I would agree. Its the BMW "tick". Very normal for a track car. So...... were you hot rodding around some twisties?:)

Sound was back today......so annoying and loud driving around the beach area I am in for my long awaited vacation....anyone in Delaware?........no oil leaks and level seems good...mid point between lines....the only thing I did was average 75 on the highway for 5.5 hours to where I am.....I should point out no loss of power and no CEL....totally normal except click/tick.....I have an appointment at IG Burton BMW for Tuesday....don't know Indys in area....should I just wait til I get back to CT?

Try and make a video

I would be more concerned if I was getting a warning from the Check Control system moreso than a CEL/SES (which only indicates an issue with the electronic emissions system).

And since you say you're not getting any Check Control priority warnings (especially a PRIORITY 1 warning)...and nothing else seems abnormal...I'd wait until I got home.

What weight/viscosity oil do you have in the engine now? If you're running a 5W-30 or 0W-30...perhaps a heavier viscosity oil (like 0W-40) may help with the click/tick sound when the engine gets run hard.

Lately I've been seeing a Euro Car Forumula 0W-40 viscosity oil being sold in 5 quart jugs at my local Walmart (it's BMW LL-01 rated)...which comes to approx $5 per quart...versus buying the individual quarts of the same viscosity & brand for approx $7 per quart:

Just a thought, but sometimes a loud click sound might be from a sticky or collapsed lifter. In the M54, they are hydraulic. My e36 has this issue on occasion, and I add some marvel mystery oil to the oil. My e36 325i has 365,000 miles on it. I do an oil change following the treatment after a hundred miles or less. This cleans the motor internally mildly. This is under the assumption that you have some sludge or grime clogging up a port. The marvel my break down some of the properties of the oil, so I wouldn't run it hard or for extended periods. Your oil will darken pretty quick. My dad who has years of experience building champion race motors suggested I try it a few years ago. Worked like a champ.

I also run Lucas syn oil stabilizer in all my cars. I'm not a big fan of oil additives, but I swear by this stuff. Just throwing it there. Hope this helps.

What brand and weight oil is in the engine and how long since it was changed?

Running 5w40 from the dealer in the hartford area....changed less than 1k miles ago...i have it changed every 6K miles +/-......
I did think about the hydraulic lifter thing too....i canceled my appointment at the local dealer and am choosing not to stress about at the moment...back to my beach day....thanks for the input everyone....i will report back next week after it is diagnosed


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Odd......I just completed my return trip to CT and now the clicking/ticking sound is gone....disappeared somewhere on the jersey turnpike....it was there upon startup this morning....

OUCH!
 

Diagnosis per dealer is....Hydraulic Valve Lifter on exhaust side...recommend complete replacement of all on both exhaust and intake while everything is apart....first quote was $2817.36 out the door with my Car Club discount...OUCH. My X only has 44K miles!!!!!
I'm getting a quote from an indy....they think I should do an engine oil flush and oil change first....surprisingly the local dealer said bring us back another quote and we will try to match...

i would get a second opinion when the vanos seal start going bad and loose oil pressure they also makes that ticking noise.mine just started doing it