330i ZHP Upgrades

[Sankekur]

Well in terms of fuel consumption, I can't really say that I have noticed that much of a difference, though I cannot yet comment about how it does on the long distance open road (might be able to after this weekend though). But performance wise I would definitely recommend the diff swap to as the thing to aim for first. The diff that you should be looking for if you want to that is, is the 3.38 out of the 330i and 330Ci auto. In terms of price, it is not nearly as bad if you get a second hand one, which is what I did.

(If I am not mistaken the M3 came with a 3.64)

In terms of the exhaust what I would recommend is first do the golf tee mod (mod that forces the flap in one of the tail pieces to stay open all the time) and see what the sound of the stock exhaust is like for you, as it does have a pretty nice sound (for a stock exhaust) and also not to loud. If that is not enough for you then you can take it from there.

I got the intake from these guys http://www.jlevistreetwerks.com/ (note that you will be paying a lot more for the filter element though when you need to replace and you will probably have to import it as well, so if you have a service coming up best to get it ahead of time)

And I have to agree with you in terms of forced induction :grin:

Edit: with engine kit, I have no idea about the compatibility of the SW upgrade, but it will probably have to be done at BMW here in SA and they seem to know next to nothing about these kinds of things. Also the main purpose of the software upgrade is to up the rev limiter to 6800, but personally I would not do this on a older engine.

 

[AdiS]

So I am guessing you are just getting better acceleration/general response to change in speed ? How did you find your diff and how much did you pay?

I have the feeling that the Golf T mod on the standard exhaust will be sufficient for me. Playing around with aftermarket exhausts is probably just going to complicate my life and cost me money which I could be using on maintenance or some other kind of restoration job that might need doing.

With regards to the engine upgrade - so in theory would you just fit the cams? I would argue that the software upgrade probably aids power delivery quite a lot as well..

Well in terms of fuel consumption, I can't really say that I have noticed that much of a difference, though I cannot yet comment about how it does on the long distance open road (might be able to after this weekend though). But performance wise I would definitely recommend the diff swap to as the thing to aim for first. The diff that you should be looking for if you want to that is, is the 3.38 out of the 330i and 330Ci auto. In terms of price, it is not nearly as bad if you get a second hand one, which is what I did.

(If I am not mistaken the M3 came with a 3.64)

In terms of the exhaust what I would recommend is first do the golf tee mod (mod that forces the flap in one of the tail pieces to stay open all the time) and see what the sound of the stock exhaust is like for you, as it does have a pretty nice sound (for a stock exhaust) and also not to loud. If that is not enough for you then you can take it from there.

I got the intake from these guys http://www.jlevistreetwerks.com/ (note that you will be paying a lot more for the filter element though when you need to replace and you will probably have to import it as well, so if you have a service coming up best to get it ahead of time)

And I have to agree with you in terms of forced induction :grin:

Edit: with engine kit, I have no idea about the compatibility of the SW upgrade, but it will probably have to be done at BMW here in SA and they seem to know next to nothing about these kinds of things. Also the main purpose of the software upgrade is to up the rev limiter to 6800, but personally I would not do this on a older engine.

 

[moranor@axis]

i agree with sank the biggest change in performance is the diff...
a few kw and Nm is not going to make a big difference at all...

both sank and I are running a 3.38 diff
sank says he has not noticed any change in consumption
and i saw a drop in consumption mine does not count though because i fitted an e90 6 speed gearbox at the same time...

i am now looking for a 3.64 diff for my car :rollsmile:

 

[AdiS]

Yea I have to agree - chasing a few Kw's here and there is fairly pointless, so logically the diff does make sense. The problem is, at this point everything is hypothetical - I haven't even driven a 330i, so its hard for me to accurately assess teh car

I have little doubt that I will like the car - the recipe is perfect - but things like how long the gears are, throttle response, the ride etc etc I still need to experience for myself.

What was the fitment cost of the diff?

 

[Sankekur]

After the diff swap the car just felt more alive, the acceleration while keeping the car in the same gear just feels a lot better than it did before. The standing acceleration for me feels like lot like the acceleration of my car when I drove it at the coast. I got it from one of the guys on the forum, hybrid, and I paid R1500 for it. Though it would seem that these are not that easy to find some you might have to do a fair amount of searching to find one (this will give you the time to get used to the feel of the car with the normal diff ).

Edit: fitment cost for me was free, as I did it myself, but should not be more that a couple of hundred rand as it is not that much work.

Yup the increased rev limit it to take full advantage of the better cam, the problem just is that guys with ZHP or the ZHP software have found what's called the "ZHP dip" which is a big dip in torque right in the middle of the normal torque band, this is usually sorted with an aftermarket remap of some some sort, so it might be better to just go for that with the cams from the beginning.

