Everything You Need for Big Power
You may remember a few articles back where we speculated about the potential of the B58 platform as the next hot BMW to chase crazy performance figures. If you haven’t yet, go check that one out after this edition of Turner Motorsport Weekly, because it’s all about B58 upgrades. The new kid on the block is already showing signs of greatness and we couldn’t be more excited to help bring the BMW community all the fun goodies they need to make their BMW something truly exceptional. So settle in and let’s take a look at what you can do with your B58-powered BMW. | | Engine Performance
The B58 has already proven itself in the short time since its debut as an absolute monster on the street and track with a few simple upgrades. Bolt-on performance can effectively double your power while the engine internals can handle it up to some pretty astonishing levels. With a high power ceiling and accessible upgrades, it doesn’t take much to transform an already respectable power plant and help it churn out impressive figures. These are some of our suggestions for you B58 owners to give your BMW extra pep in its step. | | | | Genuine BMW A90 Supra Fuel Pump
While it isn’t always fun to start with things that don’t immediately add power, if you plan to tackle most or all of the bolt-on upgrades on the market for your B58, you need a way to support that additional load on the systems that supply the ingredients for performance. Chief among those are air and fuel. Air is simple enough, and we’ll get to that, but first; one of the more popular solutions to the fuel delivery part of the equation is to upgrade your B58-powered BMW with the Genuine BMW A90 Supra Fuel Pump. It’s an OEM part, so you know it isn’t some slapdash irreversible upgrade, it’s the go-to solution for better fuel delivery that you can depend on to reliably support your performance goals. You’ll need to ensure you are avoiding a lean condition, so tackle the need for extra dinosaur liquid on the front end and you’ll be ready to raise the horsepower level without worrying about your A/F mixture under high boost. | | | | | | | | CSF Racing Super Manifold
Speaking of air, the OEM water-cooled charge air cooler intake manifold found on the B58 is a modern marvel that helps keep air density high by reducing charge air temperatures from between the turbo and the throttle body. However, as you increase power, heat soak begins to pose a real challenge to your performance goals. Even with mild bolt-on upgrades, you’ll find the OEM unit just can’t handle the added boost or stave off the heat generated under hard driving conditions. Best case, this means you’re leaving power on the table. Worst case, you’re looking at limp mode. If high-performance is your goal, the CSF Racing Performance Super Manifold is an upgrade that pulls double duty. First, it will allow you to comfortably increase power knowing that your performance won’t suffer under higher stress conditions. Secondly, the manifold shows potential gains of 26whp and 11wtq running a stage 2 tune with exponential increases seen on custom software setups and more aggressive engine modifications. This is the manifold you need if your sights are set on breaking past the 500hp mark up to the four-figure 1,000hp club. | | | | | | | | Burger Motorsport JB+ Software
For supporting many of the bolt-on upgrades that take you into serious performance territory, you’re going to need software to make it all work to its full potential. Unfortunately, due to recent changes in emissions regulations, JB4 is no longer an option, but Burger Motorsport’s JB+ software is. You’re not going to experience the same kind of customization options you could expect with JB4, but JB+ is a nice consolation and perfectly capable of offering an off-the-shelf solution for improved performance all around. If you want to get serious, though, there’s no substitute for a custom tune professionally mapped by an experienced software tuner. So if you need a quick solution, JB+ is your go-to. If you’re after the max power gains, your only course is custom tuning. | | | | | | Cold Air Intake Kit
On the front end of your air delivery system, the B58’s intake isn’t up to the task when it comes to supplying all the air that can be shoved into your turbo. Decreasing airflow restrictions and increasing the volume and density of the air supply results in not insignificant improvements to power. What’s more, the biggest benefit of an upgraded intake system is to help raise your performance ceiling. DINAN, aFe, MST Performance, FTP, and Burger Motorsport all bring solutions to the table that will offer improvements to stock B58s or support crowd-favorite turbo upgrades that need more air than your stock intake can supply. | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Forge Motorsport Charge Pipe Set
On the outlet side of your turbo sits the charge pipe. The factory charge pipe is yet another source of airflow restriction, which means you won’t be feeding all the air your engine can gulp as efficiently as possible. This is especially true for engines already sporting an upgraded intake and/or turbo. Whether your engine is stock or modified, increasing the airflow from the turbo to the manifold charge air cooler will mean a greater volume of air is more quickly available to mix with fuel and generate more power. Forge Motorsport is currently the best available option to round out your airflow upgrades with that critical middle piece, the Charge Pipe set. Combined with an upgraded intake, upgraded turbo, and the CSF super manifold, your B58 will receive all the air it ever needs at a density that promotes improved performance as well as gives you the room to go up as more parts hit the market to quickly take your B58 into that next class. | | | | | | | Turbo Upgrades - Pure Turbos, VTTO
With the stock turbo in your B58, there’s a limit to the power it can support based on the maximum pressure it can generate and the air volume it can move. With an upgraded unit, like Pure Turbo and Vargas Turbo offer, you can significantly raise your ability to ram air into your engine for more power, especially paired with the other air-related upgrades on this list. Remember, the more air you can supply and the higher density it is, the more fuel you can add for bigger explosions. This all translates to some pretty surprising power figures in the B58 and gives you options to reach your goals. Both companies offer incredibly high-quality turbo upgrades with varying capabilities that will be suited to your particular build’s needs. | | | | | | | | | Ignition Projects High-Performance Coil Packs
