Was this really a good idea? (BMW 335i)

I also scored a pair of catless downpipes off a totaled e90 335i.  The guy was parting the car after hitting a deer.  Must have been a big deer.  I got them for $150.  I’m pretty stoked.  Now to make time to install them.

That’s a real solid deal, nice job!  I’ve been lurking this thread pretty hard, mostly because the n54 335i seems to be the easy go-fast button for most guys on the Accord forums that are ready to move on from that aging platform.  And I have a good buddy that just bought one.  

The very well-known reliability issues have kept me away from the platform so far but  you’ll be the guy to beat in the Gastropod class in the challenge, no question.  At least if there’s a trophy for highest combined placement in autox, track run, and drag race.  

I finished installing the catless downpipes last night.

I didn’t have enough money left in the budget for new exhaust gaskest.  So I found some cheaper ones with the same inside diameter and cut them down. They’re for an Oldsmobile and were only $3.79 each.

This is going to make some great sounds! What a score. 

Im getting everything finished up to leave for the Challenge tomorrow.  I removed the front splitter so it would be easier to get on and off the trailer.  It also frees up some money in the budget for a couple last minute things I may do when we get to Florida.

I also got the New tires put on yesterday.  The car is still randomly having a miss of sorts.  It seems to be related to heat.  It will run fine and then when it is shut off and restated about 20 minutes later it will run rough.  If you let it sit longer for maybe an hour so that the engine bay is cooler it will run fine.  I’ll have to figure it out later.  It’s as ready as it is going to be and I’ll figure that out when it gets back from the Challenge.  Hopefully it runs well there.  

I did some vinyl work to give it a little more visual appeal and to cover up the bad paint.  I think it turned out alright.  It should look even better with the number plate and sponsor decals.

I really like the way you made the blue middle stripe come out into the black, looks fancier than the typical plain 3 stripes! Good luck this weekend!

So I had a great time at the Challenge.  The car ran terrible.  The misfire on cylinder three was in full force all day Friday for the autocross and the drags so it was really gutless. My family and I met a bunch of great people and got to talk cars for two days so that’s a win.  I figured I would update the build with some pics from the event.  We left from Raleigh Wednesday so we’d have an extra day there to hang.  This is how the car looked Wednesday morning.

My oldest son kept saying the car would look better if we painted  the wheels black, but I didn’t have time before we left.  I brought paint in case we had time and we decided to do it Thursday afternoon with the car on the trailer.  It definitely made the car look tougher.  Thanks to pimpm3 for loaning me the 3x5 cards.

My daughter and I also white lettered the Mucho Macho tires because with a name like that you’ve got to.

 We installed all the decals and number plates Thursday night and were ready to go Friday morning.

have you done the ignition parts shuffle yet to diagnose the misfire?

Swap #3 coil with #1 and swap #3 spark plug with #2. 

If misfire moves to #1 you know it's the coil.

If misfire moves to #2 you know it's the spark plug.

And if it's my M62, swapping parts just cures it and it never comes back.  ;-)

It drove great up to inspection and then on the way back to the pit area it started to misfire.  It seems to be heat related so I let it sit with the hood open until the autocross.  I let a pro driver do the first three runs and it started misfiring part way thru the first run and from then on it continued.  He put down a good time so I ran my three runs to get some practice.  Even with it running bad it was a blast.

In reply to AngryCorvair :

I have.  In a last ditch effort to get it running right for the drag portion I swapped all of the coils around.  Nothing changed.  I also pulled the injector back out and re-taped it.  Nothing.  I’ve found out that the early n54s have a fairly common problem where the DME will have a injector driver/mosfet go bad and can cause this problem.  I think that’s what’s going on.  I’m looking into it.  The replacement mosfet is only $2, but it has to be soldered on by someone who’s familiar with these kinds of boards.  Maybe a local tv/electronics repair shop.

For the drag portion I just tried to put down the best run I could with the misfire, but the best I could do was like a 15.6x or 15.8x.  For the concourse we cleaned it up and checked out out all of the other cars.  So many creative builds.  It’s definitely inspiring.  We got to talk to a bunch of great folks.  My daughter did the valve cover racing.  It was a success for sure.  Thanks to GRM for putting on such a great event and thanks to all the participants who make it so much fun.  Thanks to Mazduece-Seth for spurring on all the Gastropods.   If you are reading this and are on the fence about doing the Challenge, just do it.  You will be glad you did.  I think we ended up 32nd out of 57 cars.  I may bring this car back next year but I have a Volvo 240 I’m planning on V8 swapping this year...so maybe I’ll bring that if it’s finished.  

packrat said:

In reply to AngryCorvair :

I have.  In a last ditch effort to get it running right for the drag portion I swapped all of the coils around.  Nothing changed.  I also pulled the injector back out and re-taped it.  Nothing.  I’ve found out that the early n54s have a fairly common problem where the DME will have a injector driver/mosfet go bad and can cause this problem.  I think that’s what’s going on.  I’m looking into it.  The replacement mosfet is only $2, but it has to be soldered on by someone who’s familiar with these kinds of boards.  Maybe a local tv/electronics repair shop.

Can you show me pictures of the DME and the part that needs to be changed? High level solder work is a decent portion of my day job. You can ship it out to me and I should be able to replace it.

Sorry we didn't get to meet at the challenge, but I'm stoked you made it down with the 335i. Come back next year with the car at 100%!

Nice seeing you and the car there. I know what it's like to have issues during the challenge. Good luck on figuring out the issue, and maybe we'll see it back next year?

In reply to clutchsmoke :

That would be great.  I still need to pull the DME out and put an ohm meter on it to see.  As soon as I do I’ll let you know.  Thank you.

In reply to white_fly :

That’s one of the hard parts about the Challenge is that there are so many people to meet and your not sure who everyone is.  Hopefully we can meet next time.  I’m hoping to get back with the car running right.

In reply to AWSX1686 :

Nice meeting you too man.  Even with the car running bad it was a great time.  Hopefully we’ll be back next year. 

I was wondering why this car didn't place higher in the gastropod standings, the drivability issues explain it.  Hopefully you're able to get it sorted out and enjoy the car.