Quote:
Originally Posted by 631twentyeighteye
how exactly is the installation process? I'm horrible with wires. and how noticable is the difference? I was looking to use map 7 ideally.
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You can see detailed pictures of the installation on the BMS web site. I'm reasonably comfortable with tinkering, but it is NOT for the faint of heart.
You are literally pulling out the TCU (computer) that controls everything in the car, removing some wires from it, to go into the "mod chip unit" and then patch them back into the TCU. Obviously many people have done it, and it works, but if you are "horrible" with wires, I'd have a person who is good with wires do the job.
Read the instructions and look at the photos to see what I mean.
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In terms of results (on an automatic): The throttle mapping options make a very noticeable difference in pedal response and shift points on the automatic. Super fun to try out different mappings and see what you like (though it takes a few days of driving for all the learning components in the car to adjust to your new way of driving with each mapping change, so you can't just try them all in an afternoon and know for sure what it will be like). I found them very interesting. If you are the kind of person who gets annoyed with the default shift points, this let's you essentially try a few different set of shift points -- and settle on the settings that you like.
The power boost: I dunno. Especially in an automatic, hitting the shiftpoints in a way to maximize power and feel the difference definitely takes a bit of skill and practice. Clearly, the dyno results show an impact. Whether I have the skill to manually shift via paddles at the right places to get that extra power is another question. The throttle re-mapping is the biggest, obvious difference, and that DOES make it seem like it has more power at almost all driving speeds, so even if you aren't an expert shifter, you'll notice more precision/response.
You mention wanting just the power boost and not the throttle mapping, and that you have a manual transmission. Since I don't have a MT, I can't speak to how easy it is to hit the spots where the power boost kicks in. Perhaps some other owners of the mod can speak up about that.
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For me, I'm getting used to driving in sport mode, and using the paddles to keep me where I want to be in terms of RPMs and gear changes. It's more WORK to drive that way, but when I care about driving, it's worth it to be in control. And then when I'm sitting in stop-and-go traffic and don't want to think about driving, the car's default automatic settings, while suboptimal from a performance driving standpoint, are fine.