RaceChip Ultimate F15 X5 35i Installation DIY

[m12volt]

42pilot , Trojanlaw ?

[Kzang]

Originally Posted by m12volt

42pilot , Trojanlaw ?

42pilot sold his X5 diesel and is probably no longer active on this forum and Trojan hasn't been on here for a long time as well. I would suggest setting your tune at default, run a tank of gas, then increase by one click on each tank letting the engine adjust to the tune until you are happy with the power level. There is a lot of information on here on the performance review for each settings.

P.S. Make sure to use high quality fuel or you may trigger CEL.


Check these threads for more information:

http://f15.bimmerpost.com/forums/sho...acechip+diesel

http://f15.bimmerpost.com/forums/sho...acechip+diesel

http://f15.bimmerpost.com/forums/sho...light=racechip

[m12volt]

Originally Posted by Kzang

42pilot sold his X5 diesel and is probably no longer active on this forum and Trojan hasn't been on here for a long time as well. I would suggest setting your tune at default, run a tank of gas, then increase by one click on each tank letting the engine adjust to the tune until you are happy with the power level. There is a lot of information on here on the performance review for each settings.

P.S. Make sure to use high quality fuel or you may trigger CEL.


Check these threads for more information:

http://f15.bimmerpost.com/forums/sho...acechip+diesel

http://f15.bimmerpost.com/forums/sho...acechip+diesel

http://f15.bimmerpost.com/forums/sho...light=racechip

Thanks for your reply !
I've got my Racechip Pro couple of weeks ago and already tried few different settings. It takes me about 2 weeks to burn a tank of gas ( damn diesel :-) )
so I thought to save some time and use other's experience of ideal setting for 35d

[Kzang]

Originally Posted by m12volt

Thanks for your reply !
I've got my Racechip Pro couple of weeks ago and already tried few different settings. It takes me about 2 weeks to burn a tank of gas ( damn diesel :-) )
so I thought to save some time and use other's experience of ideal setting for 35d

Well I wouldn't skip or jump settings, the engine needs to acclimate to the new boost, for a smooth operation, I would just up the settings one at a time.

[m12volt]

I contacted Racechip support and the settings they recommend were not "one at a time" at all.
After deafault E0 they suggested to try E2 and then B1 , where is the logic here ?

[Kzang]

Originally Posted by m12volt

I contacted Racechip support and the settings they recommend were not "one at a time" at all.
After deafault E0 they suggested to try E2 and then B1 , where is the logic here ?

I'm not sure.. Diesel dials are different than gas versions of the chip because Diesels use both dials while the gas version uses one.
Hopefully, someone else with Diesel experience will chime in.

[Trojanlaw]

have had mine for two years now. The biggest difference comes from 03. It does make the engine a bot louder. Second best setting is F3 which is much smoother but not as fun. This is for the 35d.

[DarksideM4]

Picking up a X5 35i shortly, so is Racechip better than JB4 stage 1? Not doing DPs or anything else crazy. Just want a little more HP over stock and easily removal. I have JB4 in stage3 for my M4 for last 25k miles so very familiar and happy with it. Just wanted to get opinions from the F15 owners.

[r33_RGSport]

Originally Posted by DarksideM4

Picking up a X5 35i shortly, so is Racechip better than JB4 stage 1? Not doing DPs or anything else crazy. Just want a little more HP over stock and easily removal. I have JB4 in stage3 for my M4 for last 25k miles so very familiar and happy with it. Just wanted to get opinions from the F15 owners.

Here are a comparison between the two.

Power gain wise, both are about the same. Just the RaceChip Ultimate is as easy as opening up the box and change the dial. While the BMS Stage 1, you need to connect the USB cable, turn on your computer, and change the setting.

Quality wise, RaceChip have weather proof casing and comes with dummy plug where you can just use it instead of removing the whole harness.

Now, I just brought in a couple sets of the RaceChip Ultimate Connect, where it will allow you to change settings on the fly. If you want something simple and easy, this will be it.
The difference between the regular Ultimate and the Ultimate connect:
RaceChip Ultimate Connect setting are preset. Through the app, it will only allow you to change from preset setting of Efficiency, Sport, and Race.
Although, you can ask for custom setting through them if you want more kick and they will supply you with a new firmware.
Also, through the app, you can set it to bypass the module without using the dummy plug.
Lastly, it has a warm-up timer which will automatically disable the RaceChip until the engine is up to its operating temperature.
Oh, and it will update the firmware as needed via Bluetooth.

In my opinion, the RaceChip Ultimate Connect is good for you who doesn't want to deal with testing each settings by yourself or have others driving your car (such as; valet, any family member who can't handle the power gain, or during service).

[98PoleCat]

Originally Posted by Trojanlaw

have had mine for two years now. The biggest difference comes from 03. It does make the engine a bot louder. Second best setting is F3 which is much smoother but not as fun. This is for the 35d.

Is this true only for the RC ultimate, or does it also apply to the Pro2?

[najnad]

Does anyone here have experience with the VR Tuned Gearbox Tuning for BMW? Says it allows for more torque, among other things.

https://www.vividracing.com/catalog/...150786098.html

[r33_RGSport]

Originally Posted by 98PoleCat

Is this true only for the RC ultimate, or does it also apply to the Pro2?

Never tried Pro2. All of my customers are gone with the Ultimate version.

[m7mad]

Any one experienced issues with Charge pipe breaking off when running high boost. I had an X4 35i and after running JB+ for 1 month charge pipe blew off. Dont want this to happen to my X5.

[98PoleCat]

Originally Posted by r33_RGSport

Never tried Pro2. All of my customers are gone with the Ultimate version.

