[ejsanto]

Hey guys,

New to the forum! I've been a long time lurker and I've been wanting to join the 300+ whp power club I would like to be sitting at 300 whp or just below it with some reliability. (Timing chain and guides are in the process of being changed as well.) Anyway, I've seen some talk of ARP rod bolts, but can't seem to find them specific to the N20. Do the M52 bolts work because they have the same measurement? Or am I wrong?

Current set up: BMS stage 1 piggyback, Borla catback exhaust, AFE momentum intake, VRSF downpipe, H&R lowering springs, EC-7 APEX wheels, Cooper RS-3 tires

Dyno'd at 262whp/292wtq on 93 octane

Looking to get: BM3, intercooler, charge pipes, GFB DV+

[rjd_F30]

Originally Posted by ejsanto

Hey guys,

New to the forum! I've been a long time lurker and I've been wanting to join the 300+ whp power club I would like to be sitting at 300 whp or just below it with some reliability. (Timing chain and guides are in the process of being changed as well.) Anyway, I've seen some talk of ARP rod bolts, but can't seem to find them specific to the N20. Do the M52 bolts work because they have the same measurement? Or am I wrong?

Current set up: BMS stage 1 piggyback, Borla catback exhaust, AFE momentum intake, VRSF downpipe, H&R lowering springs, EC-7 APEX wheels, Cooper RS-3 tires

Dyno'd at 262whp/292wtq on 93 octane

Looking to get: BM3, intercooler, charge pipes, GFB DV+

Welcome to the forums!

This thread talks a lot about rod bolts if you haven't already seen it: http://f30.bimmerpost.com/forums/sho....php?t=1476978

BunkerJ and D041987 are your guys for this stuff.

[BunkerJ]

Originally Posted by ejsanto

Hey guys,

New to the forum! I've been a long time lurker and I've been wanting to join the 300+ whp power club I would like to be sitting at 300 whp or just below it with some reliability. (Timing chain and guides are in the process of being changed as well.) Anyway, I've seen some talk of ARP rod bolts, but can't seem to find them specific to the N20. Do the M52 bolts work because they have the same measurement? Or am I wrong?

Current set up: BMS stage 1 piggyback, Borla catback exhaust, AFE momentum intake, VRSF downpipe, H&R lowering springs, EC-7 APEX wheels, Cooper RS-3 tires

Dyno'd at 262whp/292wtq on 93 octane

Looking to get: BM3, intercooler, charge pipes, GFB DV+

Hey man. Those are the right ones. We actually share the same bolts as the N54 (ironic because we have shitty rods lol)

Are you planning to track the car? I've been sitting at 300whp for about 6 months with no issues and it's unlikely you will either, unless you track and put her under constant high heat/torque. That being said, if you want to do it, by all means, do it! I'll be ordering mine here tomorrow and swapping them in the coming week. Now if I could just get tuned for this bigger turbo already lol....

[ejsanto]

Originally Posted by BunkerJ

Hey man. Those are the right ones. We actually share the same bolts as the N54 (ironic because we have shitty rods lol)

Are you planning to track the car? I've been sitting at 300whp for about 6 months with no issues and it's unlikely you will either, unless you track and put her under constant high heat/torque. That being said, if you want to do it, by all means, do it! I'll be ordering mine here tomorrow and swapping them in the coming week. Now if I could just get tuned for this bigger turbo already lol....

I would love to track the car, but I know that I'll need deeper pockets to do so. It's all for spirited driving and fun, maybe some little pulls with my friends. Thanks for the encouragement, I'm going to do it now I know which bolts to get.

[BunkerJ]

Originally Posted by ejsanto

I would love to track the car, but I know that I'll need deeper pockets to do so. It's all for spirited driving and fun, maybe some little pulls with my friends. Thanks for the encouragement, I'm going to do it now I know which bolts to get.

Yeah, if you don't plan to track it, stock bolts are more than enough at 300WHP, but I get why you'd be worried and it always pays (literally) to be safer.

