Let's make N63TU 50i great again! Changing spark plugs - community DIY (in progress)

[boyce89976]

Is this only beneficial if you have a tune, or would the stock motor benefit from ///M plugs?

[DuSh]

Originally Posted by boyce89976

Is this only beneficial if you have a tune, or would the stock motor benefit from ///M plugs?

For stock motor it doesn't matter. For stock motor it's just a cheaper way to change your plugs. Whatever marketing decisions were made that allowed M plugs to cost less than non-M ones - it is only good for us - we can use it for our advantage.

What does matter even for stock motor - is to change plugs at least at 40-60k miles (at the very least). If you are tuned I would do it every 30k miles. As we've seen from Maverick's picture - they were pretty caulked in deposit all over electrodes - and caused misfires.

Once you get the hang of it - it can be done very quickly - probably under 1h.
Once again, I'm not an expert, and this is just my opinion, but some things are obvious. BMW interval maintenance recommendations are too stretched for some things (plugs, motor oil and transmission oil). Some other things they got just right (cabin filters, brake fluid etc).

[perry8912]

DuSh Maverik259

which tune are you guys using? Jb4? Racechip? Or Ess?

Can you guys recommend something that is reliable for stock engine and can be easily removed for warranty purposes? Which one gets more bang for the bucks?

I don’t need something serious, for better reliability, maybe +50hp is enough for me.

Cheers~

[Maverik259]

Originally Posted by perry8912

DuSh Maverik259

which tune are you guys using? Jb4? Racechip? Or Ess?

Can you guys recommend something that is reliable for stock engine and can be easily removed for warranty purposes? Which one gets more bang for the bucks?

I don't need something serious, for reliability purposes, maybe +50hp is enough for me.

Cheers~

Ever never heard of ESS but I'm running RC. They have a sale going right now for 15% off. Just message RGSport. Although if I was doing it again I would save and do the flash tune. But I don't think it's worth the money honestly. You don't get anything better

[DuSh]

Originally Posted by perry8912

DuSh Maverik259

which tune are you guys using? Jb4? Racechip? Or Ess?

Can you guys recommend something that is reliable for stock engine and can be easily removed for warranty purposes? Which one gets more bang for the bucks?

I don’t need something serious, for better reliability, maybe +50hp is enough for me.

Cheers~

You need to go with piggybacks - Racechip. Racechip (ultimate or gts - not sure which one is latest). That's the only solution if you want to quickly unplug it without trace when you are heading to a dealer. It adds more than 50hp on highest settings (not sure how much exactly, but could be 70hp).

I'm running BPC Stage 1 flash - it adds about 100hp, but since it is not a piggyback that I can take off the car, but a flash - dealer will notice it if some warranty claim will come up. I'm out of warranty (since March) so I don't care anymore. But, yeah, in your case just stay simple, especially if you are not looking at some extreme power. When warranty will be up and IF you'll still want more - then you can explore other options imho.

[perry8912]

Originally Posted by Maverik259

Ever never heard of ESS but I'm running RC. They have a sale going right now for 15% off. Just message RGSport. Although if I was doing it again I would save and do the flash tune. But I don't think it's worth the money honestly. You don't get anything better

How’s the reliability? And what gas are you using? The installation seems a little bit complicated on n63tu engine. Do you have a instruction or something like that?
Also, why do you want to go with flash tune? Any drawbacks on racechip?

[perry8912]

Originally Posted by DuSh

You need to go with piggybacks - Racechip. Racechip (ultimate or gts - not sure which one is latest). That's the only solution if you want to quickly unplug it without trace when you are heading to a dealer. It adds more than 50hp on highest settings (not sure how much exactly, but could be 70hp).

I'm running BPC Stage 1 flash - it adds about 100hp, but since it is not a piggyback that I can take off the car, but a flash - dealer will notice it if some warranty claim will come up. I'm out of warranty (since March) so I don't care anymore. But, yeah, in your case just stay simple, especially if you are not looking at some extreme power. When warranty will be up and IF you'll still want more - then you can explore other options imho.

Wow, +100hp, that’s pretty impressive. What other mods have been done in other to achieve that number? What gas are you using? And how’s the reliability so far? I do prefer to go with flash tune, it seems have better control of the engine, but the warranty thing make it complicated for me, can’t we flash back and forth by ourself?

[DuSh]

Originally Posted by perry8912

Wow, +100hp, that’s pretty impressive. What other mods have been done in other to achieve that number? What gas are you using? And how’s the reliability so far? I do prefer to go with flash tune, it seems have better control of the engine, but the warranty thing make it complicated for me, can’t we flash back and forth by ourself?

