Jake's Budget-Built BMW 335i Thread (Drag Inspired)

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After getting bored with my daily driver E70 X5, I sold it and started my search for a new project. As I continue to grow my YouTube channel, I wanted something that I could daily drive and modify. Since I know my way around an N54, I found myself looking for an E90 335i. This would give me 4 doors and a plethora of options to pick from. My only stipulations were that it had to be automatic, cheap, and not a pile of crap.

My search across the Midwest uncovered a lot of overpriced junk. As a member of E90Post, I stumbled across a listing that hadn't been getting much interest over the course of 3 months. I noticed the price was more than fair after a few price drops and the car seemed to be a great value. I contacted the seller and asked a few questions. Everything seemed legit so I had him bring it in for a PPI at a local BMW indy shop.

Next thing I knew, I was scheduling transportation from Texas to Wisconsin.

I took delivery of the car sight unseen and am very happy with the car. The transaction went smoothly, the seller was great to work with and I get to enjoy a rust-free chassis!

It's a 2009 BMW 335i (N54) with 140k miles. Face-lift sedan with sport package, premium package, heated seats and comfort access. Tons of maintenance records and tastefully modified with a Dinan carbon fiber cold air intake, JB4 tuner and window tint.

I have lots of plans for it because I'd like to make this an exciting build with modifications and maintenance. It'll start off like most N54s, but I'm really gonna turn things up later on this year. I'd like this to be a budget-built stock turbo drag car. I still have my 750whp 135i (see here), but this should be the polar opposite being an automatic, twin turbo sedan instead of a manual, single turbo coupe.

If this build sounds like something that interests you, I'd encourage you to subscribe to my YouTube channel or follow along on my 335i blog.

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I uploaded a video that shows the delivery, my first drive and my future plans for the build

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Next up was polishing the nasty headlights that I pointed out in the video upon delivery.

I've had really good luck using the 3M headlight restoration kit, along with a few additional supplies in the past.

These are the products I used:

Since I've had such good results with this method, I created a DIY video that shows the steps I take and the products I use. It also includes a cool time-lapse, let me know what you think!

SteelBlue

Mission failed if it doesn't run 9's on the stock tire.

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I took her out last weekend and snapped some better photos to show you guys what I'm working with

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SteelBlue said:

Mission failed if it doesn't run 9's on the stock tire.

I'm shooting for 8's on Smart Car tires.

YoungCR

Love that Dinan airbox! I'm behind on your videos but excited to see this project progress, headlights turned out great.

B C

Yes, sweet dinan airbox lid. Your photography in this and your 135i thread is top quality stuff! This seems like a bit of an adventure. In to see how it all goes

Jdesign

Nice! Cant wait to see where you take this!

GunMetalGrey

When one forgets the steps for a walnut blast, one must watch a video on how to do so.
See also : Jakeception

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YoungCR said:

Love that Dinan airbox! I'm behind on your videos but excited to see this project progress, headlights turned out great.

Thanks! I'm a sucker for the airbox as well.

B C said:

Yes, sweet dinan airbox lid. Your photography in this and your 135i thread is top quality stuff! This seems like a bit of an adventure. In to see how it all goes

Thank you sir! The unique part of this is actually the snorkel to the intake that makes it an actual cold-air intake.

Jdesign said:

Nice! Cant wait to see where you take this!

Me too!

GunMetalGrey said:

When one forgets the steps for a walnut blast, one must watch a video on how to do so.
See also : Jakeception

[lovely photo]

*embarrassing*

Damn, my hair looks red in that photo

Jdesign

Did you ever think that futureself will need to watch presentself. Craziness.

straight6pwr

lol @ jakeception

that car is certainly super clean, excited to see it throw down some 11s

KaiserRolls

Jakeception “what’s up you guys” in stereo surround lol

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I went to my local 1/4 mile drag strip to get some baseline results before I start diving into maintenance and modifications!

It was my first time launching or racing one of these cars with an automatic transmission. Definitely a learning moment, especially after getting used to my 750whp manual 135i. Two completely difference experiences! It was hard to tell the 335i was even doing anything because the stock exhaust is so quiet :lol

First-ever pass down the strip netted me a 14.71 at 95mph. Not great. I foot-braked the car and wasn't sure how high the stall would let me go before starting to spin the rear tires.

For the second pass, I left off idle thinking that might help. It didn't. Lost a tenth to the 60ft, but seemed to go down the back half of the track faster. The car was a lot cooler on this run as it didn't heat-soak in the staging lanes like it did on for the first run.

I've been wanting to test the accuracy of my Dragy device, so I had it on during my first two runs. I was impressed to find that it was within 0.03s and hit the MPH on the head! Take a look at the Dragy results below compared to the actual slips and you'll see each measurement is almost spot on. It's an awesome little device for measuring all sorts of stuff. 1/8 mile, 1/4 mile, 1/2 mile, 0-60mph, 60-130mph, etc.

You can order one on Amazon!

Since the Dragy was so accurate and the track was packed, I decided to hit a couple backroads on the way home instead of waiting in line for 1hr per pass. For my third attempt, I held the e-brake along with the foot brake to stall up the RPMs. Once I was ready to go, I released both brakes and it resulted in a much better launch.

Unfortunately, the tires spun on my first street attempt because the tires were cold. So I did a u-turn and went right back to the same spot and did a 4th run after warming the tires up. Same exact launching strategy and the tires hooked, resulting in a better 60ft and much better ET than my original 14.7.

All passes were done in sport mode, without manual shifting. I let the car automatically shift for me to keep things consistent. I probably could've squeezed some faster times out of it if I shifted earlier to keep the car in it's powerband. I can feel the boost tapering off up top being stock.

Best of 14.31 @ 97mph leaves a lot of room for improvement. Next step is some much needed maintenance. The car has 140k on it and has never had a walnut blast (to my knowledge), and it could use some spark plugs/coil packs.

Check out the video of my runs, you'll get an awesome POV-style view of me going down the track

KaiserRolls

That draggy thing is pretty cool

YoungCR

Agreed, that's a neat product.

SteelBlue

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Check out the video of my runs, you'll get an awesome POV-style view of me going down

o shit whaddup

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KaiserRolls said:

That draggy thing is pretty cool

YoungCR said:

Agreed, that's a neat product.

Yeah, I've been really impressed with it. It's basically a Vbox, but more accurate and easier to use. Also has a pretty cool area for everyone to share their results and categorizes them by manufacturer (BMW, Audi, VW, etc.) I'd highly recommend it, if that's your sort of thing!

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I finally set aside some time to give this car the walnut blast it deserved.

Here are the supplies I used:

Let's get started...

Well, I think I figured out why the car couldn't eclipse 13's in the 1/4 mile! I couldn't believe what I found after removing the intake manifold!

After loosening up some of the carbon with a pick...

Then after one pass of walnut blasting...

Lots of walnuts and manual scrubbing later...

I even cleaned up the intake manifold ports because those were caked with carbon as well. You can see the cleaned port on the left and the dirty port on the right.

It was a lot of work, but totally necessary. If you want to watch my whole process with more of a DIY/How-To style, check out my YouTube video. It also has some more information and a drive at the end showing the power increase/restoration.

WIBIMMERS

Jake's Budget-Built BMW 335i Thread (Drag Inspired)