tombate911
Paid Member
Funny you should say this! I have been looking at the GTS ones to go on a new boot lid I've got sat in the garage, been considering going in that direction but wasn't bringing that option up yet! Great taste!
Albi Blue 200 >> BMW E46 Track Car
- Thread starter tombate911
- Start date
Funny you should say this! I have been looking at the GTS ones to go on a new boot lid I've got sat in the garage, been considering going in that direction but wasn't bringing that option up yet! Great taste!
tombate911
Paid Member
Yeah they do, I have looked at fibreglass and even carbon boots in the CSL style, would shave off a decent amount of weight too!
Can certainly feel how much more settled the car is with the rear wing on high speed corners especially when rolling off the throttle too, it balances out the front splitter but currently not running that as I can't get the angle correct with the new M3 bumper which is actually a tad higher than the 330 one at the bottom so the splitter actually angles upwards, need to look at options for that in the future but happy running without it, I've got Oulton Park in March so will aim to do the back to back testing of the wing,
Might have bought a GTS wing though. oops! So I can run a smaller one with more angle rather than the current larger one which i only run around 3-4 degrees.
tombate911
Paid Member
Spring arrives which brings with it the first track day for 2025 so I have had to get the car all working ready for Oulton Park which meant finishing off some of the on going jobs from over winter.
MK60E5.
Will document a few bits of this which I have found out along the way.
I am using - 6789303/6789304 - This is from the 6 cylinder E9x Models, It is important that all the parts used are from the 6 cylinder variants, I found this out the hard way again.
With some help of a friend we have experimented with flashing to M3 software but had an issue with a pump losing some inlet valve calibrations and being unable to rerun the calibrations with a 5DD0 Fault code which I was unable to clear on one unit, I bought a spare unit and just left it as the standard 6 cylinder firmware and updated some of the onboard settings using tool32.
Once I have used the ABS with the standard software I will update it to M3 in the future.
Sensors are front wheel speed sensors from 3.0 versions - 3452670424 - The white plastic gives them away as being 6 cylinder versions.
Originally I ordered the following Yaw sensor, the internet tends to say these are compatible with all model of pump - Guess what they're not!
The following is for Pre LCI but also appears to work with an E92 M3 pump too
676269-04
The correct Yaw sensor to use with a Post LCI unit as documented above
6850375
This later Yaw sensor uses a different style plug too as well as a different pin out
4 Pin Yaw Sensor
1 - Yaw Sensor Ground
2- Can Low
3- Can High
4- Yaw Sensor V+
With all that sorted and no more fault codes in the system other than missing data like the E90 instruments, Canbus messages and steering angle It was back to the mechanical side of things
I wanted to get the sensor wiring as far away from the disc as possible.
Ground away some of the plastic which wasn't needed where the wiring went into the sensor
Added thick heat proof sleeving rated for 400+ degrees
It is close but no issues so far at the time of writing this I have tested it and no effects from heat at the moment. Going up to E46 CSL discs would create more space here which is an option for the future
One important part of keeping these set up working is going to be cooling.
I have refitted the 3" brake ducts from the front fog lights to the front of the hubs
While on the topic of the E5 - Screenshot of a log from Oulton this weekend just passed.
Brakes going into EBV - Brake biasing when the rear wheels are reaching their limit of grip.
If wheel slip is detected on the front wheels then it goes into ABS
Overall the feel of the ABS is very good, no pedal feedback which was my biggest issue with the standard MK60 from the E46.
I was getting to grips with the brakes again at Oulton at the weekend and if anything over braking for corners but with a little more seat time I will get used to how late I can brake as well as getting used to how hard I can press the brakes, still only hitting just over 1000psi on braking, once or twice I hit 1200psi without any wheel slip or ABS it's just getting used to it again after years of having no ABS.
Pulled off the new tensioner I fitted at Cadwell Park last year when the bolts snapped in the block and replaced it for a S54 tensioner and idler, if it's good enough for 8k revs on an S54 it'll be much better for this engine.
