[Jsoboti]

FWIW im 2011 e92 Msport MT 10/10 build date and I have an oil cooler.

IMHO just get a JB4. if you have to take it to the dealership it takes about 10 minutes to remove completely if need be.

[mike5809]

Originally Posted by jessandjamie

If it ins't listed on the build sheet what grounds do you have to stand on to justify making them install it. To me thats like stating your car came with halogens, but others made in the same year, that are also lets say, blue, have xenons. Then asking BMW where are my xenons and when are you installing them? Good luck.

I agree - it is a long shot. Your example is good - but somewhat misses the mark. With Xenons, that is an option the person buying the car can request to have so - so if you don't have it that is 'your fault' for not ordering it. With the S840/Oil Cooler you can't 'choose' that option - you just get it if you select a number of other options - all of which my vehicle has.

The one person that posted actually sued BMW and lost (I won't pursue it that far). Which is why I called BMW NA to find out. After almost 2 months of investigating they said that I needed;
- M-Sport (which I have and they confirmed)
- 18in Wheels (which I have and they confirmed)
- and it had to be built after 10/11 because no cars came with an oil cooler before that

Well just from this thread three people have reached out and provided me with their builds where the car is exactly the same and built before 10/2011 and they have the oil coolers.

If BMW can provide a logical explanation that is all I need and I will go on my way.

Originally Posted by els_86

To the OP, you know you can uninstall COBB in like 10 minutes when taking the car in for warranty work. It's software, so as long as you uninstall it they have no way of telling you were tuned.

I do - I just don't want to take the risk. I also feel it is shady to do something like that. I know the turn was there and wouldn't feel comfortable hiding that from the dealership.

[tboudre]

Mike5809,

I replied to your PM, but wanted to post here, too and follow this discussion. Here's the basic info from my VIN lookup:

Model description: 335i xDrive
Market: USA
Type: PL53
E-Code: E90 (MUE)
Chassis: Limousine
Steering: links
Doors: 4
Engine: N55B30M0 - 3,00l (225kW)
Drive: Allrad
Transmission: automatisch
Body Color: Le-mans-blau Metallic (381)
Upholstery: Leder Dakota/beige (LCB4)
Production date: 18.09.2010
Assembled in: München

Also under standard equipment:
S823A Heissland-Ausführung Hot-climate version (just thought it strange)
And under options:
S840A Hochgeschwindigkeitsabstimmung High speed synchronisation

[Lost Horizon]

Originally Posted by mike5809

....
Ah ok - I was going to say that would be such a small world. I would imagine that would have been an interesting trip. I love to travel so I am a little envious

You'll find that the envious part is probably overstated and gets old after the first few million travel miles.. But I do agree that travel is the great human equalizer, and a leading requirement for the bucket list .. next to your oil cooler..

[tboudre]

Check out the pictures of our cars in this post:
http://www.e90post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=985845

I know you have some sort of aftermarket ground effects on yours, but look at how our front bumpers look different. It seems that the headlight squirters on yours come down into the crease of the bumper, and may be curved, while mine are completely on the bumper top surface. Is this an E92 vs. E90 thing, or do you not have the M front bumper? Do you have S715A M Aerodynamikpaket M Aerodynamics package? Isn't the different bumper how they fit the oil cooler? So, if you have the right bumper, shouldn't you have the oil cooler?

[Zooks527]

Originally Posted by mike5809

Well just from this thread three people have reached out and provided me with their builds where the car is exactly the same and built before 10/2011 and they have the oil coolers.

If BMW can provide a logical explanation that is all I need and I will go on my way.

We did a little discussing in the crosspost you put on Bimmerfest. It appears to be a glitch in BMW's ordering system in the middle part of the 2011 builds (starting in April). The switchover in the change from there being both M-Sport and Sport packages to just M-Sport versions does not appear to have gone as smoothly as they hoped. Appears there was an error on the "if this is ordered, add that" function.

