N54 speedtech ST kit install review

Mikejones1208

Corporal
Dec 6, 2016
145
115
0
Savannah, GA
Ride
2009 BMW 335i
So I'm a mechanic by trade and have installed a good bit of single turbo kits ranging from motiv kits to garbage JP kits and a few in between, also being that im installing this for a customer car and not my own i feel that i can give a fairly unbias opinion on it.

For this install i removed the lower front subframe just to make it easy on myself, for twin installs and top mount installs i can get away with leaving it in but bottom mount kits it makes things much easier to pull it, if your gonna tackle this job just drop it out of the way and save yourself the frustration
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First thing ill note is the instructions provided are fairly clear but there are some things i personally feel speedtech should do for you before they send the kit like clock the turbo for you, most diy'ers dont have the right tools to properly clock one using the degrees they provide and even so without a jig to hold the turbo perfectly level your still probably gonna be stuck putting the turbo up and taking it back down to adjust it just right.
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Next thing i want to note is the cheap oil feed and drain setup, definitely can see where corners were cut to bring price down. Does there setup work, sure, but it could have been a little nicer. The coolant plugs and oil feed fittings supplied also just looked like cheap welded fittings, but again they did work as intended, as far as manifold and turbo fitment goes everything sits nicely and has good clearance all around which is definitely a plus
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As far as the coolant system goes, the silicone hoses they provided seem to be very high quality. Thick walled hoses look like theyll have no problems with melting from heat down there as long it's not pushing directly on the turbine housing, and they're all fitted nicely as far as routng goes. I don't like their solution to moving the water pump forward, when pushed all the way forward the thermostat housing housing hits the radiator fan so in that configuration they had listed in the manual it won't work with out some serious "massaging". They also don't include any 90 degree fitting in the kit to run the trans cooler coolant hose, not a big deal just annoying when you have to make a home depot run mid install to pick up a cheap fitting
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The hotside parts all fit very well, dump tube and downpipe lined up perfectly with one another and mated to the catback no problem, engine mount bracket also fit well, no modifications needed at all to any of the hot parts. Kudos to them on those parts
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Cold side silicone hose WOULD have fit perfectly if it weren't for a mix between the customers car having a psp ic which has a 2.5" inlet for some reason which means you have to trim the charge pipe to the 2.5" side. Problem with that is that once you trim it like the instructions say it's too short for my liking to get a really good clamp on both compressor and ic inlet. You can see in the picture it took some staining on the silicone to get it to reach to the turbo. For people with vrsf ic's this shouldn't be a problem at all
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Lastly they only included one plug for there intake assuming everyone recirculates their pcv systems on the high side, a second plug would be nice for people who vta on that side of the system, this particular customer did not and required a 3/4 barb fitting to connect a house to the vac source on the intake
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In conclusion my gripes and groans really aren't a big deal just more nitpicking then anything and seeing how this is a budget turbo kit you can't expect it all, cheap fittings and adapters but as i said before they will probably do the job fine. And as far as budget kits go this one's not bad, only thing im really not a fan of is the coolant setup they reccomend, shifting all that around really makes it difficult for that fan to go in nicely. Hope i was able to provide some insight on anyone looking to pick one of these kits up!!
 
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Mikejones1208

Corporal
Dec 6, 2016
145
115
0
Savannah, GA
Ride
2009 BMW 335i
I mean I'm not floored by it, but its a good value and not bad for what it is, the fact that it actually fits well unlike the other 4k dollar kits on the market is definitely a good thing
 
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doublespaces

Administrator
Oct 18, 2016
9,303
4,331
0
AZ
Ride
2009 E93 335i
And in this price range it's worth pointing out that it actually arrived and didn't take three months of squatting on the money.

And from where I stand it appears to be exactly what it claimed which is a relief when you look at the history of this platform.
 

WOT808

Specialist
Aug 7, 2017
80
56
25
Ride
E90 335i
First thing ill note is the instructions provided are fairly clear but there are some things i personally feel speedtech should do for you before they send the kit like clock the turbo for you, most diy'ers dont have the right tools to properly clock one using the degrees they provide and even so without a jig to hold the turbo perfectly level your still probably gonna be stuck putting the turbo up and taking jt back down to adjust it just right.

Clocking the turbo wasn't fun. I would appreciate if it was clocked by SpeedTech beforehand but not a big deal.
The Waterpump / thermostat area is pretty tight.

I can say that I really like this kit and Jeff's awesome customer service.
 

saskatchewan135

Specialist
Mar 26, 2018
59
34
0
Saskatchewan Canada
Ride
135i
Clocking the turbo was pretty easy with the right tools, the thermostat/waterpump setup is the biggest downside. I would imagine if i went with another turbo over the large comp housing borg warner that there would be more room
 

I am Jacks N54

Specialist
Sep 10, 2018
81
1
52
0
Ventura, CA
Ride
e90 335i
OP - You mention a few issues with the kit, however you don't mention any possible solutions for those issues. What would you personally do to resolve the cheap oil feed/drain and the water pump relocation?
 

Jewgo

Specialist
Nov 6, 2018
65
28
0
Ride
1r
OP - You mention a few issues with the kit, however you don't mention any possible solutions for those issues. What would you personally do to resolve the cheap oil feed/drain and the water pump relocation?

The feed is fine but for the drain and plugs, replace the gaskets with OEM gaskets. They are thicker and will create a very tight seal. As far as the WP, you bolt it back up using only one bolt hole instead of all three since it is moved forward to create room. When you torque it down it does not move, will be fine.
 

JValenzSD

Private
Apr 26, 2017
33
16
0
San Diego, CA
Ride
2010 BMW E90 LCI 335i M-Sport
@Mikejones1208 How did you manage to get the radiator fan installed with the thermostat hose in the way while relocating it one bolt forward?

I’m having a tough time because the oem fitting and hose from the thermostat to the lower radiator is sticking out about an inch and a half blocking the fan from sliding in. I moved it forward because the water pump to the thermostat hose was pushing against the compressor housing. Any tips Is greatly appreciated.
 
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Bmxr152

Specialist
Jul 13, 2019
50
7
0
Lake tahoe
Ride
N54 e90 single turbo
Hate to bring this thread back from the dead but how's the o2 sensors doing? Also is that ceramic coating holding up okay? I'm really interested in this kit since I want to keep the oem appearance.
 

birrcrin

Private
Jul 26, 2018
35
23
0
Hate to bring this thread back from the dead but how's the o2 sensors doing? Also is that ceramic coating holding up okay? I'm really interested in this kit since I want to keep the oem appearance.

I have 12k miles on the kit, o2 sensors have around 27k miles. No issues with them so far. I haven't really pushed the car hard very much though, mainly just road trips.
 
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