I'm completely stock, except some cosmetics and:
1. X5M air filters - $100 for both and they are just plug-n-play.
2. Muffler delete (with x-pipe addition) - $280 - mainly for deep V8 sound and some 40lbs weight saving lol.

Here's BPC flash Stage 1: https://bimmerperformancecenter.com/...tune-2013-2016

It's not cheap. Reliability is top notch - no issues so far. I'm using 91 octane and got 440whp and 540wtq on dyno (Dynamic Dyno - the one that shows lowest numbers). With 93 octane should be about 20whp more. With Racefuel (100 octane) should be another 20-30whp more. Give or take.

In the Fall I'll go with either E85 mix or Meth injection kit and will try to achieve maximum I can. People did dyno up to 600whp, so there's potential.

[Maverik259]

Originally Posted by perry8912

How's the reliability? And what gas are you using? The installation seems a little bit complicated on n63tu engine. Do you have a instruction or something like that?
Also, why do you want to go with flash tune? Any drawbacks on racechip?

It's easy. RGSport has the install instructions for X5M and it's the same. Reliable yes. Loads of power. 93octane.

[perry8912]

Originally Posted by Maverik259

It's easy. RGSport has the install instructions for X5M and it's the same. Reliable yes. Loads of power. 93octane.

Not easy at all. I have to remove the entire air intake assembly, which seems pretty complicated. The stock 50i is already fast enough to me, Im not sure if it worth all the trouble. Will Racechip be able to remove the turbo lag under 2000rpm?

[Maverik259]

Originally Posted by perry8912

Not easy at all. I have to remove the entire air intake assembly, which seems pretty complicated. The stock 50i is already fast enough to me, Im not sure if it worth all the trouble. Will Racechip be able to remove the turbo lag under 2000rpm?

Lol the air box is like 7 screws and two clamps. Takes 5 minutes with a drill and a T-20 bit man. Then you have to in bolt one small reservoir with like 2-3 bolts. Cmon now. It literally took me an hour and that's cuz I didn't know where the intercoolers were at the time.

If you can change your air filter you can change this. And yes there is virtually no lag since it causes them to spool up early and often.

[DuSh]

Originally Posted by perry8912

Not easy at all. I have to remove the entire air intake assembly, which seems pretty complicated. The stock 50i is already fast enough to me, Im not sure if it worth all the trouble. Will Racechip be able to remove the turbo lag under 2000rpm?

Or as an alternative, if you are not at all mechanically inclined - maybe you can just print instructions and pay some mechanic to do it for you. I think it's not going to cost more than an hour of labor. You can then watch how he does it and I'm sure after that it will be a lot easier when you'll see how it's done in front of you imho.

What really scares me is some IKEA self assembly stuff - now that I never was able (or had patience) to assemble. Thankfully my wife loves to assemble IKEA - so win-win for me

[Maverik259]

So here something interesting. I went to both Bosch and NGK and neither claim to have spark plugs for the X5M and only NGK shows plugs for 50i. And they're at a .032" gap. Strange that not even Bosch will list them. Must be a bitch of a contract BMW has them in.

[BobBeau]

Originally Posted by perry8912

DuSh Maverik259

which tune are you guys using? Jb4? Racechip? Or Ess?

Can you guys recommend something that is reliable for stock engine and can be easily removed for warranty purposes? Which one gets more bang for the bucks?

I don’t need something serious, for better reliability, maybe +50hp is enough for me.

Cheers~

BM3 (Bootmode) tune here. Like Dush said you'll want the M air filters when you're tuned. You'll also want to get a new set of spark plugs to avoid misfires, as most of us that are tuned are learning. As far as being easy to remove and reinstall... I don't see how much easier it could get with a flash. Takes less than 10 minutes and a laptop does all the work. The DME will store a code that says something was plugged into the OBDII port but if you drive the car around the block after you're finished flashing the stock tune and locking the DME's, you can plug back in and clear codes and it goes away. Didn't do this one time and the dealer questioned me about it. Told her I'd been doing some coding (which was true) and all was well. Buddy of mine had the JB4 on his M235i and was very happy with it. I had been looking for something for mine and was ready to pull the trigger. When BM3 came out with their tune for the 50i, I was sold. My buddy wanted to try a flash tune vs. a piggy back so we both bought the BM3 tune at the same time. I can't compare it on my X5 but he threw the JB4 in the garbage after he installed the flash tune from BM3. Piggy back tune vs. an actual flash I guess. I love my tune, not saying that it's better than Dush's or any other flash tune but with much more power and GOBS more torque, i'm extremely happy. With more flash tunes becoming available, I don't see the BMW piggy back era lasting much longer. Just my .02

[DuSh]

Originally Posted by Maverik259

So here something interesting. I went to both Bosch and NGK and neither claim to have spark plugs for the X5M and only NGK shows plugs for 50i. And they're at a .032" gap. Strange that not even Bosch will list them. Must be a bitch of a contract BMW has them in.

