EDITOR’S NOTE
Italk about projects so much here that I’m sure everyone probably thinks I’m just a dreamer, never actually getting anything done. Well, that’s pretty true. I’ve got more project ideas in my head than I’ll ever have the time to pull off. And more unfinished projects in my back yard than I’d care to admit. I assure you every idea I’ve had, I completely intended to make it happen when dreaming of it. The 4BT Prius especially... But whether I’m consistently lying to myself or not, I’m gonna keep dreaming, because bench racing is fun and it’s how I, no we, come up with ideas that are new and innovative. It’s how things like variablegeometry turbos were thought of, how cameras in phones came about, or how the diesel engine itself was invented.
With that being said, here’s my current dream: a 2011 model year BMW 335d (yes the D stands for diesel… no spark plugs when I can avoid it). Years ago I always said I’d rather hear the engine roar over being able to hear the person next to me, something more designed to go fast or get a job done than designed to be comfortable. But nowadays I still want the aforementioned, but I want the best of both worlds—fast, quiet and comfortable. I’m not getting rid of my F-250 and yes the goal is still for 700 rwhp and low 12s out of it before the end of 2018, but it’s getting to the point where driving it every day just isn’t smart. It’s almost impossible to park in big cities (which is where I currently live) and I feel bad putting so many lowspeed miles on it sitting in traffic. That truck straight loves 80 mph+ and wideopen throttle. Beating up on the engine and trans at low speeds with no room to let her stretch her legs just feels mean and a waste. After all, she is leaning more on the drag truck side than the daily side. All the parts have a shelf life; better to save those for more fun times. So the hope is to park her during the weekly commute, hop up the Bimmer a bit (come on, you knew I can’t leave things stock). Not much, maybe 450 rwhp, just enough to plant my ass firmly back into the seat and light up the tires at 60 mph, and drive the 7.3L on the weekend, at the track, on longer trips and whenever something needs towed.
The BMW I’m looking at is a 2011 335d, and believe it or not these cars are getting popular. There’s a bunch of hop-up parts available. JD from Diesel Ops and I have been talking about this project for some time now. He’s actually got one that’s knocking on the door of 500 rwhp and others at Diesel Ops have their own Bimmers all set up for different needs, each over 400 rwhp and still getting high 20 mpg numbers. The idea would be to swap out the injectors for something a bit larger from Industrial Injection, swap in a R90 high-pressure pump (the equivalent of a stroker CP3 for these engines), plus all the other fueling parts needed to make that work, then throw a slightly larger turbo at it plus a good exhaust system, a custom tune, a rear limited-slip, some new wheels and tires, color-match everything, and then for the most part call her done. We’ll tune her for 450 rwhp at full effort and 400 for daily driving. At that power level the 335d has proven to survive easily.
Like I said before, that should net me 25+ mpg highway and a little less in city driving. 450 hp on tap, heated and cooled seats, luxury interior, handling like it’s on rails with enough power to make most cars on the road see nothing but taillights, for around $20K all in? Sounds like a great combo to me! This project is something we will be showing you more of in the very near future. Whether my own personal ride or one Diesel Ops has been building, this is a really cool up-and-coming platform in the diesel world, and a project you won’t want to miss. Want to see one already done? Check out Diesel Ops on Facebook or Youtube. There are several videos of their BMWS killing tires that’ll make you want one too.