Hopefully proves to be more reliable and pass the forces from the belt to the block more effectively with the larger clamping area an 3 bolts
With this tensioner you need to run the idler at the top near the alternator to take up the slack in the belt that's created with this tensioner being in a slightly different location
Modified the mounting of the splitter to raise the back edge it slightly to give a better rake angle on it and hopefully a little more front end grip, with the replacement bumper the splitter angle ended up pretty much flat so likely not doing a great deal
Interior - No major changes - Just been working on ensuring the instrument cluster works correctly
I have set up the Centre ABS Light to work with the MK60E5 to light up when there is an ABS fault
Speedo working correctly using one of the wheel speed outputs from the E5 directly to the cluster as it uses a PWM input
Red and Yellow ABS lights disabled.
MK60E5.
Will document a few bits of this which I have found out along the way.
I am using - 6789303/6789304 - This is from the 6 cylinder E9x Models, It is important that all the parts used are from the 6 cylinder variants, I found this out the hard way again.
With some help of a friend we have experimented with flashing to M3 software but had an issue with a pump losing some inlet valve calibrations and being unable to rerun the calibrations with a 5DD0 Fault code which I was unable to clear on one unit, I bought a spare unit and just left it as the standard 6 cylinder firmware and updated some of the onboard settings using tool32.
Once I have used the ABS with the standard software I will update it to M3 in the future.
Sensors are front wheel speed sensors from 3.0 versions - 3452670424 - The white plastic gives them away as being 6 cylinder versions.
Originally I ordered the following Yaw sensor, the internet tends to say these are compatible with all model of pump - Guess what they're not!
The following is for Pre LCI but also appears to work with an E92 M3 pump too
676269-04
The correct Yaw sensor to use with a Post LCI unit as documented above
6850375
This later Yaw sensor uses a different style plug too as well as a different pin out
4 Pin Yaw Sensor
1 - Yaw Sensor Ground
2- Can Low
3- Can High
4- Yaw Sensor V+
With all that sorted and no more fault codes in the system other than missing data like the E90 instruments, Canbus messages and steering angle It was back to the mechanical side of things
I wanted to get the sensor wiring as far away from the disc as possible.
Ground away some of the plastic which wasn't needed where the wiring went into the sensor
Added thick heat proof sleeving rated for 400+ degrees
It is close but no issues so far at the time of writing this I have tested it and no effects from heat at the moment. Going up to E46 CSL discs would create more space here which is an option for the future
One important part of keeping these set up working is going to be cooling.
I have refitted the 3" brake ducts from the front fog lights to the front of the hubs
While on the topic of the E5 - Screenshot of a log from Oulton this weekend just passed.
Brakes going into EBV - Brake biasing when the rear wheels are reaching their limit of grip.
If wheel slip is detected on the front wheels then it goes into ABS
Overall the feel of the ABS is very good, no pedal feedback which was my biggest issue with the standard MK60 from the E46.
I was getting to grips with the brakes again at Oulton at the weekend and if anything over braking for corners but with a little more seat time I will get used to how late I can brake as well as getting used to how hard I can press the brakes, still only hitting just over 1000psi on braking, once or twice I hit 1200psi without any wheel slip or ABS it's just getting used to it again after years of having no ABS.
Pulled off the new tensioner I fitted at Cadwell Park last year when the bolts snapped in the block and replaced it for a S54 tensioner and idler, if it's good enough for 8k revs on an S54 it'll be much better for this engine.
Hopefully proves to be more reliable and pass the forces from the belt to the block more effectively with the larger clamping area an 3 bolts
With this tensioner you need to run the idler at the top near the alternator to take up the slack in the belt that's created with this tensioner being in a slightly different location
Modified the mounting of the splitter to raise the back edge it slightly to give a better rake angle on it and hopefully a little more front end grip, with the replacement bumper the splitter angle ended up pretty much flat so likely not doing a great deal
Interior - No major changes - Just been working on ensuring the instrument cluster works correctly
I have set up the Centre ABS Light to work with the MK60E5 to light up when there is an ABS fault
Speedo working correctly using one of the wheel speed outputs from the E5 directly to the cluster as it uses a PWM input
Red and Yellow ABS lights disabled.
tombate911
Paid Member
Part 2...
