[Boiler3D]

Originally Posted by SCMalum

Amazing engineering work on your end!

I just PM'd you, but if you'd start your own thread detailing your journey that'd be a huge asset to the community. Would love to do this myself - please share the knowledge!

Second that. The wagon owners in the room only have so many options.

[GTKrockeTT]

Originally Posted by gingerbreadman

guys...i've been following this thread from the beginning and even tried to contact ESS because i had the funds and it was burning a hole in my pocket. I had the option to get an n54 engine for $4000( complete with ecu, wiring harness and all the components needed) or go this route but it just seems that $5000 for 100 ponies extra was kinda steep. However i bit the bullet and went the n54 swap route. it was painful but it's done. I think this is a very viable option and very much worth it. I'll be willing to answer any questions. my mods are in my sig.

how much was the swap including labor and parts, and where did you get it done?

[gingerbreadman]

Originally Posted by index1489

Did you swap the DME and CAS from the doner car?

yes. I was fortunate to have the guy sell me the CAS, the DME including the wiring harness and fob

[gingerbreadman]

Originally Posted by GTKrockeTT

how much was the swap including labor and parts, and where did you get it done?

i think labor might vary. Initially i called around socal including well known swap shop 9k racing and their standard rate is 1500. But I was very lucky to find a tech that worked at a bmw dealership work on it and the labor was $2500 plus miscellaneous parts like radiator (its shorter than that in the n52 in in order to fit the intercooler). Parts are the killer here. especially everything upfront like fan, radiator, ac condenser and lots of miscellaneous hoses.

[gingerbreadman]

let's just say about $8500 for the whole thing. $4200 for motor, ecu, and components, $2500 for labor, and the rest on parts including high performance parts in my sig

[gingerbreadman]

Originally Posted by GTKrockeTT

how much was the swap including labor and parts, and where did you get it done?

sorry, forgot to answer one of your questions. I got it done at mission bell motorworks in riverside. But the guy that took on the project works regularly at a dealership and tackled this feat on the weekends. He was amazing!!

Originally Posted by gingerbreadman

let's just say about $8500 for the whole thing. $4200 for motor, ecu, and components, $2500 for labor, and the rest on parts including high performance parts in my sig

Did you have to do a lot of coding? I'm assuming you would have to change the VO (Vehicle order) of the CAS/FRM to match your old one so all your cars options would work? Possibly even the Production date depending if the donor car matched your year, and just leave the VIN mismatched with the rest of the modules or attempt to program all your other modules with the new VIN of the donor car, again this would work best if the donor car had a similar production date.

Sounds like a ton of work, I think I would have just sold the car and brought a 335i.

[gingerbreadman]

Originally Posted by index1489

Did you have to do a lot of coding? I'm assuming you would have to change the VO (Vehicle order) of the CAS/FRM to match your old one so all your cars options would work? Possibly even the Production date depending if the donor car matched your year, and just leave the VIN mismatched with the rest of the modules or attempt to program all your other modules with the new VIN of the donor car, again this would work best if the donor car had a similar production date.

Sounds like a ton of work, I think I would have just sold the car and brought a 335i.

nope...no coding. just got the CAS, ecu, and fob from the donor vehicle and everything works fine. Sometimes, its alot simpler than you think and all my options work too.

[playground]

Originally Posted by gingerbreadman

guys...i've been following this thread from the beginning and even tried to contact ESS because i had the funds and it was burning a hole in my pocket. I had the option to get an n54 engine for $4000( complete with ecu, wiring harness and all the components needed) or go this route but it just seems that $5000 for 100 ponies extra was kinda steep. However i bit the bullet and went the n54 swap route. it was painful but it's done. I think this is a very viable option and very much worth it. I'll be willing to answer any questions. my mods are in my sig.

pics or it didn't happen.

Originally Posted by gingerbreadman

nope...no coding. just got the CAS, ecu, and fob from the donor vehicle and everything works fine. Sometimes, its alot simpler than you think and all my options work too.

