Tuning the BMW S62

"Building the best modified BMW S62 engine!"

Carref prides itself on providing the latest tips and guides to your modification project.

This pages aim is consider S62 tuning and highlight the optimum modifications for your car. BMW S62 are popular tuning projects and with the right performance parts like a remap, turbo improvements and camshafts you will positively maximise your driving opportunities.

We rely on our visitors to pass on tips and tell us about their projects and what worked on their car, and this article is the culmination of the feedback we have received. First let us look at the history and specs of this engine and then consider which tuning modifications work best on it.

History of the Engine

S62 engine is the BMW M high performance version of the M62, which was released in the E39 M5.

• S62B50
  294 kW (394 hp)@6,600 rpm
  500 nm (369 lbft)@3,800 rpm

Tuning the BMW S62 and best S62 performance parts.

What are the most effective S62 parts

Just because particular tuning parts are appear in lots of S62 projects it doesn't mean it is good, we shall optimum tuning parts that will give your S62 the best value for money to power increase.

The camshaft profile plays a big part in the engines power output so camshaft upgrades make quite a large difference. The intake and exhaust durations will alter depending on the chosen camshaft profile, so large power band gains are on offer for camshaft upgrades.

Fast road camshafts tend to bump the bhp and torque over the rev band, you may sacrifice a little low down torque but top end will improve.

Competition camshafts, bump the top end band but as a result the car will not idle smoothly and low end power nearly always suffers.

In a car used daily should ideally to match your torque band to your typical driving style.

You'll never have found a S62 Motorsport and race camshaft is a pleasure to live with when in heavy traffic.

Each engine responds better to more aggressive cam durations so set your engine up on a rolling road.

The map and fuel pump and injectors also will say much on the power gains you'll hit.

Altering valve durations can alter the power band and on most engines the exhaust and intake durations do not need to match, although most cams and tuners use matched pairs there are some advantages to extending the intake or exhaust durations.

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Modifying to Stage 1:

 Remaps/piggy back ECU, Intake headers, Drilled & smoothed airbox, Fast road camshaft, Sports exhaust manifold, Panel air filters.

Modifying to Stage 2:

 induction kit, Ported and polished head, Fast road cam, Sports catalyst & performance exhaust, high flow fuel injectors, fuel pump upgrades.

Modifying to Stage 3:

 Competition cam, Adding or Upgrading forced induction (turbo/supercharger), Internal engine upgrades (head flowing porting/bigger valves), Crank and Piston upgrades to alter compression, Engine balancing & blueprinting, Twin charging conversions.

Remaps allows a tuner to unlock the full potential of all the tuning mods you've done to your S62.

It will usually give around 30% more power on turbocharged vehicles and you can expect to see around 15% on NASP engines, but your mileage usually vary depending on the tuning mods you've done and the condition of your engine.

Pulling more fuel and air into your S62 is the main goal to any engine tuning job.

Air Intake manifolds carry the air during the suck phase from the intake filter and allow it to be pulled into the engine cylinders with fuel for the squish phase.

The size of bore and shape and rate of flow of the Plenum can make a large improvement to fuel delivery on the S62.

I usually find intake are improved through aftermarket parts, although some car makers provide well optimised intake.

Fitting big valve kits, carrying out port matching and head flowing will also raise performance, & importantly will allow you to get a better performance increase on other tuning mods.

Which turbo upgrades are best?

NASP engines need quite a lot of work when you add a turbo, so we have a separate guide to help you take into account the pros and cons of going this route on your S62

The more air you can get into an engine, the more fuel it can burn and uprating the induction with a turbocharger upgrade makes significant power gains.

If your motor has forced induction upgrades are simpler to install and most turbo engines will have strengthened components.

There are tuning limits for every engine, with some being incredibly solid and some just sufficiently able to handle stock power

Discover these restrictions and fit higher quality crank and pistons to survive the power.

We've seen guys spending a fortune on turbo upgrades on the S62 only to suffer the indignity of watching the motor literally blow up on it's first outing after it's finished.

Big turbos tend to suffer no power at low rpm, and little turbos spool up really quickly but don't have the peak rpm engines power gains.

In recent times the range of turbo units is always evolving and we now see variable vane turbo units, allowing the vane profile is altered according to speed to lower lag and increase top end performance.

Twin scroll turbo units divert the exhaust gases into a couple of channels and direct these at differently designed vanes in the turbocharger. They also help the scavenging effect of the engine.

It is common that there is a limitation in the air flow sensor AFM/MAP on these engines when a lot more air is being sucked into the engine.

We see 4 bar air sensors coping with quite large power gains, whereas the OEM air sensor sapped power at a much lower level.

Adding a supercharger or additional turbo will make large torque gains, although harder to configure. We have this guide to twinchargers if you want to read more.

Fuelling

Don't overlook the need to improve the fuelling when you are increasing the bhp and torque - it makes the car more thirsty. Don't forget to be generous with your injectors flow rate.

As a rule of thumb add another 20% when specifying an injector, helps cope with injector deterioration and allows you some spare capacity should the engine need more fuel.

We think this one is common sense, but you'll need to match your fuel injector to the type of fuel your car uses as well.

Choosing the right performance exhaust

One of the most common mistakes and problems we see in tuning projects is usually down to the exhaust, or rather a poorly chosen exhaust for your engine.

Only look to upgrade your exhaust if your current exhaust is actually creating a restriction in flow.

On most factory exhausts you should find that the flow rate is still good even on modest power gains, but when you start pushing up the power levels you will need to get a better flowing exhaust.

Note that with the biggest exhaust you can buy this will reduce the exhaust flow rate - the best for power gains are usually between 1.5 to 2.5 inches. It is the shape and material more than the bore size.

Usual exhaust restrictions are in the catalyst installed, so adding a freer flowing high performance alternative will help avoid this restriction.

Weak spots Issues & problem areas on the S62

The S62 engines are generally reliable and solid as long as they are regularly serviced and maintained.

Regular oil changes are vital on the S62, especially when tuned and will help extend the life and reliability of the engine.

For more information on Tuning your S62 engine please join us in our friendly forum where you can discuss tuning options in more detail with our tuning articles to get a full grasp of the benefits and drawbacks of each modification.

Please help us improve these tips by sending us your feedback in the comments box below.

We love to hear what our visitors have got up to and which parts work best for them on each model of car. Comments are used to improve the accuracy of these S62 articles which are continually updated.

This article was written by Waynne Smith on TorqueCars, and I appreciate your feedback and suggestions. This entry was filed under BMW. You can leave a response below or join TorqueCars forum to discuss this article and car modification in detail with our members.

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