BMW S65 valve cover options (mostly inclusive).

I wanted to copy my post from another forum to this one, but this forum does not support tables, so I'm just linking to the original:
BMW S65 valve cover options (mostly inclusive).

This also makes things easier on me, as I have countless (hundreds?) of threads like this and when I have to make an update, it's so much worse if I have to apply that update in multiple places.

If anyone has weights for any of the valve covers that I don't, I'd love to get that info.

For the record I went with the NRW-Design solution (and so many of their other solutions for the top of the S65 engine—at one point I was swimming in NRW boxes) in 2023-05-18 way back during their initial run. I finally got around to installing them this month which has me thinking about these things again and making the list you see linked above.

After a few rounds of test color samples (that I paid Prismatic Powders ~$100 for) I settled on PSS-1676 Sinbad Purple for the base coat and PPB-5680 Tinted Clear II for the top coat (used to darken the base purple as much as possible; darker than their regular tinted clear). I wanted a deep, dark purple somewhere close to Techno Violet but without any pearl or metallic, just a dark purple. I am very happy with the resulting color (teaser), and my decision to go with the NRW covers.

That said, if someone integrates the spark plug tubes I may have to upgrade.

May your oil leaks be few and far between, and your oil pick-ups ever free of debris.

Note to self:
Add the CNC Innovations option: BMW E90, E92 & E93, M3, S65, V8 BILLET VALVE COVER | CNC INNOVATIONS

Edit: I've added it now. Interestingly it is our first option that is missing the factory ignition coil wiring harness channels.

BenFenner wrote

I wanted to copy my post from another forum to this one, but this forum does not support tables, so I'm just linking to the original:
BMW S65 valve cover options (mostly inclusive).

This also makes things easier on me, as I have countless (hundreds?) of threads like this and when I have to make an update, it's so much worse if I have to apply that update in multiple places.

If anyone has weights for any of the valve covers that I don't, I'd love to get that info.

I’m not going to go into the colour selection details and weights, thats up to you.

But what I can say is I went with NRW covers, grommet kit, billet spark plug tubes, gasket kit etc. Ordered the ‘hamburger with the lot’ from them, never looked back. Been running it all for near on 12 months now, all good, you won’t go wrong ordering and fitting all of it.

Cheers

I did the same and would do it again.

Now if we can just convince these companies to incorporate the spark plug tubes into the valve covers...

I don't understand the spark plug tubes issue? I just did NRW covers + plug tubes. Pre-install the tubes into the covers before installation. They fit really tight (had to apply a little o-ring lube) and stay put.

I am happy to explain.

It is not an "issue" per se, it is simply an obvious area for improvement over the factory unit (just like aluminum is over magnesium+coating). Other than cost, I see no reason not to include the spark plug tubes in the valve cover itself. It would eliminate 8 o-rings from the engine and with them, 8 different potential oil leaks. I see no downsides (again, except price to manufacture) to incorporating them.

BenFenner wrote

I wanted to copy my post from another forum to this one, but this forum does not support tables, so I'm just linking to the original:
BMW S65 valve cover options (mostly inclusive).

This also makes things easier on me, as I have countless (hundreds?) of threads like this and when I have to make an update, it's so much worse if I have to apply that update in multiple places.

If anyone has weights for any of the valve covers that I don't, I'd love to get that info.

Ben, thank you for compiling the information you have about replacement S65 Valve Cover options. I have a question about one of the selection criteria. Regarding the "Reproduction Resolution" ratings: What objective criteria were used for the rating? Or is the rating subjective? For example, a cast part such as the NRW solution, or the OEM cast magnesium part are rated higher for reproduction resolution than the CNC milled MLT solution. Can you elaborate upon why this might be so? The MLT part is made using a 5-Axis CNC machine, and coated with a hard anodized finish. MLT parts are checked using digital probes for tolerance. Whereas NRW (and BMW) uses a casting process (most likely sand casting) which typically leaves some imperfections (especially in the more complex 3D shape areas such as the gasket channels), whereas a part milled from a single billet does not. When you have time, can you elaborate upon your Reproduction Resolution criteria ratings? Thank you.
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https://mltengineering-design.com/products/mlt-engineering-billet-aluminum-valve-covers
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MLT Website Product Images:
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S65 Valve Cover Options Spread Sheet Screen Shot:
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Sorry for the confusion. Happy to explain.

It really is this simple (put your hyperbole hat on):

Does the valve cover (especially the curved/ramped parts) look like it was rendered in Minecraft? Low
Does the valve cover (especially the curved/ramped parts) look like it is made of LEGO? Mid
Does the valve cover (especially the curved/ramped parts) look like it was 3D printed? High
Does the valve cover (especially the curved/ramped parts) look like it was carved by Michelangelo? Very High

I made the determinations based on the most detailed images I could find of each unit. Not sure if you'd call that objective or subjective, but I aim for it to be as objective as possible. (If companies want to give us the real data I am happy to use it, but it gets complicated with ball-end mills and such...)

It's strictly about ease of cleaning for me, as explained prior. (But to others it might signal other things?) The coating is going to be much more important IMO, but the resolution with which the units reproduce the original is also a factor in this. I very specifically chose a valve cover and coating (not matte or satin or crinkle or wrinkle) that would be easy to clean. I'm not trying to clean inevitable future oil spills off a cover that is more difficult to clean than it needs to be.

Of course it is a minor thing to consider, which is why it's so far to the right in my chart. Others are happy to ignore it of course.

It could be I need to give all of these covers a second look to see if I may need to adjust any of these resolution ratings... I will probably do this soon.



