BMW Blog, Performance, Tuning, Motorsport, and Modification News

Ah, BMW knows how to make money. These turbo motors are a cash cow for them and here you can see exactly why. The M Performance Packages raise output in the N55 by 15 to 315 horses and in the N63 V8 by 40 horses to 440. Torque gains are 30 pound-feet for both. What does this require of BMW? Nothing more than a software change. M Performance has become a different ECU tune on a base motor. This should at the very least show those people who are scared to tune their turbo motors that they should not be as BMW is doing it themselves. We also should no longer hear, "If BMW could get more power they would have done it already." ...

Here it officially is, the new diesel era of M. The new triple turbo 3.0 liter inline-6 cylinder finds its way into four models, an M550d xDrive sedan, M550d xDrive touring/wagon, X5 M50d, and an X6 M50d. The new motor offers an amazing 116 horsepower and 120 pound-feet of torque over the X5 xDrive 35d we know so well in the USA. The motor revs up to 5400 rpm. All that torque is sent to an 8 speed automatic as well as all four wheels. Sound awesome and you can not wait to order one in the USA? Too bad, BMW wants you to go lease an electric 1 Series instead. ...

Sad, sad times at BMW these days. We understand electrics are going become more and more popular in the future but how in the world is it that the company who coined "The Ultimate Driving Machine" is pushing slow and heavy electrics in the USA over their best performance cars? Is there really a bigger market for people to be guinea pigs for an unproven all electric car for 24 months at $499 a pop (plus downpayment of $2,250) than for an M3 GTS, CSL, or even the new diesel M cars? Ultimate what? ...

This should come as a surprise to nobody that the N52 6 cylinder in the BMW X3 is being replaced by the BMW N20 turbo direct injected 4 cylinder. The switch will happen for the 2013 model year which will launch in April of this year. For those of you about to buy an X3 xDrive28i it is probably best to hold off and get the better motor. Additionally, those who really want the car now can use this information as a bargaining chip as the newer motor is going to be much more popular. ...

We love these time lapse videos. Whether it be a race car build, supercharger install, exhaust install, whatever, they are great to watch. It really is awesome to see everything that goes into a supercharger install compressed into a short time span. This is a VF-Engineering supercharger for the E46 M3 and the install is done by VS Motorsports. A very well done video by that BMW performance geeks of all shapes and sized should enjoy, check it out below. ...

We think BMW is taking these model variants a little too far but BMW is going to do what BMW is going to do. The new BMW 4 Series is going to have 3 different variants. The F32 4 Series coupe, F33 4 Series cabriolet/convertible, and the F35 4 Series Gran Coupe. It probably is not that bad of an idea considering that Mercedes is prepping a baby CLS, the CLC. Check out the rendering of the F35 below. ...

There are a lot of N54 guys that like to track their car who will likely be interested in this oil cooler upgrade from Turner Motorsport. Turner states this upgrade is just for 335i's with the N54 as it is listed as fitting the 2006-2010 E90, E92, and E93 335i including the Xi. Pricing is $899.00 for cars that have the factory oil cooler and a retrofit kit can be added for an additional $530 for cars without the factory oil cooler. Full details listed below. ...

S63 twin turbo V8 owners now have another downpipe options courtesy of Akrapovic. The piece itself is made out of stainless steel and is catless. No additional details were supplied. We would like to at the very least know the cost and claimed power gains. A dyno would definitely be warranted as well. Akrapovic makes quality exhaust pieces but without further details it makes for a very weak product unveiling. Akrapovic pieces tend to be expensive so do not expect this to be a value in S63 tuning. ...

There have been a surprising number of S65 V8 failures. Some of these have been with supercharged motors and often times fanboys and tuners alike would engage in a mud slinging campaign pointing to a competing tuner as the reason for the failure. The fact of the matter is, the S65 V8 seems to have an inherent weakness. It's wet sump oiling system does not seem to evenly lubricate the bearings which eventually leads to a failure. ...

Active Autowerke has been in the BMW tuning game a long time. They are a well known and established name. This blown motor is a story we reported in September of 2010. We asked for further details on how this was resolved and what happened but never received them and Active Autowerke did not seem interested in addressing it. They sure have had plenty of time to do so. Read the experience of the kit owner below and come to your own conclusion but perhaps how this was handled and other internal issues explain why certain key people have left Active Autowerke as of late. ...

