A few months back, Yutao W came by the ModAuto shop to get his F30 328i looking how he wanted it – MSport Style F30 Front Bumper, Msport Style F30 Side Skirts and the Msport Style F30 Rear Bumper, and completed the look with a drop thanks to a set of Eibach Pro-Kit Springs for BMW F30 and a badass set of Avant Garde M510 Wheels for BMW (by the way, we currently have sets of 19in Avant Garde M510 on hand in stock in 19×8.5 et35, 19×9.5 et33 and 19×9.5 et40 in Dolphin Gray). After getting the look right, he had to beef up the output of his F30 328i to match its aggressive exterior – so ModBargains Co-Founder Mike Brown got Yutao in touch with Sr Mod Expert Alan Wei, who recommended an Injen Technology N20/N26 Intake, Evolution Racewerks N20/N26 Chargepipe and a Remus Quad Exhaust for F30/F32 328i/428i – these upgrades, installed all in one day certainly would definitely help make more power to the wheels a reality.
When it comes to making more power from your BMW N20 turbocharged four, there are a few pieces of “low hanging fruit” as it were that’ll help make your F30 328i or F32 428i more responsive and make more horsepower. Much like the N54/55’s plastic chargepipes crack and fail with age, the N20/N26 chargepipe isn’t much better, so the following are some of the best mods for BMW N20 engines and N26 engines. You probably knew the intake is important to upgrade to get more power out of the N20, but the intake is only half the story – you’ve still got the section of tube that connects the intercooler to the engine’s throttle body, and that’s your chargepipe. While the N20’s chargepipe may not be robbing your N20/26 of the same amount as the N54/55, it’s still sucking away power like a leech. Replacing the chargepipes with an Evolution Racewerks BMW N20 Chargepipe will remedy this problem by eliminating potential leaks through cracked plastic intake tubes.
The remedy for the problem is to replace the PLASTIC OEM chargepipe with a metal one, eliminating one potential source of failure later on. The ER BMW N20/N26 Chargepipe increases throttle response and helps the turbocharger spool up more quickly, and ER’s chargepipes are available with a number of options to suit your taste – Yutao opted for the polished version.
Check out how the ER chargepipe compares to the OEM one. See all those accordion folds in the stock one? While they allow the pipe to flex, they’re abysmal for airflow.
Being a discerning enthusiast, Yutao wanted to make sure whatever exhaust system he got matched the car’s existing color theme – so Mod Expert Alan helped Yutao order a set of CUSTOM Black Ceramic Coated quad exhaust tips for his F30 328i Remus Exhaust, which matches the Dolphin Gray finish of his Avant Garde M510 wheels for BMW F30 (19×8.5 et35 / 19×9.5 et40) perfectly.
Check out the finish up close – once they’re on the car they’ll be a lot harder to see, which is a shame, because the tips look stellar.
Here’s the Remus Axleback Exhaust for F30 next to the OEM unit – beyond the HP/TQ gains, the Remus Exhaust is also significantly lighter than stock.
Once we got the Remus Exhaust on the car, we have to get a closer look at our handiwork. The rear diffuser has to be trimmed to accomodate the Quad Exhaust tips, but Remus provides a template so you don’t end up with off-center or funky cutouts.
Those black Ceramic Tips sure do look great, don’t they?
Now for the Intake. The old N54 engines made a ton of HP at the wheels when you upgraded the intake (relative to the gains on other cars when fitting an intake), and the N20/26 continues that tradition despite being an Inline 4. Injen’s airbox style intake delivers significant gains at the wheels as well – the Injen Intake for BMW N20/N26 F30/F32 328i/428i delivers a whopping +22whp gain – that’s TWENTY TWO MORE HORSES, to the ground – but more importantly the gains are consistent across the entire rev band. Check out the dyno sheet for yourself:
Torque gains are moderate, at +9wtq, but come on, you’re dealing with an Inline 4, can you honestly expect a ton of torque?
Under the hood, it’s pretty sharp looking too.
Check out the video of how everything sounds all put together – we think it’s definitely a big change for the better, and the car certainly had a lot more oomph when you step on the Go-Pedal.
We can’t say we know for certain what Yutao’s next mod will be, (our bet is a Evolution Racewerks Intercooler for BMW F30 with N20 Engine) but we can tell you Alan and the rest of the Mod Expert Team will be there with Experience, Expertise and Enthusiasm when Yutao decides it’s time for the next step.
Curious about how to get more power out of your BMW? We invite you to consult our team of Mod Experts – give us a call at 714-582-3330 (x8006 for Alan), chat live with the Experts at ModBargains.com or stop by the ModAuto showroom any day 8-5 Monday Through Saturday and talk to an expert in person.
Thanks for joining us, see you next time!
Story & Photos Nick Gregson