[Fokker123]

A month into the Power Pack...

About a grand paid and has made my 520D Touring Msport into a much better drivers car. I came from an Alpina D3 interestingly and i would say that the performance is on a par with that which had 197 bhp mono turbo unit. BMW reckon the my car now has 197bhp (same as the old Alpina) but some have said that they are conservative with their numbers and don't want it to be cllose to the 525d's 218 for obvious reasons. It would be interesting to see if anyone has dyno'd their car and what it was putting out? I reckon the increase is more than 14bhp - more like 20 - 25?? The extra shove is very noticeable.

My car is an auto and as people have said, the performance above 2k rpm is very noticeable. The car doesn't change down as readily because it doesn't need to, so making smooth rapid progress is much easier and less thrashy. You also notice that on motorways its charging past 100 mph and gagging for more whereas before anything beyond that was very slow progress (not that we should be driving that fast... Ummmm)

BMW keep very quiet about these upgrades generally (my dealer had never heard of a power pack for a 520d!) which must have something to do with the sales of the 530d and especially the 525d because performance will be very similar to the latter and considering its 5k more expensive if bought new, a 520d with Performance kit represents better value with very similar performance and 4000 quid in your pocket.

All in all very impressed and happier now as we still have 2.5 years left on the lease! Well worth the money.

Anyone else had it done? Got any figures??

Dave

[reesy_csl]

Thanks for the review. I've just picked up a 520d M Sport today, and really chuffed with it. Great car with the sports auto. I'm coming out of an E90 M3 so the power kit is something i'm keen to do.

On the following link the car was dyno'd with power kit and did 224bhp and 502nm of torque which is a staggering increase. http://www.bmwland.co.uk/forums/view...p?f=5&t=136961

I think you've just convinced me that this is the way to go!

[kave]

I did the upgrade a month ago. What Zi notice day to day driving is that it changes up quicker now and the result is better fuel consumption.

[martin mustang]

thanks for the feedback, I am thinking of going for it, my only concern will I make the most of it when 99% of my time is on B roads and city centre and not on motorways?

[Sumokb]

I came out of a 3d X5 and feel the 520d underpowered at times - wish I bought a 525d - would this do the trick?

Thanks

[Fokker123]

Simon,

I have just sent you a PM reply. As the guys say above, defo worth doing and a staggering 224bhp is amazing and quite funny considering a 4k more expensive 525d only has 218 !!!
Its a much better drivers car now which has left me impressed with the car as a whole rather than slightly disappointed as I was before the mod.

[camnhoj]

Wonder how much this will cost to do in Ireland !

[camnhoj]

Just talking to my local bmw dealer , €1400 here in Ireland for the power pack supplied and fitted

[Fokker123]

Good price for sure...

Martin Mustang above questioned its suitability on B roads... Its ideal for B roads and overtaking more easily. That's primarily why I had the mod done. I spend most of my time on A roads and B roads where before overtaking needed grit, determination and bravery. Now I can pass 2 or 3 cars in a relatively short straight and fuel consumption for me has stayed at 40 mpg.

[Sumokb]

Have you tested your new 0-60?

It's on the BMW website as 0.5 second reduction

[martin mustang]

Originally Posted by camnhoj

Just talking to my local bmw dealer , €1400 here in Ireland for the power pack supplied and fitted

Hi camnhoj, What dealer you dealing with, I tried with my one to see if I can test a car with the power kit for couple of days, hard to find one, I also requested to maybe test a 525d just to get a feel and see if 1400 Euro is worth it, I am dealing with Colum Quinn in Athlone.

[camnhoj]

Originally Posted by martin mustang

Hi camnhoj, What dealer you dealing with, I tried with my one to see if I can test a car with the power kit for couple of days, hard to find one, I also requested to maybe test a 525d just to get a feel and see if 1400 Euro is worth it, I am dealing with Colum Quinn in Athlone.

Aherns in castleisland , Martin im considering getting it done but it wont be for another few months until the piggy bank recovers

[martin mustang]

Originally Posted by camnhoj

Aherns in castleisland , Martin im considering getting it done but it wont be for another few months until the piggy bank recovers

Planning to take it easy too, keep you posted if I go for it.

Thanks.

[mrsmith]

I ordered my 2014 520D back in January and it's due the 3rd week in February. I told the dealer from the start that I wanted the Performance Power Kit on the car from new and was told no problem, but it had to be installed after delivery by the dealer. No problem I said.

Anyway today he called to say that he cannot get the Power Kit for it because the car was ordered with the gearshift paddles! He says BMW have said the Power Kit is not compatible with models with paddle shift installed !

I am very pissed off to say the least. If I had known this was the case I wouldn't have got the paddle shift.

Has anyone here with the Performance Power Kit also got the paddle shift ?

[remmib]

Originally Posted by mrsmith

I ordered my 2014 520D back in January and it's due the 3rd week in February. I told the dealer from the start that I wanted the Performance Power Kit on the car from new and was told no problem, but it had to be installed after delivery by the dealer. No problem I said.

