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Dec 8, 2022
Imagine this beautiful scenario: you’re running your F30 generation BMW 320i through a twisty mountain road. Corner to corner, at some point you notice that something is off. It’s not as exciting as it was once before. Your bimmer isn’t broken – after all, you maintain it well and care for its heart, the BMW N20 engine. So, what’s the problem? Where are the thrills…?
Chances are that you just got used to how your car behaves. Maybe you started feeling that the throttle response could be sharper. Or the boost: you know it’s there, but it always feels like it joins the party later than it should.
Of course, the above doesn’t only concern that particular version of the 3 series. It can happen to basically any car. But let’s cut to the chase: you are probably here because you learned that your vehicle has the BMW N20 engine. Or the N26, if you are from the US (more on that later).
Do you want to improve its performance? Keep on reading to find out about the available tuning options and which one’s the best for you!
Before we get to explaining how you can make your N20-powered BMW perform better, it’s worth understanding its design and characteristics a little bit more.
Replaced by the BMW B48, the N20 was a turbocharged inline-four produced from 2011 to 2017 in two displacements: 1.6 L (N20B16) and 2.0 L (N20B20). The smaller of the two saw a limited use in just a couple of markets, namely Greece, Tunisia, Turkey, and Vietnam. The larger one also came in the N26 version, designed specifically for the United States, to comply with their strict SULEV emission standards.
All of the N20 variants come equipped with:
Want to learn more about the technical specifics of those designs? Be sure to check out our article on the BMW N20 engine, where we explore it in detail. Now, when it comes to the differences between the N26 and N20 – despite some component changes, they are virtually identical from the driver’s standpoint. They behave the same and produce the same power and torque figures.
Which brings us to the next question, which is…
There were four variants of the N20 produced over the years, making different power figures depending on the application. Redlining quite high for a turbo engine at 7,000 RPM, it made 154–241 HP and 240–350 Nm of torque. You can find it in almost everything the Bavarians have on the menu: from the sporty Z4 roadster, through compact 1 series hatchbacks, all the way to X5 SUVs and 5 series sedans.
Check out the list below to see the range of bimmers equipped with the BMW N20.
| Power | Torque | Years of production | BMW models |
| 154 HP | 240 Nm (177 lb/ft) | 2013–2017 |
- Z4 sDrive18i (E89) |
| 181 HP | 270 Nm (199 lb/ft) | 2011–2017 |
- X1 xDrive/sDrive20i (E84) |
| 215 HP | 310 Nm (229 lb/ft) | 2012–2017 |
- 125i (F20) |
| 241 HP | 350 Nm (258 lb/ft) | 2011–2017 |
- Z4 sDrive28i (E89) |
Do you have one of the above cars?
The N26, on the other hand, was only produced in one power version. It was putting out 241 HP and 350 Nm of torque through the wheels of American 28i 2, 3, and 4 series models of the F generation. Basically like the strongest N20. However, this doesn’t mean that you can’t increase its performance even further.
Usually, the first step to take when trying to improve the way your car behaves is to turn to engine tuning. There are two methods of fiddling with the Engine Control Unit (ECU) operation: chip tuning and piggyback tunes (we’ve talked about both of them in one of our previous articles). They can be especially effective in case of the turbocharged cars. Why? Because in forced induction engines it’s possible to affect the boost pressure.
Well, that’s exactly what the piggyback tunes do. By increasing how much boost the turbocharger provides, they force the engine to produce more power. Piggybacks, also referred to as box tuning, simply trick the ECU, providing fake sensor outputs.
For example, they make the vehicle think that the boost pressure is lower than it actually is. This will result in the computer adjusting certain parameters to reach the specified boost pressure target. Which is actually higher than the factory setting.
Sounds pretty crude, doesn’t it?
And it is. Generally speaking, piggyback tunes aren’t as safe as chip tuning. They also aren’t very reliable – although the modern ECUs will adapt their cooling to the increased boost, boxes don’t offer any fine control over some of the most crucial engine operating parameters. This leads to higher operating temperatures, resulting in higher component wear over time.
In the case of the BMW N20 engine, there is also the issue of its significantly higher intake air temperatures. Which poses a challenge to any attempts at reliable tuning of this particular unit. As you’ve probably already guessed, that’s also why the brutal power increase offered by the piggyback tunes are especially unfavorable for the N20.
Luckily, there is another way to improve the engine performance: chip tuning. Since it relies on deeper, much finer adjustments of the ECU map, it offers much more than just power and torque gains. When done properly, the tuning will also let you enjoy better mileage and fuel consumption.
How exactly does it work? And how can you know that it’s done right?
The answer is: Awaken Performance. Okay, it’s not very self-explanatory, but stay with us!
At the factory, car makers produce hundreds of thousands of engines. Even ones of the same type differ slightly from one another, because of manufacturing tolerances. That’s why the engine map installed when the vehicle is put together has to be universal – to fit all of those slightly varying units. Oh, and to comply with the emission norms.
This can be remedied by fine tuning of the parameters like boost pressure, fuel injection, ignition, radiator fan speed or even how the variable valve lift and timing systems work. Careful tweaking of those will let a professional BMW tuner unlock the full potential of your engine.
