Technical Hydra Performance 135 Leichtbau State of the Art Thread

[Hydra Performance]

Carbon Airbox:

While it was made to fit without issue with the stock airbox, said carbon inlet wouldn't really be complete without a nice carbon airbox capping it off. Idea was to save like half a kg of weight vs stock, and offer a straight-through flow path to both minimize pressure drop and maximize induction roar vs the stock airbox's convoluted internal design. While I don't think it'll be worth much in terms of raw performance, every little bit helps, plus why not

 

[Hydra Performance]

Exhaust,

Next up was the exhaust. I figured I would make it fit better, flow more, and weigh less all in one fell swoop. The 3" Magnaflow system (midpipe + catback) I was running weighed in the region of 20kg overall and didn't fit quite as well as I wanted it to, so there was definitely room for improvement there. I had a set of stock M4 midpipes lying around the shop, along with a complete stock M2 exhaust. So I figured I would add a Berk Race E82 axleback, put everything in a blender and see what we end up with. The result was one of the most difficult sub-projects I've ever undertaken on the car before. Was it worth it you ask? No, most certainly not - took an inordinate amount of time and effort simply because we were very limited in what we had to work with (dual 65mm M4 piping -> variable cross-section 80mm M2 oval tubing -> 3" Berk) so we quite literally had to bend, meld, and weld the metal to our will, with little to no room for error. End result was a useful 6.5kg weight savings, a better flowing system from start to finish, and absolutely spot-on fitment with nothing dangling below the frame-rails or contacting the V-brace. BMW used oval piping on the M2 (and F3x 335) for a very good reason!

And here's a soundbite for your listening pleasure:

 

[Hydra Performance]

While we're on the subject of weight reduction, I figured I would go the whole hog and gift myself a pair of 4.5kg Carbon Recaro Pole Position ABEs to replace the 5.5kg Kirkeys I previously had in there. You most certainly get what you pay for!

 

[fmorelli]

Very nice - especially the exhaust ... that's a bitch. BTW ... saw this the other day ...

German Weldingtools on Instagram: "New possibilities with that old project of us. Using PIECUTs to build #exhaustsystems is an old tradition. 🔥 We give you the opportunity to be faster better and everytime exactly perfect with the adjustable PIECUT

334K likes, 2,565 comments - german_weldingtools on July 10, 2022: "New possibilities with that old project of us. Using PIECUTs to build #exhaustsystems is an old tradition. 🔥 We give you the opportunity to be faster better and everytime exactly perfect with the adjustable PIECUTs. 10° steps...

www.instagram.com

 

[Hydra Performance]

Front Brakes:

I wasn't super happy with my brake feel so I figured this was an area that needed some improvement, plus I figured this would be an opportunity to shave a bit more weight, despite the fact that I actually added rotating weight. Long story short - and I know not many of you will attempt this - 340mm F30 Brembo 4-pot calipers will fit F8x knuckles perfectly with 360x30mm E9x M front rotors, provided you cut them down to ~349mm OD and CNC the (very tall) F3x/F8x Brembo pads so they don't foul the rotor bell on the ID. 349x30 rotors ended up being some 0.8kg heavier than the 348x28 E46 CSL rotors I was previously running, but this was more than made up for by the 1kg lighter calipers (and I was running a billet aluminum bracket on the stock 6-piston calipers) and ~0.5kg lighter pads to boot. I then added a 26/22mm M3 brake master cylinder (stock is 25/22) to keep brake bias in check and firm up the pedal somewhat. End result, bite is significantly better than it was before!

 

[ShocknAwe]

Dank.

Have the new inlet at my shop for install courtesy of Hydra! Will have to see how it fits with the original aFe Momentum GT airbox the HP800 N53 setup first shipped with.

Omar, why not convert to the F8xM non CS stock brakes. Much easier. Do they not fit with your 17" TEs?

 

[Hydra Performance]

Dank.

Have the new inlet at my shop for install courtesy of Hydra! Will have to see how it fits with the original aFe Momentum GT airbox the HP800 N53 setup first shipped with.

Omar, why not convert to the F8xM non CS stock brakes. Much easier. Do they not fit with your 17" TEs?

Yeah the 370mm rotors absolutely won't fit under 17s, my existing setup barely has like 3mm of radial clearance as-is.

 

[yuli8466]

NIce work !

 

[Hydra Performance]

Another side project I decided to tackle was the often-discussed S55 oil pump + pan retrofit. I initially tried to fit the N54 pan, but it would have needed far too much chopping to clear, even with a ~6mm rail spacer. The pump itself fits, but needs custom bracketry/tie-downs to be able to bolt down 2 locations, and the block needs to be clearanced slightly in a couple of locations for it to bolt down. The Pan itself fits the motor for the most part, a couple of holes @ the flange are nonexistent, just needs an N55 oil pan gasket and its good to go. Was also glad to see that there were zero interference issues with the subframe + rack, so that's another bullet dodged. Only remaining hurdle is to figure out a way to mount the PS pump, as the S55 pump is missing the 3x mounting bosses present on the N54 pan. I can either modify the S55 pan accordingly, or mount an EPAS pump and be done with it. More tempted to go with the former solution - watch this space...

