Vishnu Tuned 335i - 0-60 in 4.6 with a Tune and exhaust... WOW

d1sinfo submitted on 02/24/2007 Official AutoSpies Timestamp: 10:27 PM
from: www.edmunds.com

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vishnu bmw 335 rs4 rs6

Vishnu Tuned 335i - 0-60 in 4.6 with a Tune and exhaust... WOW

3.0-liter twin-turbo engine
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Improving the über coupe
By Josh Jacquot , Senior Road Test Editor Email | Blog
Date posted: 02-05-2007

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Vishnu is a strange name for an automotive aftermarket company. In Hinduism, Vishnu is the god of preservation, responsible for maintaining balance in the universe — or, in this case, the balance in the BMW 335i.

Balance has become Vishnu's slogan. At Vishnu Performance Systems, tuning for ultimate power is less important than upgrades that deliver all-around drivability.

Moving into a new universe
Vishnu has made its name by selling engine-control upgrades for the Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution and Subaru WRX and WRX STI. But now company founder Shiv Pathak is looking upscale.

The BMW 335i is the perfect launching point.

Its 3.0-liter inline-6 engine delivers 300 horsepower right out of the box, and its two turbochargers mean there's lots of headroom to pack in more power.

Plus, the BMW 335i is fast.

As we learned in our full test, the 335i is substantially quicker than BMW's own claims. Our test car (a questionably tuned press vehicle) smoked to 60 mph in only 4.8 seconds and eclipsed the quarter-mile in 13.3 seconds at almost 106 mph.

This incendiary performance puts the cooking 335i in the same league as dedicated performance pieces like the Audi RS 4 and the Mitsubishi Evo IX — cars that don't come close to offering the Bimmer's stealth factor.

How it works
Vishnu's tuning philosophy is an example of clever engine management. And it's particularly effective with turbocharged cars like the 335i that are already carefully tuned by the factory to deliver measured doses of boost under the narrowly prescribed conditions determined by BMW's engineers.

Making more power means adding boost, then tweaking fuel delivery and ignition timing. Doing so effectively requires that the stock engine-control computer thinks all these parameters remain within the expected range set by the factory. Vishnu uses a combination of electrical and mechanical devices to keep the warning lights off, but manages to keep the factory-set failsafe measures in place.

The biggest tweak is a magic box called PROcede, which intercepts sensor signals in the 335i's wiring harness. It's designed specifically to operate with signals from BMW's high-resolution crankshaft sensor and allows Vishnu's Pathak to make more aggressive tuning changes than would be possible using lower-resolution electronics.

Mechanical changes are limited to careful rerouting of the boost control plumbing and the addition of a small pellet in one of the vacuum lines to control airflow. In conjunction with the electronic controls, these changes make more boost pressure possible without disabling any of BMW's measures to preserve engine durability.

Another bonus is a downloadable software package that allows users to connect a laptop computer to the 335i's ECU (just as a real tuning engineer does) and view digital gauges displaying boost, air/fuel ratio and ignition-timing data. The software also has data-logging capabilities and can produce horsepower figures based on a simulated dyno pull in 3rd gear. It can also calculate acceleration to 60 mph and through the quarter-mile.

Balance
The perfect combination of performance and comfort is what sells thousands of BMW 3 Series every month in the United States. Adding a little more performance without compromising comfort or durability is what Pathak set out to do with the 335i.

It works. A 100 pound-feet increase in torque over a stock 335i from 2,000-4,000 rpm makes the Vishnu 335i not only quicker but also immensely more drivable. It never falls out of the power band. Roll into the throttle from 80 mph in top gear and the improvement in acceleration is, at first, only "meaningful." It quickly builds to "substantial," reaching its zenith at "Holy crap, this thing means business!"

The sound this car makes is as impressive as its acceleration. The Vishnu 335i has been fitted with a prototype cat-back exhaust system that uses dual 2.5-inch, mandrel-bend stainless tubes and oval Magnaflow mufflers with polished 4-inch tips. The system retains the stock downpipes, which contain two catalytic converters each and the tips look utterly stock.

You can get intoxicated from the sound. Few engine notes are more pleasing than a straight-6 with a real dual exhaust. The Vishnu 335i makes a burbling ring that builds to a ripping shriek at redline. We found ourselves mashing the BMW's throttle just to hear it build.

The engine never sounds like it's working hard. Pulling from 2,000 rpm in 6th gear, the engine emits a low-pitched garble that slowly builds in intensity as boost rolls on. Once the engine reaches full boost at 2,500 rpm, the coupe rockets from 70-100 mph in 6th gear with little effort.

