Very Tricky Technical Question

[dnash9]

I have no idea if this is the right section for this question, but I've been searching for days and would really like someone more knowledgeable than myself to weigh in.
I am an employee at a BMW Dealership and am getting ready to order my first BMW, always loved the cars, but never wanted to lease and the maintenance scared me away, fast forward a few years, and I definitely regret my decision to purchase my G35 over an excellent condition 335i back when I was stationed in Chicago.

I'm extremely interested in the M240i, and that will probably be the car that I go with; however, I had a crazy thought recently, and can't find an answer anywhere.

The BMW 330e iPerformance are very affordable due to federal government incentives, especially as an employee.
The N20 can be tuned without effecting the hybrid drivetrain (from what I understand)
The N20 in the 330e is the same N20 found in the 320i, not the 328i.
The main difference between the 320i and 328i is compression due to different pistons.
As a result, the N20 in the 320i can only be tuned to approximately 250-275 hp, whereas Dinan has taken the 328i to approximately 350 hp.

So basically my question is this. If the pistons in the n20 were swapped out, either with aftermarket or with 328i pistons, couldn't the engine theoretically take on the same power adders as the 328i, make 350ish hp, and break the 400 whp mark by working together with the hybrid drivetrain?

Or do I just need to spend way less time on the internet?

[tex2670]

I have no idea if this is the right section for this question, but I've been searching for days and would really like someone more knowledgeable than myself to weigh in.
I am an employee at a BMW Dealership and am getting ready to order my first BMW, always loved the cars, but never wanted to lease and the maintenance scared me away, fast forward a few years, and I definitely regret my decision to purchase my G35 over an excellent condition 335i back when I was stationed in Chicago.

I'm extremely interested in the M240i, and that will probably be the car that I go with; however, I had a crazy thought recently, and can't find an answer anywhere.

The BMW 330e iPerformance are very affordable due to federal government incentives, especially as an employee.
The N20 can be tuned without effecting the hybrid drivetrain (from what I understand)
The N20 in the 330e is the same N20 found in the 320i, not the 328i.
The main difference between the 320i and 328i is compression due to different pistons.
As a result, the N20 in the 320i can only be tuned to approximately 250-275 hp, whereas Dinan has taken the 328i to approximately 350 hp.

So basically my question is this. If the pistons in the n20 were swapped out, either with aftermarket or with 328i pistons, couldn't the engine theoretically take on the same power adders as the 328i, make 350ish hp, and break the 400 whp mark by working together with the hybrid drivetrain?

Or do I just need to spend way less time on the internet?

You were hesitant to get a BMW before because you were concerned about maintenance costs, but you are considering voiding the warranty of your new car by replacing the pistons because 320 HP of the M240 just isn't enough?

[dnash9]

You were hesitant to get a BMW before because you were concerned about maintenance costs, but you are considering voiding the warranty of your new car by replacing the pistons because 320 HP of the M240 just isn't enough?

Very good point, allow me to clarify.

I was hesitant to get a BMW while I was in the military. I was on base with no access to a garage or tools (our base didn't have a workshop), and was forced to do all of my work on my car through a mechanic or in the autozone parking lot.
Also, the hp of the m240 is more than enough (with a jb4), and as I said that is most likely the route I am going to take. To be honest, there is a very slim chance of me going the hybrid route; but I am still very interested to know if the idea is realistically possible.

The idea of a stupid cheap lease deal, plus a tune and swapping the pistons, yielding a 400+ hp hybrid with the option to drive in electric only mode, sounds pretty damn cool to me.

[BleedsBlue]

^That does sound pretty cool to me. Except (and this is good news for your hypothetical plan), the pistons aren't really the difference between 20i and 28i. From what little research people have done about the piston difference and made public, the compression and other performance variables aren't affected in a quantifiable manner by the piston difference.

The 28i's power gain comes from the tune with more boost, and combines it with a bigger exhaust. A 328i (or aftermarket) full exhaust and nice tune turns the 20i up to 28i levels.

I've been researching this extensively having just picked up a cheap 320, though I probably won't mod it for power because I basically treat it as a commuter.

[dnash9]

^That does sound pretty cool to me. Except (and this is good news for your hypothetical plan), the pistons aren't really the difference between 20i and 28i. From what little research people have done about the piston difference and made public, the compression and other performance variables aren't affected in a quantifiable manner by the piston difference.

The 28i's power gain comes from the tune with more boost, and combines it with a bigger exhaust. A 328i (or aftermarket) full exhaust and nice tune turns the 20i up to 28i levels.

I've been researching this extensively having just picked up a cheap 320, though I probably won't mod it for power because I basically treat it as a commuter.

Really considered a 320 just for a daily, but I have a daily commute of around 14 miles one way down some pretty nice roads, and I'd rather pay the extra couple hundred bucks and get something I can enjoy a little more.

400 hp hybrid does sound pretty great though. It's really just the exhaust and a 328i tune?

I guess worst case scenario I could unplug the JB4 if I blow the motor. What aftermarket tune?

[BleedsBlue]

Really considered a 320 just for a daily, but I have a daily commute of around 14 miles one way down some pretty nice roads, and I'd rather pay the extra couple hundred bucks and get something I can enjoy a little more.

400 hp hybrid does sound pretty great though. It's really just the exhaust and a 328i tune?

I guess worst case scenario I could unplug the JB4 if I blow the motor. What aftermarket tune?

Lucky commute, that. I've got 20 miles/40min of dead straight stop-and-go, though I know that isn't too bad or is at least average.

I confirmed with some dealer guys just today, actually. The 328i pistons are a bit more trick, but you wouldn't notice a thing if you spent all the effort to swap them in.

I've seen AWE tunes on more cars, though now more and more trusted providers are coming to the table, such as Turner and Dinan.

[stevernaz]

I have a 2016 330e and love it. 250 HP and 310 lb ft of torque. Be aware that the 330e does NOT have the N20. It has the newer B48 engine. To my knowledge no one has yet developed tunes for the B48 and I, for one, would be hesitant to tune a complex plug-in hybrid.

I don't really care that much about mpg (I am the farthest thing from a hypermiler) and bought the 330e for environmental reasons (I had two Priuses before that but wanted better performance). But out of curiosity I did check a few times. My worst mileage was on a trip from Phoenix to Tucson where I only plugged the night before I left and drove much of the time at 85 mph (it is hard to keep it there as the car wants to creep into the 90s) and got 35 mph. Most of the time, doing mostly local driving and plugging in every night, I have been getting between 50 and 60 mpg. But neither calculation accounts for the cost of the electricity I get each night from plugging in. And I do tend to drive with a lead foot.