Ordered a new wing to try at Oulton Park
Slghtly smaller than the chasis mounted wing
Safe to say I noticed a big difference at Oulton without the larger wing, throughout the day I adjusted the smaller wing all the way to it's maximum setting, but the car was no where near as stable as it normally is with the larger wing, I think this is something I will go back to. Function over form on this one.
Gave the alignment a once over as I'd replaced the front right inner tie rod and track rod end and it was ready for Oulton Park
The day got off to a great start, it was fairly quiet out on circuit and had a passenger in for the first 20 minute session, looking back at the logs I ended up putting in a 2:00 dead lap in the first session of the day. I think back now for how many years I was trying to get Oulton down to a 2 minute lap!
Changed a few things during the day, Ran the front ARB on full soft and full stiff. Prefer it on the soft setting which is way stiffer than the OEM bar anyway.
Turned up the dampers and tried a few different settings away from my usual base line settings but again preferring to run the dampers in the middle of their settings rather than full hard being one way dampers.
Checked the car over in the middle of the day and noticed that one of the Nylon press on fittings for the ABS had expanded and was no longer a push fit, I had decided to epoxy one side on, but the first side I built up I'd left as a push fit, I quickly rebuilt the first side with some epoxy resin and carried on the day without issue with the ABS
Got the car on the weighbridge at lunchtime.
The car was 1255 with 22 litres of fuel - 1230kg.
There is some weight I can loose easily from the car like foot plates, fire extinguisher, as well as around 15kg in splitter and splitter mounts but it's not worth it in my opinion for what they add.
The car was going really well until I suffered a random battery failure at 3pm. Hitting the inner curb at Cascades the whole car turned off and when diagnosing the fault the battery reads a flat 0v, prior to this everything was perfect on the logger showing 14.2 volts all day. I have ordered a different/new battery to replace the Lucas battery I was running. I will be rubber mounting this one though rather than it being solid on the metal floor
Obviously theres a video. Not my tidiest of laps, could be a lot smoother if I wasn't using so much kerb unsettling the car too!
[youtube]
Ordered a new wing to try at Oulton Park
Slghtly smaller than the chasis mounted wing
Safe to say I noticed a big difference at Oulton without the larger wing, throughout the day I adjusted the smaller wing all the way to it's maximum setting, but the car was no where near as stable as it normally is with the larger wing, I think this is something I will go back to. Function over form on this one.
Gave the alignment a once over as I'd replaced the front right inner tie rod and track rod end and it was ready for Oulton Park
The day got off to a great start, it was fairly quiet out on circuit and had a passenger in for the first 20 minute session, looking back at the logs I ended up putting in a 2:00 dead lap in the first session of the day. I think back now for how many years I was trying to get Oulton down to a 2 minute lap!
Changed a few things during the day, Ran the front ARB on full soft and full stiff. Prefer it on the soft setting which is way stiffer than the OEM bar anyway.
Turned up the dampers and tried a few different settings away from my usual base line settings but again preferring to run the dampers in the middle of their settings rather than full hard being one way dampers.
Checked the car over in the middle of the day and noticed that one of the Nylon press on fittings for the ABS had expanded and was no longer a push fit, I had decided to epoxy one side on, but the first side I built up I'd left as a push fit, I quickly rebuilt the first side with some epoxy resin and carried on the day without issue with the ABS
Got the car on the weighbridge at lunchtime.
The car was 1255 with 22 litres of fuel - 1230kg.
There is some weight I can loose easily from the car like foot plates, fire extinguisher, as well as around 15kg in splitter and splitter mounts but it's not worth it in my opinion for what they add.
The car was going really well until I suffered a random battery failure at 3pm. Hitting the inner curb at Cascades the whole car turned off and when diagnosing the fault the battery reads a flat 0v, prior to this everything was perfect on the logger showing 14.2 volts all day. I have ordered a different/new battery to replace the Lucas battery I was running. I will be rubber mounting this one though rather than it being solid on the metal floor
Obviously theres a video. Not my tidiest of laps, could be a lot smoother if I wasn't using so much kerb unsettling the car too!