[nemobanks]

Originally Posted by BunkerJ

Hey man. Those are the right ones. We actually share the same bolts as the N54 (ironic because we have shitty rods lol)

Are you planning to track the car? I've been sitting at 300whp for about 6 months with no issues and it's unlikely you will either, unless you track and put her under constant high heat/torque. That being said, if you want to do it, by all means, do it! I'll be ordering mine here tomorrow and swapping them in the coming week. Now if I could just get tuned for this bigger turbo already lol....

are they really mind blowing ... where can i buy?

[BunkerJ]

Originally Posted by nemobanks

are they really mind blowing ... where can i buy?

ARP bolts are damn good (Hence why they cost so much compared to the $4 a bolt OEM ones

Again, if you don't plan on passing 300WHP (Stage 2), then I wouldn't worry about it unless tracking a lot.

[D041987]

Yes, the bolts are the same as the N54. Also stock rod bolts are stretch bolts and have like 3 or 4 torque progressions before finial torquing is complete which is really a pain and why they are prone to failure under heat and constant loads. So changing them out if wanting to push the car more is cheap security. Also while you are in there, might as well upgrade to stronger bearings.

I feel with this setup the block should be good for around the high 300 mark with a bigger turbo and supporting mod and a flash tune before a rebuild is needed.

[D041987]

OP I would ditch the stage 1 piggy and get a flash tune. Or upgrade to the JB4 and see if you can run a backend flash. You will see and night and day difference in power delivery and driving with a flash and reliability :-)

[Polo08816]

Originally Posted by ejsanto

Hey guys,

New to the forum! I've been a long time lurker and I've been wanting to join the 300+ whp power club I would like to be sitting at 300 whp or just below it with some reliability. (Timing chain and guides are in the process of being changed as well.) Anyway, I've seen some talk of ARP rod bolts, but can't seem to find them specific to the N20. Do the M52 bolts work because they have the same measurement? Or am I wrong?

Current set up: BMS stage 1 piggyback, Borla catback exhaust, AFE momentum intake, VRSF downpipe, H&R lowering springs, EC-7 APEX wheels, Cooper RS-3 tires

Dyno'd at 262whp/292wtq on 93 octane

Looking to get: BM3, intercooler, charge pipes, GFB DV+

Originally Posted by BunkerJ

Hey man. Those are the right ones. We actually share the same bolts as the N54 (ironic because we have shitty rods lol)

Are you planning to track the car? I've been sitting at 300whp for about 6 months with no issues and it's unlikely you will either, unless you track and put her under constant high heat/torque. That being said, if you want to do it, by all means, do it! I'll be ordering mine here tomorrow and swapping them in the coming week. Now if I could just get tuned for this bigger turbo already lol....

Originally Posted by ejsanto

I would love to track the car, but I know that I'll need deeper pockets to do so. It's all for spirited driving and fun, maybe some little pulls with my friends. Thanks for the encouragement, I'm going to do it now I know which bolts to get.

Originally Posted by BunkerJ

Yeah, if you don't plan to track it, stock bolts are more than enough at 300WHP, but I get why you'd be worried and it always pays (literally) to be safer.

You should get a stock N55/B58 powertrain vehicle for track applications. A stock powertrain car tends to be far more reliable for track use. Also, if anything goes wrong, you can pretty much take it to the dealer and say... "fix it!"

[BunkerJ]

Originally Posted by D041987

Yes, the bolts are the same as the N54. Also stock rod bolts are stretch bolts and have like 3 or 4 torque progressions before finial torquing is complete which is really a pain and why they are prone to failure under heat and constant loads. So changing them out if wanting to push the car more is cheap security. Also while you are in there, might as well upgrade to stronger bearings.

I feel with this setup the block should be good for around the high 300 mark with a bigger turbo and supporting mod and a flash tune before a rebuild is needed.

Good to hear from you! Just ordered my bolts. Where did you get your bearings? Was just going to toss some new stock ones in, but let me know.

Also, disagree with JB4, but agree with the flash, haha.

[BunkerJ]

Originally Posted by Polo08816

You should get a stock N55/B58 powertrain vehicle for track applications. A stock powertrain car tends to be far more reliable for track use. Also, if anything goes wrong, you can pretty much take it to the dealer and say... "fix it!"

