Will a Remap Compromise my Swirl Flaps?

If I had a 320d I'd be annoyed and replacing it with a 33.. no sorry I mean if I had a 320d I'd be replacing the swirl flaps ANYWAY as a matter of course just to prevent the problem happening :)

Preventative Maintenance > Reactive Maintenance
 
no, sorry
it's a part of a turbo :p

for example,
Swirl is adjusted by means of a control flap in the cylinder head inlet port
Click to expand...

and they fail on 320ds
 
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Well, a remap's going to put the turbo under more pressure (its more than just advancing ignition timings on a TD as far as I understand), so yes, it is likely to affect component longevity.

What's unknown is to what extent. It's difficult to have controlled tests on remapped cars to determine the extent of component wear. You would need a very large sample of the same car, the same type of roads, same type of driving style, sam climate, same fuel type etc, and even then its difficult to show cause and effect due to so many different variables.

Knocking 10% off the life of a component that lasts 200k, is cheap and easy to replace is one thing, but shortening the life of the swirl flaps so that they fail at 100k with the result that they're sucked into the engine and destroying it, is another.

Personally, I wouldn't dream of trying to remap an engine that is known to have a significantly higher proportion of turbo failures compared to the norm.

Not sure how much preventative maintenance you can do on this and at what cost. Can't be bothered to trawl through 60+ pages so let me know if you find out the cost of replacing swirl flaps, inlet manifold, etc and whether this is a guranteed preventative measure:-

http://www.bmwland.co.uk/talker/viewtopic.php?t=53451
 
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Considering just how bad the swirl flap issue is on the 320d. The last thing I'd want to do is put a remap on and put them under even more stress.

This will also compromise your BMW warranty you care so much for, No?

Anyone know how much gain a remap will get him?
 
The butterfly swirl flaps are there to reduce emissions somehow. They are made of plastic, and when they get old, they get brittle and brake off. Being somewhere in the manifold, they then get sucked into the engine...

Present on the e46 320d and 330d autos (not on manuals).
 
NickXX said:
The butterfly swirl flaps are there to reduce emissions somehow. They are made of plastic, and when they get old, they get brittle and brake off. Being somewhere in the manifold, they then get sucked into the engine...

Present on the e46 320d and 330d autos (not on manuals).
Click to expand...

IIRC actual cause is down to the build up of crud in the inlet manifold from the EGR. This jams the flaps and the pivots break when the actuator tries to move them.
 
NickXX said:
The butterfly swirl flaps are there to reduce emissions somehow. They are made of plastic, and when they get old, they get brittle and brake off. Being somewhere in the manifold, they then get sucked into the engine...
Click to expand...

Do you know what preventative maintenance can be done, and at what cost? Was considering swapping my 323i for a 320d at one point but pulled the plug on that idea when I heard about the swirl flap / turbo / engine failures.
 
MarkDavis said:
Do you know what preventative maintenance can be done, and at what cost? Was considering swapping my 323i for a 320d at one point but pulled the plug on that idea when I heard about the swirl flap / turbo / engine failures.
Click to expand...

Yes - the best preventative maintenance is removing the damn things. Guides can be found on BMWland.

It's all a bit crap really - the 320d is a fantastic car on paper, and when working a fantastic car to own for the vast majority of owners, however swirlflaps, dodgy turbos, then injectors cause so much gip, a lot of people have been put off.
 
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