[Jmaster172]

Hi I have a bmw 335i 2014 and I wanted to start tuning it myself im looking for any advise on how to get started. I also wanted to know what cables/software is best to start with.

[harkes]

Then I suggest you start by buying bootmod3. Beyond that I cannot help.

[bricemw]

mhd and the wifi adapter

upgrade your charge pipe tho and if you can your intercooler as well before tuning

[arekuf3x]

1+ for mhd, easy to use, ots tunes are safe.

[designatedposter]

are you looking to actually do your own custom tune (modify up to hundreds of parameters), or do you just mean you want to load up an off-the-shelf tune onto car yourself?

if the former, then bm3 does have a built in editor for you to do that, whereas MHD requires additional software to do custom tune.

[F87source]

+1

Get bm3, it has a FANTASTIC built in table editor with alot of super nice features like a table name search and all of the tables predefined. With MHD you'll need to use something like winols or tuner pro, and then you'll also need to define the ECU tables and validate them yourself (get a damos has all the tables, or use the publicly available xdf files - which is still missing alot of tables vs. bm3). Me personally I love the bm3 approach, and I just switched from mhd to bm3.

[SlumpLord3000]

I bought a BMW just because of BM3.

[F87source]

Originally Posted by SlumpLord3000

I bought a BMW just because of BM3.

That's quite a statement haha, but glad you like bm3!

[Jmaster172]

Thank you for all the feed back I decided to go with mhd tune with a wifi adapter works great.

Mods I have installed are Cts tubro intake, downpipe, and charge pipe thinking about getting intercooler soon for the summer.

[harkes]

Originally Posted by Jmaster172

Thank you for all the feed back I decided to go with mhd tune with a wifi adapter works great.

Mods I have installed are Cts tubro intake, downpipe, and charge pipe thinking about getting intercooler soon for the summer.

So not going to tune it yourself..? Or you just meant that you wanted a OBD/DIY tune?

[mike@x-ph.com]

I find it interesting how everyone's immediate reaction is to recommend the tune they use.

What caught my attention is that the original poster (OP) wants to tune it themselves.

In this case, the actual tuner used makes little to no difference. The important question is whether the OP has enough knowledge to tune these cars without catastrophic consequences and whether their map is better than the off-the-shelf maps.

OP,
unless you are a seasoned tuner, I don't recommend playing with the DME tables. The results might not be pretty. Stick to using off-the-shelf maps, or invest in a custom map.

That's my opinion, but I wish you the best of luck either way.

[thejeremyman9]

Originally Posted by Jmaster172

Thank you for all the feed back I decided to go with mhd tune with a wifi adapter works great.

Mods I have installed are Cts tubro intake, downpipe, and charge pipe thinking about getting intercooler soon for the summer.

You should have an IC before you flash any tune, and definitely before going above stage 1.

[designatedposter]

Originally Posted by mike@x-ph.com

I find it interesting how everyone's immediate reaction is to recommend the tune they use.

What caught my attention is that the original poster (OP) wants to tune it themselves.

In this case, the actual tuner used makes little to no difference. The important question is whether the OP has enough knowledge to tune these cars without catastrophic consequences and whether their map is better than the off-the-shelf maps.

OP,
unless you are a seasoned tuner, I don't recommend playing with the DME tables. The results might not be pretty. Stick to using off-the-shelf maps, or invest in a custom map.

That's my opinion, but I wish you the best of luck either way.

why discourage self tuning? most tooners are just schmucks changing a few values in a few key tables. be your own schmuck.

p.s. i agree the OTS tunes are good, but let's start building the DIY tune community. it's non-existent. the bm3 tuning group on facebook gets 1 post every 3 months.

[harkes]

Originally Posted by designatedposter

why discourage self tuning? most tooners are just schmucks changing a few values in a few key tables. be your own schmuck.

p.s. i agree the OTS tunes are good, but let's start building the DIY tune community. it's non-existent. the bm3 tuning group on facebook gets 1 post every 3 months.

In general I support this idea. However, tuning these modern ECUs is not exactly like an OMEX500 with 1 map for timing, 1 for fuel and a few other tables for warmup and acceleration enrichment. There are (as we have found out) thousands of tables!!!

[designatedposter]

For those not aware, Halim (the tuner for bm3 ots tunes) has written a guide for tuning n55. He has freely distributed it on the fb group.

[AmuroRay]

Originally Posted by designatedposter

For those not aware, Halim (the tuner for bm3 ots tunes) has written a guide for tuning n55. He has freely distributed it on the fb group.

I don't have FB, can you post it here?

[mike@x-ph.com]

Originally Posted by designatedposter

why discourage self tuning? most tooners are just schmucks changing a few values in a few key tables. be your own schmuck.

p.s. i agree the OTS tunes are good, but let's start building the DIY tune community. it's non-existent. the bm3 tuning group on facebook gets 1 post every 3 months.

