To Tune Or Not To Tune

[CT335xi]

Originally Posted by taseal

gotcha. still impressive. 400whp is close to 500 at the crank. amazing...

that's insane to be running 11s with just a tune.

I keep saying I regret not getting the x50i, but then drive home in the ecopro mde

Yeah I think it’s safe to say that Bmw is sandbagging about there claimed 445 crank hp on the 50i. I have dynoed many of my cars and know by there wheel hp is in line with the crank hp, but no way a car making 445 crank hp that’s awd and auto tranny going to put down 400 whp and the fact that this 5300 lb suv moves the way it does, something just doesn’t add up.

[Rotzy]

Originally Posted by taseal

I keep saying I regret not getting the x50i, but then drive home in the ecopro mde

If fuel economy is at all important to you then you made the right choice. The 50i is a monster, especially tuned, but it is very thirsty.

[FenixMike]

Originally Posted by taseal

Gotcha... Thanks! I will do my research there.

That being said, I understand it's just not boost, but host of other things. I've done turbo tuning myself with american V8s back in the day, some of that stuff is still in my head as far as maps go.

just amazing to pull 70hp from a tune s1 93 octane tune

Which software did you use? I've tuned over 500 domestic vehicles and I would regularly get 50-60 hp at the wheels on magnuson and whipple tunes without touching boost... with the heat where I'm from, I always tried to stay conservative in the boost side.

[anacondatp]

Originally Posted by taseal

ohhh. That would certainy sweeten the deal. How often do those come up? I'm not in a hurry. I gotta get a 2nd key first... and that thing is almost 500 bucks!!! what a ripoff!

tune will be next.

once in a while. im waiting for one myself. i used it last time to get my rear lip conversion and change exhaust round tips to square tips

[taseal]

Originally Posted by Rotzy

If fuel economy is at all important to you then you made the right choice. The 50i is a monster, especially tuned, but it is very thirsty.

It wasn't top 3 priority, but it was up there. This is the family car after all. I don't ever remember gunning the car it replaced ('15 pathfinder). Honestly this car stock is impressive to me... The V8 thing was a want. My wife couldn't care less and I'm happy with the decision... (but I am still googling the X50s and realizing I could have had one for like 3-4k more lol)

[taseal]

Originally Posted by FenixMike

Which software did you use? I've tuned over 500 domestic vehicles and I would regularly get 50-60 hp at the wheels on magnuson and whipple tunes without touching boost... with the heat where I'm from, I always tried to stay conservative in the boost side.

It has been a LOOONG time, I don't remember. (I wanna say HP tuners?)

I had 1997 Trans Am with a STS turbo (hence the name "ta"seal). It was one of those rear turbo setups. The engine was a forged 355... I don't remember what I was pushing, but I do remember getting a 10.9x on the track. It had a meth injection kit (used windshield water tank as reservoir), and low boost was 3-5 psi and high was 12-14psi or something. I think it was a T04 turbo.

[taseal]

Originally Posted by anacondatp

once in a while. im waiting for one myself. i used it last time to get my rear lip conversion and change exhaust round tips to square tips

See I also want that MPE as well, but it seems I will need to get the square tips along with the MPE... this is going to cost me too much. I have to remind myself that this is for my wife and not me. I have my own toy already, and I'm already looking to get a used convertible 4 next year to replace my everyday car ('17 malibu) lol

[on3eighteen]

Originally Posted by DuSh

The best advise would be to NOT rush right away and enjoy your 50i for first month or so - just to get an idea how it drives and what exactly you'll want to improve. Meanwhile you can read more info about various options and make a decision. I do understand you want to jump right away into tuning, but gathering more info first wouldn't hurt.
Piggybacks are relatively safe as they don't push it to extremes and have a couple dials/switches to make it less/more aggressive. Their strongest selling point is that you can be invisible to a dealer. Compared to flash tunes that offer more customization and/or power, but are hit and miss in terms of warranty. BM3 had issues when dealers could easily see some red flags, but then they were able to make the process so that it was again ''invisible'' that DME was flashed. However, lately there've been some reports that dealers still can see it. Bottom line is that no one will give you 100% guarantee that you will not have some warranty issues. Tuning is always a risk, just need to weigh in all pros and cons and decide for yourself.

Well, I didn't take your advice (but should have) :-). I just successfully flashed my ECU w/ BPC's Stage 1 and honestly it is borderline insane power. It snowed about 8" today of course so the roads are still wet but I took it for a quick spin & the power is crazy. If I gave the car to somebody & said do the BPC Stage 3 (or however high up it goes) tune & drove it, I'd believe it was Stage 3. I think you said it best when you said that now you're "content" w/ the power & can worry about other things like mods & aesthetics. I offered up to Bob @ BPC to help edit his installation instructions b/c some of it isn't clear. I just lived through it so each step is etched in my mind. I was SOOO nervous the ~20 minute flashing process would break, but all went well. I love that I will beat 98% of the cars around me & have them wondering what I did to my car or if their car somehow broke.

[on3eighteen]

Does anybody know why I can't find any info on my BPC tune any more? The guys who I bought it from & who helped build the coding file no longer reply to my email.

