Dat curve…
Active Autowerke Charges Ahead In The N55 Tuning Game
TRUST IN large corporations is extremely hard to earn…and we don’t mean the kind of trust that the Fortune 500 CEO has stashed away for his little Prince or Princess Charming. That’s no to say there’s anything wrong with having a wealthy patriarch in the family; too many people are quick to hate on the hard work of others, and the priveleges those accomplishemnts afford.
What we’re talking about here is earnest trust in a company. Trust that a face-less conglomerate will provide the right product to their customers. Trust that spending over $40,000 of your own, your father’s, or ANYONE’s money for that matter, will buy you a product that will meet your expectations of reliability and performance.
Unfortunately, the BMW N55 powered 135i, 335i, and 535i models have broken not only that trust, but their own intake charge pipes. Just like any parent though, wealthy or not, Active Autowerke has a cure for your boo-boo. Just don’t ask us to kiss it – that would be inappropriate.
If Adriana Lima Were A Piece Of Engine Piping…She Would Probably Look Nothing Like This
THE CHARGE pipes that BMW equipped on their N55 engined models is made of very weak and brittle plastic. This poor excuse for a motor part has a tendency to leak, crack, and even blow completely off the throttle body, as one recent customer who stopped by our shop found out.
Complaining of a lack of boost, and the dreaded Check Engine light on the dashboard, the poor guy was stuck driving his 135i for 3 days in sorry condition before his work schedule allowed him the opportunity to come by Active Autowerke headquarters. Once here, Andrew popped the hood to find the OEM charge pipe barely hanging onto the throttle body.Easy fix, right? Wrong. As soon as that plastic begins to disintegrate – which is only a matter of WHEN, not IF – those shards can find their way past the throttle plate, and into the heart of the N55. This possibility became very real for this customer…
Those Are The Breaks, Kid.
UPON FURTHER investigation, Andrew discovered the charge pipe’s rubber O-ring stuck in the 135i’s throttle valve. That small piece of silicone can wreak havoc in the wrong place…and we’re not talking about on a trophy wife’s chest. Check out the full story on E90Post here.
SO WHAT are the thousands of innocent owners expected to do when this often overlooked, but vital pipe finally gives up? Continue to go back to the BMW dealership to have it replaced with the exact same piece? Active Autowerke believes the old adage that doing the same thing repeatedly, expecting different results is the definition of reality television dating shows. Or insanity. One of those. Either way, we do offer an N55 Charge Pipe that corrects BMW’s transgression. CNC-machined, all aluminum, and 3 inches thick throughout, this pipe not only corrects a problem, it aids performance by decreasing turbo lag, and increasing air flow.
Don’t care about performance? Just have a stock vehicle that you drive to the grocery store? In that case, you’re reading the wrong blog…but you’re also wrong if you think this won’t happen to you. This customer’s vehicle was 100% mechanically bone stock, only sporting a set of coilovers. He decided that the $300.00 hard pipe was a sound investment in the longevity of his N55, and we couldn’t agree more. It’s time to restore a little bit of faith in the companies you purchase your products from.
Trust us.
Active Autowerke Blog 