I discourage self-tuning because it can lead to catastrophic consequences.

while I agree with you are there are a lot of tooners, we still have a handful of excellent tuners.

In my opinion, either invest in a tune from a proven tuner or stick to the off-the-shelf maps.

[F87source]

Originally Posted by designatedposter

why discourage self tuning? most tooners are just schmucks changing a few values in a few key tables. be your own schmuck.

p.s. i agree the OTS tunes are good, but let's start building the DIY tune community. it's non-existent. the bm3 tuning group on facebook gets 1 post every 3 months.

Not exactly, tuning isn't as simple as modifying tables. You have to be able to understand trends, be able to interpret data logs in order to make changes, and understand which tables to make changes to. And on these modern day cars it isn't just one table, there are multiple (tens even 20's) tables that are interconnected all to do certain things. For example torque limit tables there are multiple tables for different conditions, and they also tie into limp mode tables, temperature and fuel tables etc. It is not exactly one or two tables like the past, and these tables are also 3 diamensional which makes tuning that much more challenging.


Having BM3 makes it easier for the tuner, because all of the tables are defined right there for you - and in a neat and tidy table editor (which also happens to be superb!). With MHD it is a little more difficult because you have to load a public XDF into a table editor like tuner pro, and if the table you want to edit isn't there then you will have to buy a DAMOS file and manually define the tables yourself which is suoer labor intensive.


While I support the notion of self tuning, it isn't remotely as simple as you make it out to be. Even anjuna who has a very high level of experience tearing apart DAMOS files to build XDF's admits he isn't the best at tuning, and that it takes a certain set of skills to tune the car properly: https://www.e90post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1693922


Like I said before, you need the experience of tuning hundreds and hundreds of vehicles to get an idea of how to feel what tables to modify based on the logs that one may observe from a car. This is not easy, and aimless trial and error will cause engine failure.

Originally Posted by harkes

In general I support this idea. However, tuning these modern ECUs is not exactly like an OMEX500 with 1 map for timing, 1 for fuel and a few other tables for warmup and acceleration enrichment. There are (as we have found out) thousands of tables!!!

+1

BM3 has 5158 tables for the OG m2.

Originally Posted by designatedposter

For those not aware, Halim (the tuner for bm3 ots tunes) has written a guide for tuning n55. He has freely distributed it on the fb group.

The guide is good, but not comprehensive enough to just start tuning right off the bat (i.e. go from zero tuning experience to becoming a tuner, I think it is more meant for someone who has tuning experience on other platforms to transition to the F series bmw n55). Like I said, experience is the key differentiator. You need to know what each table does like the back of your hand.

[F87source]

Edit: BM3's map editor has 5158 tables for the OG m2, I just checked on my BM3 table editor, and my m2's stock rom.

[SlumpLord3000]

Originally Posted by F87source

That's quite a statement haha, but glad you like bm3!

I'm serious, in 2019 I wanted to get another car after putting 100k on my 2010 Lancer GTS(150k miles on it), all Evos, Ralliarts look abused. I looked at Audi S3, needed ARP shop to tune. TTS 2016+ was too expensive. 370Z Nismo doesn't have a turbo, can't get good power without a turbo kit. Maserati Ghibli is too heavy and not enough forum support. Friend with an M 435i convinced me to take a look at BMW. I looked at forums and found BM3 with OTS maps and constant updates & logging. I saw a cheap 335i with 27k miles, and I bought it without even test driving it.

Later I found XHP for trans, Bimmercode app. Sound system sucked so I picked up BMW Match Up 7 amp(Off ebay for $650) and found F30 profile on this forum. All my electronics are "custom".

[F87source]

Originally Posted by SlumpLord3000

I'm serious, in 2019 I wanted to get another car after putting 100k on my 2010 Lancer GTS(150k miles on it), all Evos, Ralliarts look abused. I looked at Audi S3, needed ARP shop to tune. TTS 2016+ was too expensive. 370Z Nismo doesn't have a turbo, can't get good power without a turbo kit. Maserati Ghibli is too heavy and not enough forum support. Friend with an M 435i convinced me to take a look at BMW. I looked at forums and found BM3 with OTS maps and constant updates & logging. I saw a cheap 335i with 27k miles, and I bought it without even test driving it.

Later I found XHP for trans, Bimmercode app. Sound system sucked so I picked up BMW Match Up 7 amp(Off ebay for $650) and found F30 profile on this forum. All my electronics are "custom".

Yeah I see where you are coming from, I had an evo x and multiple sti's in the past as well. I was super tired of the jdm tuning style where every single mod required required a $800 protune.

Bimmercode is ok, but protool is better because it has access to all the ecus in the car it's literally a mobile esys . Here's my protool review: https://f87.bimmerpost.com/forums/sh....php?t=2003707

[AmuroRay]

I've heard the BM3 doesn't have the files to do valvetronic lift modification, like the MILVS, so there is that.