Bmw 335i Performance Power Kit Review

Bmw 335i Performance Power Kit Review

Got the new M Performance PPK [ official details and specs ] installed today at BMW of Sterling.

Install took several hours, but they only billed me for .25 hours, but had a "software coding flat fee" added to it for 125. This is actually noted in the PDF as it says the labor times do "not include software coding which needs to be added"

-My sport displays stayed the same (i have manual). They are 320/320 which is what it was before. I talked to the guys about that as the description says "revised sport displays" and they are looking into it with BMW but insist that it's correct seeing that I have a manual car. If it was auto ,they say it would change, which I didn't realize (i thought the displays would just stay same globally regardless if it "had" the power). I didn't get a chance to floor it , but it appeared the torque did go close to what could have been 317 on pulls. I.e., it went just to peak on the sport displays.

Build for my car is 12/12 so no new DME. I have a 6speed Manual as stated.

Thoughts:
I'm very happy. Am I drooling and blown away? Not necessarily, but I wasn't expecting it to become an M3, just wanted more power. Can I feel the difference? Absolutely. For those of you expecting to get in the car, and it feel like a whole new animal, it's not going to do that. Dive further into it, and you'll notice the differences. .

I'll start with comfort mode believe it or not. Comfort mode feels a bit more responsive. I can feel the torque. Closer to "the old" sport mode if you will. Still has some lag, but the car pulls more in comfort mode than it used to for sure.

In sport mode, throttle response is much more sensitive. I found myself over rev matching a lot due to this. I like it...for some reason it feels more natural to me and doing what i "expect". Power in sport off the line feels similar, but it REALLY wakes up at highway speeds. 40-90mph pulls are, to my butt dyno, a lot faster. *edit*//2500 rpm up there's a noticeable kick and difference**

I test drove an S4 before getting this, and remember it feeling just a pinch more of a beast than the 335. I liked the 335 more though overall for a variety of reasons, but always remembered that test drive of the s4 feeling a bit more beastly just from a pulling perspective. Now, I feel like pull between 40-90 or so feels a lot like the s4 now. That's as best as I can explain it, and explain the difference. Which, from a numerical standpoint, I guess it's close seeing that the PPK gives the car 320/317 vs. the S4s 333/325.

The exhaust burble. It's there, and pretty sweet. I wouldn't call it "emotionally enticing" as I think it's described but its cool. Check the video. it's most noticeable on downshifts or subtle revs. Hard revs you won't hear it. It sounds sweet though.

So my conclusion? I'm totally happy! I got that extra oomph that I knew the car could handle and was missing. It's my DD and I have a car seat in the back and I wanted the OEM warranty and didn't need much more power and felt the price point made sense to me. I'm sure aftermarket tunes can make the car even more powerful, but to me those things came with other variables I didn't' want to deal with. If you drove the 335, loved it, but sometimes wish it "went to 11" and that "push over the cliff" (spinal tap reference) this does the job. If you want it to be a totally new animal, go elsewhere.

I now have a 335 with that extra kick and am totally pumped.

[UPDATE 1:]

So, some more info after driving a bit more. (I've logged about 60 miles, but had to get back to work and pick up kid, so no more crazy driving )

I was just thinking, a good way of describing it is if you have driven the 328, and driven the 335, there is a noticeable diff in power. (i love the 328 this is not a 328 bash comment at all and please lets not go there).

if you're expecting the M perf p kit to feel like the difference btwn 328 and 335, it's about half of that, or a pinch more than half. Comfort mode though feels like the old sport mode and is much better. Throttle response def more natural, and sport mode at mid/higher speeds really wakens up. The throttle in sport is really sensitive. The passing ability is really improved. You hit 90 when you thought it was around 75 passing a car.

I noted that it reminds me of the s4 now, which is a car that's just a pinch more powerful, and AWD than the 335. in terms of midrange pull, and that's probably the best I can describe it for now.

again, this is my DD, i have a kid, a wife who rides with me a lot, I wanted more power, but to retain the sort of original balance and engineering of the car, and this nails that. So I'm happy. You always yearn for more power, but to me it comes with other drawbacks sometimes, and this is a good balance. it falls under the "it should have come like this from the factory" category. as opposed to "this is my custom tuned animal".

Make sure you keep the labor down though. They try to def add hours of labor to it and it'll quickly get over priced.

Keep in mind i have the 6mt, so i get a bit less torque, but i can feel it. Interested to see how the 8AT guys review it.

[UPDATE 2:]

Just went for a quick run but had my wife and kid in the car, so nothing aggressive. More in town driving than yesterdays all highway.

Few notes:

Comfort mode def improved. I think me saying ilke its the old sport mode is pretty accurate.

All my settings got sort of reset, though my radio presets stayed. But vehicle settings like blinkers, ambient lighting, door locks, etc got reset to as they were at delivery.

sport throttle is def more sensitive. couple jerky starts (I'm MT) adjusting. I can hear the burble a bit more but its not that loud over stock imho. to untrained ear it'll go unnoticed. Keep in mind I'm not flooring the car nor going too aggressively though. I'll do more tests alone later this weekend hopefully.

Not that I go around street racing, but i'd describe the power as definitely confidence inspiring. It's more readily on tap. It was there before, but that extra 10% that shows up mainly in "aggressive" driving gives you that extra confidence.

Until i set up a camera on my hood and outside the car, I can't comment on the new air box sound. It's there, I can hear more turbo whoosh, but only at near full throttle revs, which, I didn't do much of before i got the car so don't have a baseline per se. But, the fact that I haven't noticed anything that jumps to me should give you an indicate that the sound isn't too altered. The exhaust sounds sweet though IMO. Its a pinch more noticeable and a very high end burble sound.

[UPDATE 3:]

lol... so, update, after getting another 100 or so miles on Easter commuting.

There's a noticeable kick in power at 2500 rpm up to around 4500-5K.

Now with a mixture of more city and highway/parkway type roads and curves today, i notice a new kick of more power around 2500 rpm.

Revving car to around 2000 and letting out clutch quickly (not a full dump) the car will give you a new much stronger jolt and roar. Maybe the weather was better or does the ECU adapt? I know my old Rx8's ecu sort of adapted and took a few days to gather itself after you pulled the battery or got a new flash. Whatever it is, the car def feels more alive now. My butt dyno is no scientific tool, but i have nothing to gain by making this up i guess, and i swear its a bit more responsive now.

Intake/exhaust sounds are pretty hard to discern most of time though. I'm not sure what BMW is saying when they say "emotionally enticing burble". Maybe they are talking bout if its mated with the exhaust.

My original ride was all highway so my tests were basic pulls when traffic allowed. After another 2 days with mix city situations and more highway I'm quite impressed.

Can't wait to hear more from the AT crowd.
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Here are some links to pictures so you can see what you get aside from the coding. You get the red envelope with your secret code, new air box, cover, and plaque. I opted against putting the stickers on my car.

Video of exhaust burbling