How's she run?
In an effort to preserve its stealthy appearance, Pathak has retained the 335i's stock wheels, tires and suspension. With a ton more engine torque than stock, we expected this combination would turn the coupe's 255/35R18 rear rubber into vaporized stench in no time. We were right.

Too much throttle easily cooks the tires and careful pedal work is required for an effective launch. Feed in the clutch at 3,000 rpm while carefully finding full throttle; you get some wheel hop off the line but a very quick launch.

Sixty mph arrives in 4.6 seconds and the quarter-mile flashes by in 13.0 seconds at 109 mph, 0.3 second quicker than the last stock 335i with an automatic transmission that we tested. And that's quicker than any stock Evo or Audi RS 4 we've ever tested.

Combine this acceleration with the 335i's potent braking (114 feet from 60 mph) and handling numbers (0.88 g on the skid pad, 68.4 mph through the slalom) and the Vishnu coupe is capable of beating all but the twistiest roads into submission.

This car also did a real number on the Dynojet chassis dyno at MD Automotive in Westminster, California. Peak wheel horsepower increased 75 hp from 265 hp to 340 hp over the privately owned BMW we tested in our first full test of the 335i coupe. But the real story here is the torque increase, which makes the 335i substantially more drivable than before. As we mentioned, the torque peaks at 390 lb-ft — 114 lb-ft more than stock. The margin decreases toward redline, although there's still a 50 lb-ft surplus.

The bottom line
During our test, the Vishnu 335i had 11,000 miles on the odometer, an indication of the substantial test mileage it had racked up in only about two months of development time. Vishnu currently has about 30 beta versions of the system in the hands of customers. Full production versions are available now for about $1,300.

Outright speed hasn't been the primary goal with the Vishnu 335i and it also isn't the primary accomplishment. The 0.3-second improvement in quarter-mile time over the stock 335i isn't as impressive as the torque-rich driving experience. It's hard to argue with almost 400 lb-ft of torque at the wheels for less than the cost of a decent set of wheels.

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IS3andME - 2/25/2007 5:25:51 PM

+2 Boost

All that and 2 tenths of a second. One could have gotten that with sticker tires.

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rg12345 - 2/25/2007 6:07:07 PM

+3 Boost

YEAP ! I would never do all "electronically and mechanically" changes that to my car; it looks it is not just a software chip; and for what .. almost no improvements. That car is good enough .. don't void the warranty for nothing.

Agent63 - 2/25/2007 6:07:53 PMView My AgentSpace

+1 Boost

With gravity there's only a certain limit when a car can only go so fast with so many horsepower.

For example:
Porsche 911 Carrera 0-60mph in 4.8 with 325HP
Porsche 911 Carrera 0-60mph in 4.6 with 355HP

In this comparison you see that with 30HP extra it only boosts the car 2 tenths of a second. This really shows how hard engineers have to work to get around this resistance so the cars can even increase 1 second faster because with the Porsche 911 Turbo it has 480HP and it's at roughly 1 second faster 0-60.

In this case tires may not make that much of a difference.

NARunner - 2/25/2007 6:21:02 PMView My AgentSpace

+3 Boost

first of all,
the 4.8 sec 0-60 tested by edmunds was suspected to be a ringer 335i...most tested have come in around 5.0-5.2 sec

second of all,
this package is only $1300...performance tires would cost you just as much if not more.

on what other car can you spend $1300 on a tuning package and get 75rwhp and 114 ft/lbs increases in power and torque, respectively?

brandonwal79 - 5/1/2008 5:07:33 AM

+1 Boost

If you want to spice up the 335i, go to www.splitsec.com and get the turbo timer. ECU needs to be in sleep mode (pop hood and lock doors for 20 minutes) and it takes 2 minutes to add. It is $600 and adds a solid 50hp and 55 ft lb of torque. There is no question my car is faster. We did some tests and my 5.1 0-60 went down to 4.8, and 4.7 on 2 runs. The first run, the tires broke loose at 6000 rpm's in 1st gear, but i shifted to 2nd at 5500 the second run since it's loosing acceleration anyways at 6k rpm. It has a very strong 2nd gear that will get you to 70mph with the turbo timer. For $600, I absolutely love it. With the ISF, G37, and S4 all geared to challange the 335i, I have a lot more confidence. BTW the G37 isn't even close (i raced one)... If anyone has questions, email me at brandonwal79@yahoo.com ....

IS3andME - 2/25/2007 7:36:06 PM

+1 Boost

Yeah, and void on'e warranty. And Vishnu is a newcomer, no history to go by. One could get a set of sticker Nittos, lighter BBS RGR wheels, and get close to the same results, without messing with the electronics and turbos. Especailly since there is no history on how this engine will hold up yet. Remember, the N54 engine in the M3 was blowing up due to its 8,000 rpm redline. They didn't know this until a year or two into the M3 production.

