N63TU Tuning Journey

[markspeed]

@markspeed We still await your update

I plan to add content in the next few (cold winter...) months. Earlier in the year I cracked a piston (after 500+ 1/4 mile, many to 1/2 mile, pulls from a dig) giving me an excuse to build a new engine (w/ forged pistons and rods), installed a F90000295 Walbro/TI LPFP, built a custom exhaust, did a bunch of maintenance (all fluids, new HPFPs, guibo joints, etc), logging data along the way. Car is running great and is a blast to drive (in a straight line, anyway - it's still a heavy boat after all...)

 

[SLOWESTN54]

I plan to add content in the next few (cold winter...) months. Earlier in the year I cracked a piston (after 500+ 1/4 mile, many to 1/2 mile, pulls from a dig) giving me an excuse to build a new engine (w/ forged pistons and rods), installed a F90000295 Walbro/TI LPFP, built a custom exhaust, did a bunch of maintenance (all fluids, new HPFPs, guibo joints, etc), logging data along the way. Car is running great and is a blast to drive (in a straight line, anyway - it's still a heavy boat after all...)

I was surprised not in a bad way that all your rods stayed in the block. But from my understanding the TU has forged rods and pistons.. Do the s63 and n63 use the same hpfp pump?

 

[markspeed]

I was surprised not in a bad way that all your rods stayed in the block. But from my understanding the TU has forged rods and pistons.. Do the s63 and n63 use the same hpfp pump?

I've kept low-end torque low in my tune to avoid bending a rod since they are known weak points, but obviously pistons are weak also:

BMW documentation says the rods (and crank) are forged, but pistons are cast. Here's a comparison of stock (from the remanufactured engine I bought from BMW) and aftermarket (Carillo/CP) pistons and rods:

By the way, except for the cracked piston (and scored cylinder caused by it), the rest of the components in my old engine looked quite good for 85k very hard miles. No bent rods, bearings still looked good, and very little buildup on the intake valves (WMI probably helped keep them clean). I never had oil consumption problems like others have reported (never had to add any oil between changes). The rear main seal had started leaking oil and I was getting ready to fix it, but the new engine solved that problem...

 

[SLOWESTN54]

@markspeed Ahh yes sorry, i meant crank and rods. If you don't mind me asking how much did rods and pistons cost?

 

[markspeed]

@markspeed Ahh yes sorry, i meant crank and rods. If you don't mind me asking how much did rods and pistons cost?

I paid $4k for CP-Carillo pistons (for Alusil cylinders) and rods. Overall it was almost $11k in parts to replace the engine (block, pistons, rods, bearings, gaskets, fluids, one-time use bolts, etc.), plus another $500 in tools that I didn't already have (camshaft timing tool).

 

[vroomcrds]

This is really cool stuff! Any info on the N63TU (F01 750i) or anyone who has tuned one? Stage1 hp and torque? I'm not planning on many mods: I changed my charge pipes to the ARM setup (that was easy). I'm quite computer literate, but still learning when it comes to ECU's and reflashing. Coding - been doing that for years on multiple cars that I've owned (e39, e46, e89, e90, f01, f80). Any suggestions or help are always appreciated!