Upgraded Turbos

hdzpablo03

New Member
Oct 8, 2023
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2008 Bmw 335i
I have an 08 335i turbos have a bad wastegate rattle dont even get full boost anymore, already adjusted wastegates before and rattle came back, so this sped up my little build a bit.

car currently has:
  • MAD Downpipes
  • CTS Turbo chargepipe and 7” intercooler
  • ARM bov upgrade line
  • Ebay bov
  • Cone Intakes
  • 1 step colder spark plugs and eldor ignition coils

mods that im going to install
  • got a 7.5” intercooler
  • Ebay outlets
  • VRSF Relocated Inlets
  • Precision Raceworks Stage 2 Fuel pump (Walbro 450)
  • 17T Turbos
  • Turbosmart Raceport bov
  • going to redo my vacuum lines with verocious 3.5mm lines
  • VRSF 335D chargpipe
  • 335D expansion tank
  • Oil Catch Can
  • Improved Racing Oil Thermostat 180ºF w/ stock oil lines and oil cooler
  • I have index 12’s but my injectors are working good so that isnt going on the car yet
  • maybe a coolerworx short shifter kit
  • new o2 sensors
  • Aluminum Mickey Mouse Flange
  • was thinking about doing secondary cat delete for exhaust, keeping stock resonator and mufflers on the car not sure yet
  • staying on pump gas, no e85

Car is currently my daily, not going for big power at the moment, want a fun daily i know that im going to be fixing things, will always happen when increasing power. I also understand that upgraded twins will have a lot of torque and can cause more stress on the motor and tranny. Previous owner also replaced hpfp, valve cover gasket, waterpump & a few other things so not too worried on that. Going to replace my rear main seal this weekend along with putting in a xclutch solid organic twin disk, besides the rear main seal, motor has no leaks, and in the time that ive had this car, motor has been solid and car hasnt given me any major issue. Biggest thing that came up was my msd80 ecu burnt up the mosfet so upgraded to msd81 ecu. Im replacing gaskets and getting it walnut blasted.
Have a few questions for you guys
  1. Ive been thinking about Docvu Tuning or JSR Tuning, ive heard good things about both which one would you guys recommend ?
  2. For those who daily upgraded twins what psi do you guys run ?
  3. I changed my spark plugs in April and havent had any issues with misfires or anything, but a while back i heard its better to run 2 step colder for upgraded twins and/or single turbo setup, should i get the 2 step colder ?
  4. Ive seen online the turbo replacement job takes 10 hours and ive heard it takes longer, im not too worried about it but was wondering how long did it take most of you ?
  5. Currently on stock radiator, runs perfect no cracks or leaks, i never hear about upgrading the radiator, i was looking at the csf aluminum one, how many of you are on stock radiator w/ upgraded turbos, should i just upgrade so i dont have to deal either it later ?
  6. What kind of oil temps do you guys usually see when cruising or when doing pulls ?


Kinda long I know lol, but just trynna get as much info on this like like i said just want a fun daily driver, any advice is appreciated thank you
 

piotrek4000

New Member
Oct 14, 2024
4
0
0
Welcome to the world of N54 mods! I know it's an older post so maybe you've completed your install, but you're definitely on the right track, I just finished a 17T install myself so I'm in your boat. By the way, how many miles you got?

Couple things I'd add:
  • Upgrade your fuel pump module (EKP), I went with ET3 design, and run 10 ga wiring. Stock wiring can melt and burn at the fuel hat connectors, which is a hazard around gasoline. Install bulkhead stud terminals to deal with the added amperage
  • Upgrade your coils, at least to Eldor
  • I don't have a tuner recommendation, I went with complete custom dyno tune
  • I'm running 18 psi, I didn't upgrade the MAP sensor so that's basically max
  • You should run 2 step colder, and gap to 0.020
  • It took me a long time to do the install because I kept running into fitment issues on my 135i plus lots of "while you are in there" items. I also retained my stock PCV setup, no catch can, so I had to do some custom stuff to make it work. My PCV valve is upgraded though.
  • Stock rad will be fine and it's not a bad install to do later when it starts to fail anyway
  • 7 inch intercooler is plenty if you're not pushing over 20 psi, 7.5 just starts to rob the radiator from airflow
  • I'll have to get back to you on oil temps
Cheers, good luck. And if youre done with the install, I'd love to hear how it went
 

hdzpablo03

New Member
Oct 8, 2023
6
0
0
Ride
2008 Bmw 335i
Welcome to the world of N54 mods! I know it's an older post so maybe you've completed your install, but you're definitely on the right track, I just finished a 17T install myself so I'm in your boat. By the way, how many miles you got?

Couple things I'd add:
  • Upgrade your fuel pump module (EKP), I went with ET3 design, and run 10 ga wiring. Stock wiring can melt and burn at the fuel hat connectors, which is a hazard around gasoline. Install bulkhead stud terminals to deal with the added amperage
  • Upgrade your coils, at least to Eldor
  • I don't have a tuner recommendation, I went with complete custom dyno tune
  • I'm running 18 psi, I didn't upgrade the MAP sensor so that's basically max
  • You should run 2 step colder, and gap to 0.020
  • It took me a long time to do the install because I kept running into fitment issues on my 135i plus lots of "while you are in there" items. I also retained my stock PCV setup, no catch can, so I had to do some custom stuff to make it work. My PCV valve is upgraded though.
  • Stock rad will be fine and it's not a bad install to do later when it starts to fail anyway
  • 7 inch intercooler is plenty if you're not pushing over 20 psi, 7.5 just starts to rob the radiator from airflow
  • I'll have to get back to you on oil temps
Cheers, good luck. And if youre done with the install, I'd love to hear how it went
Hey man, ill look into that ekp, and going to buy the 2 step colder plugs soon, anyways the car is running real smooth rn, got tuned by docvu just need to change injectors since they’re leaking other than that i also added revshift motor and trans mounts and bought a vrsf street exhaust that im gonna put on, so we’ll see how it sounds, and have a slight wastegate rattle lol, other than that, havent had any issues with it
 

SlowE93

Major
Jul 2, 2017
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Just a plane ticket away !
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E93
Hey man, ill look into that ekp, and going to buy the 2 step colder plugs soon, anyways the car is running real smooth rn, got tuned by docvu just need to change injectors since they’re leaking other than that i also added revshift motor and trans mounts and bought a vrsf street exhaust that im gonna put on, so we’ll see how it sounds, and have a slight wastegate rattle lol, other than that, havent had any issues with it
How hard are you pushing it ?
What turbos, fuel, boost ?
I DD mine but use different maps depending on the situation.