 

[Torgus]

Another side project I decided to tackle was the often-discussed S55 oil pump + pan retrofit. I initially tried to fit the N54 pan, but it would have needed far too much chopping to clear, even with a ~6mm rail spacer. The pump itself fits, but needs custom bracketry/tie-downs to be able to bolt down 2 locations, and the block needs to be clearanced slightly in a couple of locations for it to bolt down. The Pan itself fits the motor for the most part, a couple of holes @ the flange are nonexistent, just needs an N55 oil pan gasket and its good to go. Was also glad to see that there were zero interference issues with the subframe + rack, so that's another bullet dodged. Only remaining hurdle is to figure out a way to mount the PS pump, as the S55 pump is missing the 3x mounting bosses present on the N54 pan. I can either modify the S55 pan accordingly, or mount an EPAS pump and be done with it. More tempted to go with the former solution - watch this space...

Am I right to assume this would 'fix' the oil starvation issues N54s see at the track?

 

[Hydra Performance]

Am I right to assume this would 'fix' the oil starvation issues N54s see at the track?

Absolutely, the M4 GT4/M2 CS Racing both use the same pump + pan setup so it must work well enough under racing conditions.

 

[ShocknAwe]

Awesome.

I need to get my power steering leak sorted with M3 rack in and this car off damn jack stands

 

[houtan]

Nice work and thanks for sharing your work on the s55 oil pump/pan retrofit. Have not seen anyone try this on an E series n54 or n55 so looking forward to seeing your progress. I would love to do this on my n55 one day.

 

[JohnDaviz]

Nice work and thanks for sharing your work on the s55 oil pump/pan retrofit. Have not seen anyone try this on an E series n54 or n55 so looking forward to seeing your progress. I would love to do this on my n55 one day.

N55 is plug and play as the N55 M2 has this exact system.

 

[houtan]

N55 is plug and play as the N55 M2 has this exact system.

Thanks. I don’t know if that’s true for the early n55s that have the same hpfp as the n54s. I think the oil pump chain guide (or tensioner, idk the exact name) is different where mine is spring based and the newer n55s is hydraulic based so there is an issue with mounting it on my block.

I have not seen one instance where this setup has been retrofitted on a e series n55. But I hope you are correct that it is plug and play.

 

[JohnDaviz]

Thanks. I don’t know if that’s true for the early n55s that have the same hpfp as the n54s. I think the oil pump chain guide (or tensioner, idk the exact name) is different where mine is spring based and the newer n55s is hydraulic based so there is an issue with mounting it on my block.

I have not seen one instance where this setup has been retrofitted on a e series n55. But I hope you are correct that it is plug and play.

For the early N55s you just need to check if the bolt pattern for the pumps is the same. But if necessary, modifying this is not difficult. I didn´t think of that tbh.

As the Oil Pan Gasket is the same between the to n55 versions, you can use the newer oil pan P&P.

 

[Torgus]

Absolutely, the M4 GT4/M2 CS Racing both use the same pump + pan setup so it must work well enough under racing conditions.

If you make a retrofit kit I guarantee you will get orders. One right here for instance.

 

[wheela]

Were there any all wheel drive s55 powered cars?

 

[Hydra Performance]

Thanks. I don’t know if that’s true for the early n55s that have the same hpfp as the n54s. I think the oil pump chain guide (or tensioner, idk the exact name) is different where mine is spring based and the newer n55s is hydraulic based so there is an issue with mounting it on my block.

I have not seen one instance where this setup has been retrofitted on a e series n55. But I hope you are correct that it is plug and play.

The oil pump chain tensioner is indeed different, I forgot to mention that. The bore on the N54 tensioner plate is too small for the pump to go through it, and the N55 uses a hydraulic vs spring-loaded tensioner design, so you either have to bore out the N54 plate to fit, or swap out the hydraulic tensioner for the spring actuated one. I ended up doing the former.

If you make a retrofit kit I guarantee you will get orders. One right here for inst

Would probably end up costing too much for it to be worthwhile considering I would have to buy a pump, a sump & a tensioner @ retail, AND modify them :/

Were there any all wheel drive s55 powered cars?

Negative Captain

 

[houtan]

The oil pump chain tensioner is indeed different, I forgot to mention that. The bore on the N54 tensioner plate is too small for the pump to go through it, and the N55 uses a hydraulic vs spring-loaded tensioner design, so you either have to bore out the N54 plate to fit, or swap out the hydraulic tensioner for the spring actuated one. I ended up doing the former.

Thanks. This is what I was trying to say. I believe my version of the N55 which is from 2011 also uses this spring loaded tensioner.

Looking forward to watching your progress.