STORM CHASER 4WD 400WHP E92 335i
The E9x 335i is without doubt one of the greatest performance bargains of our time. Eminently tunable, with a glorious turbocharged straight-six under the bonnet, a sublime chassis and sky-high modding potential, it’s a package that’s hard to beat and one that’s almost impossible to resist as owner Jeremey Cornitcher will attest.
“I’ve loved BMWs for years, the styling of them was always classic,” he tells us. “I remember seeing an E30 M3, that was stunning, and since then I’ve been in love with the brand. I purchased the E92 because I needed a car to drive in the snow due to my new job and commute. I know that’s an odd reason to buy a BMW, but I wanted a daily driver that could perform in any situation I put in it,” he explains and so should we because Jeremey’s 335i is an xDrive model. Here in the UK we never received the option of BMW’s four-wheel drive system but in markets that have a lot of mountains and a lot of heavy snowfall, you could enjoy your turbocharged straight-six with the added benefits of adaptive four-wheel drive, and that’s a devastating all-season combo that is incredibly appealing.
“I found the car at a BMW dealership and had a good friend, who is a BMW Technician, go over it with a fi ne-toothed comb for me,” he continues. “It was a CPO (Certified Pre-Owned) car so it was in pretty good shape overall. I chose this particular car because of the colour combination; Alpine white with Saddle leather I believe is one of BMWs best colour offerings. The contrast between the white and brown is amazing. My car also had all the packages that I was searching for as well. I did a bunch of research as far as going N54 vs. N55 as both have their pros and cons but in the end I decided to go with the N55 because I wanted an LCI and xDrive,” he explains. “A lot of people have told me I should have just bought something 4×4 to daily drive but what is the fun in doing that? I wanted a car that was fulfilling to drive each and every time I got in it. Plus launching AWD is fun on the street and the track. I love drag racing and find it a lot easier to do with AWD vs. RWD. I don’t have to worry about swapping wheels and tyres out, it’s like you are ready for anything and everything that can come up.
“As far as my plans were concerned, I just wanted to do some minor bolt-ons and exterior modifications to the car,” Jeremey tells us. “I didn’t go to crazy with it, I just wanted to end up with a 12-second car. I wanted something that was stylish but not super-trendy. I did not want to cut into my car to do a wide-body or anything like that, as I enjoy the stock body lines of the E92. I wanted to make the car tasteful and useful, a nice balance between looks and speed,” and we like where Jeremey has gone with his 335i. There are plenty of mods on board now, that much is clear from just a cursory glance, but he’s not gone overboard and nor has he followed the crowd. He’s gone his own way and built a fantastically fast all-round machine.
So, what’s the first thing you do when you buy a turbocharged BMW? Why you up the power, of course, and getting more go from his 335i was Jeremey’s first port of call. “The engine modifications are fairly simple on this car,” he says, but on the N54 and N55 you don’t need much more than that for big power. “The car is tuned using Cobb Tuning software and has two maps, one for 93 octane fuel and one for E85/93 octane blend. Right around E50 is the mix that I use on the car as that’s the most that is needed on the stock turbo and such. I know some people may run more, but there is no real point, the gains are minimal and the strain on drivetrain components is just not worth it.
To support the tuning I went with VRSF for my cat-less downpipe and intercooler piping. These two modifications are the best value on the N55 platform. Getting rid of the catalytic converter on any turbo car allows for it to breathe so much easier, its tons of robbed horsepower right there,” he explains. “With the intercooler piping the stock BMW piping is known to crack, even with stock boost levels. I finished everything off with the Mishimoto FMIC.
While there is not a true horsepower gain, it does keep the intake air temps down on the car, which we were able to notice retuning the car on the dyno. My car now makes right around 400whp and 500lb ft wtq on the E50 map, which is tonnes of power to make the car a blast to drive every day,” he says with a grin. “The beauty of the engine mods that I’ve decided to do is that they were easy and simple and were done by myself or with the help of friends,” he adds. “That’s what makes modifying cars so fun as well, just having the fellowship behind it.” He’s completely right, of course, modding is as much about community as it is the actual cars, and he’s also right about his power output – 400whp is tonnes of power, and with 4WD on board it makes for an epic all-weather missile.
When it came to suspension, a decent drop was required especially as the 335i xDrive models sit higher than their RWD counterparts and that arch gap would never do. Unfortunately, there’s less choice when it comes to suspension options for the 4WD 335i, as Jeremey discovered when he went shopping, but luckily H&R offers a coilover option, so he didn’t need to look any further. “I am always a firm believer in going with coilovers versus a spring set up as you are able to adjust ride height as you see fit,” says Jeremey. “When I first equipped the coils I went for a mid-drop, then when I went with more aggressive wheels, I lowered the car some more. The spring rates that the H&R system comes with did not make the ride harsh at all, which I love with how much I drive my car.” Speaking of wheels, we reckon the E9x sweet spot for size is 19”; wheels at that size do a great job of filling out the arches but also look really balanced against the bodywork and, as with everything E9x-related, you are absolutely spoilt for choice when it comes to picking the perfect set of rims. For Jeremey, it came down to either a set of TE-37s, one of his all-time favourite wheels, or the wheels that eventually won, Avant Garde’s M590; “I chose the M590 because it is a classic wheel that looked nice on the car, especially in the 19” diameter,” he explains. “It has the luxury look with mesh, with the concave face profile that I believe every monoblock wheel should have” and we are in agreement with him on all fronts as these wheels look fantastic on the 335i. The size, the style and the custom finish with a hint of gold make them the perfect choice and the extra drop he’s dialled-in is the finishing touch.