Unfortunately, some are stuck with the car for now and just trying to make the best of it. If I could just seamlessly have upgraded to an N55 when I was first building the car, I would've lol.

[D041987]

Originally Posted by BunkerJ

Also, disagree with JB4, but agree with the flash, haha.

If you get a JB4 and have a backend flash stacked it is the best of both worlds as you have the smooth ECU control for the power and all benfits of the Flash and you than have all the monitoring and fail safes in place and more options to tune with different fuels and upgraded fuel rails that might come later on etc.. with the JB4.

But if you have to choose just one. I would go with an flash. If you want to have the options for more customization than go with JB4 stacked with back end flash for ultimate setup! Not sure if this is released yet but the BMS guys are working on these I think.

[M2_MEDUSA]

Originally Posted by D041987

Yes, the bolts are the same as the N54. Also stock rod bolts are stretch bolts and have like 3 or 4 torque progressions before finial torquing is complete which is really a pain and why they are prone to failure under heat and constant loads. So changing them out if wanting to push the car more is cheap security. Also while you are in there, might as well upgrade to stronger bearings.

I feel with this setup the block should be good for around the high 300 mark with a bigger turbo and supporting mod and a flash tune before a rebuild is needed.

Originally Posted by D041987

Yes, the bolts are the same as the N54. Also stock rod bolts are stretch bolts and have like 3 or 4 torque progressions before finial torquing is complete which is really a pain and why they are prone to failure under heat and constant loads. So changing them out if wanting to push the car more is cheap security. Also while you are in there, might as well upgrade to stronger bearings.

I feel with this setup the block should be good for around the high 300 mark with a bigger turbo and supporting mod and a flash tune before a rebuild is needed.

Where to find upgraded bearings?

[LordRuxpin]

Originally Posted by D041987

Yes, the bolts are the same as the N54. Also stock rod bolts are stretch bolts and have like 3 or 4 torque progressions before finial torquing is complete which is really a pain and why they are prone to failure under heat and constant loads. So changing them out if wanting to push the car more is cheap security. Also while you are in there, might as well upgrade to stronger bearings.

I feel with this setup the block should be good for around the high 300 mark with a bigger turbo and supporting mod and a flash tune before a rebuild is needed.

Where for art thou stronger bearings.... link please.

[LordRuxpin]

So which set of rod bolts do I get? BunkerJ D041987

201-6303 Rod Bolt Kit: BMW 2.8L (M52/M52TU) & 3.0L (M54) inline 6, M9, 47mm, ARP2000

or

201-6201 Rod Bolt Kit: BMW 2.8L (M52Euro), 3.0L (S50US) & 3.2L (S52US) inline 6, M9, 44mm UHL, ARP2000

[BunkerJ]

Originally Posted by LordRuxpin

So which set of rod bolts do I get? BunkerJ D041987

201-6303 Rod Bolt Kit: BMW 2.8L (M52/M52TU) & 3.0L (M54) inline 6, M9, 47mm, ARP2000

or

201-6201 Rod Bolt Kit: BMW 2.8L (M52Euro), 3.0L (S50US) & 3.2L (S52US) inline 6, M9, 44mm UHL, ARP2000

https://arp-bolts.com/kits/ARPkit-de...?RecordID=1114

[marcozen]

Originally Posted by LordRuxpin

Where for art thou stronger bearings.... link please.

Hi .. did u get the link for these bearings ?

The link for the APR Rod Bolts for the N20 was given as;
https://arp-bolts.com/kits/ARPkit-de...?RecordID=1114

But i cant see the link for these bearings ?

[LordRuxpin]

Originally Posted by marcozen

Hi .. did u get the link for these bearings ?

The link for the APR Rod Bolts for the N20 was given as;
https://arp-bolts.com/kits/ARPkit-de...?RecordID=1114

But i cant see the link for these bearings ?

Nope

[nemobanks]

link for these bearings ?

[BunkerJ]

May not be any or you may not need them honestly.

[marcozen]

Thanks.

I finally know how they look like now... here are a couple links ... they are 30USD each. They sit in the conrod.

https://www.ecstuning.com/b-genuine-...h/11247628034/
http://www.bimmerzone.com/category/B...d_Bearing.html