[terminator335i]

Originally Posted by Mountain_Commando

Looking good termy.

My mods are quite similar to yours. I'm on the exact same page as you on the Racechip, with regards to bang for the buck and ease of installation. I was able to crank up the settings on mine all the way to F2 (from stock B1) and it became a totally different car.

Did you experience any issues in getting the downpipe to play well with the Racechip? In my case, once I installed the BMS Intake and a catless downpipe, the car is VERY jerky with the Racechip engaged. The only solution has been to lower the settings all the way back down to B1, and even then the car drives jerky whilst cold.

I talked to RC and they said that a true solution would have to be an ECU tune. The upside of RC, i.e. ease of installation due to only 2 sensors, can be a downside when you start adding bolt on's.

The RC I had was a while back (u just reminded me coz it's sitting in a box somewhere in my garage - you could've got it from me )
The max I went on it was "D" with all my bolt on. You certainly noticed the difference but it isn't as smooth as a flash tune and it also felt laggy to accelerate at times. Unfortunately it does throw a cel (due to DP upgrade) and doesn't clear it. I bought a dongle for $5 and a free app that clears it but keeps coming back after a while. Totally agree that it is bang for buck and very easy install with 2 sensors like u said (MAP and TMAP sensor) and without the DP it didn't throw a cel.
If you are going to increase the setting, do it slowly one notch up at a time, as these PB tunes require the car to adapt to it.
But I highly recommend a Bench Flash Tune if you are going to keep the car for long.

[terminator335i]

Ooh and also mountain commando, NEVER EVER go full WOT and floor it with any PB tune UNTIL the car is properly warmed up (temp gauge at least 1/4 to 1/2 of max). In my early days of having the RC, my car was still cold as I left work and only drove it for a few minutes before getting onto the freeway, and as I entered and I punched the pedal, car had a huge "THUD" and went straight to limp mode (couldn't go above 80km/hr) had to pull over and restart it before it went back to normal driving.
Once properly warmed up (which could take up to 20mins of driving from cold start) it doesn't happen.

[Mountain_Commando]

Originally Posted by terminator335i

The RC I had was a while back (u just reminded me coz it's sitting in a box somewhere in my garage - you could've got it from me )
The max I went on it was "D" with all my bolt on. You certainly noticed the difference but it isn't as smooth as a flash tune and it also felt laggy to accelerate at times. Unfortunately it does throw a cel (due to DP upgrade) and doesn't clear it. I bought a dongle for $5 and a free app that clears it but keeps coming back after a while. Totally agree that it is bang for buck and very easy install with 2 sensors like u said (MAP and TMAP sensor) and without the DP it didn't throw a cel.
If you are going to increase the setting, do it slowly one notch up at a time, as these PB tunes require the car to adapt to it.
But I highly recommend a Bench Flash Tune if you are going to keep the car for long.

Yes I'm definitely getting a flash tune. Eagerly awaiting the MHD for N55 F-series, which should be a fraction of the cost of a shop tune.

The RC itself had transformed my car and made it SO much more fun (some of which I've lost since adding the bolt-on's which don't play well with the RC, hence my thirst for the flash tune). I can only imagine how much better a proper ECU tune would be .

Originally Posted by terminator335i

Ooh and also mountain commando, NEVER EVER go full WOT and floor it with any PB tune UNTIL the car is properly warmed up (temp gauge at least 1/4 to 1/2 of max). In my early days of having the RC, my car was still cold as I left work and only drove it for a few minutes before getting onto the freeway, and as I entered and I punched the pedal, car had a huge "THUD" and went straight to limp mode (couldn't go above 80km/hr) had to pull over and restart it before it went back to normal driving.
Once properly warmed up (which could take up to 20mins of driving from cold start) it doesn't happen.

I hear you. Pre-bolt on's I never faced an issue, but now the car goes near limp anytime I floor it while cold. Thus I just keep the RC disconnected (via the supplied 'inactive' plug) whilst cold, and will pull over to plug it back in only once it's warm. Annoying, but I can live with it till i get the flash tune.

[terminator335i]

Originally Posted by Mountain_Commando

Yes I'm definitely getting a flash tune. Eagerly awaiting the MHD for N55 F-series, which should be a fraction of the cost of a shop tune.

I can only imagine how much better a proper ECU tune would be .

.

Yep, many folks are anxiously waiting for MHD for N55 F-series.
They are very well known in the E-series (Pre 2012) and have been well established with n54 and early n55.
However, please be aware that "currently ALL F-SERIES" carry a completely different ECU to the E-Series and cannot be tuned via OBD Port directly.
You MUST do a Bench Flash first via removing the DME from under the Manifold and unlock it. Here's a link to a thread on removing it:
removing DME for n55 f-series

MHD has also expressed this, and cannot be flashed tuned without a bench flash first.

I'm sure there are a few tuning workshops around that can do a DME removal and unlock it but wonder what price???

BM3 (Canadian based) have mentioned that they can flash tune it if you remove your DME and send it to them with a turn around of 1-2 weeks.

