[peetee]

Hi F30 Forum,

Absolutely loving my 2017 F31 335d. It’s totally standing right now with the exception of ACS Springs which makes a fantastic difference to the ride and handling of the car. My only gripe with the car (I’m picky!) the car can occasionally hold onto gears a tad longer than normal especially at lower speeds. Car is perfectly fine mechanically.

So this got me thinking about the possibility of a gearbox remap. The xHP gearbox map I am led to believe is a more performance orientated remap and great for pushing on. The shift points are slightly higher with the gear changes being extremely quick. Doesn’t sound like xHP is for me.

The alternative is an Alpina gearbox map. The question is will the Alpina gearbox map have lower shift points then the stock flash and encourage the car to use more of its torque than revving out. Any experiences/ thoughts will be much welcome especially from those who have or have had the Alpina gearbox map already


Thanks

[Sasquartch]

I believe the Alpina gearbox has slightly different ratios so whilst it is possible to load the map you won't end up with an Alpina box.

Whether it's an improvement over what you have as standard is probably subjective.

[bishbosh]

Originally Posted by Sasquartch

I believe the Alpina gearbox has slightly different ratios so whilst it is possible to load the map you won't end up with an Alpina box.

Whether it's an improvement over what you have as standard is probably subjective.

I'm pretty sure it's the same gearbox, just a different map.

[Sasquartch]

Originally Posted by bishbosh

I'm pretty sure it's the same gearbox, just a different map.

The ratios are different, at least on 8th

[Eddamoo]

I had the Alpina map for some time. It definitely used lower RPM and was great for pottering about (so 95% of the time for me!).

I also liked that Sport Mode also shifted quite early and was more throttle dependant than the stock Sport map. I personally liked this, as you had the steering and throttle sensitivity without the engine revving like mad. You just had to move the Shifter to S to get a proper Sport mode. Some people may not like that however.

My main gripe with the Alpina map as the upshift RPM which was ~4800-5000RPM. If i wanted to overtake as fast as possible, i had to do the upshifting.

Ive since moved onto XHP and managed to tweak the map to be similar to the Alpina but also got the upshift RPM set. Unfortunately there is a drawback that Eco mode seems to ignore the shift settings (i like the coast mode living in a hilly area)

[peetee]

thanks all

[peetee]

Originally Posted by Eddamoo

I had the Alpina map for some time. It definitely used lower RPM and was great for pottering about (so 95% of the time for me!).

I also liked that Sport Mode also shifted quite early and was more throttle dependant than the stock Sport map. I personally liked this, as you had the steering and throttle sensitivity without the engine revving like mad. You just had to move the Shifter to S to get a proper Sport mode. Some people may not like that however.

My main gripe with the Alpina map as the upshift RPM which was ~4800-5000RPM. If i wanted to overtake as fast as possible, i had to do the upshifting.

Ive since moved onto XHP and managed to tweak the map to be similar to the Alpina but also got the upshift RPM set. Unfortunately there is a drawback that Eco mode seems to ignore the shift settings (i like the coast mode living in a hilly area)

Thanks for the reply , this is helpful. Thats a shame so looks like the map doesn't allow the engine to rev out to the 5.5k (i think this is the stock limit) rev limit. With the Alpina map does the eco pro mode still coast when lifting fully off the throttle?


Thanks

[Eddamoo]

Originally Posted by peetee

Thanks for the reply , this is helpful. Thats a shame so looks like the map doesn't allow the engine to rev out to the 5.5k (i think this is the stock limit) rev limit. With the Alpina map does the eco pro mode still coast when lifting fully off the throttle?


Thanks

Yeah the Alpina map is optimised for the power delivery of the Alpina's turbos.

A remapped 335d could well be perfect, as im sure you'd be starting to fall off 'the cliff' at around 4800. For my remapped 430d however, i need the shift points at 4300RPM to maintain the best power.

[t5pilot]

I had a mapped 335d x-drive & the Alpina transmission flash. It was excellent. It does shift sooner, and therefore utilises the torque more efficiently. Shift points are very much dependent on throttle use. Nice & steady, it will shift up at very low RPM. Press on, lots of throttle, it'll hold onto the gear & shift at redline.
It also makes the default 'sport' setting more useable, as it will shift into 8th on the motorway (for example), whereas the standard transmission in 'sport' will only go as far as 7th.
It's far cheaper than XHP and is genuine BMW software.

[bishbosh]

Originally Posted by Sasquartch

The ratios are different, at least on 8th

The shift points certainly are different. There may be a greater ratio spread depending on the model year but I can't find any transmission specific to the D3.

[SkyJawa]

Another here with the alpina map, been very pleased with it, it’s just a bit more slick than standard, I am remapped though.....

[MattOz]

The Alpina gearbox is identical, ratio wise. It's the calibration that's different.