Ultimate seems to be the most common, but I got a great deal on a pro2, so I'm curious if anyone else knows if the same setting recommendations apply.

One other question: do 03 and F3 mean S2=0;S1=3 and S2=F;S1=3? Or is it the other way around (S1=0/F;S2=3)?

[M3-Mike]

I recently installed RC Ultimate in my 2016 X5 35d with the default E0 setting and it does add some fun for sure. No issues with CEL or anything else. Going to try E2 next as that seems to be what is recommended here.

When you guys talk about O3, is that a zero or the letter O? Sorry haven't looked inside the RC yet so not sure what the dials look like...

[M3-Mike]

Well just opened the RC Ultimate and went directly from E0 to 03. Holy f*** this thing is a rocket now.

Might dial it back to F3 as the power delivery is quite abrupt, but certainly fun launching from a stop light they way it is now. Think engine noise is a bit higher too as someone mentioned, but not to the point where it is bothersome. In theory S2 should only increase how far up into the RPM range the RC is effective, so one would think it shouldn't affect noise etc unless up in those higher RPMs?

[Glowin]

Originally Posted by Trojanlaw

Okay - originally I had just posted the performance levels published by RC for the F15. That said, it appears that the new manual page applies to all cars so here is what is says across the board. According to RC, your stock setting should show up on your invoice (I never received an invoice from DTMHaus) as "Ultimate(D[S2/S1])" I know that the stock setting for the 35d is E0 from talking with RC and others on this board.

If your stock setting is B1, DF or CE, the following apply:

Performance Level 1 - D1
Performance Level 2 - E2

So there is no confusion, these are all settings for S2/S1.

S2, according to RC, increases power by 1.5% each click mostly by increasing fuel.

S1 changes how long the performance increase is applied to rpm-range.
While there is a note in the RC guide that states that normally you will not need to adjust S1, as the chart above indicates, they do recommend increasing S1 as you increase S2 at a certain point, likely because the additional fuel allows for more efficient duration (this last sentence is my theory only).

.
.
.
.
.
I have a 2014 BMW X3 35 (gasoline) and I have a Racechip Ultimate tune and it originally came with setting B1.


But despite the above indicating for Performance level 2 I should increase S1 to 2, I have read in more than one place that we should NOT be adjusting the S1 dial, as it's only for diesel engines.

So I reached out to Racechip directly in Germany, who confirmed:

In petrol engines only dial S2 (Ultimate) has a function that's correct. Dial S1 can therefore permanently remain on "1".

There unfortunately is a typing mistake in the current manual this is why dial S1 is also change on the third performance level. This mistake will be fixed with the next print of the manuals.

For increasing the performance just increase dial S2 clockwise to higher positions: C, D, E etc.


On a separate topic, has anyone here upgraded their firmware using the micro USB port that's on the circuit board?
.

[najnad]

I asked last fall about updating the firmware via USB and was told by RaceChip that there was no update at that time.

[Glowin]

Originally Posted by najnad

I asked last fall about updating the firmware via USB and was told by RaceChip that there was no update at that time.

Even if there was, it's almost not doable. I just got a reply from them saying you can't do it yourself, it's supposed to be sent in for updates... Which year are they in? WTF does firmware updates nowadays by sending in devices?

You can't do any update on the RaceChip by yourself. Only we remap RaceChips if necessary.

[cobra006]

Hi Mike,

Are you still running F3 ? Are you happy with it ?
I've on E0 and thinking about going up a notch. I tried E2 but was not happy with it. I felt more power but the engine sounded rough. E0 has been trouble free and smooth.
Is F3 smooth ?

Originally Posted by M3-Mike

Well just opened the RC Ultimate and went directly from E0 to 03. Holy f*** this thing is a rocket now.

Might dial it back to F3 as the power delivery is quite abrupt, but certainly fun launching from a stop light they way it is now. Think engine noise is a bit higher too as someone mentioned, but not to the point where it is bothersome. In theory S2 should only increase how far up into the RPM range the RC is effective, so one would think it shouldn't affect noise etc unless up in those higher RPMs?

[hdAge]

Originally Posted by cobra006

Hi Mike,

Are you still running F3 ? Are you happy with it ?
I've on E0 and thinking about going up a notch. I tried E2 but was not happy with it. I felt more power but the engine sounded rough. E0 has been trouble free and smooth.
Is F3 smooth ?

I have been running E0 for about 6 weeks now and although the power was quite good, I have noticed a significant drop in fuel economy. I was getting 18mpg (combined). I spoke to Racechip and they have me trying EF now. Mine's a new X5 with about 1700 miles, so Maybe I'm yet to hit the break in period before I start to see 20+ mpg average I was hoping to see atleast 20 mpg.

[cobra006]

That's rather low. Although it is new and I would give it til at least 3000 to fully brake in. BTW I wouldn't run the racechip while it's still breaking in, but that's just my opinion.
What I have noticed is with the racechip I get on average 2 MPG better than stock. I've also found Chevron to run a slight better MPG than Shell.
With Chevron, I'm usually in the 23 - 25 mpg combined. With more highway it easily goes up to 26+. I also don't drive it that hard all the time.

Originally Posted by hdAge

I have been running E0 for about 6 weeks now and although the power was quite good, I have noticed a significant drop in fuel economy. I was getting 18mpg (combined). I spoke to Racechip and they have me trying EF now. Mine's a new X5 with about 1700 miles, so Maybe I'm yet to hit the break in period before I start to see 20+ mpg average I was hoping to see atleast 20 mpg.