Odd 30FF case

[armenh7]

Videos can be found at the Google Drive link with file names describing what they are

135 - Google Drive

drive.google.com

Hey guys, got a super weird issue.

I have this 135i with~115k miles. Has a 30ff, turbos feel laggy. Did a pressurized smoke test and found no leaks. Redid all vacuum lines. Tested the solenoids like shown in 50skid video and they seem fine. The exhaust note is super weird. With the wastegates open (no vacuum applied), the car sounds like an n54. With the wastegates closed (max vacuum applied), the exhaust note is SUPER raspy. The car also revs slow like a 328. The car has been flashed back to stock and apart from 30ff, no other fault codes. When boost does kick in, it's only about 4-6 psi at high rpms. I disconnected the mid pipe to ensure it wasn't clogged secondaries and nothing changed. Haven't found an easy way to test the cats in the downpipe minus o2 sensor removal. Also tried capping off the bypass valves and no change there. This car has absolutely no waste gate rattle.
I tried running both turbos off a single solenoid to see if that would change anything but it didn't. Both solenoids read the same vacuum and react the same.

 

[SlowE93]

Stock turbos ? Have you tried a vacuum pump to see if wastegates are closing ?

 

[armenh7]

Stock turbos ? Have you tried a vacuum pump to see if wastegates are closing ?

Yes and yes

 

[SlowE93]

Are you running reservoirs ?
The nipple tends to crack on those.
I would drop a downpipe and take a look.

 

[armenh7]

Are you running reservoirs ?
The nipple tends to crack on those.
I would drop a downpipe and take a look.

Reservoirs were temporarily removed to ensure they weren't the issue.

I do agree with your downpipe sentiment but not gonna be fun lol

 

[armenh7]

Well that's not supposed to be like that

rear one was perfect though

Front turbo wastegate adjusted wrong.mp4

drive.google.com

 

[SlowE93]

Well that's not supposed to be like that View attachment 83870 rear one was perfect though

Front turbo wastegate adjusted wrong.mp4

drive.google.com

Perhaps a SLIGHT adjustment is in order.

 

[wheela]

Wow, I wonder how long it's been like that, do you know if they are the original turbos?

 

[armenh7]

Wow, I wonder how long it's been like that, do you know if they are the original turbos?

This car was purchased from auction. It had cosmetic modifications and there are some hints it also had performance modifications. For instance, the downpipes had "335" written on them with a white paint pen. That tells me this car probably had catless downpipes which then the owner needed to convert back to stock before selling and bought whatever was available online. I am theorizing that this car possibly had upgraded turbos and those were also swapped back to stock before selling. They either transferred the wastegates over from the upgraded turbos to the stock one and adjusted it wrong or bought a used set online that somebody adjusted wrong or something along those lines.