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      06-15-2012, 02:07 AM   #1
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BMW z4 3.0 2006 N52! WHAT DID YOU DO TO IT?!!

How is everyone doing? i am a proud owner of a beautiful Z4! one probelm i have with it is... its a N52! IDK WHAT TO DO TO IT! i wanna upgrade the S%&t out of it, but nothing seems to work with the N52 only the M54... if anyone has made any upgrades please share it with me here! i would love to make my Z4 SOOOOO MUCH FASTER!!!

Thank you!
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      06-15-2012, 05:08 AM   #2
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Sorry but you bought a car that has a motor with a limited upgrade path.

Should have bought a 3.0i or an ///M.

Or you could just be happy with what you have and drive the crap out of it.
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      06-15-2012, 05:18 AM   #3
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sell it.
buy an M

or 135i
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      06-15-2012, 12:07 PM   #4
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2003-2005 3.0i or get an M. Be prepared to be broke if you wanna upgrade the crap out of it.

IIRC your car has a cast crank and aluminum/magnesium block. The M54 has a forged crank and sleeved block. You will never get around physics.
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      06-15-2012, 05:25 PM   #5
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Quote:
Originally Posted by pokeybritches View Post
IIRC your car has a cast crank and aluminum/magnesium block. The M54 has a forged crank and sleeved block. You will never get around physics.
Correct and the M54 block (03-05) is an Al-Sil block and fracture-split forged steel connecting rods and forged crank
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      09-24-2012, 02:46 AM   #6
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Surely you can supercharge the 3.0si engine. One mod, but more power!
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      09-25-2012, 11:00 PM   #7
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Jaguar_7777
Surely you can supercharge the 3.0si engine. One mod, but more power!
You don't want to do that. Technically the n52 should not be force fed. Not strong enough .... Sure people have done it but not sure what the long term results show.

I had fun tuning my I to SI spec but that's about all I can go if you have an SI you can tune it to get maybe another 10 HP or so but that's about it.

On the other hand theirs plenty of suspension, brake and wheel mods you can do..... Also you can always play with your rear diff to give you the illusion of another 25 or 40hp

I've done plenty to mine and its the lowest Z4 on the totem poll post facelift.
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      09-26-2012, 08:52 AM   #8
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Originally Posted by -c- View Post
You don't want to do that. Technically the n52 should not be force fed. Not strong enough .... Sure people have done it but not sure what the long term results show.

I had fun tuning my I to SI spec but that's about all I can go if you have an SI you can tune it to get maybe another 10 HP or so but that's about it.

On the other hand theirs plenty of suspension, brake and wheel mods you can do..... Also you can always play with your rear diff to give you the illusion of another 25 or 40hp

I've done plenty to mine and its the lowest Z4 on the totem poll post facelift.
here's one example of a sc'd n52 lol

http://www.e90post.com/forums/showthread.php?p=11053868
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      09-26-2012, 11:08 AM   #9
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Quote:
Originally Posted by DSC_OFF
Quote:
Originally Posted by -c- View Post
You don't want to do that. Technically the n52 should not be force fed. Not strong enough .... Sure people have done it but not sure what the long term results show.

I had fun tuning my I to SI spec but that's about all I can go if you have an SI you can tune it to get maybe another 10 HP or so but that's about it.

On the other hand theirs plenty of suspension, brake and wheel mods you can do..... Also you can always play with your rear diff to give you the illusion of another 25 or 40hp

I've done plenty to mine and its the lowest Z4 on the totem poll post facelift.
here's one example of a sc'd n52 lol

http://www.e90post.com/forums/showthread.php?p=11053868
Lol, I always wondered about that company.

OP - Maybe you could make up your own kit running ~4 psi with a small blower. There are probably tuners that would tune it (use google). I wouldn't expect more than 320-325 hp though, unless you swap cranks with an N54 (not sure if this is even possible). Even then, you're treading in dangerous waters, and the cost of pushing the limit too far is expensive...
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      09-26-2012, 11:08 AM   #10
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Quote:
Originally Posted by DSC_OFF
Quote:
Originally Posted by -c- View Post
You don't want to do that. Technically the n52 should not be force fed. Not strong enough .... Sure people have done it but not sure what the long term results show.