You can follow the train of thought starting at post #63:
http://www.bimmerfest.com/forums/sho...d.php?t=267198

Or just cut to the chase:
http://www.bimmerfest.com/forums/sho...4&postcount=66

When they tried to set up the 'If it has 18" wheels function', they put the wrong 18" wheel code in for the trigger that added the oil cooler. Looks like they caught it along the way and quietly fixed it while hoping no one would notice.

[mike5809]

Originally Posted by tboudre

Check out the pictures of our cars in this post:
http://www.e90post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=985845

I know you have some sort of aftermarket ground effects on yours, but look at how our front bumpers look different. It seems that the headlight squirters on yours come down into the crease of the bumper, and may be curved, while mine are completely on the bumper top surface. Is this an E92 vs. E90 thing, or do you not have the M front bumper? Do you have S715A M Aerodynamikpaket M Aerodynamics package? Isn't the different bumper how they fit the oil cooler? So, if you have the right bumper, shouldn't you have the oil cooler?

Yeah - just a difference between the e90 and e92 styling. Front bumpers were slightly different. But yup, I have the M-Sport Aero Package.

[mike5809]

Originally Posted by Zooks527

We did a little discussing in the crosspost you put on Bimmerfest. It appears to be a glitch in BMW's ordering system in the middle part of the 2011 builds (starting in April). The switchover in the change from there being both M-Sport and Sport packages to just M-Sport versions does not appear to have gone as smoothly as they hoped. Appears there was an error on the "if this is ordered, add that" function.

You can follow the train of thought starting at post #63:
http://www.bimmerfest.com/forums/sho...d.php?t=267198

Or just cut to the chase:
http://www.bimmerfest.com/forums/sho...4&postcount=66

When they tried to set up the 'If it has 18" wheels function', they put the wrong 18" wheel code in for the trigger that added the oil cooler. Looks like they caught it along the way and quietly fixed it while hoping no one would notice.

Bingo bango. This is great! Not sure that anything will come of it - but it does appear to show a "glitch" with BMW's ordering system.

I did confirm from the dealership that I purchased the vehicle that I had ZM2 and 2MF (as attached).

Thanks so much for the additional information.

[mike5809]

Originally Posted by Lost Horizon

You'll find that the envious part is probably overstated and gets old after the first few million travel miles.. But I do agree that travel is the great human equalizer, and a leading requirement for the bucket list .. next to your oil cooler..

Funny man :P

I must say that I agree - traveling is by far the best thing which anyone can do in their life. Having exposure to other cultures and seeing how people live their lives outside of the comfort of where you grew up provides you with lessons and experience which you can apply to any situation throughout your life.

My father was in the military when I was younger and I had the privilege to spend my early childhood in Europe and my mother is British so I go back often to see family on her side. This afford me ample opportunity to travel when I was younger and I just kept doing it

[srbarnes4ever]

Originally Posted by Maestro

This is definitely going back in time, and I remember the whole issue of some cars coming with the oil cooler and others not and it not being very clear which had them and which one did not and the reason behind it. I have a production date of 10/06 and sport package and M6 and I have it and I know there were people in with 07 production dates which did not have have it. I know people were running into oil temp issues and arguing with BMWNA about why they car did not have the oil cooler.

So the statement about before 10/11 is not true since there are plenty of pre 2011 cars with the oil cooler, may that statement is about x-drive cars, maybe that was the factor, you could have the sport and such but if you had an x-drive you did not get the oil-cooler for some reason.

Also as it was pointed out, MT6 had it at least in the early days and the AT6 did not, that could be the other issue, but I thought BMW did start putting them in AT6 prior to 2011 due to all the complaints.

2007 335is sedan with October 2006 build date and 6AT....no oil cooler....they added it to the 6AT BOM mid to late 07 production dates for autos.....I haven't tripped any over temp codes and there was no history of previous owner doing so either but it was babied....I am debating ease of Cobb vs pure power of G5 JB4 now and we will see what gives!