 

[AdiS]

After the diff swap the car just felt more alive, the acceleration while keeping the car in the same gear just feels a lot better than it did before. The standing acceleration for me feels like lot like the acceleration of my car when I drove it at the coast. I got it from one of the guys on the forum, hybrid, and I paid R1500 for it. Though it would seem that these are not that easy to find some you might have to do a fair amount of searching to find one (this will give you the time to get used to the feel of the car with the normal diff ).

Edit: fitment cost for me was free, as I did it myself, but should not be more that a couple of hundred rand as it is not that much work.

Yup the increased rev limit it to take full advantage of the better cam, the problem just is that guys with ZHP or the ZHP software have found what's called the "ZHP dip" which is a big dip in torque right in the middle of the normal torque band, this is usually sorted with an aftermarket remap of some some sort, so it might be better to just go for that with the cams from the beginning.

Wow, R1500 - thats quite a bargain compared to $1300.

I have read about the power dip - I thought BMW released a software update for that?

 

[Sankekur]

Yeah that is quite a bit cheaper, though it is still second hand, but then again it should be kept in mind that there is not that much that can go wrong with a diff and seeing as the one you are looking for come out of an auto, there is also much less chance of it being abused.

I am not sure about a software update. But I think it would probably be a good idea to go to a dealer and just hearing from them whether that know how to do the retrofit, that is if you can make them understand what it is you want, before you go importing the engine kit.

 

[moranor@axis]

i would say the zhp is a good base to follow but it can be done much cheaper and better with local people and parts parts...

 

[Sankekur]

i would say the zhp is a good base to follow but it can be done much cheaper and better with people and parts local parts...

As much as I like the OEM stuff, I have to agree with you on this, as you can get much more for your money performance wise than you would get with the OEM performance bits (this is reason I am no longer even looking at the performance back box, as you can get a full system for the price of just one box)

 

[AdiS]

i would say the zhp is a good base to follow but it can be done much cheaper and better with people and parts local parts...

As much as I like the OEM stuff, I have to agree with you on this, as you can get much more for your money performance wise than you would get with the OEM performance bits (this is reason I am no longer even looking at the performance back box, as you can get a full system for the price of just one box)

Yea look, fair enough. I suspected this might be the case.

Anyway, I am getting way ahead of myself, I still need to actually find a decent 330i to buy I just like doing my research far in advance.

 

[Sankekur]

i would say the zhp is a good base to follow but it can be done much cheaper and better with people and parts local parts...

As much as I like the OEM stuff, I have to agree with you on this, as you can get much more for your money performance wise than you would get with the OEM performance bits (this is reason I am no longer even looking at the performance back box, as you can get a full system for the price of just one box)

Yea look, fair enough. I suspected this might be the case.

Anyway, I am getting way ahead of myself, I still need to actually find a decent 330i to buy I just like doing my research far in advance.

Never a bad thing, just remember that just because you can get better performance for less that is not OEM does not mean you have to, because you might not be looking for outright performance, but just for more than standard and you like having OEM stuff on your car, then these performance bits are perfect, this is pretty much the reason I got the bits I have.

 

[andrewbuch]

i agree with sank the biggest change in performance is the diff...
a few kw and Nm is not going to make a big difference at all...

both sank and I are running a 3.38 diff
sank says he has not noticed any change in consumption
and i saw a drop in consumption mine does not count though because i fitted an e90 6 speed gearbox at the same time...

i am now looking for a 3.64 diff for my car :rollsmile:

I am also running a 3.38 diff

 

[Sankekur]

I don't think running is the best word to use :rollsmile:

 

[andrewbuch]

Ok I have one, & if I did not then my car would never be able to accelerate :rollsmile::rollsmile:

 

[moranor@axis]

your car uses it to try break even :rollsmile:

 

[andrewbuch]

And refs sit at 4000 at 120 so can't go any higher

 

[AdiS]

THis is something I would want to avoid..

Any comments w.r.t. 330i? Sank?

And refs sit at 4000 at 120 so can't go any higher

 

[Sankekur]

If you go for a later model 330i manual that comes standard with the 6 speed box this is not an issue, well not for me at least. At indicated 120km/h in sixth gear the RPM sits at about 2900.

 

[Sankekur]

BTW AdiS, have you seen this:
http://www.bmwfanatics.co.za/showthread.php?tid=25871

 

[AdiS]

Thanks dude, but I must admit, I don't really like what Mr_Arbee has done to the car. I was actually thinking of using his car as an example of what I wouldn't want to do to my car. I mean this, of course, in an objective manner showing a difference in preference, and mean no offense to Mr_Arbee or his tastes.

If the car was still stock, it would be a consideration I guess. Although at the moment I'm not quite ready to buy and the colour isn't my favourite. I'm hoping to track down a facelift white, steel gray, or estoril blue individual next year.

BTW AdiS, have you seen this:
http://www.bmwfanatics.co.za/showthread.php?tid=25871