[ddigangi]

I received my Power Box over the weekend (sadly without the aFe intake but it should be here by tomorrow) and I installed this past Saturday night. Installation was not terribly hard but much more complicated overall compared the the N54 versions.

I do have some installation advice for future buyers, for disassembly of your engine bay to access the ECU, use the YouTube video by Burger themselves (

). For the process of wiring the Power Box, I used the PDF provided by www.bimmian.com. The pictures were helpful and the wiring was very well laid out so making a mistake would be a bit of a task unless your really a poor installer/enthusiast or not patient to do it correctly.

Removal of all the components is not very hard but removing the cowl that covers the back of your engine is not as obviously as to how it detaches until you find a small set of center clips that hold it in place after you remove the bolts. With that said, this installation is not something I advise without someone helping or a bit of experience. You don't need it persay but it helped me a lot having an extra hand. The only other part that I found a bit frustrating was seeing how to remove the ECU components from the holders. The N54 video does not really give much visual help as to its location and neither did the PDF. Turns out there is a small clip on the edge of the actual ECU component that you to release. The wiring portion of the install is not terrible and seems a bit more overwhelming until you complete the first set of wires. A small tool such as a center punch aids any installer in counting out the necessary wires to remove and replace with the Power Box ones. If you take your time and re-check your work, you should be fine. A last bit on the installation side of it would be that marking your components is highly advised. After I completed the wiring it occurred to me that I did not look as to much ECU component came from which housing except the very obvious one that was the largest of all the components. Marking your work with tape or something of the sort will really be invaluable to getting through the installation process.



My experience so far with the actual difference in the cars performance has been better but not as I hyped it up to be after reading many reviews. Throttle response is increased quite a bit in some lower RPM of my lower gears and like wise in the middle to high range of my power gears such as 3rd and 4th. One part of the reviews that I read that I found awesome is the ability to power through and out of corners. The response from the engine when cornering has become much more aggressive which I think is great. I haven't pulled much on the highway yet as it was just installed and haven't had to go back to school yet. My street driving is more enjoyable and I can see the abilities of this modification. I am hoping to come back to you guys in the next few weeks with more info on my experiences with it. Any questions about it, feel free to ask or shoot me a PM.

[e90ben]

As others will chime in a tell you

1) The Car's ECU will take alittle of time to adapt
2) Anything above 4000 rpm is awesome


Reading reviews like this makes me miss mine

[Delta0311]

Good choice on the intake by the way. I know people will say I'm nuts but I had to put my stock air box back on far a few days and I could tell there was a perfromance difference. Even with the PBX in map 3 the car was not as responsive. I put my AFE intake back on again and the car pulls a hell of a lot better.

[E90 87ss]

Originally Posted by ddigangi

My experience so far with the actual difference in the cars performance has been better but not as I hyped it up to be after reading many reviews.

x2 coming up on a 1,000 miles with it. Definitely nowhere near night and day difference. It just makes driving your car more pleasurable and gets rid of that awful lag. It's a must have for drivability.

[Mike@N54Tuning.com]

Originally Posted by E90 87ss

x2 coming up on a 1,000 miles with it. Definitely nowhere near night and day difference. It just makes driving your car more pleasurable and gets rid of that awful lag. It's a must have for drivability.

+1

The hp/tq gains are definitely noticeable but the throttle remap really makes the car more enjoyable to drive.

Mike

[Neutrino45]

Thanks for your review. This vendor posted a 20 minutes install time, which I think is unrealistic for an average person who is not a mechanic. http://www.e90post.com/forums/showpo...0&postcount=47

[Mike@N54Tuning.com]

Originally Posted by Neutrino45

Thanks for your review. This vendor posted a 20 minutes install time, which I think is unrealistic for an average person who is not a mechanic. http://www.e90post.com/forums/showpo...0&postcount=47

Yes 20 min is VERY unrealistic. I don't think I can do it in 20min even and I have installed a lot of these!

The average Joe should budget 45-60min for the install. Its not hard but takes a little time.

Mike

[ModBargains.com]

Dan, I'm glad to hear that overall your satisfied with the product. Give the ECU a bit of time to adapt to the new tune and I can guarantee that the car's going to feel like a whole different beast! As I always state on the phone, the installation time will vary depending on how familiar you are with the engine bay and I always advise all end users to take their time on it as you definitely do not want to rush a job like this.

- Alan

[ddigangi]

Yea, I am very happy with the product still and like the outcome so far. I would say the next time around I am probably going to get this done in about an hour.

[Mike@N54Tuning.com]

Originally Posted by **********s.com

As I always state on the phone, the installation time will vary depending on how familiar you are with the engine bay and I always advise all end users to take their time on it as you definitely do not want to rush a job like this.

- Alan

Yes you are correct that install time will vary and users should take their time. Thats great advice. But I think the point was that 20min is a completely unrealistic number. I have installed over 2-300 PBXs, JB3s, etc. and it takes me just over 20min to install a PBX from start to finish and I have the pin layouts memorized.

Out of curiosity how long does it take you to install a PBX?

Mike

[ska///235i]

I put some miles on the pbx and with perf intake & exhaust....dawmm its almost like turbo

[Patsfan123]

Did you get your aFe intake.. I am wondering if you notice a difference with it.

[Delta0311]

Originally Posted by Patsfan123

Did you get your aFe intake.. I am wondering if you notice a difference with it.

Yes there is a moderate difference. I was driving with a stock air box and the chip in map 3 last week and the difference was noticable.

[ddigangi]

Well I am actually getting a little frustrated because I have been waiting a little over two weeks for my intake, I am going to be calling up JLEVI today as soon as they wake up.

[BriMc]

I'm thinking about doing this on mine, has it effected gas mileage at all? I get about 20 now, don't mind if I lose a bit of that, but not too much!

[Mike@N54Tuning.com]

Originally Posted by BriMc

I'm thinking about doing this on mine, has it effected gas mileage at all? I get about 20 now, don't mind if I lose a bit of that, but not too much!

Few of my customers have actually reported an increase in fuel economy Nothing earth shattering but it was an interesting observation.

Mike

[Showsol2211]

Originally Posted by Mike@N54Tuning.com

Few of my customers have actually reported an increase in fuel economy Nothing earth shattering but it was an interesting observation.

Mike

I have the PBX and the AFE Intake and I would say there was maybe a 1mpg increase. Like you said, it was nothing earth shattering, but i did notice.

[Me_Hi]

it makes sense as the engine is reving higher quicker. Th efun factor makes you keep that foot on the gas pedal a bit longer.

[Dark_Knight_335]

All three are the winning combo. You cannot expect a powerbox on its own to make your car magically faster.

[Alexander]

Originally Posted by ska325xi

I put some miles on the pbx and with perf intake & exhaust....dawmm its almost like turbo

[ddigangi]

Originally Posted by Aonarch

Hahahahaha


UPDATE

Been driving for a few more days now on the PBX Map 3 and results have become slightly increased with better response, acceleration and a small increase in MPG. Enjoying the difference more and more.

[Alexander]

Originally Posted by ddigangi

Hahahahaha


UPDATE

Been driving for a few more days now on the PBX Map 3 and results have become slightly increased with better response, acceleration and a small increase in MPG. Enjoying the difference more and more.

Like I always have said, what the N52 should feel like from the factory.