looking for engine tuning for a 2008 b7 - The Unofficial BMW M5 Messageboard (m5board.com)

ContractR · 18th April 2007, 23:58

would like to do a ecu reflash and a pulley for the 2008 b7. i know with the amg compressors, that this gives large hp numbers, so i'm assuming you can do the same thing to the b7.

hythe · 19th April 2007, 01:03

Ah, probably not - very very very different design of supercharger in the Alpina. To be honest, I haven't heard of anyone even in Europe tuning the Alpina H1 engine. There was one Italian outfit claiming 530hp from a chip, but since the engines normally put out that much anyway, I dismissed them immediately.

Even with an ECU job, it should be possible to get more top end power - if you look at the official torque charts, it flat-lines (literally, zero bumps) above about 4500rpm.

Word is that the development engines were churning out 600+hp in the test-cells, before Alpina reined them in for reliability and so as not to embarrass BMW.

9852147 · 19th April 2007, 19:24

Quote:

Originally Posted by hythe

Ah, probably not - very very very different design of supercharger in the Alpina. To be honest, I haven't heard of anyone even in Europe tuning the Alpina H1 engine. There was one Italian outfit claiming 530hp from a chip, but since the engines normally put out that much anyway, I dismissed them immediately.

Even with an ECU job, it should be possible to get more top end power - if you look at the official torque charts, it flat-lines (literally, zero bumps) above about 4500rpm.

Word is that the development engines were churning out 600+hp in the test-cells, before Alpina reined them in for reliability and so as not to embarrass BMW.

hi hyrthe, do you have any news about the h2-engine?

ContractR · 19th April 2007, 19:31

thanks for the input.

hythe · 19th April 2007, 20:21

Quote:

Originally Posted by 9852147

hi hyrthe, do you have any news about the h2-engine?

No... the rumour I heard some time ago was that they were looking at it for the new X5, but that car has been canned, given market/environmental trends.

The H2 (if indeed it exists) doesn't seem too likely to surface in the current generation of models, unless the M-division ups the ante with its V10's output.

2007 B7 Wundercar · 21st April 2007, 21:48

Hythe -

you seem to be very wise in the area of ALPINA motors. Can you please advise if the 2007 B7 for the US market carries a "traditional, single-technician hand-built ALPINA" motor? There seems to be some question here in the States, as the rumor is that the engine is a standard BMW 4.4 V8 with a Nautilus-type supercharger and redesigned coolling system.

Any input would be greatly appreciated. Thanks very much!

2007 B7 Wundercar · 21st April 2007, 21:50

ContractR - I think that you mean to say 2007 B7...

2007 B7 Wundercar · 21st April 2007, 21:51

Quote:

Originally Posted by ContractR

would like to do a ecu reflash and a pulley for the 2008 b7. i know with the amg compressors, that this gives large hp numbers, so i'm assuming you can do the same thing to the b7.

I think that you mean to say "2007 B7"...

hythe · 22nd April 2007, 10:01

Quote:

Originally Posted by 2007 B7 Wundercar

Hythe -

you seem to be very wise in the area of ALPINA motors. Can you please advise if the 2007 B7 for the US market carries a "traditional, single-technician hand-built ALPINA" motor? There seems to be some question here in the States, as the rumor is that the engine is a standard BMW 4.4 V8 with a Nautilus-type supercharger and redesigned coolling system.

Any input would be greatly appreciated. Thanks very much!

Oh yes, it's a proper Alpina engine, rather than a BMW productionised one (which is what the engine in the X5 4.6is was, by the way). I haven't been around the factory since the new building was added, but they must have added some new engine-building bays - previously there were only 2 or 3! If you call the factory and give them the chassis number, you can probably find out the name of the guy who built your engine, and the name of the guy who did the QC and signed it off.

To build an H1, you can't just start with an N62B44 and slap on a supercharger and intercooler - it's a lot more involved than that - new pistons, higher capacity injector system (two sets of injectors, etc.), different induction and exhaust, different cam and flywheel - the works, really.

Heuer · 23rd April 2007, 20:51

When I visited Buckloe they were at pains to point out 30% of the engine parts are standard BMW, 30% are BMW equivalent but made to Alpina specifications (i.e. they would fit a BMW V8) and the rest are bespoke parts for the H1 engine.

2007 B7 Wundercar · 24th April 2007, 08:19

Thanks very much for the info, Hythe and Heuer... it is greatly appreciated!