[srbarnes4ever]

Originally Posted by Jsoboti

FWIW im 2011 e92 Msport MT 10/10 build date and I have an oil cooler.

IMHO just get a JB4. if you have to take it to the dealership it takes about 10 minutes to remove completely if need be.

10 mins only? I thought Cobb was the quick undo and JB4 took 30 mins or so? Am I mistaken or are you just very skilled...or both?

[techwhiz]

Cobb takes 10 minutes to uninstall.
It takes about that long to re-flash the ECU.

No tools.

[jwzimm]

You guys really seem to be missing the point here...

HE DOESN'T WANT TO INSTALL A NON-FACTORY TUNE!!

Please stop advising that he do that. You may not agree with him but try and respect his choice.

[Jsoboti]

Originally Posted by srbarnes4ever

10 mins only? I thought Cobb was the quick undo and JB4 took 30 mins or so? Am I mistaken or are you just very skilled...or both?

If you've done it a bunch of times you can have the whole thing off and the car buttoned all back up in 20 minutes. 10 minutes was a typo... Maybe superman could but not me

[mike5809]

Originally Posted by jwzimm

You guys really seem to be missing the point here...

HE DOESN'T WANT TO INSTALL A NON-FACTORY TUNE!!

Please stop advising that he do that. You may not agree with him but try and respect his choice.

Thanks but no worries. At least it is getting attention .... a ton of good info in this thread.

[mex2309]

Originally Posted by mike5809

What year is yours and is it xDrive?

I do have the 18in Staggered Wheels (Style 193M) and Sport Package (M-Sport).

2010, yes xdrive. York? I'm in Hbg.

[vladlevs]

Folks,

I’ve been reading this thread and other posts with great interest as I have recently gone through the same exercise of trying to get an oil cooler added to my 2010 335i xDrive sedan. I like to drive and I do bring my car to the track few times a year but only recently started pushing it to the limits of what it is capable of. As you can guess, the first limit I hit easily was the rising oil temperature.

The oil temperature warning triggered my interest as to why my car (e90 LCI xDrive sedan with sport package and N55 engine) did not have an oil cooler. Questions addressed to the dealership service techs didn’t yield any reasonable answer (they said that in their personal opinion all turbo-charged engines have to have an oil cooler but only those cars that have M-sport package with high speed synchronization and hot climate options are getting them), and further research, including the phone conversations with BMW NA reps only confirmed what I suspected all along – that due to my car configuration there is no way I can expect BMW to help with oil cooler retrofit in any way, so I decided to pay and get it installed anyway. To my surprise, even this wasn’t meant to be easy – after a couple of weeks of negotiations with the BMW area rep. my SA and shop foreman told me that there is no official oil cooler retrofit kit available for my car and that they won’t do it for me. Shop foreman provided a reasonable explanation saying that with no kit and no official installation instructions / procedures available for my car configuration they can easily run into a situation when the available parts may not be compatible, needed parts are missing and, as a result, the car would be stuck in the shop while waiting for the parts. I was advised to seek help from an independent tech and do it on my own risk if I wanted to go ahead and have the oil cooler added.

I decided to go this route because I do want/need to reduce the thermal stress on my engine in order to be able to drive the car on track once in a while (however, I am a very docile driver when I am on public roads). The shop foreman’s concern about parts turned out to be very serious, without an official kit it is not an easy task to assemble a list of all parts needed for the oil cooler retrofit on this car. The information is not readily available from BMW parts department and even though they provided a very substantial help, I had to dig deep into the vehicle diagrams to figure out all the details and options. Having done my homework, I wanted to share the results with you all (in case you find yourself in a similar situation) so here it goes:

