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      11-27-2013, 08:09 PM   #1
DrakeKemper
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Changed out my Rod Bearings - 08' E90 M3 Supercharged

I recently had my 2008 E90 M3 supercharged, and before doing that I thought it would be a great idea to swap out the rod bearings.

NOTE* - I had ZERO warning signs of any problems, or failing bearings, no ticks, knocks, etc. I just figured supercharging the car would only speed up the process IF something were to fail.

The car had 47,000 miles before supercharging, and 1,800 miles of supercharged driving before the change.

They show signs of wear, however not terrible.

Hopefully the changing of the rod bearings will add 30k or so miles to the life of my supercharged engine.

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Overall, it was a good idea to replace them. I believe we went with the 2013 OEM bearings with a High performance coating? I don't know, ask Autotalent lol.

Photos coming soon of the car build, just waiting for my AWRON gauge to go in, and then I will post photos.

I love the car, its a completely different beast. Review will come with photos.
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      11-27-2013, 08:23 PM   #2
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This is encouraging...a little. I'm starting to think like many other car related issues this may be a "hit or miss" issue with our M3's. I'm not gonna worry about it any event. I got enough shit to worry about without rod bearings on an otherwise perfect car being on the list.
Thanks for posting.
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      11-27-2013, 08:25 PM   #3
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What was the cost of replacing the bearings if u don't mind me asking?
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      11-27-2013, 09:11 PM   #4
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One of them seems to be pretty bad in the third picture
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      11-27-2013, 09:34 PM   #5
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2009 BMW M3  [0.00]
How often was the oil changed? Just curious.
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      11-27-2013, 10:39 PM   #6
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I see copper showing through on one. Is that normal wear?
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      11-27-2013, 11:14 PM   #7
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Quote:
Originally Posted by flint View Post
I see copper showing through on one. Is that normal wear?
I always thought that showing copper was a bad thing. It seems like all of the bearings show at least some copper along the edges. Is this considered normal for this engine?
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      11-27-2013, 11:19 PM   #8
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Any oil analysis done before the operation?
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      11-27-2013, 11:38 PM   #9
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For a 08 w/SC'er them bearings look real good, you didn't do bad by replacing them tho.
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      11-28-2013, 12:10 AM   #10
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Quote:
Originally Posted by ///M-Night View Post
What was the cost of replacing the bearings if u don't mind me asking?
+1
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      11-28-2013, 01:20 AM   #11
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That engine only has 47000 miles and already some of the bearings have completely worn through the lead and began digging into the copper. What are the odds of those bearings surviving another 100k miles?
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      11-28-2013, 10:05 AM   #12
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How many cars have actually failed from bearing wearing out?
I ask because i have a few friends with 100K+ modded S85's on the factory bearings.
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      11-28-2013, 01:12 PM   #13
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It seems if you're going to have bearing issues it will happen early in the lifecycle of a car. That car can probably go another 50k on those bearings with no issues.

If you're going to supercharge, swapping the bearings is probably a good idea. Doesn't coating the OEM bearings make the problem worse though?
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      11-28-2013, 01:18 PM   #14
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There is an "acceptable" wear as designated by the factory. This rods show some wear, but not to the point where OP will be driving on the road, and the engines ceases. Granted the type of driving this car was put through.

But I think, OP, you have took the proper route in tackling rods failure once a S/C is added. Should be good to go for another 60k to 80k depending on the style of driving.
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      11-28-2013, 01:50 PM   #15
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rod bearings should last 300k+ not be half way gone at 47k.
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      11-28-2013, 06:50 PM   #16
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If I wanted a car with an engine that would last for 200k plus then I sure wouldn't buy an M3 with a 8400 rpm redline engine in it.

Some compare this engine to exotics that typically see 5k or less a year and those engines don't last for 100k plus either.

Perhaps a Honda or Toyota would be the car to buy if we wanted to enjoy high mileage, but even then if you beat the shit out of it then it wont last that long.
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      11-28-2013, 08:31 PM   #17
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Quote:
Originally Posted by fbm3cab
If I wanted a car with an engine that would last for 200k plus then I sure wouldn't buy an M3 with a 8400 rpm redline engine in it.

Some compare this engine to exotics that typically see 5k or less a year and those engines don't last for 100k plus either.

Perhaps a Honda or Toyota would be the car to buy if we wanted to enjoy high mileage, but even then if you beat the shit out of it then it wont last that long.
If you want a car that will last 200,000+ miles and be 95% as quick as the M3 both in a straight and in the turns... There's always the IS-F.