[Ennoch]

Does the Alpina map stay in manual from using the paddles more readily than stock? I quite often want to use the paddles on back roads to hold for engine braking or keeping the car settled into corners but it reverts to D a little too readily for my tastes. This is probably quite hypothetical as I want to keep the warranty so unless Alpina is available through a dealer then it ain't really an option, but I am curious. It's not really a dig at the gearbox, I think it's pretty great, it's just that when I'm pushing on I want manual for control but it occasionally dives back into auto a bit too readily. And I don't want to stick it in sport with the shifter as I'd quite like to keep 8th...yeah, I'm fussy!

[Techno 9000]

Can't answer your query on the Alpina map, but your thoughts match mine (and several others who have posted on the subject over the years).

[peetee]

Gearbox Flash - update on the recent Alpina gearbox flash.

Prior to the flash I noticed the stock gearbox had shiftpoints of approx 1,800 to 2,000 rpm at approx. 10% throttle – this is a steady drive situation in flowing traffic. Often found myself on the shift up paddle to find the next gear to which the car would comfortably use torque to continue accelerating.

Now with the Alpina flash driving at approx. 10% throttle I am finding the shift points are approx. 1,400 to 1,800 – I’m well happy with the result. It suits the character of the car extremely well and is more of a pleasure to gently glide along in traffic. In both Eco Pro & Comfort the dash displays which gear is selected at all times i.e. D1, D2, D3, D4, D5, D6, D7, D8 - another well received feature.

Sport + mode with the car in full automatic the gear changes are a touch swifter than stock making the car superb when accelerating hard and going through the gears.

In manual paddle mode the shift up and shift down is also superb. It’s even quicker to respond and I didn’t even think the stock paddle response times were a problem. Furthermore, the coasting feature in Eco Pro mode is retained. I’ve not tried Launch Control yet but I’ve been assured this will continue to work as per normal.

Final thoughts are I am very pleased with the upgrade to the Alpina gearbox flash, I see it more of an OEM + modification and a half way house between stock and xHP with the xHP being a more performance-oriented gearbox flash.

[SantaEugence]

Originally Posted by peetee

Gearbox Flash - update on the recent Alpina gearbox flash.

Prior to the flash I noticed the stock gearbox had shiftpoints of approx 1,800 to 2,000 rpm at approx. 10% throttle – this is a steady drive situation in flowing traffic. Often found myself on the shift up paddle to find the next gear to which the car would comfortably use torque to continue accelerating.

Now with the Alpina flash driving at approx. 10% throttle I am finding the shift points are approx. 1,400 to 1,800 – I’m well happy with the result. It suits the character of the car extremely well and is more of a pleasure to gently glide along in traffic. In both Eco Pro & Comfort the dash displays which gear is selected at all times i.e. D1, D2, D3, D4, D5, D6, D7, D8 - another well received feature.

Sport + mode with the car in full automatic the gear changes are a touch swifter than stock making the car superb when accelerating hard and going through the gears.

In manual paddle mode the shift up and shift down is also superb. It’s even quicker to respond and I didn’t even think the stock paddle response times were a problem. Furthermore, the coasting feature in Eco Pro mode is retained. I’ve not tried Launch Control yet but I’ve been assured this will continue to work as per normal.

Final thoughts are I am very pleased with the upgrade to the Alpina gearbox flash, I see it more of an OEM + modification and a half way house between stock and xHP with the xHP being a more performance-oriented gearbox flash.

In Sport + with the pedal floored how do you find the upshift points?

[McBeemer]

Is there anybody in the Edinburgh area that can do the alpina gearbox flash?

[kmall10]

Does anybody know the price of the alpina map and xhp map?

Will be looki gvto get the alpina remotely done once I'm out of warranty but if the xhp is similar price I might just get that

[MattOz]

Originally Posted by Ennoch

Does the Alpina map stay in manual from using the paddles more readily than stock?

I was out in mine today and tried the manual mode without it being in Sport. It reverts to automatic after about 15-20 seconds if the paddle isn't used. Suspect that's the same as any other BMW. In Sport and manual, it'll obviously hold the gear indefinitely.

[peetee]

Originally Posted by SantaEugence

In Sport + with the pedal floored how do you find the upshift points?

Maximum load with gearbox in sport auto & car in sport + the shift points are 4,800. Full manual mode using the paddles the car can be revved out to 5,600 before shifting up. Hope this helps

[SkyJawa]

Originally Posted by kmall10

Does anybody know the price of the alpina map and xhp map?

Will be looki gvto get the alpina remotely done once I'm out of warranty but if the xhp is similar price I might just get that

Xhp is 300+ iirc, Alpina is free if you know what you are doing, plenty of posts on it, otherwise I think most charge either 60 or 90....

[SantaEugence]

Originally Posted by peetee

Maximum load with gearbox in sport auto & car in sport + the shift points are 4,800. Full manual mode using the paddles the car can be revved out to 5,600 before shifting up. Hope this helps

Hmm strange, on my mapped 30d it revs almost to redline on the Alpina map when in auto sport+ so annoying! Way past the useable torque on mine but always though it was because the 335d and Alpina is better slightly higher up the range