[youtube]
tombate911
Paid Member
Unlike me I barely touched the car since March up until the Anglesey track day in May.
I did fit a new battery to replace the failed one from Oulton Park. When I removed the original battery it was completely flat 0v so something has broken/become disconnected inside.
Fitted the new battery and checked the voltages and everything looked good.
The return of the BGW
Anglesey Coastal
After the months of beautiful weather it was forecast a dry morning at least on Anglesey. Expected to get a lot of rain in the afternoon so tried to make the most of the morning weather
Car was faultless all day, nice to only have to check tyre pressures and suspension settings
Rolling out for some morning laps
It doesn't always go to plan. Returning back to the circuit from the infield.
[youtube]
Just before lunch the heavens started to open. On with the wets
[youtube]
I did fit a new battery to replace the failed one from Oulton Park. When I removed the original battery it was completely flat 0v so something has broken/become disconnected inside.
Fitted the new battery and checked the voltages and everything looked good.
The return of the BGW
Anglesey Coastal
After the months of beautiful weather it was forecast a dry morning at least on Anglesey. Expected to get a lot of rain in the afternoon so tried to make the most of the morning weather
Car was faultless all day, nice to only have to check tyre pressures and suspension settings
Rolling out for some morning laps
It doesn't always go to plan. Returning back to the circuit from the infield.
[youtube]
Just before lunch the heavens started to open. On with the wets
[youtube]
tombate911
Paid Member
Summer Track Days
Cadwell Park - I hadn't touched the car barely since the last day out to Anglesey besides doing the alignment and checking over the car.
Great when those afternoon laps come around and you can put together some clear laps and just enjoy the circuit
The following week I headed down to Snetterton - Turns out this was to be probably the best track day I've had in all the years of doing track days. Just multiple laps bumper to bumper with Jord in the Porsche.
Will see about a more detailed update soon but for now...
Cadwell Park - I hadn't touched the car barely since the last day out to Anglesey besides doing the alignment and checking over the car.
Great when those afternoon laps come around and you can put together some clear laps and just enjoy the circuit
The following week I headed down to Snetterton - Turns out this was to be probably the best track day I've had in all the years of doing track days. Just multiple laps bumper to bumper with Jord in the Porsche.
Will see about a more detailed update soon but for now...
tombate911
Paid Member
Not had a lot of time to sit down with a laptop and document things for a while on forums. Mostly posting updates on instagram now as forums as the dying place... Give it a follow.... @Just_A_330ci
Track day prep.
Adjustment to alignment once again, adding more camber on the rear this time to try and even out the tyre wear
Maybe this will be usefull to someone but documenting this bit more for myself
Front Camber 4.4
Front toe out 1mm
Ride height arch 640mm
Rear camber 2.8
1mm toe in each side
Ride height arch 630mm
Anyway summer track days.
Managed to go to Cadwell Park and Snetterton in the same week.
Cadwell Park Aug 2025
Car was flawless, I really have enjoyed the days of just checking pressures, adjusting damping and focusing on driving the car on the days out this year.
Jordans Porsche also getting pretty close with the reliability considering the full rebuild and changes made since going turbo
Snetterton Aug 2025...
Probably the best track day I've ever done.
Track was super quiet, never queued to get out on track once and was able to get out with Jordan every sessions of the day and lap together throughout the day, exactly what track days are about, In the video about Jordan is running pretty much waste gate pressure few PSI and the cars are very similar in pace, he had a little more at the top end you can see on the ends of the straights in the high rpms.
Typical E46. Indicator popped out, I drove through the pits so didn't lose it on track and ran without it for the afternoon.
I'd taken full tank and 20L, normally this is enough to get me through a day but by lunch I was out of fuel and the outer edges of the rear tyres where getting a little thin.
During the lunch break I shot off to get two slicks fitted i'd brought with me and rotated the tyres. Front to rear and new pair on the front and picked up some more fuel. The afternoon session was as good as the morning had been with constant laps!
What a way to end the summer for me, I'd been off work for 6 weeks, Had been out to France and Swizerland mountain biking and spent 10 days road tripping around Northern Scotland along with the two track days, time to look over the car, evaluation and get ready to go again.