E90 /E90 LCI N55 oil cooler retrofit common parts and short descriptions:
1) To add an oil cooler, you need to replace the existing oil filter housing with one that accepts thermostat. You will need the following parts:
Oil filter housing – part #11427548032;
Oil thermostat – part # 11427573212;
Aluminum torx screws connecting thermostat to the housing – part # 11427542983 (3 pc.);
ASA bolts that connect the oil filter housing to the engine block – the bolts are made of steel and, strictly speaking, don’t have to be replaced but if you want to be absolutely safe and don’t mind spending few more bucks – you need one of each: part numbers 11427540758, 11427540759 and 11427540763.
(see http://realoem.com/bmw/showparts.do?...71&hg=11&fg=30 for more info)
2) Oil cooler and oil lines:
Oil cooler – part #17227521376 (comes assembled with grommets and bushings);
Oil lines – part ## 17227567207 and 17227567208;
O-rings for oil lines – part # 17222245358 (4 pc.);
Screws that hold the lines on both ends (oil cooler and thermostat) – part #17227555715 (2 pc.);
Hose clamp – part # 64216904030.
(see http://realoem.com/bmw/showparts.do?...75&hg=17&fg=05 for more info)
3) Mounting hardware to hold the oil cooler in place:
Right side mounting plate with studs for the oil cooler – part #51647154546 (replaces the existing front right mounting plate, see http://realoem.com/bmw/showparts.do?...&hg=51&fg=80);
Hex nut with plate – part #07147144953 (2 pc., goes on studs of the mounting plate);
Aux. radiator holder – part # 17217540030 (mounts to the car’s side beam where the mounting plate is attached);
Hex bolt – part #07119903995 (screws into the radiator holder);
4) Trim:
Wheel cover, bottom right – part # 51717172534 (has to be replaced because it has a slightly different shape to accommodate oil cooler and a cutout for oil cooler vent);
Oil cooler vent cover – part # 51717161436;
Hex screw with washer (to mount vent cover to the wheel trim cover) – part #07147129160 (min 3 pc., but you may want to order more to replace some of the existing screws if needed).
(see http://realoem.com/bmw/showparts.do?...58&hg=51&fg=80 for more info)
5) Air ducts: this parts are specific to a particular bumper option you have!
For the e90 LCI with standard bumper (which is what I have) you need the following (see http://realoem.com/bmw/showparts.do?...&hg=51&fg=75):
Front right brake air duct: part #51747138416 (replaced the existing one as the original air duct was different in size and shape);
Oil cooler air duct – part #51747143750 (this one is only for a standard bumper with fog lights, if your car bumper and fog lights configuration is different you need to find the proper replacement for this part);
Front right open grid – part # 51117198908 (for standard bumper with fog lights only);
Hex screw with washer to attach oil air duct to the oil cooler – part # 07119905241 (3 pc.)

Optional but desirable components: left wheel cover (part # 51717172533) and left brake air duct (part # 51747138415). The reason you would want to replace wheel trim covers and brake air ducts on both sides (even though nothing else is done on the left side) is to maintain the perfect symmetry in brake air ducts flow capacity (the original air ducts are slightly larger in size than the new one) – you don’t want the brakes on one side cooled differently than on the other side and risk experiencing an asymmetrical brake fade and pull to the side as a result.

With BMW CCA discount (my dealership offers 20% off retail prices for CCA members) – I ended up paying ~$1,280 for all of the parts listed above before taxes. The oil cooler installation is approximately a four hour job to complete, so you can have the oil cooler added for about $1,700 total, if you find a tech who is willing to take this on. With all the parts ordered ahead of time and ready for installation – the job went very smoothly with no hiccups and no surprises.

Speaking about left side, I have added BMW Performance Power Kit at the same time when I had an oil cooler retrofit done. Both jobs require a substantial effort to take the front end and engine intake apart, so doing both at the same time just made sense and saved me some $$ on labor. Like I mentioned earlier, the main reasons for doing all this was to reduce the thermal stress on the engine – this is where the power kit comes handy as it adds auxiliary water cooler (which is a mirror image of the oil cooler, installed on the left side) and a more powerful cooling fan. If you consider doing this, you will absolutely need to replace the left wheel cover and left brake air duct. Again, the air ducts are bumper-specific, you need to do your homework to figure out what parts you need if you have a performance- or M-bumper with / without fog lights.

