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NEWS
BMW 4 Series M Performance upgrades
There's no need for your local tuner to jailbreak your new 435i. BMW has done the job itself.Confirming what BMW owners and observers have long suspected, BMW has eked 25kW more power and 50Nm more torque out of its 435i via its M Performance Power Kit without making a single mechanical upgrade.
While it has yet to make straight-line acceleration claims for the Power Kitted 435i, BMW promises the car will feel stronger at all engine speeds and will be faster at the top end, though it doesn’t pick up any more revs.
The tweaks all centre on the software running the engine, the direct fuel injection, the variable valve timing and lift and the twin-scroll turbocharger, taking the maximum power to 250kW and the maximum torque to 450Nm.
The Power Kit is the headline act in the M Performance Automobiles upgrades for the new 4-Series, but it’s not isolated to the 435i. The entry-level 420d also has a software-only Power Kit, lifting its power from 135kW to 147kW and its torque from a middling 380Nm to 420Nm, while the yet-to-be released 430d gets a 20kW/40Nm lift.
The four-cylinder, turbocharged 428i has been overlooked for a Power Kit as BMW fears any rise in its 180kW and 350Nm would take it precariously close to the heavier, six-cylinder 435i’s 225kW and 400Nm. Even if an ECU rewrite only gave it 20kW and 40Nm, it would still ask uncomfortable questions about the extra cost of the 435i, especially when the standard car is only 0.7 seconds slower to 100km/h and just 0.3 seconds slower from 80km/h to 120km/h.
While BMW officially insists the cars will retain the fuel economy of the standard models (a combined 7.2 litres/100km from the 435i), engineers acknowledge that the cars will use more fuel in the real world. “You don’t get free performance. You have to burn something more to get more,” one senior M engineer explained.
This acknowledgement of extra fuel consumption is just one reason why the Power Pack, which is under consideration for Australia, is a retro-fit option, bolted (or, in this case, uploaded) to the car at a dealer’s service centre after it has officially been delivered in the showroom.
But more power isn’t the only significant engineering change M Performance Automobiles has in store for the 4-Series, with a mechanical limited-slip differential also a standout option, along with a sportier suspension setup and stronger brakes. There is also an angrier exhaust system for the petrol-engined 428i and 435i.
Additionally, there is a body kit, with a carbon-fibre front splitter, a more aggressive aero look, 20-inch alloy wheels and a small lip spoiler for the boot.
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Written byMichael Taylor
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Please see our Editorial Guidelines & Code of Ethics (including for more information about sponsored content and paid events). The information published on this website is of a general nature only and doesn’t consider your particular circumstances or needs.
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