Yes a proper ECU tune will definitely waken the car up and make it run like a true Factory Performance Package upgrade!!!

[Mountain_Commando]

Originally Posted by terminator335i

Yep, many folks are anxiously waiting for MHD for N55 F-series.
They are very well known in the E-series (Pre 2012) and have been well established with n54 and early n55.
However, please be aware that "currently ALL F-SERIES" carry a completely different ECU to the E-Series and cannot be tuned via OBD Port directly.
You MUST do a Bench Flash first via removing the DME from under the Manifold and unlock it. Here's a link to a thread on removing it:
removing DME for n55 f-series

MHD has also expressed this, and cannot be flashed tuned without a bench flash first.

I'm sure there are a few tuning workshops around that can do a DME removal and unlock it but wonder what price???

BM3 (Canadian based) have mentioned that they can flash tune it if you remove your DME and send it to them with a turn around of 1-2 weeks.

Yes a proper ECU tune will definitely waken the car up and make it run like a true Factory Performance Package upgrade!!!

I understood it to be likely though not certain that MHD's F-series N55 flash requires a bench DME unlock. Reason being that MHD knows their customer base will dwindle to a fraction if the the cumbersome bench unlock was a mandatory prerequisite.

The purpose of the bench unlock is to physically bypass the firmware encryption. This is done by soldering in electronic components to either bypass the encryption module or to integrate the OBD bus with the ECU module.

Many prospective customers are speculating (or perhaps naively hoping) that the encryption can be broken via a purely software route (as was done on the E series N55 DME). I guess we'll see.

I contacted a couple of shops around Melbourne to get an idea on shop tune prices. One quoted me $1450 for a full tune-up (taking half a day), and the other quoted me $1000 just for the DME unlock.

Since I'm set on getting the tune, I think I'll get a shop unlock (if needed) + MHD tune so that I can make adjustments and change maps at will, which won't be possible with a shop tune.

[terminator335i]

Oooooh I stand corrected.
Looks like there is now direct OBD flashing!!!
Yay!
This was always in the process and rumours were floating around to when for the last few years but I couldn't wait so had my car benched flashed. So for all the other guys out there, patience is a virtue....

I'm hoping that the tune works really well and if any of you guys do it, please post up your thoughts and feedback.

[Mountain_Commando]

Originally Posted by terminator335i

Oooooh I stand corrected.
Looks like there is now direct OBD flashing!!!
Yay!
This was always in the process and rumours were floating around to when for the last few years but I couldn't wait so had my car benched flashed. So for all the other guys out there, patience is a virtue....

I'm hoping that the tune works really well and if any of you guys do it, please post up your thoughts and feedback.

So far, the solution looks like a modified ENET cable, so it's a hardware hack and probably has an associated one-time decryption flash.

Cost is 1900 euros, though that will surely come down, and the target customers are tuning shops, not individual bimmer owners. So hopefully a local shop in Melbourne picks it up, and offers unlocks for a nominal price ($200-$300 would be fair).

Also eagerly awaiting for the MHD tune.

Did you get a custom tune from a shop, or did you do bootmod3?

[terminator335i]

Originally Posted by Mountain_Commando

So far, the solution looks like a modified ENET cable, so it's a hardware hack and probably has an associated one-time decryption flash.

Cost is 1900 euros, though that will surely come down, and the target customers are tuning shops, not individual bimmer owners. So hopefully a local shop in Melbourne picks it up, and offers unlocks for a nominal price ($200-$300 would be fair).

Also eagerly awaiting for the MHD tune.

Did you get a custom tune from a shop, or did you do bootmod3?

Because its early days, prices are overinflated (to recoup their costs in developing it over the years) but as they gradually sell the license fee off to every tuning shop around the world, the hefty price tag should come down.
Im sure there arent many Aussie owners who would want to jump in on it straight away just yet (There will be a few test pilots and feedback from overseas users)

Mine isnt Bm3. Its PP-Performance tune (German tuning company with head office in Abu Dabi). Proper Dyno tuned where they tested it over a couple of days at the workshop (car was left there) to ensure it was running consistent, AFR was proper and wasnt running too lean. They look at the Lamda values on the dyno. They didnt hand the car back to me until they were happy.

[Mountain_Commando]

Originally Posted by terminator335i

Because its early days, prices are overinflated (to recoup their costs in developing it over the years) but as they gradually sell the license fee off to every tuning shop around the world, the hefty price tag should come down.
Im sure there arent many Aussie owners who would want to jump in on it straight away just yet (There will be a few test pilots and feedback from overseas users)

Mine isnt Bm3. Its PP-Performance tune (German tuning company with head office in Abu Dabi). Proper Dyno tuned where they tested it over a couple of days at the workshop (car was left there) to ensure it was running consistent, AFR was proper and wasnt running too lean. They look at the Lamda values on the dyno. They didnt hand the car back to me until they were happy.

Neat. You probably have as good a custom tune as you could get. Though you could go further and fine tune if you want with bm3 or the upcoming MHD flash.