Everything else you are describing about the differences in billet and cast are exactly why I have the "material/process" column and exactly why the billet stuff "scores" better than cast in this regard, shown by coloring the billet stuff green and cast stuff orange (color blind folks might have no idea). Even though I have absolutely no qualms with a cast valve cover, I have to admit the billet solutions are better for it.
It is also why I have that column further to the left/more important to consider than the columns to the right.

The dream of integrated spark plug tubes may actually become a reality. Stay tuned...

S65 Billet Valve Covers with Integrated Spark Plug Tubes | M Power Abdul's Preview Post on Facebook
Incoming… Billet Valve Covers with integrated Spark Plug Tubes

That looks niiiice!

WOW!!!!

Yep, certainly does look very nice!

But I wonder, does no one consider refurbing their original covers?
When I first read about the cam cover issue I didn't see much about refurbing them, except by Deansbimmer and his workshop (who, last I heard only do it for in house customers). And at the time I gave up on the idea, my covers weren't leaking at the time as I'd changed the gaskets.
But they're starting to leak again, so this time I Googled 'refurbing magnesium housings', and came across just 1 firm (TPCS) here in the UK that explicitly says that's there business (their are other firms who refurb magnesium wheels, so maybe they would too?). TPCS state they started in 2010.
Anyway, I contacted them and asked for a quote, £95 ea (that might be +VAT, aka sales tax), so way cheaper than e.g NRW covers at ~£1400!

Yes, people refurbish them all the time (with varying degrees of success of course). If you catch them early before any of the inner coating fails you might have a chance. Otherwise you're already dealing with an oil-soaked unit that won't hold a coating.

I'm not sure why anyone would even attempt that though. Even if you get lucky enough to catch things early, you will always be relying on the integrity of micrometers worth of coating to prevent oil contamination of the magnesium and oil leaks. And if you ground the ignition coils properly, you've already compromised the coating. Magnesium is just the wrong material for this component.

TPCS state explicitly that they deal with magnesium casings, including rocker covers, I'm sure if their were problems with refurbing these which have failed paint then they would say (however I will ask them).
I would imagine between baking and chemical cleaning it would get rid of any soaked in oil.

Earthing points on the outside which penetrate the paint, naturally isn't going to cause oil leaks.

Euro Power Motorsports has released their new valve covers with integrated spark plug tubes. They also have a raw aluminum option now (better coil grounding).
I've updated the chart accordingly.

BMW E9x M3 S65 Billet Valve Covers | Euro Power Motorsports

Yeah, great, reached already out to them to clarify some questions regarding required and fitting gaskets but haven't heard from them since Monday.

Would love to see more pics of the covers in gold, as this is the color I want to order.

BTW: "better coil grounding" compared to what? The original Magnesium covers or the painted aftermarket version? Does anyone know if EPM masks these grounding areas before anodizing? I would assume yes but in the pictures the covers look completely colored.

Steggl wrote

Yeah, great, reached already out to them to clarify some questions regarding required and fitting gaskets but haven't heard from them since Monday.

Would love to see more pics of the covers in gold, as this is the color I want to order.

BTW: "better coil grounding" compared to what? The original Magnesium covers or the painted aftermarket version? Does anyone know if EPM masks these grounding areas before anodizing? I would assume yes but in the pictures the covers look completely colored.

Most aftermarket valve covers that are powder coated tend to cause grounding issues because the coating acts as an insulator. (you actually will have to sand it down to the metal again)

You'd think anodizing wouldn't have the same problem, but it actually does. The anodized layer is aluminum oxide, which is also an electrical insulator.

If EPM is masking the factory grounding points before anodizing, then it shouldn't be an issue. I don't know if they do, though.

Personally, I'd buy them raw and mask off the grounding surfaces before having them coated or anodized if you're set on a color. That way you know the grounds have a clean metal-to-metal contact instead of relying on the coating being thin enough to conduct.

I'm getting some, I'll guinea pig this for yall. I need new covers and have been waiting for these to be released. Thinking gold would look sick...

Will probably just sand where the ground points connect. I never thought about that, what does the factory cover do, just have raw magnesium in those spots?

Steggl wrote

BTW: "better coil grounding" compared to what?

Compared to the other coatings they offer. So better than anodizing, and better than powder coating. (And incidentally better than stock).

omgzirra_exe wrote

Personally, I'd buy them raw and mask off the grounding surfaces before having them coated or anodized if you're set on a color. That way you know the grounds have a clean metal-to-metal contact instead of relying on the coating being thin enough to conduct.

This seems excessively complicated to me. Just get the cover from the manufacturer however you want it coated, and then file/sand down the one spot they should have masked off during the coating process. This is going to be much easier than getting raw covers coated/painted/treated yourself.

Thumbie wrote

I never thought about that, what does the factory cover do, just have raw magnesium in those spots?

The factory cover has the factory coating in this important spot as well. Which is a bit nuts if you ask me. I tested the factory coating multiple times and it is an insulator, not allowing a current to pass through it.

BenFenner wrote

Compared to the other coatings they offer. So better than anodizing, and better than powder coating. (And incidentally better than stock).

This seems excessively complicated to me. Just get the cover from the manufacturer however you want it coated, and then file/sand down the one spot they should have masked off during the coating process. This is going to be much easier than getting raw covers coated/painted/treated yourself.

The factory cover has the factory coating in this important spot as well. Which is a bit nuts if you ask me. I tested the factory coating multiple times and it is an insulator, not allowing a current to pass through it.

TBF, in the chance they wanted other anodized options besides what EPM offers on their website (I did not see a custom option)

I also did mention just sanding the contact points in first sentence.

EPM can do some custom ano colors, you just have to email customer support.

I'm surprised "clear" isn't one of the basic options...

I just ordered a set in gold. I'll post some pics when they come in.