2007-2011 (E9X)

The pre-sale for this kit is now live! Click here to buy the Mishimoto N55 Catch Can Kit!

Nothing ruins a weekend drive through your favorite back roads more than an unexpected check engine light (CEL). That is, nothing except a flashing check engine light.  Having driven my fair share of Volkswagens, Audis, and more recently Subaru's, I've become quite accustomed to the warm, orange glow of a lit check engine light.  A solid CEL is something that no longer worries me; it's something that I, and most people who modify cars, have come to expect every now and then.  What does still haunt my dreams, however, is the flashing CEL. What's the difference? A solid CEL is usually a fault that's not life-threatening to the engine.  Small issues

You spend hours washing, waxing, and polishing. Not a single drop of water or speck of dirt is left on the paint's surface when you're done. The interior is the same story; the carpet, seats, and dash look better than on the day you picked up your new BMW from the dealer. You spend precious time and effort protecting your investment from the outside, but what about the places you can't see? I don't mean that spot under the seat where you have to break every bone in your hand to retrieve your phone. I mean the heart of the car: the engine. Using high-quality fuel is a start to keeping your engine healthy, but there are more threats that you may never see coming until they've already gotten the best of your engine.

Looking Back

In the last post, we looked at the N55's stock PCV system; we examined its advantages and disadvantages, and how blow-by can harm your engine. We also took

This is it. The leather seat grips your back as hard as your hands grip the wheel and the tires grip the road. The pavement is your playground and nothing can break the connection you have to its twists and turns.  Your mind is calm, but calculating, guiding the wheels through every turn with finesse as the headlights cut through the darkness.  Smooth is fast, and this car is certainly smooth.  When you finally coax yourself to go home, stepping out into the cool night air, you think to yourself, "This is it."

The Dark Horse of Combustion: Blow-by

But what aren't you thinking about? Sure, BMW's N55 TwinPower Turbo inline-six engine is smooth and powerful, but what happens inside that engine is much more violent. Internal combustion engines are essentially controlled bombs; air and fuel combust to drive pistons and crankshafts.  One byproduct of this violence is power, but there are darker horses

Interested in picking up our N54 oil catch can system? Check out more details on our product page linked below!

BMW N54 Baffled Oil Catch Can Kit

After selecting a catch can location and fabricating a mounting bracket, we needed to fully install the can/bracket combo and begin putting together a set of CCV lines to complete our kit.

Catch Can Lid

Before doing so, the functional prototype of our catch can lid arrived for evaluation by our team. Check it out!

Mishimoto CNC-machined catch can lid

Interested in picking up our N54 oil catch can system? Check out more details on our product page linked below!

BMW N54 Baffled Oil Catch Can Kit

E90 Test vehicle engine bay

After evaluating the design of our first prototype and performing some additional research regarding customer needs, we were prepared to fabricate a second prototype. As noted toward the end of our last post, we would be relocating our catch can for easier servicing, and we would also be designing a new catch can lid to accommodate the larger ports for the N54 CCV system.

Catch Can Lid Prototyping

A teaser in our last post revealed the plans

Interested in picking up our N54 oil catch can system? Check out more details on our product page linked below!

BMW N54 Baffled Oil Catch Can Kit

BMW 335i test vehicle

The BMW N54 is a fantastic engine that produces great power in stock form and responds very well to basic modifications such as exhaust and ECU tuning. However, if you do not stay on top of servicing your BMW, maintenance and repair bills can certainly cast a shadow on 135i or 335i ownership. One of the primary challenges is dealing with valve buildups caused by oil entering the intake tract. Because the N54 is a direct injection engine, it does not benefit from the valve cleaning properties

Interested in purchasing this E90 radiator? Check out our product page for more information!

BMW 335i/135i Performance Aluminum Radiator

Test-fitting day! After scouring local forums and maxing out our contact list, we were finally able to locate a 335i owner willing to lend us his vehicle for the day.

Mishimoto E90 radiator prototype and test vehicle

Peering into this engine bay reveals " well, not much really. Shrouding and the upper radiator support hide the radiator almost completely. The entire package is mounted fairly far forward in the vehicle, and the best glimpse

Interested in purchasing this E90 radiator? Check out our product page for more information!

BMW 335i/135i Performance Aluminum Radiator

Welcome back! While I am sure you haven't slept in days, anticipating the next edition of this thread, the team at Mishimoto has been hard at work. Two, yes two, initial prototypes were developed and one selected to move forward with testing. We won't extend the wait any longer, so check out prototype number one below.

Mishimoto E90 radiator prototype 1