Dinan has released their Stage 2 Performance Software for BMW's equipped with the N55 direct injected turbo six cylinder. It is currently available for 2011-2012 BMW 335's (including X-drive), E82 135i, and the E70/E71 X5 and X6 35i. Applications for the F10 535i and F25 X3 xDrive35i are coming soon. $1999 is a bit on the high side but one can be very confident in choosing Dinan and the Dinan supplied warranty in lieu of the BMW factory warranty is always an attractive option for owners concerned about any potential issues. No dyno graph provided as usual and we wish Dinan would get out of this habit. ...

BMW is testing the replacement for the current X5 which is due in 2013 as a 2014 model. So what will be different? Well, apparently LED's will be included and a hybrid model will be a focal point. Styling will get a mild update of course and we expect BMW to play it conservative as it has with the current batch of next generation models. What we want to see is the weight drop significantly as Porsche managed to do in the new Cayenne and more diesel options for the USA. ...

BMW has taken home the championship the last two years in ALMS GT. They are gearing up for a third championship and issued a press release stating exactly that as well as naming the driver lineup. One can not help but appreciate the BMW Motorsport confidence and swagger. We wish it carried over to the production M models for the street. Regardless, Dirk Mueller, Joey Hand, and Bill Auberlen will be returing. New to the team are Jorg Muller and Uwe Alzen. ...

Many tuners have attempted single turbo setups on the BMW N54 direct injected turbo 6. Up to this point, nobody has been able to come to market with a reliable solution. HPF announced they intended to provide a single turbo kit for the N54 last year. They seem to be progressing further than anyone else and making it into a reality. Expect dyno numbers to come soon but for now the details we have are that this kit will be able to run any Precision T4 Turbo from a 67 to a 76. ...

Thank you for kicking your American performance enthusiasts in the balls yet again BMW. Fortunately, we are used to it (CSL, GTS) so it no longer hurts the way it used to. Would someone please make sense of this? BMW hypes the hell out of its new X6M50d with teaser videos telling us how great of an "M" it is and gets us all turned on at the prospect of a high performance diesel only to leave us hanging. BMW, you are the girlfriend from hell. ...

Everyone should know by now that BMW is replacing their naturally aspirated N52 6 cylinder with the N20 turbocharged and direct injected 4 cylinder. How do these motors compare in the same model? Insideline did that exact comparison with a 2011 N52 powered F10 528i vs. a 2012 N20 F10 528i. Both motors are rated at the same output by BMW but the results below as well as dyno numbers show the N20 is in fact putting out more power. ...

Here is another great video from our Russian friends at dragtimes.info. A stock 997 GT2 dyno's in the low 500 wheel horsepower range. The supercharger on the E92 M3 here is an ESS VT2-650 which is the highest horsepower stock internal offering from ESS pushing 8.5 psi of boost. Dyno numbers for the VT2-650 have been claimed to be in the 600 wheel range so we are surprised to see the trap speed at the mile favoring the GT2 with 179.67 mph versus 169.46 for the M3. Both clearly are very fast cars but 10 MPH is quite a difference especially considering it is in the favor of what is supposedly the much less powerful car. Interesting result to say the least. ...

BMW published a press release today confirming the 6 speed manual for the US market we all knew was coming. It is nice the US market is getting something the rest of the world is not so at least one small gesture for North American BMW enthusiasts. The manual will share the DCT's final drive ratio (likely to lower cost on differentials for BMW) but the individual gearing will be changed obviously as the manual has 6 speeds versus the DCT's 7. ...

We really like the Car and Driver Lightning Lap articles where they take a nice group of cars and run them all on the same roadcourse comparing the laptimes. The 2012 edition includes the X5M which surprisingly outlapped the 335is by over 2 seconds. What else is interesting is that the top speed the X5M hit matched the much lighter BMW 1M although the smaller bimmer did outlap as it should. Something to keep in mind is that VIR is a 4.1 mile long course meaning it is fairly long so power is at a premium. ...