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      12-26-2013, 05:15 AM   #173
435iaffair
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Drives: 435i, Z4M, M157 E63
Join Date: Oct 2013
Location: San Marino, CA

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2014 435i  [9.00]
Modded n54/55 cars are fun and all, but I'd rather be in a factory car with an estimated 390whp (per an earlier post) on pump gas with beefed up cooling, body work, suspension, etc, all with a factory warranty.

AFAIK the ZF tranny in the F3x cars isn't rated to handle much more than the factory N55 torque output per ZF, and to achieve an appreciable amount of power (IMHO of course) requires e85 (availability) and TBE (increased cabin noise), which could alter the definition of a daily driver for some (me included). I personally wouldn't run meth so that's out.

Even if I could make similar power to the new F8x M cars I'd be in fear of the transmission grenading/slipping (despite the fact that none has occurred yet, at least to our knowledge) as well as other issues that could potentially arise from all the mods, such as cooling. Here in CA I would need to remove the DP each time I need the car smogged, not to mention each time I take the car into service I'd basically remove everything out of paranoia. If I were running catless I'd be crapping bricks each time I'm stopped at a light with a cop due to the lovely fume. Having owned several modified cars, esp. being in CA, it's not as simple as making the WHP; there is a lot more involved.

In short, just because you can modify car A to match car B it does not make the two equal. The F8x M cars will destroy a modded N55 car, with a factory warranty. They're one step above the food chain vs. the F3x cars, just as the E9x M was to the E9x N54/55 cars (flame suit on? perhaps not on this part of the forum). Power is only a tiny part of the entire picture, and even there the M cars prevail with much better reliability (especially on the track) and a factory warranty.
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