Fully Explore "N73B60 Modifications"

How to modify and upgrade the BMW N73B60

"Comprehensive guide to performance tuning the BMW N73B60 engine!"

Hey gearheads and fellow enthusiasts, buckle up because we're diving deep into the exhilarating world of modifying, upgrading, and tuning engines, and our ride today is none other than the BMW N73B60.

Picture this: a powerhouse born in the early 2000s, the N73B60 is the heart and soul of some of BMW's most prestigious models, including the 7 Series.

Now, let's talk numbers, my friends. This 6.0-liter V12 engine is a symphony of power, belting out figures that'll make your jaw drop. We're talking about a cavalry of horses under the hood, with the N73B60 flexing its muscles to deliver a performance that's not just a drive; it's an experience.

Underneath that hood, you've got a masterpiece of engineering. This bad boy boasts a Double Overhead Camshaft (DOHC) setup, ensuring the precision dance of the valvetrain for optimal power delivery.

And if that's not enough to get your heart racing, the N73B60 features variable valve timing, a technological wizardry that adjusts the timing of the intake valves, giving you that extra kick when you unleash the beast.

Now, why am I your car club buddy talking about this? Because we're not just here for the facts; we're here to make your journey into the world of engine mods as smooth as that perfect gear shift.

The next part of our adventure isn't just about power; it's about saving your time and hard-earned money.

So, grab your wrenches, my friends, because we're about to embark on a journey of modifications that'll not only boost performance but keep your wallet smiling.

Stick around, and let's rev up the N73B60 together – where horsepower meets camaraderie, and every mile feels like victory.

Popular tuning sites like TorqueCars often are getting messages asking how to improve the N73B60 from people wanting to know what are the ultimate N73B60 mods that work. So let us look into BMW N73B60 parts and outline the best modifications on this great engine and point out some common pitfalls along the way.

Now we will consider N73B60 tuning and summarise the ultimate modifications. BMW N73B60 great bases for a tuning project and with carefully picked tuning mods like ECU maps, turbo improvements and camshafts you will greatly maximise your driving opportunities.

The top N73B60 parts on an engine are typically the ones that give the biggest return for your money.

We won't be swayed by popular N73B60 parts, they need to be cost effective.

Improving air intake on the N73B60

You need fuel and air for an engine to work. If there is insufficient fuel then it will run lean, if there is insufficient air it runs rich resulting in lost power and potentially damaging the engine. We'll pick up on fuelling later in this article but for now we shall look at air supply.

So Shoving more air into the N73B60 engine is the aim to any engine performance tuning project.

It is not unusual that there is a restriction in the air flow sensor AFM/MAF on the N73B60 when a lot more air is being pulled into the engine.

You'll see that 4 bar air sensors coping with quite large power gains, whereas the OEM air sensor was restricting bhp and torque at a much lower level.

The intake plenum flow the air from the filter and allow it to be pulled into the engine and mixed with fuel.

The shape and flow characteristics of the Intake can make a substantial improvement to fuel mixing and power on the N73B60.

Most intake headers are in dire need of aftermarket parts, although some makers provide reasonably good intake headers.

Fitting big valve kits, carrying out port matching and head flowing will also lift power, the fantastic side effect is it will make space for a greater power increase on other upgrades.

N73B60 performance cam tips.

Different N73B60 engines respond better to more aggressive cam durations so view each engine as unique.

The map and fuelling also have an effect on the bhp gains you'll make.

A longer valve duration can alter the bhp 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.

Significant air intake, and exhaust improvements on the N73B60 can be made from cam upgrades. Changing the cam profile alters the intake and exhaust durations on the engine and can dramatically change the torque and power output.

NB: Fast road camshafts tend to increase the performance across the rpm band, you might lose a little low down torque but your top end will be higher.

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

A Race camshaft makes it harder when in heavy traffic.

You should ideally match your power band to your preferences so for a typical daily driver stick with a shorter duration N73B60 camshaft

Stage 1, 2 and 3 mods for the N73B60

Before we break the best tuning upgrades down into stages of tune, let's list the most effective tuning upgrades for you.

