After having (and selling) an STi and an Evo I'm back in the market for a car this spring. My heart is telling me to find a low mileage, clean, 2006 Evo. Let's put this aside for now, as my wife tells me I'm to old and 'professional' to drive that kind of car. I live close to AMS and would like to work with them on upgrades as I have in the past.

I would like something will some of the same core ingredients - awd, turbo, manual transmission. The BMW 335xi seems to fit the bill. I know AMS started some work on the 335 but it didn't seem to go far. I've also heard that the earlier, twin turbo models were prone to engine problems.

Is this a good platform to build off? What is the potential and limitations of the motor? Any other cars to recommend in the 30ish range?

 

i have a e92 335xi for sale. the earlier models 2007 in particular are prone to HPFP issues. However it is a recall and most have been taken care of.. most definitely a nice start to a build. Many companys make parts for the 335i/xi they can be a bit pricey but theres alot out there and if you can do the work youll save a few buck the juice box system that you can get adds up to 100hp accompanied with intake full exaust down pipes can bring you upwards of 400hp and with the long gears it can certainly be alot of fun.

 

I've down some Google shopping for parts and can't seem to find much more than an exhaust and mapping. Are there turbo upgrades, cams, etc. to build something in the 500-600hp range?

AMS has taken the 3.8 in the GTR to extremes, curious if there are plans for something more substantial on the 3.5? I believe one of the employees had a car they were using as a testing mule. If not, are there design limitations that took it off the table after they developed the exhaust, intercooler, and other standard bolt ons.

 

It was actually my 335 you are referring to and it was a great car.

As far as limitations current the fuel system is the big one. Putting a turbo on that car is not the easiest thing as the space constraints are pretty brutal and the turbo exhaust hosing and manifold are one piece. We did a small upgrade and made about 500whp about two years ago but sort of scrapped the project due to poor tuning solutions.

There have been some major advancements in tuning though. For instance now we have the ability to do complete custom flash tuning in house using our tuners and our mapping. This opens a lot of doors!

We also already make and carry parts for the 335 that you will see on our site. Our FMIC is probably the most popular on the market... I can barely keep them in stock.



With that being said If you are looking for 500whp plus you might want to look elsewhere as the 335 is not an easy platform to work with. 400whp is not out of the question though and the car is SUPER fun at that level!

Eric

 

The guys over at Pro EFI are working on a standalone ecu and one other company who is not a vendor here so I will not mention their name. Both of them seem to have solved the fuel-supply issue. So we'll wait and see what they have come up with.

 

You should convince your wife that were never to old to drive matchbox cars lol