That's interesting. I could have thought plugs are counterfeit for that price lol, but if even dealership themselves sell them for $6 - I think they are oem. Maverick259, how is your car running, if you had chance of course to test it?
Thanks

[BobBeau]

Originally Posted by DuSh

I noticed that too, seems strange overall. Maybe just different manufacturers?
BTW spark plugs from X5M are indeed 1 step "colder" ones compared to our stock X5 50i spark plugs. ///M spark plugs have 0.7mm gap, but after I researched this topic - some recommend decrease gap to 0.6mm - in order to decrease possibility of misfire even more. This is just me sharing what I've been able to find so far.

P.S. Also, it turns out N20 engine (like in 3 series) spark plugs are also 1 step "colder" compared to our X5 50i stock plugs and they are used as well by some enthusiasts in X5 50i.

I got some info on plugs from BM3. They recommend the NGK SILZKBR8D8S (97506) for N55, S55 and S63tu motors. I asked them about the N63tu motor and the person responded with only the information on the 3 motors I stated. They also recommend gapping between .018" and .020" which equates to between .46 and .51mm. What are your thoughts on this gap for the M plugs? I don't want to install the plugs then have to take them out to re-gap them. I need to find that happy medium where it'll run fine on both stock and tuned.

[DuSh]

Originally Posted by BobBeau

I got some info on plugs from BM3. They recommend the NGK SILZKBR8D8S (97506) for N55, S55 and S63tu motors. I asked them about the N63tu motor and the person responded with only the information on the 3 motors I stated. They also recommend gapping between .018" and .020" which equates to between .46 and .51mm. What are your thoughts on this gap for the M plugs? I don't want to install the plugs then have to take them out to re-gap them. I need to find that happy medium where it'll run fine on both stock and tuned.

Bob, let's wait what Maverick will say about his spark plug change - if he is happy - then I would stay with 0.6mm gap. I've read about going below 0.5mm can make idle a bit not stable, rough idle. I guess it's because too small gap - has smaller spark and might not ignite fuel everytime - which will cause misfires too. I think imho 0.6mm is already smaller than stock X5 plugs so it should be good to go. On the other hand I'm not an expert and BM3 guys might know more of course. I wouldn't go lower than 0.5mm if I were to do it today with knowledge we have. Unless some new info comes up.

[Maverik259]

Originally Posted by DuSh

That's interesting. I could have thought plugs are counterfeit for that price lol, but if even dealership themselves sell them for $6 - I think they are oem. Maverick259, how is your car running, if you had chance of course to test it?
Thanks

Running great. And I bought mine from a dealer. Getbmwparts is a dealer in silver spring, MD. The oem X5M plugs came in at like .68

[DuSh]

Originally Posted by Maverik259

Running great. And I bought mine from a dealer. Getbmwparts is a dealer in silver spring, MD. The oem X5M plugs came in at like .68

That's great news! Have you tried WOT - I'm just curious if your limp mode issue went away?

[Maverik259]

Originally Posted by DuSh

That's great news! Have you tried WOT - I'm just curious if your limp mode issue went away?

Yes completely gone. She's a brand new animal. Glad to have her back. Don't recommend that low. Especially on a stock S63 motor but a tuned S63 would probably do ok. Keep in mind. A tuned N63 is essentially a stock S63.

[DuSh]

Originally Posted by Maverik259

Yes completely gone. She's a brand new animal. Glad to have her back. Don't recommend that low. Especially on a stock S63 motor but a tuned S63 would probably do ok. Keep in mind. A tuned N63 is essentially a stock S63.

That's fantastic news! At least we now know that if one gets a limp mode after trying to accelerate hard - chances are it's spark plugs.

[BobBeau]

Originally Posted by Maverik259

Running great. And I bought mine from a dealer. Getbmwparts is a dealer in silver spring, MD. The oem X5M plugs came in at like .68

Didn't you close the gap a bit or did you leave them alone?