1. Suspension Upgrades - always improve your cars handling
2. Brake Upgrades - Even before adding power improve those brakes
3. Intake - make sure the intake is not restricted, use filters and intake upgrades to improve this
4. Exhaust - as with 3 ensure there is not restriction in the exhaust, cats are the usual bottleneck
5. Tunes - remapping, piggyback ECU's and aftermarket ECU's can all make decent gains
6. Fuelling - when you've increased power you'll need to match this with more fuel
7. Turbo upgrades - Improving the intake with a large turbo and better flowing intercooler will be the biggest power gain you'll see (but one of the most complex).

This video guide to tuning cars is a great starting point to work from in your project.

Stage 1 N73B60 parts:

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

Stage 2 N73B60 parts:

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

Stage 3 N73B60 parts:

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

Mapping will help release the full potential of all the parts you've done to your N73B60.

You will typically expect to see gains of approximately 20-30% more power on turbocharged vehicles and you can expect to see around 15% on NASP engines, but the end result usually depend much on the parts you've fitted and the condition of your engine.

Turbo modifications on the N73B60

To get a turbo working on a NASP engine there is a lot involved, from lowering compression ratio to improved fuel supply and mapping, so we have found a great guide to helpavoid the common pitfalls or end up with an unfinished project because you were not told what you were getting into by doing this on the N73B60.

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

If an engine has a turbocharger modifications are giving better power gains and most turbo charged engines are built with uprated components.

However you will find an engines have limits

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

There are many tuners spending a lots of money on turbo upgrades on the N73B60 only to watch the car catastrophically fail just after it's been finished.

Big turbo units commonly experience a bottom end lag, and low capacity turbo units spool up quickly but won't have the top end power band gains.

We are pleased that the world of turbochargers is always evolving and we commonly find variable vane turbochargers, permitting the vane angle is altered according to speed to lower lag and increase top end bhp and torque.

Twin scroll turbochargers divert the exhaust gases into a couple of channels and direct these at differently angled vanes in the turbo charger. They also boost the scavenging effect of the engine.

Beefing up the air intake by adding a supercharger or additional turbo will help you achieve very large torque gains, although more difficult to configure. We have this feature on twinchargers if you want to read more.

Tips about fuel supply on the N73B60

You will need to ensure that the engine is not starved of fuel so should increase the fuelling when you start extending past 20% of a power hike. Most tuners we speak with say to over specify your injectors flow rate.

The accepted safe increase is to add 20% capacity when fitting an injector, this accounts for injector deterioration and allows you some spare capacity should the engine require more fuel.

Don't forget that different fuel grades will usually require different settings, a high octane fuel will burn more efficiently than lower octane fuel for example. A car will trim fuel supply to keep within the ideal air fuel mix but at the extreme ends you may need to adjust your injector capacity, or the mapping or you'll get flat spots and potential lean or rich fuel issues..

Recommended N73B60 performance exhaust upgrades

You may need to improve your exhaust system with an upgraded one is if the existing exhaust is actually creating a flow problem.

On most factory exhausts you'll see your flow rate is still good even on modest power gains, but on a serious tuning project with a big boost in power you will certainly need to get a better flowing exhaust.

Note that with the biggest exhaust you can source you'll slow the exhaust rate - the best exhausts for power gains are usually between one and a half to two and half inches. Your exhaust design, the bend angles and construction are what have more effect on flow rates than your pipe width to a certain extent. So the exhaust design is a big factor.

Typically exhaust restrictions are traced to the emissions filters installed, so adding a freer flowing race alternative will help avoid this restriction.

Decatting (NB:catalysts reduce harmful engine emissions) is illegal in most countries and regions.

Faults issues and things to look out for on the N73B60

Like most engines an N73B60, should have few issues if it gets properly serviced and looked after.

We cannot stress enough the need for oil changes with the correct grade of oil on the N73B60, failure to do this will exacerbate engine wear, on a tuned N73B60 this is more important than ever and close attention should be paid to your maintenance schedule.

If you are interested in learning more or getting impartial tuning advice for your N73B60 why not pop over to the forums at TorqueCars where you can chat about N73B60 tuning options and read about others projects who may be planning to do similar modifications on their N73B60.

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This entry was posted under Makes and Models. Tags: BMW, engine
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