330d power on hot days

[Barkie]

I would like to know if it is normal for a turbo diesel to have less power on very hot day's. I do understand the way it works, but is it suppose to be like arround 15%

 

[damon1]

Definitely not - on an E90 330d (170KW) that equates to 25Kw on the fly or say 15 kw on the wheel - that is a big drop.The fact that u noticed the difference is a sign that car needs to be checked.Maybe good to do a dyno-

 

[Barkie]

Thanks, damon1. I see i do not get i good response on this q. What can be causing this? The 15% was not measured. I just think that if you can feel the diffs, it will be at least between 10 - 15%. The engine is very smooth with a very, very low noise level for such a big diesel.

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Anybody else with a comment! Any help will do.

 

[anile8-zn]

I had a 330d and noticed the same.
It's because turbo cars fine respond well to heat . Whether petrol or diesel .
My 335 was the same. It's normal

 

[e46jase]

my pops viscous fan kicks in on hot days feels very sluggish when its on but u'd def hear it if it was that when that fan kicks in its pretty loud

 

[Mike1]

Use some Cera Tec. Helps keep the turbo's heat on the ST's down.

 

[wjeffels]

My 2 Cents;

Had exact same problem with mine; had everything checked trying to track the source of it - turned out to be the MAF sensor; it is apparently rather quite common (overseas forums report many and frequent failures). It is a source of major frustration as when cool it does not seem to be affected as badly.
Agents wanted 5K for the MAF- was able to pick exact Bosch unit from Parts International for under a grand!

It is not normal for any vehicle to lose significant power or feel sluggish (Turbo or Not) when the ambient temperature is very warm to hot!!! let alone exceptionally well designed cars like Beemers - and they have intercoolers as standard which makes the ambient temperature even less of an issue.

 

[clutchplate]

hmm, mine is not a diesel, but my 540 gets quite sluggish on hot days sometimes.. maybe 10-15% difference. however, when I noticed that when I switch my aircon on, the sluggish feeling goes away fairly quickly.. very weird.

 

[Beemah]

Temperature deinitely makes a difference.
Jase I also have a E46 330d and I started a thread (330d fan clutch) on the forum.
When its hot that thing kicks in and sounds like a Jet or a older 525i and it comes in very early if you switch on the aircon.

Regarding the hot temperture and power loss, this can easily be whether its a turbo or non turbo. The hotter the air the more it expands, the more the air expands the less molecules you have in the same space (volume). That is why on colder days or at night cars definitely feel more responsive especially ones that are turbo charged / intercooled.

 

[SandmanEnters]

Hi Guys

I realize you had this discussion 4 years ago, but I have the same problem. Hot days just don't agree with the turbo on my 330d. I also experience the viscous fan problem - very loud, and drains a hell of a lot of power. Especially mid-top rev range.

My Question is this:
Will an intercooler replacement make a significant difference? The current intercooler has probably been on there since 2002, since the previous owner has proven to be a jerk when it comes to any kind of maintenance. I try to keep it clean from oil and debris, but do you think it's maybe time to get it replaced?

Also, will I need to upgrade to a bigger one, or will a new stock one be sufficient for our climate?

Thanks in advance for the help.

Cheers

 

[DieselFan]

Your car will run better on cold days. The turbo will run cooler and the air should be denser.

May aswell upgrade the intercooler of you're replacing especially if you plan to chip it.

 

[SandmanEnters]

Your car will run better on cold days. The turbo will run cooler and the air should be denser.

May aswell upgrade the intercooler of you're replacing especially if you plan to chip it.

Thanks for the reply bud. I just hope I can find space in there to fit a bigger one. I've got the autobox's cooler behind the radiator and an electric fan from a manual e46 in the front, serving as a replacement aux fan.

Is there a somewhere specific you would recommend to start the hunt for an intercooler upgrade? Please don't say Steve's:roflol:

 

[DieselFan]

Haha basically I was and probably still am going to buy one of those universal intercoolers and then have pipes made. The only place I can find to mount it is infront of the fan that sits infront of the radiator and previous intercooler.

 

[SandmanEnters]

Ok cool, will keep that in mind thanks. Did you manage to sort out your boost issues at least? And also, Racechip in yet? :=):

 

[DieselFan]

No man. Still waiting for my mech to get time to sort it out. They've stopped taking bookings for a week and a half. So I'd like to think by then.

 

[SandmanEnters]

No man. Still waiting for my mech to get time to sort it out. They've stopped taking bookings for a week and a half. So I'd like to think by then.

I feel you man - Zambezi Auto had mine for 4 months end of last year. Good luck!

 

[DieselFan]

Yeah mines been down for like 5 at the least but alot of works gone into it.

 

[SandmanEnters]

Yeah mines been down for like 5 at the least but alot of works gone into it.

Eish. That's gotta be tough on your mental well-being:thumbdo: haha.

Just a heads up while you're doing work on the boost system:
I got some feedback on my pressure reservoir that had been bypassed. I mentioned this in one of my threads I think. After I replaced the reservoir, I checked with my mech, and it was indeed bypassed by him when he worked on it a while back. He said it creates turbo lag and does not really provide any other benefits. The man knows BMW's like the back of his hand, but I wanted to test the theory anyway. So earlier this evening I bypassed it again and went for a quick run.
I can without a doubt confirm that with the reservoir bypassed, when putting foot, the turbo does kick in earlier and a bit more violently - but it dies off substantially toward the upper rev range. Feels like the car runs out of power and doesn't shift as efficiently. So I am putting it back later. The reservoir definitely creates a better overall boost and better power throughout the rev range.
I guess this makes sense, since it would create a larger vacuum, but would also generate a bit of lag as it has to "fill up" the larger vacuum again.
Anyways, just thought I would share.

 

[DieselFan]

Yeah its tough but hopefully it will be ready soon!

Thanks for the info makes sense. I wonder if one could run a system in parallel so to speak one direct line and one running through the vacuum container. Maybe you could achieve best of both that way.

 

[SandmanEnters]

Yeah its tough but hopefully it will be ready soon!

Thanks for the info makes sense. I wonder if one could run a system in parallel so to speak one direct line and one running through the vacuum container. Maybe you could achieve best of both that way.

Hmm interesting idea. I was also pondering how we can get best of both worlds. I wonder if the ECU will accept the values like that? You will probably need two Pressure Convertors then and will have to join their outlet vacuum pipes with one of those 3 sided connectors?

But then it will still be one single vacuum line going to the actuator, so I think that might not resolve anything? Maybe we should call on netercol and start a thread. I bet he could make a bi-turbo system work to resolve this problemraise: