03-04-2020, 06:28 AM | #1 |
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Charge pipe cracked
I'm completely stock so I didn't think that thing would happen.. I was standing at a red light to turn right and I just got to 4-5k when I heard like I hit something or something has broken, it felt bad, only after a few minutes I've noticed the charge pipe part that connects to the throttle body just broke. Is it a common thing to happen to the n55 charge pipe ? I've read only one or two similar cases but with a 335i.
It was funny cause I was just having the car regular serviced and it happened on the way back home so the car just went back to them (on a towing bed I figured it would be better as there is no filter or no boost or anything) |
03-04-2020, 07:12 AM | #2 |
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Yup, it's been known to happen, even at stock boost levels.
Common mod is to upgrade it to something made out of metal. Bunch of companies make them, I personally run one from FTP. |
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03-04-2020, 09:36 AM | #3 |
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More common that reported. Remember, the people on this board are a very small percentage of owners, and the dealer doesn't want to tell you how many issues they have had.
What year is your car and how many miles do you have on it? |
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///M TOWN22353.50 |
03-04-2020, 09:46 AM | #4 | ||
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My car is relatively new as it has approximately 19.5K miles and it's a 9/17 so it's also still under warranty and everything, hence why I won't change the charge pipe to an aftermarket one (if it wasn't I would, but as charge pipes do void the warranty here I won't). I can assume the high temperatures here do affect all the plastic parts, it can get up to 106 Fahrenheit (41 Celsius) and in the south even up to 114.8 Fahrenheit (46 Celsius) in peek summer (maybe a bit higher lol but I'm not sure it's crazy hot). |
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03-04-2020, 12:18 PM | #6 | |
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if its under warranty obviously your dealership will replace it. But if you plan on running your car hard in the future, just upgrade it to a more durable piece. You aren't going to void your warranty for most things unless they can prove the upgraded chargepipe caused the issue, which is basically impossible. |
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Shahaf291163.00 ///M TOWN22353.50 |
03-04-2020, 12:34 PM | #7 | |||
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Anyway I know and understand and everyone knows that it shouldn't void the warranty in any way, but unfortunately because no matter what mod you do (except cat backs and rims and tires that are the exact dimensions as the OEMs are approved, I know it's absurd..), so any mod you do will void your warranty else you know a few people.. (I don't : ). When the warranty experience I will change it (illegal is less of an issue lol) but until then I have to stick with the stock parts (6 months to go lol). So thanks for everyone for explaining and helping out! |
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03-04-2020, 06:44 PM | #8 |
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Mines at 24,000miles and is a 05/16 build, not sure if previous owner had issues but it gets up to 46 degrees here in Sydney as well. She didn't pop over summer, but I've got a metal VRSF one ready to go on when warranty finishes in a few months.
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03-04-2020, 10:45 PM | #9 |
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yes...its common and known issue on all n55/n54. just bad design because of using plastic in a high temp and high stress area
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03-05-2020, 03:17 AM | #10 |
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The charge pipe literally exploded on track in my 1M. The notion that BMW Continues to use plastic in high temperature, high pressure components blows (pun intended) my mind! In California if we replace it with a metal exact replication - which I did and was not able to pass smog on visual inspection alone (passed all other tests).
Wish more companies would invest in CARB Certification like DINAN did with their intake systems, etc. If anyone out there knows of any such Components please share. I would bu |
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03-05-2020, 06:27 AM | #12 |
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I've been running the stock plastic charge pipe for going in 4 years with a JB4 & Dinan Stage 1, at different times, seasons and temperatures, including a lot of 3am, "spirited" driving, in Mexico, of course - yet, never had a single issue..