I see, everything works now because all the other modules are coded based on the old VO, if you where to have the cars software upgraded the new VO in the new CAS would be applied to those modules and it could cause things to go out of wack, be careful in the future.

The right thing to do would be to keep the new 335i's VIN, get your old VO transfered, program the entire car writing the new VIN/VO to all the modules, and your car electronically would = the 335i donor. Assuming of course no production date issues (certain VO options were not available pre 03/07 and some hacking of the programming tools would be needed, if both cars are from similar production dates (post 03/07) it should work just fine)

Then your dealer would freak out because the VIN on all the modules wouldn't = the physical cars VIN. Currently like your DME/CAS is.


Post photos!

[gunnerxq]

Originally Posted by b-man

Is it faster, or did you just pass him once or twice? Either of the cars xi? Auto vs manual? Looks like you have the aa tune, what tune does he have?

Both cars are manual, RWD and have AA stage 2 tune. I'm definitely faster then him 0-60. And it can't be driver error because later we drove each others cars with similar results. And 70-100 mine is about a car length in front. I feel like it could be the lower weight and gearing that favors to my advantage

[gingerbreadman]

[QUOTE=index1489;16896373]I see, everything works now because all the other modules are coded based on the old VO, if you where to have the cars software upgraded the new VO in the new CAS would be applied to those modules and it could cause things to go out of wack, be careful in the future.

The right thing to do would be to keep the new 335i's VIN, get your old VO transfered, program the entire car writing the new VIN/VO to all the modules, and your car electronically would = the 335i donor. Assuming of course no production date issues (certain VO options were not available pre 03/07 and some hacking of the programming tools would be needed, if both cars are from similar production dates (post 03/07) it should work just fine)

Then your dealer would freak out because the VIN on all the modules wouldn't = the physical cars VIN. Currently like your DME/CAS is.

exactly...all that would come at a later time. I'll be going the cobb tune route pretty soon and maybe rb turbo upgrade. in the mean time here are some pics although not the best quality

[Eagle1oh7]

How many miles and what became of the N52? How many miles is that N54? I was browsing Ebay for N54/N55 engines and they seem pretty damn cheap as opposed to a SC kit.

[gingerbreadman]

Originally Posted by Eagle1oh7

How many miles and what became of the N52? How many miles is that N54? I was browsing Ebay for N54/N55 engines and they seem pretty damn cheap as opposed to a SC kit.

n54 engines are everywhere for decent prices. the n52 had 208,000 miles, and n54 came with 48,000 miles.

[Mavus]

Originally Posted by gingerbreadman

n54 engines are everywhere for decent prices. the n52 had 208,000 miles, and n54 came with 48,000 miles.

kudos man that is a great way to extract more miles from the chassis and have a fun car project. Any issues post integration or anything you'd have done differently?

[gingerbreadman]

Originally Posted by Smooth 330i

kudos man that is a great way to extract more miles from the chassis and have a fun car project. Any issues post integration or anything you'd have done differently?

surprisingly, there aren't any issues post integration. I was expecting rough idles, boost leaks, tcu or fuel pump module not working correctly due to different dme and CAS, but i was shocked. it was like the car came like that. in hind sight, i should have sourced out an engine and dme from an automatic. it came from a manual and that was a little tricky but the tech worked his magic and it drives normal with my 330i transmission which is also a zf like that of the 335i, although now, my starting sequence changed a bit. Due to the dme and CAS being from a manual, it needs the clutch signal in order to start but since i don't have a clutch, I just push button on, engine off (foot off brakes), put in reverse then park, foot on brake and push start and it comes on. I like it because nobody can just start my car and drive it. Coding would solve this but i think i might leave it as is. When i first went wot it scared me... The torque of the n54 can be described as brutal...makes it all worth it

