3.0 Power Adder Options
 

Hey guys/gals,

Been looking for alternatives to my E53 X5 3.0 but ultimately just love this SAV too much. It's obviously becoming more and more outdated but I've been updating things trying keep my better half happy with modern day creature comforts. One thing I need since I tow my track cars with it a lot, is more tq. I know these motors quite well, and they can definitely handle some abuse but I haven't seen anyone try to supercharge the 3.0 in the E53 chassis. Has anyone tried it yet? I feel like 300 hp / 300 tq at the crank would make this the perfect vehicle all around without sacrificing much in reliability.

I'm local to CES Motorsports in Charlotte NC who builds some of the strongest M5x motors in the country so we've talked about some options but just curious what is out there so far.

Thoughts?

Eh. You’re asking to be stuck at the side of the road doing that. It’s one thing to put a blower on and rip around like Happy. It’s another to put a blower on and go tow.

Sounds like a great job for a V8 :P

What do you think the weak link will be? Right now I'm limited to less than 100hp (calculated through my tuner app) during towing to keep things from getting hot due to RPM. Figure the SC could bring more low end hp so I could keep RPM down even lower during towing.

Absolutely and loved my 4.6 when I had it. Just was a relability nightmare and had to be towed home more often than my track cars lol. Sold it and got its equivalent with the 3.0 and its been an absolute tank of an SAV. I tow a 3800 lb GTR with it and it struggles to say the least.

I think that the 4.6 is the least reliable X5 out there.

What do you mean you are "limited to keep things from getting hot due to RPM?" Are you purposefully slowing down your driving because you think it's too hot, or are you getting warnings on the dash?

Adding more horsepower to the equation (boost or otherwise) would just make an overheating problem worse. Unless your heat problem is just in your head, you probably need to address that first before adding more power (and heat), right?

Most blower options are centrifugal and won't add much of anything for low end torque. Also, I'm not sure why you think that a bunch of boost will add less load / heat to the drivetrain than a few more RPMs?

As for the weak link when going forced induction, well, people usually eat a couple motors when trying to do something unusual. I don't know of anyone who has built an FI M54 for towing. That's VERY different from building an FI M54 for giggles or track. I also wouldn't have much expectation of longevity from the transmission. After that, IIRC, the 3.0i auto got a bunch of downrated other drivetrain parts that I'd want to swap to V8 / 3.0i manual spec.

In terms of getting what you want, you'd want a small turbo setup if the goal is low end torque. But, again, I'd advise against this. You're going to spend a lot of time fighting it.

My X5 trans overheats when trying to stay at highway speeds while towing the GTR. Mainly because to keep up with the flow of traffic I have to give it enough throttle that it downshifts to 4th and my RPMs typically are around 4500+. Increase in RPM creates friction and thus heat at an exponential scale. Hence why diesels are typically so well mannered for towing.