With the performance and chassis side of his 335i sorted, Jeremey now turned his attention to the car’s styling; the E92 is a good-looking car, no doubt, but it doesn’t take much at all to turn it into a great-looking one, and a selection of the right mods will make all the difference. So, we begin with the addition of M Sport front and rear bumpers, nice and aggressive but nothing too in-your-face, in-keeping with Jeremey’s vision for his 335i. “I wanted a simple, classic style for my E92,” he says, “I wanted the car to stand-out but for all the right reasons. It’s unique and simple all at the same time, the car is truly all about balance.” The M Sport bumpers needed a little spicing up and dash of individuality, so Jeremey opted to add some carbon goodies, fitting an Arkym front lip for a more aggressive appearance. He’s matched this at the rear with a BMW M performance boot spoiler and a very sexy custom diffuser from LTMW, and all this carbon really looks fantastic against the white bodywork.
“The only issues I had with the styling was deciding on what exhaust to run, since the LTMW rear diffuser had a quad outlet setup,” he explains. “Bryan over at Zury fabrications listened to what look I was going for and did the custom quad set up with the burnt titanium tips,” and we’ve got to say that they look great. Jeremey also had the roof wrapped gloss black and then there are those bold, gold graphics; “The livery graphics across the sides of my car were designed and applied by Brandon Fugitt. I reached out to Brandon and asked him what he thought of the idea and he instantly texted me over tons of renders of ideas, and with a few tweaks we landed with what you see on my car today. When I added the graphics it really helped the car flow as it picked up the subtle gold in my wheels. I would have to say the graphics are my favourite mod on the whole car, despite the fact it’s hard to choose one thing. But the graphics are unique and something that you don’t see every day or even on BMWs at all. No matter where I am at I always get questions about it.” A modded car is a very personal endeavour and there are plenty of people who are not fans of graphics, but at the end of the day this is Jeremey’s car so he can do what he wants, and we like them. As for the interior, it has remained standard, for the time being at least, but it has not been forgotten about; “I do have plans to do some minor tweaking to it such as seat in-lays and maybe doing a black headliner. I would kill for a V1 Performance Steering wheel, despite the fact I would have to give up my heated steering wheel option,” says Jeremey.
This is a mighty fi ne machine, a unique build and it ticks a lot of boxes. It looks great and it has plenty of power to go with those aggressive looks; in fact, everything that Jeremey’s done over the past five years is all about enhancing the already extremely capable standard car, building on the car’s strengths without going overboard and he’s done an awesome job. But the car’s not finished just yet and he’s got a few more tricks up his sleeve; “I plan to change my wheels,” he says, “after having 19s for so long, I want to switch to an 18” wheel set up with more sidewall for a meatier fitment. I also plan to do a Pure Turbo upgrade, either stage 1 or 2, leaning more towards Stage 2 because you can never have enough power! The graphics are getting switched out once I land on a new wheel design and colour. I’ve always liked the white and gold look, but I’m thinking something to tie in the carbon accents now,” he muses and it sounds like he’s got plenty on the cards to keep himself busy with for some time to come. Considering how good the car looks now, it’s going to be even more special in the near future.
TECHNICAL DATA FILE SPECIFICATIONS BMW 335i xDrive E92
ENGINE AND TRANSMISSION 3.0-litre single-turbo straight-six N55B30 / BMW N55, Cobb AccessPort, VRSF cat-less downpipe, VRSF intercooler piping, Moore Automotive Pro-Tune by Chris Hoover, Mishimoto FMIC, Zury Fab custom quad exhaust. Six-speed automatic gearbox, Alpina re-flash
CHASSIS 9.5×19” (front) and 11×19” (rear) Avant Garde M590 wheels in custom two-stage colour with diamond cut faces and Sterling gold windows, 235/35 (front) and 275/30 (rear) Achilles ATR Sport 2 tyres, H&R coilovers, R1 Concepts slotted discs (front), StopTech brake pads (front and rear)
EXTERIOR M Sport front bumper, Arkym front lip, custom livery graphics by Brandon Fugitt Designs, 3M black metallic vinyl wrapped roof, M Sport rear bumper, BMW M Performance rear spoiler, LTMW custom carbon rear diffuser
INTERIOR Saddle leather
THANKS I would like to first thank Performance BMW for the opportunity to be in the magazine. I know you guys get tonnes and tonnes of cars asking to be featured and I am glad that I was chosen. Shoutout to Kevin Choi for taking the amazing photos used for this article. I would like to thank Chris Hoover and his team over at Moore Automotive for taking care of all my tuning needs. Nick and Zach over at A-Plus Auto Styling. Special thanks to Brandon Fugitt for designing the awesome graphics for my car. Bill over at Alloy Wheel Repair Specialist (AWRS) for helping me come up with the finish for the wheels. My car family Xclusiv Alliance, shout-out to Mark Aquino for linking me up with the guys. Can’t forget about my GC 3.0 ( MGM, K$, and AB)
“I wanted the car to stand out but for all the right reasons. It’s unique and simple all at the same time, the car is truly all about balance”
“My car now makes right around 400whp and 500lb ft wtq on the E50 map, which is tonnes of power to make the car a blast to drive every day”
19” custom-finished Avant Garde M590s. Looks stock, but it’s definitely not. Saddle leather the perfect contrast to Alpine white. Cobb Accessport.