I don't want to say that the OEM pipe on BMWs are flawless because there have been some notable examples of them cracking and it would not be fair to the folks that experienced unwarranted failure but I would venture to say this is mostly an issue to be addressed, if pushing a higher mileage vehicle or above-average boost levels. After all the fear-mongering that was disperse here, throughout the years, regarding this potential failure, I was expecting it pop, at any given moment. I even had backup duct tape, replacement clamps and couplers, ready to go but ultimately I never needed it. I still have warranty left, so I'm going to ride out the risk of it failing over replacing it with an aluminum pipe because of a few reasons. One, being that a metal pipe would severely heat-soak over plastic and I believe it's kind of asinine that aftermarket aluminum pipes are claiming ultimate durability, when some utilizes silicone couplers and elbows, which is a form of rubber, vulnerable to expansion or ballooning.. It's almost seems like they're trading one potential design flaw for another and disguising this glaring fact. Also, the end connect of an aluminum pipe retaining the OEM C-clip doesn't make a flexible mating hold to TB/housing, as the plastic pipe contours and does. Metal to metal would never flex and could potentially slip out, when vibrated. Ultimately, the plastic pipe has been good to me and if it ever pops, I'm just going to chuck it up to wear and tear and replace it with an OEM piece.. |
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03-05-2020, 08:12 PM | #14 | |
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If you live in a area where summer temps can hit 120F plus the high temps of the engine...it'll wear out the plastic faster. Also on top of the heat weakening the plastic, you have movement from the engine and boost pressure from inside of the pipe itself putting stress on the pipe. your also over exaggerating the aluminum pipe heating the air. The air thats going to the charge pipe is already cooled by the intercooler and is traveling at a very high speed at a very short distance. i doubt the fact the charge pipe is metal will have much of a effect on intake temps...the intercooler would have most the influence on that. I have vrsf aluminum charge pipe and csf intercooler and my intake temps are already 20 degrees cooler then stock and at a higher boost level. |
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03-05-2020, 11:00 PM | #15 | ||
Luxury at the redline :)
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Try putting a aluminum can of soda in a freezer for less than 5 mins and touch it afterwards, then come back and tell me aluminum doesn't severely transfer ambient temperature.. Plastic is obviously a weak conductor of temperature, hence the reason it's used in all automotive, heat-sensitive components, such as intakes and charge pipes. Even the M2 OEM intercooler is encased in plastic, not because they hate you but a practical reason for reducing heat insulation. I'm glad that the aluminum pipe works for you and since you already have one, I don't expect you be objective but I see a few faults in a pipe made out of a metal and it strikes me as kind of suspicious that only a few third-rate, aftermarket companies even offer a replacement pipe. The Dinan tune pushes 445HP/455TQ for their Stage 4 tune but confirmed that replacing the charge pipe is not necessary and don't any reason to engineer an enhance version. Like I said, I have warranty left, so If pops, I'll just drop the car at the dealer and grab a loner car. I predict I'll get another 50k out of the OEM plastic pipe, I don't have to worry about heat-soaking, the fit and finish is perfect and it's covered, should it fail. So It's a sacrifice I'm willing to live with. |
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///M TOWN22353.50 |
03-06-2020, 12:01 AM | #16 | |
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03-06-2020, 12:05 AM | #17 | |||
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its not bias, but data that i base my statement on. if you dont believe me, you can go into the mhd and bm3 threads and look at other users data logs yourself. Their some logic in your claims, but no actual data to support your statements..hence your basing your statements out of pure conjecture
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03-06-2020, 12:57 AM | #18 | ||
Luxury at the redline :)
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I didn't expect my observation to be so controversial but I assure you, I'm not talking out my ass; heat-soak is factually responsible for a substantial loss in power, hence the manufactures use of hard plastic. It's not because they secretly hate you and don't want to turbo-boost to the moon, it was a calculated engineering decision. I love this forum but it's just tragic how the vendor's hearsay, fear-mongering, and marketing tactics have brainwashed some of you people into throwing reasoning out the window. I'm all for a better product but not without objectively considering any potential cons. Obviously, when you blow hundreds of dollars on something someone claimed worked flawlessly and then someone else like me comes around and burst your bubble with facts, your mind is going to try and convince yourself that you're right or try some poor attempt at humor, as some sort of defense mechanism, so I excuse the snarkyness. |
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03-06-2020, 06:50 AM | #19 | |||
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Do you have any actual data besides "aluminum is a conductor" to support your claim? Would be interested to see it. I don't see this having any kind of drastic effect on the "cold side" piping to be honest. |
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03-06-2020, 08:12 AM | #20 |
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Personally, I think the affect is negligible. Yes aluminum is a better conductor, but that's not to say it has an effect in this application.
Plastic absorbs heat too, it just does it slower than aluminum. But what's to say that makes a difference here? Maybe in this instance the engine bay is hot enough to heat up both equally in 10 minutes. Two cars side by side with an IR thermometer would answer that easily. What's too say the air isn't passing so quickly by that there is little to no difference in temp? What's to say the aluminum pipe is thick enough to absorb enough heat to make a difference? My point is. You can spit facts, but the facts also have to have a distinct affect to be proven right in this application. |
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03-06-2020, 09:01 AM | #21 |
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If the air in the pipe is hotter than ambient under hood temp then I would think that the aluminum would help dissipate it. This is strictly conjecture on my part though.
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