Quote:
Originally Posted by skvitt5
Hi folks! This is my first Bimmer. Am I doomed? Or are there any good words about N63?
So far it has 115K km (72K miles) on it. Sounds healthy and drives good.
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TLDR version: Throw away your engine cover, toss your rear partition, let your engine compartment breath, avoid stop and go traffic like its the plague (take the long way), you have a 5300lb performance SUV with a twin turbo V8, it was made to CRUISE and FAST. Use Liqui Moly 5-40 for your oil change. Oh and buy the 10" android screen upgrade, worth every penny.
Long version:
I Have 2012 50i with 141K on it. I put 40,000 miles on in it in one year so I drive it hard. The biggest problem with the 50i (and M) is that the engine is a reverse flow "Hot Vee". This means the exhaust manifolds and catalytic converters, items normally located away from the engine, are actually placed in the center of the valley of the engine, underneath that pretty engine cover.
Yes thats right, items that reach well over 1000 degrees are tucked in there along with all kinds of wonderful plastic hoses and bits and then covered up by that engine cover which also has sound deadening material that also acts as amazing heat blanket(BMW actually calls it an Acoustic cover). To make it worse, the 50i is unique with its crazy air filter system that further traps heat soak from the exhaust system and cooks the living hell out of the heads, thus why our coils and CCV tubes fail much sooner then the M version of the engine as it has a different air filter design. Throw that damn engine cover out and toss your rear partition (alot of users will disgree with me on that one, but until they get a 140K on their N63 powered X5 in the AZ heat, they know not what they speak of)
So unless they have recently been replaced, look out for the following within the next 10-30K miles:
Misfire codes & engine malfunctions from worn plugs and coils.
Misfire and rough "surging idle or underboost codes from cracked CCV tubes
Coolant leaks from the hoses going to the turbos, head to head hose under alternator.
If the previous owner was a dick and used cheap oil then expect blocked turbo oil return lines (your engine will smoke like a James Bond smoke screen if this happens)
around 90 to 100K, most N63's start smoking pretty bad due to bad valve seals. Install catch-cans with adjustable CC Vacuum and get at least another 40K out of it without having to spend 3 grand to have them replaced (or 1000 dollars in tools and 40 hours to do it yourself) , I am working on a write up how to do these, been taking me forever but will have it up long before its a issue for you.
Change your tranny oil at 80K, BMW says its lifetime because their marketing team has a drug problem(obviously), ZF the actual maker of your ZF8HP70 transmission recommends changing it at 80 because they believe in reality. One would think the actual maker of the transmission would know best.
Do you see the pattern here? All items are heat related and thats why I always shout my mantra of throwing away the engine cover and rear partition, get some friggen air flow in that tomb of an engine compartment. Twin turbo v8 reverse flow with an damn engine cover and an engine compartment so tight you can pour water on your engine and a drop wont hit the ground.....they need to bring back drawn and quartered specific for whoever thought that was a good idea.....
So as mentioned before, Enjoy the 50i, it drives like no other, but be prepared. You have a complicated machine....any car that has 3 water pumps and enough wires and tubes to reach the moon if put in end to end is going to be. Get a Foxwell 510, 520, or Bimmergeeks Protools and start surfing for the best coil and plug prices & CCV component prices (avoid Bosch Coils made in Slovenia like the Plague, Eldors are a safe bet, get generic Bosch plugs or be fancy and get the Iridium NGK's, I have them, they rock) Even if you dont do the work yourself, having the scan tools and being informed will prevent you from being bootyraped by the repair shop/dealer.