Changes...
One thing I've wanted to address was the wet tyres set up. Had rainsports on my cars since 2014 and had a set of MV1 wheels since 2018 but this was only a 225 front tyres and to be honest the fitment with 4+ camber even with spacers on the front looked terrible so i've kept my eyes open for a set of Team Dynamic 1.2's for the last couple of years to match the dry wheels, but without any coming up at sensible prices I decided to buy something else for the wet wheels.
Found a set of Bolas for sale with decent ofset and 8.5j width which is perfect for a 255 road tyre.. I had already decided what tyre I wanted to try at this point... I was considering race wets but want something I can use for a number of years and hadn't found any decided race wets for sale at the right price so decided on Michelin Pilot sports after doing some laps in a car at Anglesey in the wet I was really surprised.
New wheels
Not my favourite style of wheel, quite modern for the E46 but they'll do.
Also stocked up on some slick tyres...
Michelins fitted
So obviously once I'd got at these sorted...
A Set of Team Dynamics in 9J came up for sale with wet tyres on!
So i've bought them two, so now have two sets of TD's and a set of Bolas
Track day prep.
Adjustment to alignment once again, adding more camber on the rear this time to try and even out the tyre wear
Maybe this will be usefull to someone but documenting this bit more for myself
Front Camber 4.4
Front toe out 1mm
Ride height arch 640mm
Rear camber 2.8
1mm toe in each side
Ride height arch 630mm
Anyway summer track days.
Managed to go to Cadwell Park and Snetterton in the same week.
Cadwell Park Aug 2025
Car was flawless, I really have enjoyed the days of just checking pressures, adjusting damping and focusing on driving the car on the days out this year.
Jordans Porsche also getting pretty close with the reliability considering the full rebuild and changes made since going turbo
Snetterton Aug 2025...
Probably the best track day I've ever done.
Track was super quiet, never queued to get out on track once and was able to get out with Jordan every sessions of the day and lap together throughout the day, exactly what track days are about, In the video about Jordan is running pretty much waste gate pressure few PSI and the cars are very similar in pace, he had a little more at the top end you can see on the ends of the straights in the high rpms.
Typical E46. Indicator popped out, I drove through the pits so didn't lose it on track and ran without it for the afternoon.
I'd taken full tank and 20L, normally this is enough to get me through a day but by lunch I was out of fuel and the outer edges of the rear tyres where getting a little thin.
During the lunch break I shot off to get two slicks fitted i'd brought with me and rotated the tyres. Front to rear and new pair on the front and picked up some more fuel. The afternoon session was as good as the morning had been with constant laps!
What a way to end the summer for me, I'd been off work for 6 weeks, Had been out to France and Swizerland mountain biking and spent 10 days road tripping around Northern Scotland along with the two track days, time to look over the car, evaluation and get ready to go again.
Changes...
One thing I've wanted to address was the wet tyres set up. Had rainsports on my cars since 2014 and had a set of MV1 wheels since 2018 but this was only a 225 front tyres and to be honest the fitment with 4+ camber even with spacers on the front looked terrible so i've kept my eyes open for a set of Team Dynamic 1.2's for the last couple of years to match the dry wheels, but without any coming up at sensible prices I decided to buy something else for the wet wheels.
Found a set of Bolas for sale with decent ofset and 8.5j width which is perfect for a 255 road tyre.. I had already decided what tyre I wanted to try at this point... I was considering race wets but want something I can use for a number of years and hadn't found any decided race wets for sale at the right price so decided on Michelin Pilot sports after doing some laps in a car at Anglesey in the wet I was really surprised.
New wheels
Not my favourite style of wheel, quite modern for the E46 but they'll do.
Also stocked up on some slick tyres...
Michelins fitted
So obviously once I'd got at these sorted...
A Set of Team Dynamics in 9J came up for sale with wet tyres on!
So i've bought them two, so now have two sets of TD's and a set of Bolas
Helpimonfire
Paid Member
Always good to see an update on here Tom, you get more of an idea of what's going on with the amount of text you can add to the post, I find Insta just doesn't seem right to have a decent write up!