If my oil analysis starts going south as far as copper and lead I'm unloading this car to carmax or autotrader and picking up an IS-F.
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      11-28-2013, 08:54 PM   #18
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Quote:
Originally Posted by fbm3cab View Post
If I wanted a car with an engine that would last for 200k plus then I sure wouldn't buy an M3 with a 8400 rpm redline engine in it.

Some compare this engine to exotics that typically see 5k or less a year and those engines don't last for 100k plus either.

Perhaps a Honda or Toyota would be the car to buy if we wanted to enjoy high mileage, but even then if you beat the shit out of it then it wont last that long.
This

Last edited by Black Gold; 11-28-2013 at 09:21 PM..
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      11-28-2013, 10:03 PM   #19
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Quote:
Originally Posted by fbm3cab View Post
If I wanted a car with an engine that would last for 200k plus then I sure wouldn't buy an M3 with a 8400 rpm redline engine in it.
So how come bmw in all their marketing about the M3 conveniently forget to notify you of this little factoid that their engines don't have much of a life expectancy

Quote:
Some compare this engine to exotics that typically see 5k or less a year and those engines don't last for 100k plus either.
There isn't a single thing on the M3 including the engine that is remotely exotic. It's a mass produced higher performance variant of BMW's volume-selling grocery getter 3 series. No one buys an M3 to drive it one weekend a year like they do with Lambos or Bugattis. People buy an M3 to drive on the road, a lot, and put a lot of mileage on them.

Quote:
Perhaps a Honda or Toyota would be the car to buy if we wanted to enjoy high mileage, but even then if you beat the shit out of it then it wont last that long.
You can get a C6 Z06 or GTR that will smoke an M3, and beat the shit out of them daily, and they still will probably be more reliable than an M3.

Quote:
Originally Posted by PandaM3 View Post
If you want a car that will last 200,000+ miles and be 95% as quick as the M3 both in a straight and in the turns... There's always the IS-F.

If my oil analysis starts going south as far as copper and lead I'm unloading this car to carmax or autotrader and picking up an IS-F.


Quote:
Originally Posted by Dashman View Post
Where do you see that it is half way gone

Maybe your statement applies on a Honda engine, but this is an engine built to extreme close tolerances and spins faster than 90% of what's on the road. I don't think it's crazy to expect moderate wear and this is very moderate wear, even for a car that I'm sure was not babied.
One such Honda engine is that in the S2000. Remember it? Made more hp/L than the S65, and also revved to a whopping 9000 rpm. And I'm sure it was built to very close tolerances. Yet it can still keep going on and on without eating up its bearings.
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      11-28-2013, 10:14 PM   #20
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Exactly. Remember seeing a video with Steve Dinan saying that BMW designed these engines (S65/85) to last about 150k miles. He also said that modifying the engine with typical bolt ons, tune, rpm limit raise, etc would likely reduce its life by about 25k miles. For this type of engine, I'd be happy with 125k-150k miles. No such thing as a free lunch.

Quote:
Originally Posted by fbm3cab View Post
If I wanted a car with an engine that would last for 200k plus then I sure wouldn't buy an M3 with a 8400 rpm redline engine in it.

Some compare this engine to exotics that typically see 5k or less a year and those engines don't last for 100k plus either.

Perhaps a Honda or Toyota would be the car to buy if we wanted to enjoy high mileage, but even then if you beat the shit out of it then it wont last that long.
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      11-28-2013, 10:39 PM   #21
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Quote:
Originally Posted by ///M-Night
What was the cost of replacing the bearings if u don't mind me asking?
+1. I'm thinking about changing mine out if it's not cost prohibitive.
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      11-28-2013, 10:46 PM   #22
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Quote:
Originally Posted by FogCityM3 View Post
Exactly. Remember seeing a video with Steve Dinan saying that BMW designed these engines (S65/85) to last about 150k miles. He also said that modifying the engine with typical bolt ons, tune, rpm limit raise, etc would likely reduce its life by about 25k miles. For this type of engine, I'd be happy with 125k-150k miles. No such thing as a free lunch.
150k miles is a mediocre lifespan for any modern engine that isn't in a racecar or some rare exotic. I wonder if they would have awarded it all those "engine of the year" awards if this information you mentioned was more well known (assuming that Dinan knows what he's talking about).
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