Because of its design characteristics, the BMW N20 is a tough nut to crack in terms of tuning. The high intake air temperatures make it so that the engine already operates close to its limits from the factory. Which is why a very thoughtful approach is needed for any reliable performance improvements to be made with it.
According to our internal testing, the other available ECU tuning solutions and services for the BMW N20 engine focus purely on the power gains. Without the necessary cooling precautions. How do we know that? When we hooked up a bimmer tuned by one of our competitors and ran it on a dyno, we discovered that the intake air temperatures were higher than required for maximum reliability. That’s cutting a lot of miles (or kilometers) off of your engine’s potential mileage.
So, that covers the “how and why” questions. But how to know if the engine tuning is done properly?
It’s best to trust the technicians with many years of experience working on BMWs. Our Awaken Performance service is all about that – we take care of the complex stuff, you just have to know how to connect your PC to your car.
When you decide to go for the engine tuning, you can expect noticeable changes in three key performance areas.
As you can see, it’s not only a matter of making your vehicle go faster.
The Awaken Performance tuning process is really simple and effortless. Conducted remotely, you can have our technician take care of your car anywhere in the world, at any time. Without having to visit a special tuning workshop or knowing anything about the engine tuning.
After you book the tuning session, we’ll send you all the necessary instructions, explaining how to prepare for the process. Apart from two hours of your time and knowing where to plug in the cable, you’ll simply need:
Connected? Great. Now our tuner will:
Note that final logging will be required – we just want to make sure everything is running perfectly for maximum reliability of your car.
As easy as it may seem, remember that any incorrect parameter changes can lead to increased wear and tear of engine components. Awaken Performance service takes care of the difficult stuff, so that you don’t have to worry about critical failures or ECU software corruption.
Despite the BMW N20 running relatively hot, compared to other similar engine designs, it’s still safe to tune it. Of course, that is if the person tuning it knows what to do. Careful treatment of the N20 will result in the performance, mileage, and durability changes we mentioned above. Just like it would in the case of its successors, the B48 and B46 engines.
For best results it’s advisable that your car is well maintained before you decide to tune it. Make sure that there aren’t any engine-specific lights on the dashboard and that the motor is running well. If you’ve already modified your car in the past, either by ECU tuning or adding some performance parts, let us know.
Yes, it’s possible to reinstall a factory ECU tune. Think of it as installing and uninstalling various apps on your PC. Or changing the wallpaper of your smartphone. Well, the complexity is significantly different, but you get the idea – the wallpaper change can be undone.
If you decide to pick Awaken Performance as your tuning option, our technician will make a copy of the default settings installed on your car’s computer. This way, you’ll be able to revert the ECU to its stock form. And our satisfaction guarantee will let you have your stock ECU map reinstalled by us free-of-charge for the first 7 days following our tuning service. After that, we can still help you (but for a small fee).
If your car is still under engine warranty, please note that our service will void it, like all engine tuning would.
You might be surprised, but to have your BMW run reliably after engine tuning, simply perform regular maintenance on time. Don’t neglect oil and filter changes, inspect the spark plugs, and you’ll be good to go.
It’s also worth using premium fuels, since they let your car run cleaner, without clogging up the fuel system over time. This means 91–94 octane types in the US and 98–100 octane types in Europe.
Okay, so your engine is now tuned for better performance. What if you still think it’s not enough? The solution would be to install some new, more efficient parts and take it to stage 2. Which is what you call introducing both the ECU changes and components that are meant to increase the engine’s potential. What are some of the mods for the N20?
One of the first upgrades for any turbo engine, and even more so the BMW N20, is the intercooler. This part is vital to the performance because it cools the air that is forced into the cylinders by a turbocharger.
Why is the cold air so important? The equation is simple: lower temperature means higher density of the intake air. The denser it is, the more fuel can be burned by the engine. And, finally, the more fuel that is burned results in more power produced. Hot and cold air differ in density because of the distance that separates the air molecules – as they heat up, they move away from each other, expanding the volume, but keeping the same mass.
Cooler air also helps to prevent engine knocking or pre-ignition: phenomena that happen due to incorrectly timed ignition. This should be the go-to part upgrade for anyone wanting to get even more out of their N20 engine.
Although they might seem like a simple metallic piping, downpipes are actually pretty important for effective power increases. They connect the turbocharger to the exhaust system and directly affect its efficiency.
Designed to be cost-efficient from a production standpoint and compliant with strict emission norms, downpipes usually are quite restrictive. Apart from a smaller diameter, they contain catalytic converters, which limit the flow of exhaust gasses. Aftermarket downpipes are of a larger diameter and often don’t have cats, to remove those restrictions.
Remember: to take full advantage of your newly installed performance parts, you’ll also need an ECU tune. Your car’s computer will receive different outputs from certain sensors (e.g., the air flow sensor or intercooler temperature sensor).
If you feel that your N20-powered BMW could use some more power or if you don’t feel as much excitement when driving it as you did right after buying it – the BMW N20 tuning will be worth it.
However, if your car is still under engine warranty or if it’s poorly maintained, you might want to reconsider waiting with any modifications. Either until your warranty expires or until everything is fixed and your bimmer is running smoothly. Despite it being 100% safe and lowering the operating temperature, the ECU tuning won’t fix any existing issues with your engine.
Will you perfect the performance of your BMW with us?
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