Originally Posted by gingerbreadman

surprisingly, there aren't any issues post integration. I was expecting rough idles, boost leaks, tcu or fuel pump module not working correctly due to different dme and CAS, but i was shocked. it was like the car came like that. in hind sight, i should have sourced out an engine and dme from an automatic. it came from a manual and that was a little tricky but the tech worked his magic and it drives normal with my 330i transmission which is also a zf like that of the 335i, although now, my starting sequence changed a bit. Due to the dme and CAS being from a manual, it needs the clutch signal in order to start but since i don't have a clutch, I just push button on, engine off (foot off brakes), put in reverse then park, foot on brake and push start and it comes on. I like it because nobody can just start my car and drive it. Coding would solve this but i think i might leave it as is. When i first went wot it scared me... The torque of the n54 can be described as brutal...makes it all worth it

Well I guess this confirms in the future I could probably drop a 335i ZF tranny in my 330.

[Mavus]

Originally Posted by gingerbreadman

surprisingly, there aren't any issues post integration. I was expecting rough idles, boost leaks, tcu or fuel pump module not working correctly due to different dme and CAS, but i was shocked. it was like the car came like that. in hind sight, i should have sourced out an engine and dme from an automatic. it came from a manual and that was a little tricky but the tech worked his magic and it drives normal with my 330i transmission which is also a zf like that of the 335i, although now, my starting sequence changed a bit. Due to the dme and CAS being from a manual, it needs the clutch signal in order to start but since i don't have a clutch, I just push button on, engine off (foot off brakes), put in reverse then park, foot on brake and push start and it comes on. I like it because nobody can just start my car and drive it. Coding would solve this but i think i might leave it as is. When i first went wot it scared me... The torque of the n54 can be described as brutal...makes it all worth it

that's great!

what is your plan for the transmission? if you mod N54 it may blow the 330i xmsn since it is rated for lower tq than 335i's.

[gingerbreadman]

Originally Posted by Smooth 330i

that's great!

what is your plan for the transmission? if you mod N54 it may blow the 330i xmsn since it is rated for lower tq than 335i's.

i'm looking into acquiring a zf from an n54 and maybe a tcu also. The n54 trannies are prone to slipping at high hp applications and hence they use the tcu flash to fix this problem. I'm not sure if the tcu that came with the 330i can be flashed so i'll still try it but if it doesn't work I can just get a tcu from an n54.

Originally Posted by gingerbreadman

i'm looking into acquiring a zf from an n54 and maybe a tcu also. The n54 trannies are prone to slipping at high hp applications and hence they use the tcu flash to fix this problem. I'm not sure if the tcu that came with the 330i can be flashed so i'll still try it but if it doesn't work I can just get a tcu from an n54.

The TCU is inside the transmission valve body that bathes in trans fluid, if you get a N54 tranny make sure its post 03/07 so you can do the Alpina Flash.

If you get a pre 03/07 one you will have to change out the valve body (and subsequent TCU) to a post 03/07 one.

Pre 03/07 ZF Valve Bodies can't be flashed with Alpina, including 330i and early build 335i.

[bernard54321]

Originally Posted by Victor328i

Buying some KW v2's and headers now instead lol

Lol me and you think alike

[gingerbreadman]

Originally Posted by index1489

The TCU is inside the transmission valve body that bathes in trans fluid, if you get a N54 tranny make sure its post 03/07 so you can do the Alpina Flash.

If you get a pre 03/07 one you will have to change out the valve body (and subsequent TCU) to a post 03/07 one.

Pre 03/07 ZF Valve Bodies can't be flashed with Alpina, including 330i and early build 335i.

That's some info I wasn't really aware of. I just haven't had the time to research that yet. Thanks bud. now i know what yr to look for. For some reason i thought the tcu is separate from the tranny and located elsewhere. Quality info..thanks again. I'll keep you guys posted and in the near future i'll make a build thread of this journey so if anyone wants to embark in it, they'll know what to expect and to look out for.