If it falls correctly next year you need to get yourself up to Knockhill, the Opentrack double header was phenomenal and worth every penny!
If it falls correctly next year you need to get yourself up to Knockhill, the Opentrack double header was phenomenal and worth every penny!
tombate911
Paid Member
Update number 2 - Carried on from previous post...
Regrets...
If anyone was to ask me what was my biggest regret when putting together the E46. I would have said removing electric windows. Summer trackdays when the cabin temps inside a black car with no interior or insulation are easily into the 40's after 20 minutes on track I find myself soaked with sweat running out the back of my helmet, I've got the fans which circular air to the drivers vent and a ducting pointed at the driver but it doesn't really bring the cabin temps down. I did cut the doors completely removing as much weight at possible, time to do something about it...
Current drivers door - completely stripped of about 8kg over standard. I had gone to town on this door and removed all the runners for the glass, drilled holes in the bottom and side of the door, weighing in at 22kg, the big hole was covered by a plastic door card to keep the aesthetics and sharp edges covered.
Went to view a car being broken locally and picked up two doors which included glass and runners, need to give them some TLC but they will be perfect as they hadn't been butchered like some doors from breakers
Set myself off to make version 2 of the doors, remove as much of the unessarily material from the doors but still retain full functionality with window motors too.
Mid cut with the grinder and flap dics,
Finished article with door card fitted, window motor, glass runners, finished weight 26kg so added 4kg to each door, most of that being the motor assembly.
Last touch was a set of window switches wired to ignition live
approx 8+kg added back into the front doors, couldnt let this slide so started looking for areas where weight could be saved, I'd never really looked at taking weight out from the back of the car.
So started cutting away the spare wheel area and the battery box
The bootlid is mounted on pins and the spoiler is chassis mounted so took some weight out of the boot lid
Pulled off the rear bumper and got rid of the rear crash bar, rams, wiring and all sorts of little bits hidden under there
Total weight saved 15kg. Lighter now with electric windows than I was before.
Only part I had to add back in was this nice piece of 1mm powdercoated aluminum boot floor.
Mounted the rear bumper properly on aero catches
Good progress, access to fresh air and managed to save a few Kg in the process!
Regrets...
If anyone was to ask me what was my biggest regret when putting together the E46. I would have said removing electric windows. Summer trackdays when the cabin temps inside a black car with no interior or insulation are easily into the 40's after 20 minutes on track I find myself soaked with sweat running out the back of my helmet, I've got the fans which circular air to the drivers vent and a ducting pointed at the driver but it doesn't really bring the cabin temps down. I did cut the doors completely removing as much weight at possible, time to do something about it...
Current drivers door - completely stripped of about 8kg over standard. I had gone to town on this door and removed all the runners for the glass, drilled holes in the bottom and side of the door, weighing in at 22kg, the big hole was covered by a plastic door card to keep the aesthetics and sharp edges covered.
Went to view a car being broken locally and picked up two doors which included glass and runners, need to give them some TLC but they will be perfect as they hadn't been butchered like some doors from breakers
Set myself off to make version 2 of the doors, remove as much of the unessarily material from the doors but still retain full functionality with window motors too.
Mid cut with the grinder and flap dics,
Finished article with door card fitted, window motor, glass runners, finished weight 26kg so added 4kg to each door, most of that being the motor assembly.
Last touch was a set of window switches wired to ignition live
approx 8+kg added back into the front doors, couldnt let this slide so started looking for areas where weight could be saved, I'd never really looked at taking weight out from the back of the car.
So started cutting away the spare wheel area and the battery box
The bootlid is mounted on pins and the spoiler is chassis mounted so took some weight out of the boot lid
Pulled off the rear bumper and got rid of the rear crash bar, rams, wiring and all sorts of little bits hidden under there
Total weight saved 15kg. Lighter now with electric windows than I was before.
Only part I had to add back in was this nice piece of 1mm powdercoated aluminum boot floor.
Mounted the rear bumper properly on aero catches
Good progress, access to fresh air and managed to save a few Kg in the process!
tombate911
Paid Member
Update number 3.... Theres been a lot going on.....
