Dan's E90 LCI 335i

At Turner Motorsport, we love a good BMW story. These cars, the community around them, and the individual personalities of their owners offer something rather special in the car world. We don’t have to tell you about their tendency to work their way into your skin and infect you with a die-hard love for the brand, you wouldn’t be reading this if you weren’t as BMW crazy as we are. BMWs have this innate ability, though, to attract certain types of people. Folks like Dan, the owner of this E90 LCI 335i.

While he’s only had this 335i for a little more than three years, it’s been in his life since the day the car was ordered from Germany. Dan and his father, a casual BMW enthusiast, completely specced this car new, factory M-Tech package and all, to be exactly what they wanted. For seven years, it was his father’s daily driver while Dan fell into car enthusiasm by proxy. When it was time for his father to replace it, Dan couldn’t let the car sell to anyone but him.

Since then, Dan took what was a completely stock, albeit extremely well-optioned, N55-powered E90 and made it subtly his own. Exterior upgrades, like our Carbon Fiber High-Kick Rear Spoiler, a carbon roof spoiler, carbon splitters, carbon headlight eyelids, and a sprinkling of carbon fiber trim accents help create a visually sporty, yet luxurious, theme. Paired with a wallet-friendly but still, attractive set of Alzor 881s set out 10mm in the front and 15mm in the rear with Turner Motorsport wheel spacers, this daily-driven E90 certainly looks more aggressive than it did under his father’s ownership.

While it is a commuter car that features a car seat in the rear bench for his newborn daughter, Sophie, that doesn’t mean it doesn’t pack a punch under the hood. A VRSF charge pipe, Turner Motorsport N55 downpipe, aFe inlet scoops, Injen intake, upgraded intercooler, and COBB Accessport help this E90 produce considerably more power than it did when new.

It makes a healthy grunt with quite audibly pleasing turbo spool but remains calm enough inside the cabin to be a comfortable year-round commuter. Dan’s balance between tasteful upgrades and the need to retain comfort and convenience has created the perfect BMW for him and his family as it grows. More importantly, it’s cemented in him a love for the brand and a better understanding of building a car for specific needs and maintaining a car as it ages.

During his ownership, the car has quickly racked up the miles and needed the regular maintenance an N55-powered 335i tends to require. Naturally, Dan looks to Packaged by Turner Motorsport service kits to routinely service his BMW to keep it as pristine and new feeling as it did when he and his dad picked it up over a decade ago.

Though it may never see track time, Dan’s E90 335i is still a riot to drive. In his words, it’s just impossible not to drive it hard. The mild upgrades beg for you to plant your foot on a long straightaway or chuck the car into a corner, feeling BMW’s excellent sport suspension do its job. For now, Dan’s not planning much for the car, as his attention is mostly dominated by raising an infant, but that isn’t to say more upgrades won’t happen down the line.

As the resident BMW experts here, based on Dan’s build and needs from the car, Turner Motorsport suggests a few key upgrades to bring out all the potential this 335i has. KW Suspension V3 coilovers or BC BR coilovers would be our first recommendation, as right now this E90’s best area for improvement is in the suspension department. Better handling with only a mild sacrifice to comfort along with the visual appeal of a lowered car would go a long way in both the performance and aesthetic characteristics of his E90. To compliment that handling upgrade and the additional power his N55 puts down, we would also suggest upgrading the pads, rotors, and brake lines with more aggressive options. HAWK Performance Talon rotors and HPS 5.0 pads are excellent street performance options, while our Turner Motorsport braided stainless steel lines will help improve the brake pedal feel for a more immediate response.

These two handling and braking upgrades would be the perfect final touches to this already well-sorted E90. However, that’s pretty much all we’d suggest as a daily-driven 335i. It doesn’t take much to improve this chassis, but to make a well-rounded package, the suspension and brake upgrades are definitely due.

A special thank-you to Dan for sharing his E90 335i with us as well for hosting our writer for the weekend at Ocean City. Do you have a BMW story you’d like to share? As always, we’d love to hear from you at [email protected]. Who knows, maybe you’ll end up in a future edition of Turner Motorsport Weekly.