Bimmer Paul

Thanks Trevor!

When I was buying some second-hand turbo's, obviously there were a lot of options from the USA on ebay; as I'm sure any owner with a modified N54 will know, it seems to be harder to find the same level of modification options over here in the UK (or specifically for RHD cars), most the immediate options that pop up are from America or Germany which are often for LHD cars. Anyway, I have seen a few a posts on various forums asking about the differences between the RHD vehicle turbochargers and the LHD versions, with lots of responses, but nothing definitive to let you know if the turbo in your hand was actually the right one! (There is even a video on you-tube showing both versions, but rather un-helpfully no audio to tell you which is which!). So I wanted to post a very clear description of the differences as when I tried to find this out before buying a second hand pair, it wasn't as easy as you might hope. Now hopefully anyone else making this search in the future will come across this post and be re-assured at what they are buying. So, the front turbo's, i.e. the turbo for cylinders 1-3 are actually identical on both RHD and LHD vehicles. Think everyone knew that. The rear turbo's are indeed different to allow for the steering column, so are NOT interchangeable 'across the pond' and the differences are as follows: RHD: we have a longer wastegate actuator over here in the UK, that when looking directly at the turbo and side-on at the engine, the wastegate actuator points DOWN and left, i.e. by 'down' I literally do mean towards the floor and towards the bulkhead of the car (and away from the exhaust manifold). This matches the general path of the front turbocharger wastegate, i.e. it travels towards the floor but this time towards the bumper and also ends up further away from the exhaust manifold than where it started (albeit the assembly is mirrored and the arm is on the opposite side of the turbocharger and hidden from view when on the vehicle). So if you have two very similar looking turbochargers with similar wastegate arms that operate downwards but are basically mirror versions of each other: then you have a set of RHD N54 turbocharger's. LHD: the USA rear turbo has a much shorter wastegate actuator that points UP and left, so the wastegate is ends up much closer to the exhaust manifold and travels upwards to the bonnet and towards the bulkhead of the vehicle. Hence if you have turbo's with one wastegate actuator significantly shorter than the other with the actuator operating upwards instead of downwards, these are a set of LHD turbochargers. I hope this post helps at least one google searcher one day!

Hello fellow BMW fans! Just a customary introduction, from me (and my car of course). Love BMW's, started on an E46 320i over 10 years ago, upgraded to 330i shortly after I realised I bought the wrong engine (ha-ha!), then upwards again to an E92 335i...and where I hope to stay for a while. Pictures of all 3 below. I bought my 335i about a year ago at 60k miles, since then I've slowly been upgrading and fixing a lot of things, and now it's done 92k miles. My goal is to create a proper sleeper car that looks totally standard from the outside. I was running a Cobb stage 1+ tune, but I've had to remove the flash due to a 30FF low boost code (Noooo!). The following is everything I've changed/ had to change in the first year of ownership...although that year did include some HARD miles including 2 European trips and a Nurburgring visit which it obviously drove to and from (enthusiastically). As soon as I bought the car I put Braided brake lines and brembo brakes all round, control arms and bushes upgraded, then after I realised the N54 engine desperately needed it... a Wagner intercooler, BMS dual cone intakes and aluminium chargepipe which then allowed me to buy and run the Cobb stage 1 tune. Also changed ignition coils, spark plugs twice, solenoid values for VANOS, valve cover and gasket, PCV valve, Water pump failed at 79k, ABS pump failed at 84k, oil and filter changes every 10k miles, 3 sets of rear tyres and 2 fronts. So that's probably half and half in terms of cost...half spent on things breaking and because I like to keep my car properly maintained and the other half to increase power. Long term I do want a full adjustable suspension set-up and big brake kit, but first I've got to deal with the dreaded wastegate rattle and low boost code, so I've replaced vacuum lines...going to replace the boost solenoids too...but I think it's definitely a turbo replacement job at this mileage...may as well get some hybrids done eh!?! But that's when I'll have to get a de-cat down-pipe, which is one of the reasons I joined this forum...was going to find out how people get around the MOT if they use this route (I know the Cobb removes the cel light), but that's a separate post! Look forward to whatever this group may bring!