[Rotzy]

Originally Posted by on3eighteen

Does anybody know why I can't find any info on my BPC tune any more? The guys who I bought it from & who helped build the coding file no longer reply to my email.

I don't have the answer, but they are pretty active posters on Facebook. Perhaps you could try contacting them there?

[on3eighteen]

Bob left BPC, no longer offer the tune.

[CT335xi]

Originally Posted by on3eighteen

Bob left BPC, no longer offer the tune.

Just go BM3, everybody seems to like it and price wise it’s less then most for a flash tune.

[skoold2003]

Originally Posted by FenixMike

The flash is always safer (pending of course the flash is setup for your correct octane and vehicle/mods, but then using the incorrect flash doesn't really equate, so use a reputable company for the flash)... you can exceed maximums with a piggy back just the same, if not much easier as its user controlled, however piggy backs typically dont pull timing as needed for the extra boost, which is how pistons kick the bucket most of the time. Ive never had a knock issue with a flash tune, where as I often hear it with piggy backs, and sadly most dont know what to listen for, nor that often they are setup for 93 octane and not 91.


that doesn't make it any more or less safe, that is just a byproduct of a tune. Just as they can see the "digital footprint", they can also see parameters exceeded from using a piggy back. Six one, half dozen other...


Thats just silly. The ESS tunes automatically adjust for octane, so when you use race fuel or pump, it will add or subtract timing as needed. The piggy backs cannot do that, so you will have to manually increase for better fuel at the track, and manually decrease on the street for octane. Ive run E85 in most of my cars (injectors permitting) with the ESS flash as well, and it picks up power every time.


that isn't a good thing at all. Limp mode MAY save you from detonation or a catastrophic failure if youre lucky, or it may permanently cause failures at which your dealer won't cover, even if you remove the piggy back. There is no "safe" limit to what a piggy back does... If you believe you can't blow a BMW up with a piggy back, ive got some ocean front property here in New Mexico to sell you.


Ive worked with a few engineers at various aftermarket companies... most piggy backs are built with the cheapest of components using old technology to cut costs. While I won't disclose the companies involved in the testing, I can tell you that I wouldnt trust many of those devices on my vehicle due to the cheap components inside, and as many have seen on here, failures of them and damage caused to factory components (no names to be mentioned, but im sure there are plenty of threads on here).

I was glad to find this thread because I was going to post my own talking about the safety of tuning our 50i's. I just put the BM3 stage 1 91 on mine and I like it but don't want to hurt my baby. There's a couple of posts on this forum..

https://f15.bimmerpost.com/forums/sh...1665231&page=2

discussing the risks associated with too much torque but I didn't want to jack that thread to continue the topic. Do you think Flash tunes put us at risk for these failures?

[pennsiveguy]

Originally Posted by skoold2003

Do you think Flash tunes put us at risk for these failures?

Pushing something harder is always going to put more stress on it. Pounding a 16d framing nail is harder on a hammer than driving a tack. The question is, with our tunes are we using 60% of the maximum safe power capacity? Or 90%? Or 98%? It's unknown. We could start a GoFundMe campaign to raise a bunch of $ to buy 100 N63TU motors, then flash tunes on them and torture them 'til they blew, to see how long they lasted. Short of that, I don't think we'll ever really know. I love the huge power mine makes, and I'm willing to roll the dice on durability and my warranty coverage. Each of us has to decide this for him or herself.

[Picasso]

Originally Posted by pennsiveguy

Pushing something harder is always going to put more stress on it. Pounding a 16d framing nail is harder on a hammer than driving a tack. The question is, with our tunes are we using 60% of the maximum safe power capacity? Or 90%? Or 98%? It's unknown. We could start a GoFundMe campaign to raise a bunch of $ to buy 100 N63TU motors, then flash tunes on them and torture them 'til they blew, to see how long they lasted. Short of that, I don't think we'll ever really know. I love the huge power mine makes, and I'm willing to roll the dice on durability and my warranty coverage. Each of us has to decide this for him or herself.

Exactly.
That's really good 0-60! What tune? What's your 1/4 mile?

There are dozens of n63tu and s63tu that are dead due to bent rods. Almost every tuner by now knows that n63tu/s63tu torque limit when rods start to bent is close to 700. There is actually plenty of info available for those who is interested in builds and tunes. I was a frequent *********** forum member, a lot of info there, and many tuners and enthusiasts do have first hand experience with n63tu/s63tu, including "blown" engines, various builds, testing the limits etc. If I have to guess, on Stage 1 tune you are already past safe limits, let alone Stage1+ or Stage 2.

[corduroy]

I'm definitely in the minority here, lol, but does anyone know of anything for the N20 on the xDrive40e? I appreciate the fuel economy but wouldn't mind a little extra oomph when I'm using gas.

[Picasso]

Originally Posted by corduroy

I'm definitely in the minority here, lol, but does anyone know of anything for the N20 on the xDrive40e? I appreciate the fuel economy but wouldn't mind a little extra oomph when I'm using gas.

I would just go piggyback route for 40e, will give you a bit of boost and IMHO is less detectable for warranty reasons. Shop around, there are plenty of sellers willing to take money, including some members on this forum who are basically vendors.