Anyway today he called to say that he cannot get the Power Kit for it because the car was ordered with the gearshift paddles! He says BMW have said the Power Kit is not compatible with models with paddle shift installed !

I am very pissed off to say the least. If I had known this was the case I wouldn't have got the paddle shift.

Has anyone here with the Performance Power Kit also got the paddle shift ?

Weird, just weird.

[Mad BMW Fan]

Originally Posted by mrsmith

I ordered my 2014 520D back in January and it's due the 3rd week in February. I told the dealer from the start that I wanted the Performance Power Kit on the car from new and was told no problem, but it had to be installed after delivery by the dealer. No problem I said.

Anyway today he called to say that he cannot get the Power Kit for it because the car was ordered with the gearshift paddles! He says BMW have said the Power Kit is not compatible with models with paddle shift installed !

I am very pissed off to say the least. If I had known this was the case I wouldn't have got the paddle shift.

Has anyone here with the Performance Power Kit also got the paddle shift ?

I can assure you it can be done , even with paddle shift , how do I know this , it's because I have it , it cost close to 1500 euro, but after dallying around,this BMW dealer, unnamed was unable to complete the update they had to ring England who got into the cars computer and finished the upgrade, but the results are worth it , only in sports mode, anything else I will try to answer, mine was the first auto do in ireland

[Mad BMW Fan]

Originally Posted by mrsmith

I ordered my 2014 520D back in January and it's due the 3rd week in February. I told the dealer from the start that I wanted the Performance Power Kit on the car from new and was told no problem, but it had to be installed after delivery by the dealer. No problem I said.

Anyway today he called to say that he cannot get the Power Kit for it because the car was ordered with the gearshift paddles! He says BMW have said the Power Kit is not compatible with models with paddle shift installed !

I am very pissed off to say the least. If I had known this was the case I wouldn't have got the paddle shift.

Has anyone here with the Performance Power Kit also got the paddle shift ?

I can assure you it can be done , even with paddle shift , how do I know this , it's because I have it , it cost close to 1500 euro, but after dallying around,this BMW dealer, unnamed was unable to complete the update they had to ring England who got into the cars computer and finished the upgrade, but the results are worth it , only in sports mode, anything else I will try to answer, mine was the first auto do in ireland

[mrsmith]

Originally Posted by Mad BMW Fan

I can assure you it can be done , even with paddle shift , how do I know this , it's because I have it , it cost close to 1500 euro, but after dallying around,this BMW dealer, unnamed was unable to complete the update they had to ring England who got into the cars computer and finished the upgrade, but the results are worth it , only in sports mode, anything else I will try to answer, mine was the first auto do in ireland

Just curious, is yours a LCI ? because apparently that's the issue. I had a 2011 520d with sport auto (which includes the paddles) which it could be installed to, but the 2014 (LCI) is different, you can no longer get the sport auto on the 520D and instead you can get a paddles addon for the standard auto which when added makes the performance kit incompatible.

Also curious who the dealer was, as a very popular dealer in Dublin told me they've installed a few.

[Mad BMW Fan]

Originally Posted by mrsmith

Just curious, is yours a LCI ? because apparently that's the issue. I had a 2011 520d with sport auto (which includes the paddles) which it could be installed to, but the 2014 (LCI) is different, you can no longer get the sport auto on the 520D and instead you can get a paddles addon for the standard auto which when added makes the performance kit incompatible.

Also curious who the dealer was, as a very popular dealer in Dublin told me they've installed a few.

Sorry about that, it's not a 2014 it's 2012,but you enjoy it anyway, you get what you pay for, what you have not got you won't miss

[Mad BMW Fan]

Originally Posted by mrsmith

Just curious, is yours a LCI ? because apparently that's the issue. I had a 2011 520d with sport auto (which includes the paddles) which it could be installed to, but the 2014 (LCI) is different, you can no longer get the sport auto on the 520D and instead you can get a paddles addon for the standard auto which when added makes the performance kit incompatible.

Also curious who the dealer was, as a very popular dealer in Dublin told me they've installed a few.

Sorry about that, it's not a 2014 it's 2012,but you enjoy it anyway, you get what you pay for, what you have not got you won't miss,the dealer was outside dublin

[Sumokb]

Originally Posted by Mad BMW Fan

I can assure you it can be done , even with paddle shift , how do I know this , it's because I have it , it cost close to 1500 euro, but after dallying around,this BMW dealer, unnamed was unable to complete the update they had to ring England who got into the cars computer and finished the upgrade, but the results are worth it , only in sports mode, anything else I will try to answer, mine was the first auto do in ireland

So only better in sport mode or overall??

Worth the money??

I have 2012 520d msport with paddles

Cheers

[martin mustang]

Originally Posted by camnhoj

Just talking to my local bmw dealer , €1400 here in Ireland for the power pack supplied and fitted

Hi camnho, I am quoted 1540Euro for a 2011 520d Auto gear box, was your quote for an Auto gear box? I am in the west of Ireland, the quote was from Atlon BMW. thanks for your feedback.