The third ingredient in the basic recipe for engine performance is the spark. You need something to ignite the air/fuel mixture that creates the explosion needed to drive your piston down the power stroke. There’s not much to gain in terms of measurable power from ignition upgrades, but what you do gain is consistency and dependability, especially in modified applications. For the most consistent and strongest spark delivery guaranteed to reliably hold up under the toughest conditions, IP’s High-Performance Coil Sets should be your only consideration. In modified engines pushing more boost and greater air/fuel volume, you need a spark strong enough to keep up under the extreme pressure that your turbo can generate when completely de-restricted. To avoid misfires under high boost, IP coils are necessary. | | | | | | | | | Exhaust Upgrades
Finally, moving to the hot side of things, with improved airflow on the front end, you’ll want to ensure your engine can move that air out as quickly and efficiently as it will be able to suck it in. Performance exhaust gives your B58 an intimidating grunt, but more importantly, it’s designed to maximize the efficiency of that system by balancing pulse velocity and pulse rate with proper exhaust gas scavenging incorporated into the design. Both AWE and Supersprint offer attractive options that match the quality of your BMW and create a satisfying soundtrack from your engine. One of the key benefits of AWE exhaust is its modular setup, which includes the Track and Touring options, for both resonated or non-resonated setups that allow you to pick your preference in terms of volume and tone. Both will perform equally well, but if you’re particularly noise-conscious, you have a quieter, more neighbor-friendly, choice available. | | | | | | | | | | | Brake Upgrades
With even just some of this list installed, you’ll likely notice the weak points are no longer power-focused, but control-related instead. Remember, while the factory brakes are fairly beefy, they’re not designed to reign in significantly more power. With more power comes the need to increase braking performance and keep those stopping distances down for your safety as well as your advantage on the track. If you’re not building a dedicated race car, you might not need something as aggressive as a big brake kit, but you’ll need something more capable than factory brakes. There’s no ‘right answer’ when it comes to quality suppliers, we have excellent experience with Pagid, HAWK Performance, Brembo, and StopTech. As long as you find a compound and setup you like with heat ranges capable of enduring high-performance driving, you’ll be in good shape to stay on the throttle longer and have better brake performance that resists fading much longer than the low-temperature stock compounds. Each of these brands comes highly recommended by the enthusiasts here at Turner Motorsport, but if you’re having trouble deciding, you can always reach out to our expert parts advisors in the sales department to find the setup that will work best for you. | | | | | | | | | | | | | Suspension Upgrades
Lastly in the handling department, to keep up with the better braking performance, support your additional power, and keep you grounded, you need suspension that can bring that body roll into check. However, when it comes to the varied models equipped with the B58, there’s not exactly a ‘one solution fits all’ way to go about improving your suspension. The main decision will come down to whether you have EDC or not and what your ultimate goals/needs are. If you’re not sporting an aggressively modified engine and don’t plan on doing anything other than improving the look of your M340i, you don’t necessarily need coilovers, especially if you have EDC.
EDC brings back the real benefits of lowering springs, along with the lower cost when compared to a full coilover setup. For those of you who are cost-conscious and comfort-conscious, don’t need something with a whole bunch of adjustability, and are mostly concerned with mild improvements, there’s no need to go with anything except springs, like H&R sports. These will allow you to retain EDC and your sport mode suspension adjustment settings in the car for the best all-around performance and budget option.
If you don’t have EDC, or you are looking for something with significantly better performance, height adjustability, and spring rate adjustability, coilovers are the way to go. Specifically, we suggest KW Suspension V2 coilovers, Bilstein Evo SE coilovers, or ISC coilovers. If you do have EDC and want to retain it, Bilstein Evo SE with EDC is your best bet. This is the ultimate option that retains your EDC and gives you the best handling option with adjustability at the forefront of their purpose. When it comes to driving your BMW, nothing will add more enjoyment or ability like lowering the center of gravity and stiffening everything up, especially if your B58 is pushing out more power. You’ll find much more of that power band is usable even in street-driven cars. | | | | | | | | | | | | | Wrapping Up
Despite only hitting the dealerships and American roads recently, the M340i has already developed a huge aftermarket performance support network and has been proven to be a major player in modern tuning. With such an impressive potential for high horsepower easily accessible to even the most novice among enthusiasts, the M340i displays a unique set of benefits that hasn’t truly been experienced since the N54 first hit the scene. This modern ‘M3 killer’ is certainly attractive, especially thanks to that lower price point, all you have to do is make a few choice upgrades to reach that potential. For that, you know you can count on your friends at Turner Motorsport to make it happen with you.
What do you think? Is the B58 going to take off in the performance world like the N54 did more than a decade ago? Are you sold on the mighty grunt of the B58 platform? What about ideas to help us grow our performance catalog? As always, reach out to [email protected] with your comments, questions, and suggestions. Maybe you’ll end up in a future edition of Turner Motorsport Weekly. | | | | |
About the Author
Craig Daugherty is a die-hard BMW enthusiast with a particular taste for E30s, engine swaps, and manual transmissions. A graduate of Lipscomb University in his hometown of Nashville, TN, Craig holds an undergraduate BA in English alongside an MS in Renewable Energy. Before introducing Turner Motorsport Keys to Performance and Turner Motorsport Weekly in 2017, he was the co-owner and co-founder of Tennessee30 Garage in Nashville and an active member in the Old Hickory BMWCCA chapter. With more than a decade of BMW experience and as an amateur or professional automotive journalist, his interests are evident in each weekly article. He’s the man behind the keyboard and who many of you correspond with in response to each edition and the source for all things BMW news here at Turner Motorsport!
Thanks for reading!
Craig Daugherty | | | | |
