much better flow so it adds horsepower. Photo below of plastic stock vs ER aluminum charge pipes. Silicone sleeve and two clamps that connect the two aluminum pieces is not shown in photo. I've heard that some charge pipes can be a little off, making them more difficult to install. I went with the ER because of the high quality and great reviews about fitment. The Wagner IC installed easily too. The plastic bottom lip on my M-Sport front bumper just had to be pushed a little forward and the Wagner slipped right in. (a common installation instruction)

Intercooler upgrades are attractive because the labor cost is zero if it's installed at the same time as the charge pipe. (The IC has to be removed during the CP process.) An IC upgrade can lower the intake air temperature, lower the intake pressure drop and recover quicker from higher heat situations. (Some of those values can be measured within a high end tune like a JB4) Which means more horsepower, quicker response and much less chance of heat soak which cuts the engine performance until the heat condition is reduced. I noticed the increase in horsepower right away. It was like the increase I noticed with the upgraded intake X about five.

Heat soak is a larger issue in hotter climates, hot summer temperatures and hard driving with repeated pulls. I didn't realize how often I was hitting a heat soak situation until after the intercooler was upgraded. Now even on the hottest 98 degree days I haven't been able to notice any power degradation no matter how hard I drive on the street.

The stock oil thermostat is supposed to open around 230 degrees to feed oil to the oil cooler to keep the oil operating temperature in that 250 degrees or less range. Over that temp, like if car was racing, is supposed to be when to consider maybe an ER oil cooler upgrade. I was told to avoid any of those aftermarket oil temp thermostats. They are really racing-only oil pass throughs that would hurt everyday driving especially in cold temperatures by slowing oil warm up to engine operating temperature.

Downpipes are supposed to add roughly 20-25HP depending on other mods. I may try a catted downpipe when my warranty is up. Not sure yet what the labor cost is?

Mike at X-PH is a good person to discuss this stuff with. He has a good handle on the pros and cons of each modification, and which are most cost effective depending on your personal goals. He certainly had a lot of patience with all my questions. HaHa
Hope some of this is helpful to you. Have fun with your BMW!