[Red-i]

Picking up my first BMW this week. I was thinking of getting the BMS billet intake along with the jb4.

I'm just looking for some extra power but not at the expense of reliability. I ran into alot of threads regarding Canadian gas quality.

From what I gather, without adding anything to the fuel, if I stick to Petro 94, am I ok to run map 2 on the jb4? Or is map 1 the limit? And in terms of a difference in power to the wheels, what can I expect with a simple intake , and map1 or map 2.

Newbie here with alot of questions

Thanks!

[Kailec]

Intakes do nothing with this platform, get it only if you're into the sound it makes or like the way it looks in your engine bay. As for JB4 I can't recall as I've been off that platform for a while, but a downpipe probably wouldn't hurt.

[frchdragon]

Congratulation on your BMW. Before you do any mods, get used to your car. I 1st found the car to be very fast, until I got used to it. The worse thing you can do is bolt all kind of upgrade to the car and increasing the level of your car where yours is still far away from it.

I too was thinking JB4 until I started reading the forum, basically everybody is leaning towards BM3 or MHD as a tuning platform.
For stage two, you will want a bigger intercooler and a downpipe (catted or not).
Again, all this information is wildly available in the forum.

I am going to do stage 1 91 octane (I will see if Shell is good enough, no ethanol) with intercooler and charge pipe soon. Once I receive all my clamps, I will install my catted downpipe and try Stage 2.
XHP will probably be the next upgrade.

[Th3Walrus]

Originally Posted by frchdragon

For stage two, you will want a bigger intercooler and a downpipe (catted or not).

340i intercooler is integrated into the intake manifold, is water-to-air, and currently can't be upgraded.

[frchdragon]

Originally Posted by Th3Walrus

340i intercooler is integrated into the intake manifold, is water-to-air, and currently can't be upgraded.

Oopsy it is the B58 engine, I am not a big find of water to air intercooler...

[Gummie]

On my 335i I went for charge pipes and catless down pipes from evolution racewerks and JB4. I've read online the charge pipes from bmw are plastic and break easily. IMO downpipes are very good bang for your buck for performance.

After that I went MPE with some midpipes that I forgot which brand it came from. I've heard many good things about BM3 but there are a few Jb4's on sale second hand if you want a simple piggy back.

Have fun modding!

[Th3Walrus]

Charge pipes aren't the same problem on the B58, as the intercooler is water-to-air integrated into the intake manifold. On the 335i the engine moves on the mounts, but the front mount intercooler is fixed on the body, so the charge pipes have to flex and tend to break.

[johnung]

Originally Posted by Gummie

On my 335i I went for charge pipes and catless down pipes from evolution racewerks and JB4. I've read online the charge pipes from bmw are plastic and break easily. IMO downpipes are very good bang for your buck for performance.

After that I went MPE with some midpipes that I forgot which brand it came from. I've heard many good things about BM3 but there are a few Jb4's on sale second hand if you want a simple piggy back.

Have fun modding!

Pipes aren't breaking because they are plastic. That's an inaccurate assumption that gets repeated on the Internet. There are plastic air pipes all over these engines that don't make a habit of breaking.

It's specifically the F-Series N55 charge pipe that has a high incidence of failure even with a stock tune. It is a poor design with a 90 degree bend. It always breaks at the bend or at the coupling end near the bend where it attaches to the throttle body. The other BMW plastic pipes are straighter and do not have the same failure rate. See photo.

[johnung]

Originally Posted by johnung

Pipes aren't breaking because they are plastic. That's an inaccurate assumption that gets repeated on the Internet. There are plastic air pipes all over these engines that don't make a habit of breaking.

It's specifically the F-Series N55 charge pipe that has a high incidence of failure even with a stock tune. It is a poor design with a 90 degree bend. It always breaks at the bend or at the coupling end near the bend where it attaches to the throttle body. The other BMW plastic pipes are straighter and do not have the same failure rate. See photo.

Trying to attach photo again. Bimmerpost sucks sometimes!

[Gummie]

Originally Posted by johnung

Pipes aren't breaking because they are plastic. That's an inaccurate assumption that gets repeated on the Internet. There are plastic air pipes all over these engines that don't make a habit of breaking.

It's specifically the F-Series N55 charge pipe that has a high incidence of failure even with a stock tune. It is a poor design with a 90 degree bend. It always breaks at the bend or at the coupling end near the bend where it attaches to the throttle body. The other BMW plastic pipes are straighter and do not have the same failure rate. See photo.

Thanks for the clarification guess OP wouldn't have a problem then.

[johnung]

Originally Posted by Gummie

Thanks for the clarification guess OP wouldn't have a problem then.

I'm not sure that he said what engine he has? My comment had more to do with plastic construction not being the top issue which most people assume. Obviously it improves reliability to change from plastic to aluminum piping, but whether it's worth it depends on the failure rate of the individual piece.

A tidbit that I recently picked up was that the N55 straight plastic Turbo To Intercooler (TIC) pipe can begin flexing like a balloon with age and heat. This is most noticeable with engines with higher horsepower and boost. This is like rubber brake hoses flexing and their stainless steel replacement brake lines not flexing. So it can be smart to upgrade the N55 TIC in those situations. I recommend TIC pipes from Evolution Racewerks and FTP for high quality and excellent fitment

[Th3Walrus]

Originally Posted by johnung

I'm not sure that he said what engine he has?

The title is "2018 340 - first mods", so OP has the B58.