[oVeRdOsE.]

yeah I saw few 335 with 17'', including mine.

not all 335 got the same caliper, but they all have similar size.

[Three_thirty_I]

Welcome, and stunning wagon!!!

[StradaRedlands]

For reverse dip, leave the side/side selector in the driver's (Left in NA) position. The button just to the left of that manually closes/opens your mirrors.

[ttcheung97]

Looks like my car didn't come with any owners manuals. I bought a used set from ebay, and will spend some quality time reading them.

Thanks for the tip on the mirror, definitely a lot of hidden tricks to be discovered on this car.

Do you folks know if the 335is has different brakes than the 335i? I was searching around and it didn't seem like there was concrete determination on the brake sizes. I know the brakes on this wagon are huge.

[ttcheung97]

Well, time to start asking questions. I did a good amount of google / e90post searching, but not getting any solid answers.

After yesterday's drive, I noticed some motor / fan noises running after shutting off the engine. There was a fan running in the cargo cubby, which I was able to conclude as the HK amp; that shut off after a few minutes.

Then there was an intermittent buzz up front, in front of the engine. I opened the hood, and it sounded like it was coming from the oil filter area. The noise then stopped, and "all was good." I looked around youtube and found this video having the same noise as mine. Their discussion mentioned the DISA valve, and I'm looking to confirm that.

https://www.youtube.com/shorts/_iJZWsGJA_0

Any help is appreciated.

[StradaRedlands]

BMW quirks. The fans, flaps, and pumps all make a lot of noise after you shut down.

[ttcheung97]

I'm hoping that's the case, and it's just normal shutdown. Were you able to take a peek at the linked video? It'd suck terribly to have to fork out $400+ for a new DISA, not even after one week of ownership.

It's funny how your mental psyche just goes into "paranoid" mode when you're googling what symptoms / issues the noises might be, and your mind just goes into this spiral of all the things that can go wrong, and how it's going to be a bottomless money pit.

[StradaRedlands]

Originally Posted by ttcheung97

I'm hoping that's the case, and it's just normal shutdown. Were you able to take a peek at the linked video? It'd suck terribly to have to fork out $400+ for a new DISA, not even after one week of ownership.

It's funny how your mental psyche just goes into "paranoid" mode when you're googling what symptoms / issues the noises might be, and your mind just goes into this spiral of all the things that can go wrong, and how it's going to be a bottomless money pit.

Just watched... yeah that sounds like DISA, and doesn't sounds normal. Which means the car is a N51? If so, then MA is a CARB state, so that will be covered under your SULEV 15 year warranty! But maybe that's just normal? My 330i has DISAs, and they don't do that, but I don't know if that's normal for a N51 motor with DISA.

[krhodes1]

Originally Posted by ttcheung97

I'm hoping that's the case, and it's just normal shutdown. Were you able to take a peek at the linked video? It'd suck terribly to have to fork out $400+ for a new DISA, not even after one week of ownership.

It's funny how your mental psyche just goes into "paranoid" mode when you're googling what symptoms / issues the noises might be, and your mind just goes into this spiral of all the things that can go wrong, and how it's going to be a bottomless money pit.

Your car doesn't have DISA valves unless the PO installed a 3-stage intake manifold - if they did, lucky you! But then yes, DISA valves are ultimately a wear item over the long term. There are no N51-equipped wagons (SULEV cars do have DISAs), AFAIK.

A BMW with 160K on it is *going* to cost money to keep on the road, but there is no reason to be paranoid about the thing. And they are pretty good at complaining if there is actually something wrong. Drive it and enjoy it, when something breaks, fix it. Look on the bright side - the $35K or so you saved vs. buying a new one like I did pays for a lot of repairs.

[Hoody007]

Originally Posted by ttcheung97

Well, time to start asking questions. I did a good amount of google / e90post searching, but not getting any solid answers.

After yesterday's drive, I noticed some motor / fan noises running after shutting off the engine. There was a fan running in the cargo cubby, which I was able to conclude as the HK amp; that shut off after a few minutes.

Then there was an intermittent buzz up front, in front of the engine. I opened the hood, and it sounded like it was coming from the oil filter area. The noise then stopped, and "all was good." I looked around youtube and found this video having the same noise as mine. Their discussion mentioned the DISA valve, and I'm looking to confirm that.

https://www.youtube.com/shorts/_iJZWsGJA_0

Any help is appreciated.

The Logic 7 amp makes the same sound in just about every application it’s in after a while - it’s the cooling fan for it. Totally normal. You can hear it in the touring a lot more since there isn’t a metal trunk lid to dampen the noise

[ttcheung97]

According to Mdecoder, the car has the "N52k," and although the car originally came from California. According to RealOEM, the engine is an N52N (similar enough, I suppose). RealOEM seems to "blank out" the P/N or the two DISA valves. The seller shared that he's heard that noise during his two-year ownership, but the car still ran fine and without hesitation.

I thought these "N" engines all had the DISA valves, and it was the number of valves depending on what type of intake manifold the engine had. Can someone confirm this, as well as if the car is still okay to putt around in the meanwhile? I have been reading horror stories of pins dropping into the head (fortunately they were former DISA variants). The replacement looked pretty straightforward, but yes, I'd rather just drive / enjoy instead of fix already.

Thanks hoody, for the confirmation on the fan for the amp.