Winter Upgrades
Easiest way to start this one is to look at the dyno graph for the current engine set up.
I have always stayed with the M50 manifold as the torque curve on this engine set up is brilliant in my opinion, the area under the graph is great for track work, however as with everything I always wonder is there something better? What could be improved? I would love peak power to be later in the RPM range, if peak power was at 7000rpm that would be amazing, I don't have any interest in the M54 manifold as all the back to back testing I did the M50 made a better mid range and smoother power curve. But I have taken interested in what some people have been doing outside of the UK with the N54/N55 inlet manifolds...
The dyno graphs I have seen from these look really promising, and by design the runner lengths are much shorter than the M50 manifold, runner length is important due to the frequency of the pulses which occur in the inlet manifold when the rushing inward air hits the back of the inlet valve as it closes, this causes a pressure wave inside the inlet valve, this means that different length runners are more efficient at different rpms and why a lot of manufacturers now use adjustable length runners in their manifold such as DISA valve in the original bmw manifold.
Anyway.. What am i doing?
Bought myself a N55 and a N54 manifold
N54 top - No opening for the ECU, better design on the inside, same design internally for all cylinders, metal thread inserts in the manifold for the throttle body. Has a vac line take off near the throttle body but will likely relocate this.
N55 bottom - Large opening for the ECU - Plastic holes for the throttle bold mounting
Both manfiolds take the same throttle body dimensions, the design of the ports are the same, both use a oring push fit air temp sensor in the top of the manifold.
Both manifolds are not designed for port injection and are very short!
prototype one
I have had my spare m54 head on the work bench to take measurements from and work out injector spacing to work with my Bosch injectors and a m54 dead head fuel rail, slightly different to my current return system but easy changes to make
CAD design for prototype 1
Took some measurements of the runner lengths with this prototype and compared with M50, looked at clearance between the fuel rail areas and the vanos unit and made some changes to the design
CAD version 2 (Realistically there are about 10 different CAD versions and many hours of work gone into the CAD file)
Bench mock up
Once I was happy with the prototype in the bench I had to give it a proper test in the car to check the position of the manifold in the engine bay.
Out with the M50 manifold
Assembled with the N54 manifold
Test fit in the engine bay
Also designed it to use the M54 inlet gasket
Will point out at this stage it is still a prototype and I have been experiencing with how I am going to reinforce areas with pressed in metal inserts for the production one... Will be coming back with that soon. At the moment the whole idea is looking promising, I spent the weekend working out the pipework pre throttle body, everyone else I've seen do this ideas goes to a open cone filter in the engine bay and I really don't want to do that, focusing on using the OEM airbox with the same diameter from the throttle body to the airbox. Will post more about this when it's all finalised
While in the engine bay I thought a bit of servicing wouldn't go a miss, at Snetterton with old oil and warm temps the engine was sounding a little more tappy than normal when the engine oil was hot so decided to strip down some of the head
Pulled out the cams, lifters and cam trays, split all the lifters open, gave them a good clean, checked the functionality of the one way valves and reassembled. What a saturday afternoon that was!
Back together it goes, freshly built lifters and the whole top end checked over
Service, fresh brake fluid, I have removed the proportioning valve and happy to just let the Mk60E5 handle all the biasing of the braking as it does such as good job at it I have removed these extra lines and gone back to the OEM metal brake line.
Fresh filter and some new oil.
Checked over all the wheel bearings, front right starting to grumble so swapped it for a spare, was a good chance to check over all the Mk60 changes I made at the beginning of the year and everything looks spot on after 8 months of abuse, no issues with the heat. Looks exactly the same as when it was fitted, just a little dirtier from the brake dust. Will be making a few minor adjustments to this design and getting a handful of "prototype" sets made up should anyone be interested in a set let me know.
That just about brings me up to date as of October 2025...
Will be pushing on with manufacturing the inlet adapters, pipe work and braces for this project and then the plan is to head to the dyno at the start of 2026 and produce some of my own data to compare...
Winter Upgrades
Easiest way to start this one is to look at the dyno graph for the current engine set up.