Vlad

[cgrizzly888]

I was under the impression the N55 engine was less prone to overheating when driven hard compared to the N54. Am I mistaken?

[tboudre]

Originally Posted by vladlevs

Folks,


Speaking about left side, I have added BMW Performance Power Kit at the same time when I had an oil cooler retrofit done.

Vlad

Do you have details of the parts required for the BMW Performance Power Kit? Did the dealership do that one without much hassle? That is the +20 hp kit that the dealers do, right? And is that correct that part of the upgrade is a tune? I don't think I'd want to pay for the tune because I'll be installing the JB4, but any supporting hardware would be a good thing.

[vladlevs]

Originally Posted by tboudre

Do you have details of the parts required for the BMW Performance Power Kit? Did the dealership do that one without much hassle? That is the +20 hp kit that the dealers do, right? And is that correct that part of the upgrade is a tune? I don't think I'd want to pay for the tune because I'll be installing the JB4, but any supporting hardware would be a good thing.

The power kit is available either as a software upgrade only (version 1) or as a full hardware + software kit (version 2). PPK Version 2 comes as a combination of two parts - the power kit itself (which is specific for a particular engine model) and the air duct kit (specific to the type of bumper you have on a vehicle). In my case, for 2011 335i xDrive - I ordered the PPK version 2 for N55 engine (part #11122184495 which comes with aux. water cooler and more powerful cooling fan plus all necessary hardware and software update code) and air duct kit part #51742157666 (for standard bumper).

The dealer will install PPK only if your vehicle already has oil cooler and high-speed synchronization (S840) option as part of your vehicle configuration, otherwise PPK is not authorized to be installed. In my case, since the vehicle didn't have the oil cooler and the dealership service didn't want to install it for me - I had both the oil cooler and the PPK installed by an independent BMW tech at the same time. As a result, I now have all the necessary hardware upgrades in place but it is not registered in my Vehicle Order, I am still in negotiations with the dealership about updating my VO and completing the PPK programming step (which they said they would do for me once they figure out how to update the VO).

Originally Posted by cgrizzly888

I was under the impression the N55 engine was less prone to overheating when driven hard compared to the N54. Am I mistaken?

It may be less prone than N54 but depending on how you drive it, it still may happen. I had driven my car to a track few times, and most of the time the engine oil temperature was in 260-270 range - high but not too high to cause problems. The last time, when I started pushing the car more aggressively, the oil temperature was up to 290 when I got an oil temperature warning. So, it may be less prone to overheating but it can easily happen - the oil cooler helps tremendously and there is no downside of having it. (FWIW, My dealer service tech told me that the vast majority of cars equipped with N55 engines do come with an oil cooler installed.)

[jwzimm]

Originally Posted by vladlevs

The power kit is available either as a software upgrade only (version 1) or as a full hardware + software kit (version 2). PPK Version 2 comes as a combination of two parts - the power kit itself (which is specific for a particular engine model) and the air duct kit (specific to the type of bumper you have on a vehicle). In my case, for 2011 335i xDrive - I ordered the PPK version 2 for N55 engine (part #11122184495 which comes with aux. water cooler and more powerful cooling fan plus all necessary hardware and software update code) and air duct kit part #51742157666 (for standard bumper).

FYI, the version 2 also adds an auxiliary water radiator in the drivers side wheel well. That is what the extra ducting on that side is for. This is the same hardware that comes standard on the 335is.

[Bulldog_335xi]

I have an early '11 build, May I think, 335xi AT and have the oil cooler.

I remember reading somewhere that the oil cooler was linked to the upgraded speed limiter and not mtech if that helps