[Kenneykickin]

Hello all, I’m about to pull the trigger on a valve cover. But have been hard pressed on aftermarkets.

I think I’ve decided on Elring as I’ve heard it’s OEM?

My question is, Partsgeek has it for $254 while fcp and ECS are about $350.00 usd.

What’s the big gap in price?

Also is reinz and victor reinz same company?

[Kenneykickin]

Also is the 10mm injector ground removal tool a necessity in doing the cover?

[Kenneykickin]

I’ve heard mixed things about URO, I don’t want went to spend the $500 on genuine and feel the next best is Elring.

[e90yyc]

Can’t speak to N54 Elring, but the N52 one has mixed reviews on FCP.

I can check my genuine cover (N52 though…) to see who makes it. Can confirm it isn’t Elring though.

[mainbearing]

Elring is always aftermarket.

How about just getting genuine $530 valve cover on FCP. You get the lifetime replacement warranty, and on the 2nd one it would end up cheaper than a Uro cover. LOL!

I suspect these junk valve covers are Mahle. Audi uses Mann-Hummel and IMO those are much better.

https://www.fcpeuro.com/products/bmw...er-11127565284

[whyzee125]

Elring is not OEM but is an okay company. Victor Reinz is different; most have terrible luck with their OFHG's.

IMO I'd go OEM--Mahle makes the Genuine ones. People complain that the OE ones are junk but I've never cracked one--my last car had 166k when I sold it on the original valve cover.

[Kenneykickin]

Interesting.. ECS states Elring is OEM.

I’m not even sure my valve cover is cracked, but gasket/cover is defintely leaking..

130k so I just want do cover as preventative..

$350 vs $530 for Genuine. Hmm the warranty isn’t a huge benefit for me as I most likely won’t have the car long enough for another valve cover.. it’s stock.

Good to know about Elring. Is there any other decent options other than genuine..?

[whyzee125]

Originally Posted by Kenneykickin

Interesting.. ECS states Elring is OEM.

I’m not even sure my valve cover is cracked, but gasket/cover is defintely leaking..

130k so I just want do cover as preventative..

$350 vs $530 for Genuine. Hmm the warranty isn’t a huge benefit for me as I most likely won’t have the car long enough for another valve cover.. it’s stock.

Good to know about Elring. Is there any other decent options other than genuine..?

Some have been happy with Uro and Elring, so it will probably work out okay. I think those sites claim something is OEM if that company is AN OEM supplier but not necessarily the OEM supplier for that part. Or it's just ECS being scummy like ECS usually is lol.

[e90yyc]

They state Elring is OEM or OE? FCP’s nomenclature is pretty specific, if you didn’t know. OE = genuine without the box, essentially, whereas OEM just means that manufacturer makes OE parts for some vehicles, but not that particular part for your car.

Edit: Clarify above

[Kenneykickin]

At this point I’m just contemplating removing it. Checking for cracks on cover and just buying oem gasket and reusing the cover.. after cleaning the ports and all that.

[Kenneykickin]

Originally Posted by e90yyc

They state Elring is OEM or OE? FCP’s nomenclature is pretty specific, if you didn’t know. OE = genuine without the box, essentially, whereas OEM just means that manufacturer makes OE parts for some vehicles, but not yours.

Not on Fcp but on ECS it states valve cover is OEM

[Kenneykickin]

https://www.ecstuning.com/b-elring-p...RoChiIQAvD_BwE

[Kenneykickin]

Originally Posted by whyzee125

Some have been happy with Uro and Elring, so it will probably work out okay. I think those sites claim something is OEM if that company is AN OEM supplier but not necessarily the OEM supplier for that part. Or it's just ECS being scummy like ECS usually is lol.

Yeah, I will Probaly just buy the Elring valve cover, if I don’t just decide to remove valve cover and if it’s not cracked buy an oem gasket, clean it and reuse possibly.

Has anyone have any experience with “parts geek” their Elring cover is $100 cheaper than fcp and ECS.

[e90yyc]

For the N52 Elring cover, multiple reviews report poor fitment. Unsure if N54 would be the same…

Might be worth trying to find some reviews. But if you’re pretty set on that one, then might as well try it and let us know how it works!

[Kenneykickin]

Originally Posted by e90yyc

For the N52 Elring cover, multiple reviews report poor fitment. Unsure if N54 would be the same…

Might be worth trying to find some reviews. But if you’re pretty set on that one, then might as well try it and let us know how it works!

ECS has good few reviews on the Elring, I see that fcp has no reviews though for it.

I’m not set on anything just wondering what’s the next best other than genuine.

What a headache… for a supposedly simple valve cover I’m having a hard time deciding. Lol.

[whyzee125]

Try rockauto too if you're not worried about warranty. They have great prices and usually a couple options

[E93Dude]

These are BMWs. These can be finicky to work on. I wouldn't go with the cheapest part I could find, that's why I would suggest FCP were you know you're getting a good quality part and if it breaks you know they will replace it. You may have to fix it twice, but you only pay for it once! Consider the extra hundred dollars for FCP over ECS tuning as an insurance policy.

[Wolf 335]

Originally Posted by Kenneykickin

Not on Fcp but on ECS it states valve cover is OEM

OEM and OE carry differnt meanings.

Elrign manufatures some componenets for BMW therefore granting them the OEM desigantion. It doesnt mean they are an original equipment supplier.

In this particular case i dont belife they are OE (Original Equipment).

[Raptor04]

Elring and URO are equivalent. I've had them both next to each other and only difference was one said elring and one said uro. Look like they both came out of same factory.

[Kenneykickin]

Y’all are awesome. Thanks for all the Info. One last question, the PCV valve is built into the valve cover correct? So is it even needed to “upgrade” the pcv valve if buying a new cover?

I’m Probably just going to buy the URO and take my chances $139 at rock auto. but buy OEM genuine gasket.

If I got to do it twice… my fault. 😂

[Kenneykickin]

Originally Posted by Raptor04

Elring and URO are equivalent. I've had them both next to each other and only difference was one said elring and one said uro. Look like they both came out of same factory.

Sounds like I’d be wasting my money going with Elring. I’ll prob just buy URO with a genuine gasket. How are the bolts on the URO?

[Raptor04]

Originally Posted by Kenneykickin

Sounds like I’d be wasting my money going with Elring. I’ll prob just buy URO with a genuine gasket. How are the bolts on the URO?

That's what I recommend and did. I went with uro cover and separate genuine BMW gasket. However, the elring gasket that you can purchase individually appears to be similar to the genuine BMW gasket whereas the generic gaskets included with the uro and elring valve covers look like identical copies of each other from same factory. No way to actually determine which gaskets are better without testing, but I have not had any issues with genuine or elring valve cover gaskets purchased separately from the actual valve cover.

No issues with bolts.