E90 BMW 335i Gets Even Better With an LS Swap: Track Time Tuesday Presented by the All-New Nitto Recon Grappler™ A/T
Modern BMWs have a reputation for being unreliable, but this E90 BMW 335i took care of that with one simple mod.
Modern BMWs are known for their excellent performance and sublime driving dynamics. But there’s just one problem, of course – they also have a reputation for engineering quirks that lead to serious reliability issues. Much of that can be resolved with an engine swap, of course, and that’s precisely what’s been done to the subject of this week’s Track Time Tuesday presented by Nitto – an E90 BMW 335i with an LS swap that recently crossed the virtual block at Cars & Bids.
The previous owner of this 2007 E90 BMW 335i ditched its stock, unreliable mill for a 5.3-liter L33 V8 with 799 heads that was yanked from a 2006 GMC Sierra. That engine was treated to a host of mods including a Holley Terminator X-Max ECU, a TCTuned custom tune, a BTR stage 4 truck cam, Beehive valve springs, BTR chromoly pushrods, LS7 lifters, an LS2 timing chain, an LS2 intake manifold, EV6 injectors, an LS2 90-millimeter throttle body, CX Racing LS long tube headers, and a custom 3-inch V-band exhaust with Kooks race mufflers. Total output comes in at an estimated 417 horsepower and 388 pound-feet of torque at the wheels.
The LS is mated to a BorgWarner T-56 6-speed manual taken from a Pontiac Firebird, which has also been upgraded with an AMP bell housing, a Texas Drivetrain Performance custom fabricated input shaft, an LS7 clutch kit, RDE reverse lockout delete, and a Hurst billet chrome shifter.
On the outside, one would be hard-pressed to know what’s going on underneath the hood, as this E90 has received just a few styling updates including a set of 17-inch Apex ARC-8 wheels, black kidney grilles, and smoked taillights. On the inside, a handful of mods were installed including a Clusters and Coding custom LSe9x instrument cluster, a Hurst shift ball, brushed aluminum trim, and a red start/stop button.
The most important thing, of course, is that this E90 now sounds amazing, is faster than it was in stock form, and is also far more reliable than it was before. And that’s all thanks to its one simple, ever-popular modification – an LS swap.
Photos: Cars & Bids
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