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NARunner - 2/26/2007 9:20:11 AMView My AgentSpace

+1 Boost

you realize, of course, you're comparing an NA engine to a TT engine right? that is such a huge apples to oranges comparison.

any fool who knows anything about NA engines would know that they don't take well to forced induction, thats a common fact...so to say "no one knew" about the N54 engine is stupid, of course they knew...that's why it also took most companies like Dinan years to develop a supercharger system that MIGHT work with the M3.

this is a completely different engine...look at RICEMASTER's post below...turbocharged vehicles are much more mod-friendly...i'm sure this engine will hold up fine since you are only changing the fuel mapping a boost levels SLIGHTLY. i'm sure companies that try to squeeze the potential out of this engine will blow them, but Vishnu is only upping boost by 1-2 psi i think (might be wrong).

i agree with you that i would not want to void the warranty, however. my 335i would stay stock...it has plenty of punch right out of the box and i would rather spend the extra 15-20k on an e92 M3 and keep the warranty than spend 1300 extra on my 335i and be left in the cold.

fragemall - 3/7/2007 2:31:24 PM

+1 Boost

The specific output of the engine is no where near a figure that you would classify as "high" for a turbocharged motor. The engine was primarily turbocharged to give a flat torque curve and the performance of a bigger capacity motor with without higher fuel consumption. And remember that they had to keep it noticebly slower than the upcoming M3. So making it as fast as possible (limited only be reliability) was simply out of the question.

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IS3andME - 2/26/2007 11:23:52 AM

+1 Boost

Quite true, NaRunner, But what i was saying is not comparing a NA vs. a TT engine, but the fact that this engine has no history with it on the market as to it's longevity, And so for a unknown company to say, "look we've managed to put 400 pound feet of torque to the rear wheels" and only managed 4.6 sec to 60 is not worth th expense. I would wait for Dinan or Active Autowerks to come out with something first.

As far as the S54 (not N54--my mistake) engine blowing up. They first started blowing up in 2001, BMW blamed it on owners revving to redline on the time, until SMG equipped M3's started blowing up, from what I understand one can't over-rev an SMG engine.

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BMW4me4ever - 2/26/2007 12:29:39 PMView My AgentSpace

+1 Boost

pricing is released for the New BMW 335 conv .... Base price in the US for the 335 conv is $49,100 ... How is anyone else going to be able to compete?

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S4cabriofoxone - 2/26/2007 8:34:34 PMView My AgentSpace

+1 Boost

That's actually pretty expensive. Encroaches on M3 territory.

But I love the 335i and would glady pay $50K for one.

S4cabriofoxone - 2/26/2007 8:36:41 PMView My AgentSpace

+1 Boost

And, now that I think of it, isn't the CLK350 around $53K?

surv597 - 2/27/2007 8:09:46 AM

+1 Boost

I just got my 335 last Wednesday. Sunday afternoon some young guys in a CLK500 kept screwing with me so at a light I decided to give them a run. We were dead even up to 100 mph when we both shut down due to the road. That's fast enough for me. I imagine the CLK guy was surprised. The car is awesome as is and I wouldn't consider doing anything to it unless I knew it was totally safe. Oh, my car is a steptronic, not manual.

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fragemall - 3/7/2007 2:33:27 PM

+1 Boost

But I do agree that its simply not worth voiding the warranty. Its a sweet car.

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dweigle - 3/29/2007 7:57:45 PM

+1 Boost

I wouldn't bother modifying an NA car like my 330xi becuase the gains aren't worth it. However, a 335i or 335xi would be worth modifying. I've testdriven the 335i and it is fast, the local Dyno in Boulder measured the 335i at 270 RWHP while a stock Subaru STi put down 225 (all 4 wheels). Moving that number up to 320 WHP is a huge difference in feel and function - and with more than 100 ft/lbs of torque - holy shit - even if you are only seeing 3/10 of a second difference on the 1/4 mile, the amount of down low grunt would make this modification insane and a world of difference where you sit - in the seat of your pants. How often are you flooring it to 110 mph from a deadstop anyway? The driveability factor makes this inexpensive modification VERY worth it. I've been reading up on VishnuTuning on the BMW forums and elsewhere - he might be new to BMWs but not turbos, engines and high performance. I'd do it in a second and if I blew up my motor - I'd fix it and try again. Like anything else, if you are going to play, be prepared to pay. Conversely, if you don't wanna pay, then don't play.

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