I had fun tuning my I to SI spec but that's about all I can go if you have an SI you can tune it to get maybe another 10 HP or so but that's about it.

On the other hand theirs plenty of suspension, brake and wheel mods you can do..... Also you can always play with your rear diff to give you the illusion of another 25 or 40hp

I've done plenty to mine and its the lowest Z4 on the totem poll post facelift.
here's one example of a sc'd n52 lol

http://www.e90post.com/forums/showthread.php?p=11053868
Lol, I always wondered about that company.

OP - Maybe you could make up your own kit running ~4 psi with a small blower. There are probably tuners that would tune it (use google). I wouldn't expect more than 320-325 hp though, unless you swap cranks with an N54 (not sure if this is even possible). Even then, you're treading in dangerous waters, and the cost of pushing the limit too far is expensive...
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      09-26-2012, 11:28 AM   #11
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Substantial horsepower improvements: no, wrong car/engine
Substantial handling and accelleration improvements: somewhat, bang for your buck it's hard to beat a limited slip dif and gears. Suspension has lots of options...
The hands down best option for being faster is learning how to drive well! Sign up for driver schools and learn to become "one with your car".
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      09-26-2012, 10:18 PM   #12
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Incompatible
Substantial horsepower improvements: no, wrong car/engine
Substantial handling and accelleration improvements: somewhat, bang for your buck it's hard to beat a limited slip dif and gears. Suspension has lots of options...
The hands down best option for being faster is learning how to drive well! Sign up for driver schools and learn to become "one with your car".
Yeppers ! Exactly what I was saying.


We don't have hard steel sleeved cylinder walls and are walls are an aluminum something or another so even with a crank are cylinder walls can't take the abuse.

Hence why I said gearing can take up a lot of slack. I've seen cars with less HP beat cars with more HP just with a better rear end.

The good thing about the N52 is its a light frigging motor, lightest in its class if I recon correct. And that alone will give you better turn in against others like the M where the engine is a steel and has way more load over the front wheels. With the correct suspension and drive train modifications then its very possible to have a car that will handle much better than an M car .... Infact it's their right out of the box but you can make it that much better. The M has you beat for power but you have weight and physics on your side. Though one of the surprising things is the speed difference between all three models are not all that big.

Your engine is the Camry of BMW engines but it will last and is pretty maintenance free. Which isn't a bad thing. I've seen both M's and regular Z4s pull very close times in auto crosses where it really comes down to the driver. Learn how to take your car to the limit and it will reward you just as much as any other.
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      09-26-2012, 10:27 PM   #13
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Yea that sc is Chinese crap and no wonder it got the feedback it got.

We work with Chinese suppliers on a daily basis and when unregulated it's amazing what they try to pass to us.

It's also funny when we work with suppliers like Hella then TYC and the division is so huge in how the two work its amazing. The precision and knowledge of German suppliers just makes everything look like a joke. But the downside is its over engineered and is complicated but dame is it beautiful and in turn expensive which is why the Chinese suppliers win out sometimes. But we get it in the end with warranty repair.
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      10-05-2012, 12:30 AM   #14
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correct me if i'm wrong, is it M54 got more potential to upgrade / reliable than the N52 ?

due to the figure, the stock N52 got at least 40+ hp more than the M54 .. coz i'm driving a M54 and wanna know more about it, cheers mate
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      10-05-2012, 07:03 PM   #15
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correct me if i'm wrong, is it M54 got more potential to upgrade / reliable than the N52 ?

due to the figure, the stock N52 got at least 40+ hp more than the M54 .. coz i'm driving a M54 and wanna know more about it, cheers mate
We just talked about how the M54 has more upgrade potential.

An N52 has 30 more hp stock.

Google Technique Tuning if you want to know what's possible. 375+ whp is possible with a bolt on turbo kit and thicker head gasket.
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      10-08-2012, 07:58 AM   #16
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If you really want to modify the N52, contact RMP. They are racing an e90 with the N52 and making quite good HP. I do not want to quote and figures or modifications as it's been a while since I've spoken to them.
I think I remember cams, headers and piston/con rods as well and reving to 8,000rpms. Don't quote me on that for sure though.
http://www.rmpmotors.com/
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