I have always stayed with the M50 manifold as the torque curve on this engine set up is brilliant in my opinion, the area under the graph is great for track work, however as with everything I always wonder is there something better? What could be improved? I would love peak power to be later in the RPM range, if peak power was at 7000rpm that would be amazing, I don't have any interest in the M54 manifold as all the back to back testing I did the M50 made a better mid range and smoother power curve. But I have taken interested in what some people have been doing outside of the UK with the N54/N55 inlet manifolds...
The dyno graphs I have seen from these look really promising, and by design the runner lengths are much shorter than the M50 manifold, runner length is important due to the frequency of the pulses which occur in the inlet manifold when the rushing inward air hits the back of the inlet valve as it closes, this causes a pressure wave inside the inlet valve, this means that different length runners are more efficient at different rpms and why a lot of manufacturers now use adjustable length runners in their manifold such as DISA valve in the original bmw manifold.
Anyway.. What am i doing?
Bought myself a N55 and a N54 manifold
N54 top - No opening for the ECU, better design on the inside, same design internally for all cylinders, metal thread inserts in the manifold for the throttle body. Has a vac line take off near the throttle body but will likely relocate this.
N55 bottom - Large opening for the ECU - Plastic holes for the throttle bold mounting
Both manfiolds take the same throttle body dimensions, the design of the ports are the same, both use a oring push fit air temp sensor in the top of the manifold.
Both manifolds are not designed for port injection and are very short!
prototype one
I have had my spare m54 head on the work bench to take measurements from and work out injector spacing to work with my Bosch injectors and a m54 dead head fuel rail, slightly different to my current return system but easy changes to make
CAD design for prototype 1
Took some measurements of the runner lengths with this prototype and compared with M50, looked at clearance between the fuel rail areas and the vanos unit and made some changes to the design
CAD version 2 (Realistically there are about 10 different CAD versions and many hours of work gone into the CAD file)
Bench mock up
Once I was happy with the prototype in the bench I had to give it a proper test in the car to check the position of the manifold in the engine bay.
Out with the M50 manifold
Assembled with the N54 manifold
Test fit in the engine bay
Also designed it to use the M54 inlet gasket
Will point out at this stage it is still a prototype and I have been experiencing with how I am going to reinforce areas with pressed in metal inserts for the production one... Will be coming back with that soon. At the moment the whole idea is looking promising, I spent the weekend working out the pipework pre throttle body, everyone else I've seen do this ideas goes to a open cone filter in the engine bay and I really don't want to do that, focusing on using the OEM airbox with the same diameter from the throttle body to the airbox. Will post more about this when it's all finalised
While in the engine bay I thought a bit of servicing wouldn't go a miss, at Snetterton with old oil and warm temps the engine was sounding a little more tappy than normal when the engine oil was hot so decided to strip down some of the head
Pulled out the cams, lifters and cam trays, split all the lifters open, gave them a good clean, checked the functionality of the one way valves and reassembled. What a saturday afternoon that was!
Back together it goes, freshly built lifters and the whole top end checked over
Service, fresh brake fluid, I have removed the proportioning valve and happy to just let the Mk60E5 handle all the biasing of the braking as it does such as good job at it I have removed these extra lines and gone back to the OEM metal brake line.
Fresh filter and some new oil.
Checked over all the wheel bearings, front right starting to grumble so swapped it for a spare, was a good chance to check over all the Mk60 changes I made at the beginning of the year and everything looks spot on after 8 months of abuse, no issues with the heat. Looks exactly the same as when it was fitted, just a little dirtier from the brake dust. Will be making a few minor adjustments to this design and getting a handful of "prototype" sets made up should anyone be interested in a set let me know.
That just about brings me up to date as of October 2025...
Will be pushing on with manufacturing the inlet adapters, pipe work and braces for this project and then the plan is to head to the dyno at the start of 2026 and produce some of my own data to compare...
tombate911
Paid Member
Thanks mate! A lot of people say that, and I also quite like spending an evening to write it down, document it, something to reference in the future too. Knockhill is defo on the list of places to visit. Just got Oulton Park left this years in November.
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