-2006 Z4M Roadster
-4th Owner
-83,000 miles at time of rod bearing replacement
-N/A it's entire life
-No oil analysis performed
-Full on-time maintenance history
The previous owner of my car had told me he never tracked it, nor had the prior owner. However, google searches of the prior owner's SN let me to a photo of my car at the track. At this point, knowing I'd be flogging it for best lap times myself soon enough, I decided to get the rod bearing replacement done without performing an oil analysis (didn't want to wait another 3k mi!). My thinking was that regardless of how good/bad they were, this would then be something I wouldn't need to worry about for quite some time. My wallet wasn't happy with the decision but I'm anal about preventative maintenance and didn't want to wait any longer, so I moved forward with this.
I ordered WPC treated bearings + OEM bolts/pieces and contacted Lang Racing Development (
http://www.langracing.com/) to perform the work. For those of you who don't know, the folks at Lang Racing are regarded as the S54 masters - not only by BMW enthusiasts, but by other top BMW tuners/shops in Southern California. I spoke to various shops who told me not only was Lang's price fair, but that they were the S54 pros. Honest peer reviews like this say a lot, I knew where I was taking my car. Having run various racecars and working on countless S54 cars (among other BMW motors), you'd be hard pressed to find anyone more knowledgable with our precious S54 than Lang. Located in Irvine, CA, I didn't have to think twice where I'd be getting my rod bearings replaced. Quick to reply to emails, lighting fast on labor, flexible drop-off and pick-up times, and great recommendations and feedback - I would recommend Lang to anyone looking for any sort of BMW motor work and/or track/race prep. And to top it off, Andrew Lang sets a new standard when it comes to response time on emails, seriously lightning fast and at all hours of the day!
I brought my car in for rod bearing replacement & alignment. Despite the low clearance due to my aero kit, Lang handled my car with care, no problem at all. On top of that, they caught that my motor mounts were showing some serious wear and replaced them at very low cost.
At the end of the day, he said my original bearings were better than most, considering my miles, and didn't really need replacement at that time. While I may have jumped the gun on rod bearing replacement, at least now I have one less thing to worry about on this motor for the time being. The peace of mind was well worth it, and I'm proud to have had Lang's team work on my car!
Left - Top half-moons
Right - Bottom half-moons
Order:
1
2
3
4
5
6
#3 & #4 top was the worst of the bunch, but not bad at all (top & middle in this pic):
Closing thoughts/my recommendations to anyone with an S54 motor with unknown history and OE rod bearings:
Perform an oil analysis ASAP! Rod bearings are known to go on the S54 and mileage is not an honest tell of condition. When speaking to Lang, I asked if he had ever torn down an S54 with around 30-35k mi on it, and how the rod bearings looked. He had done just that in the past and said ALL bearings were 100% copper and ready to go. Rod bearing condition relies on how the motor is maintained and cared for - proper oil change intervals, letting the motor warm up properly before hitting high RPM, and how often redline is reached. Oil analyses will help tell the condition of your rod bearings better than anything else and prevent premature replacement like I have done.