Platinum Racing Products - BMW N54 Coil Kit

BMW N54 R35 COP PLUG-IN KIT 

This ignition kit is specifically aimed at increasing ignition spark with the use of ‘smart coils’ all while decreasing the load put on the N54’s factory engine’s computer (DME) which is prone to internal transistor failure.  This coil kit incorporates our off-the-shelf big-hitting Hitachi Hanshin (now Hitachi Astemo) R35 GTR ‘Smart’ Ignition coils that have been proven to make north of 2600hp.

This coil kit has been specifically designed as a direct drop-in replacement for the OEM N54 coils which includes a DME signal bypass box and OEM coil connector to R35 coil connector patch leads to make the installation simple and easy.

IMPORTANT NOTE:

As these coils have different windings to the factory coils, your ECU will require the correct dwell time to be set to fire at their optimum performance rate. On flashed OEM computers the current draw on the internal MOSFETs is often monitored for coil failures. This calibration will also need to alter as the current draw on the MOSFETs are significantly less load and may trigger a false misfire error due to the current load being focused on the R35 smart coil instead, Converter bypass box must be used with the factory DME or it will burn out the smart coils.

Features:

• Billet Alloy bracket - engineered to fit ignition coils in a manner that allows easy access to all the coil plugs in a non-invasive way.
• Custom injection molded silicone stalks (6) - designed to reach and seat the spark plug on the correct angle.
• Wiring Harness - choice of 2 wiring options offered:
  • OEM ‘Plug & Play’ wiring which utilizes your factory ignition wiring aimed at use with flashed factory DME computers. It includes 6 braided patch leads that convert the factory coil connector to an R35 coil connector with the use of our very own custom injection moulded connector. It also includes a bypass box to sit in the DME enclosure and convert the signal.
  • Universal loom, for use with a standalone aftermarket computer. It includes a braided coil harness with high temperature tefzel wiring.
• Genuine OEM coils are rated to 2000 hp and come with a 1-year warranty.
• The kit is available in our standard colours black, purple, red, silver. We also offer custom colour orders which include gold, teal, orange, grey, blue, bronze and green.
• Bolt kit included caters for the 6 ignition coils and billet bracket to head.

 Why make the switch to ‘smart coils’ on your N54 engine?

The factory coils are nicknamed ‘dumb coils’ as they do not have built-in ignitors. These coils require an IGBT signal to be sent from the factory DME (Engine Control Computer) to fire them.

The DME internal circuitry uses MOSFET transistors to make this IGBT signal occur. Specifically, on the MSD80 model DME, it uses part number IRFW644B MOSFET (Datasheet), on the MSD81 model it uses ISL9V5036 (Datasheet). Unfortunately, these parts often fail in just a few short years with 30BA & 30BB DME internal failure Optional Colours to choose from are Grey or Cardo Zinc their task when ignition components become tired and worn-out. They heat up and eventually fail which leads to some pretty expensive repair/replacement costs. Further information and a more in-depth technical analysis of these issues can be found here: https://bimmerprofs.com/ignition-coils-episode-2, the team at BimmerProfs delves into the DME ignition method showing unfortunate parasitic resonance voltage oscillations and why they occur.

To avoid these faults, we moved away from loading up the DME to fire ‘dumb coils’ and stuck to ‘smart coils’ like our other kits that are proven to perform well in high 1000HP+ applications. With our kit, the signal from the factory DME is converted to a low voltage trigger putting far less load on the factory trigger circuitry prolonging their lifespan.  The signal conversion process takes 1μs (1 millionth of a second) to ensure no timing is affected, all that is needed is to adjust the DME dwell settings to correspond with the upgraded coils and you’re ready for more power!

Why choose this ignition upgrade kit over the others out there?

There are many options out there, we suggest always do your research and also check out the examples of ignition coils used on other platforms rather than sales pitches.  Unfortunately, the DME has an internal componentry that is prone to failure due to excess heat. So, loading the higher dwell times from other “dumb” coil upgrade kits that promise higher spark performance is not an ideal decision.  Our kit ensures less load on the DME’s MOSFETs while still offering a proven better spark performance.  The proof is in the pudding and we are very proud to have World Time Attack track winners and Drag record holders use our kits on their cars!

Quick Reference Installation: N54 Ignition Coil Kit