Rhodes, nice way to put it, I saved $35k, but I never even had that to begin with, ha.

[krhodes1]

Originally Posted by ttcheung97

According to Mdecoder, the car has the "N52k," and although the car originally came from California. According to RealOEM, the engine is an N52N (similar enough, I suppose). RealOEM seems to "blank out" the P/N or the two DISA valves. The seller shared that he's heard that noise during his two-year ownership, but the car still ran fine and without hesitation.

I thought these "N" engines all had the DISA valves, and it was the number of valves depending on what type of intake manifold the engine had. Can someone confirm this, as well as if the car is still okay to putt around in the meanwhile? I have been reading horror stories of pins dropping into the head (fortunately they were former DISA variants). The replacement looked pretty straightforward, but yes, I'd rather just drive / enjoy instead of fix already.

Thanks hoody, for the confirmation on the fan for the amp.

Rhodes, nice way to put it, I saved $35k, but I never even had that to begin with, ha.

The only N9x 3-series in the US that came stock with the 3-stage manifold with DISA valves are the 2006-only 330i (and there were no 330i wagons) and the cars with the N51 SULEV engine (also no wagons, AFAIK). The 3SI engine was also found in sundry other models, 530iX, X3s, and Z4s. The N51 was also used in some 128i's - I have one of those.

So unless a PO upgraded your car, it doesn't have any. It's easy enough to tell - do you have two great big can-like things hanging down under the intake manifold with an electrical connection to each of them? The N52K does have the wiring in place for them regardless, it's just clipped up under there, but the stock ECU programming doesn't know anything about them, so if you upgrade the to the 3-stage manifold, you need an ECU flash to take advantage of it.

If you do have the 3SI, you won the lottery even if it's something that will cost you money eventually. 25-35 more HP, depending on the exact ECU flash. If you do have it, with a BMW code scanner you can read the codes - as that other thread mentioned, a failing DISA will generally set codes, but not OBD codes that will set a CEL.

[ttcheung97]

These past few days I've learned quite a bit on things like DISA (and how to pronounce the acronym), single stage and 3-stage, N51 (and how they're not on E91s), and how much extra horsepower one can get when swapping the manifolds.

I had a chance to further check out what the noise was, but first, I think I have the 3-stage manifold in my car. As Rhodes said, the E91s didn't come in N51 guise, so I'm guessing the intake was upgraded, and probably along with a tune. I spent some time comparing pics of single-stage and 3-stage manifold, and see the added opening for the 3-stage as well as the valves that insert into the openings; I believe I've taken pictures of that area. The cycling buzzing sound definitely seem to emanate from the DISA valve assembly, and I think it was the one UNDER the manifold runners.

The previous owner drove with that noise for the past two years without any performance degradation. I'm looking to replace the DISA valve at the some time, but curious to know if it's crucial to replace ASAP? Not especially looking forward to pulling the intake manifold off, as I had done an S52 --> M50 manifold swap on my then E36 M3, and it was somewhat lengthy. Thanks.

[oVeRdOsE.]

seems to be a 3 stage manifold.

no need to change it asap, many 330 running with broken disa, this is a common issue.

but you wont get the power and efficiency.

Also validate if you have a tune, this intake will do next to 0 more power if your are on the stock tune.


Some people choose the n54 manifold, more high end power, less reliability issue.

[StradaRedlands]

Definitely DISA on a 3 stage you have there. Congratulations!

[krhodes1]

That's awesome that you already have it! Makes sense given the other upgrades on your car - that thing was a *steal* even if you have to put some time and money into it.

LOTS of info here on swapping out DISA valves, which ones to go for/not go for, etc. The 328i manifold isn't too bad to get off.

[ttcheung97]

haha, you folks make it sound like I won the MegaMillions or something.

Yes, I see a LOT of discussion on the DISA valves, how Rein used to be good, how OEM is the way to go, how I should pair it with the European-spec airbox, etc etc etc. Knowing that it's not immediately urgent also gives me some more reassurance on the car.

[M-technik-3]

Only bad thing would be if the valve gets ingested in the intake. There is a 530i on clist Hartford that has a dead engine.

[ttcheung97]

I finally had some time to get the family in the car for a trip. I think I mentioned, but rear seat legroom is surprisingly not bad. What's bad is that there are absolutely no cubby trays nor storage nets in the rear passenger area. The fold point for the rear seats seem to need a little more cushion. The passenger side seat heater lights up, but doesn't work, I hope it's just a connector and not the element itself. The driver's side works, and heats up quickly.

The car came with a removed transmission underbody cover, and I saw a few drops of oil on the floor immediately below the transmission drain bolt, and tightened that up. I reattached the cover, took it for a drive, let it sat overnight, and couldn't find any drops on the cover, cool. The transmission output shaft seal seems alright, with just some minute grime around. The supposed DISA valve cadenced buzzing noise hasn't come up after my drives, so I'll worry about that later. I noticed that the gas pedal travel is HUGE.

I'm guessing this is the result of the tune, but the revs definitely don't hang when you left off the gas to shift gears. I know modern drive-by-wire cars seem to get programmed so that the revs hang for a bit while shifting gears (Honda especially), and this car just drops its revs. The short shifter feels very nice, and has a very mechanical notchiness when going through the gears.

The car (and the drive) definitely reminds me of my old M3, and that's definitely a good thing.