Warning to those post 03/08 build 135i owners wanting to tune

[b1aze]

It depends on the Tech. How lucky are you feeling>? Why take the risk ?


IF I had a car with lots of mods... I would be doing all the services myself or have an indi shop - I trust do the work. The only time I would see a dealer would be when I needed to take the car in for warranty work(& then I would remove the mods).

My tech today said that he works almost exclusively on the N54 platform and sees no problem with a FMIC, catless DPs, even a tune. When it gets to Meth injection or NO2, he can't overlook them.

Anyone in the central mass area that wants a good reasonable tech, I'll get you his name and tech number to schedule directly with him.

[blownwtwinsies]

This thread makes me depressed.....guess I'll be stock for awhile

[Jmoney]

any information on this? i just got a 2012 135i and i want to get a tune from Active Autowerkes. will this tune stay recorded in the ECU?

[woahitsholland]

guys, guys, haha
just take it like a man and if something brakes on the car...... fix it!

[StormTrooper]

I bought my 09' 135 2 years ago today and love it to death. Found it hard not to mod the beast then after the first mod you want all of them. Long story short I have AR downpipes, Berk catback exhaust, AFE intake, and a short shift kit (through bmw though). All of these mods have yet to void my warranty and i have only 25k on her, don't know if the mechanics felt nice and didn't report it or it just passed right over there head.

Just set up my maps for COBB and having my car serviced next week to see what stuff i can still get out of my warranty. Hopefully my COBB will not be detected :/

[StormTrooper]

Originally Posted by Dackelone

It depends on the Tech. How lucky are you feeling>? Why take the risk ?


IF I had a car with lots of mods... I would be doing all the services myself or have an indi shop - I trust do the work. The only time I would see a dealer would be when I needed to take the car in for warranty work(& then I would remove the mods).

Very true, all depends on the tech. I have a friend with a lift so i used to take them off before service but got tired of doing so and one day just went in for service with her in beast mode. No voids

[Dackelone]

Originally Posted by Jmoney

any information on this? i just got a 2012 135i and i want to get a tune from Active Autowerkes. will this tune stay recorded in the ECU?

Yes.

Every time you flash the DME it keeps track of the flash count. Everytime BMW hooks the car up to their "mother pc" it records the flash count too. When they don't match up... they know. BMW's latest sw level also has anti-tuner features that make it harder for tunes to work on it.

Even if you had a piggy tune... the sw also records max boost and other dme data.

IF you get the new BMW sw anti-tune you will notice a more quieter engine at idle(less injector noise and mechanical sounds), much less throttle response but ultimate HP remains the same. The car really feels gutted with this sw update.

Dackel

[JZWBMW]

I have had mine in a few times and I put it back to stock before I take it in to the dealer. I have had customers do this too and not one word has been said so far. I am sure if they look for it, they can see the flash count and they can also see max boost levels and that will tell them its been tuned, but it does not seem like they are out to bust you for simple stg 1-3 stuff.

If you blew and engine, very rare, then they would probably dig in there and not cover it under warranty. Normal stuff should not be an issue in most cases.

John

[Trptguy]

Originally Posted by b1aze

My tech today said that he works almost exclusively on the N54 platform and sees no problem with a FMIC, catless DPs, even a tune. When it gets to Meth injection or NO2, he can't overlook them.

Anyone in the central mass area that wants a good reasonable tech, I'll get you his name and tech number to schedule directly with him.

Could you pm me his info?

[frcefed]

I just purchased a 2011 135i last weekend for my wife from a bmw dealership. It is a CPO car. Are the odds pretty good this car has the "anti-tune" software update in it? Other than a JB4 or COBB is there any way to switch to a different (possibly older version) tune w/o the "anti-tune"?

[Dackelone]

Originally Posted by frcefed

I just purchased a 2011 135i last weekend for my wife from a bmw dealership. It is a CPO car. Are the odds pretty good this car has the "anti-tune" software update in it? Other than a JB4 or COBB is there any way to switch to a different (possibly older version) tune w/o the "anti-tune"?

If you have BMW install the PPK(power performance kit) sw flash it would get rid of the lag from keeping the wastegates open off idle. Or you could go with another SW flash tune like Giac or Cobb.

[frcefed]

Originally Posted by Dackelone

If you have BMW install the PPK(power performance kit) sw flash it would get rid of the lag from keeping the wastegates open off idle. Or you could go with another SW flash tune like Giac or Cobb.

What does the PPK sw flash cost to have done at the dealer? Anyone know off hand?

I just looked up the Giac sw upgrade. Looks impressive. There's no price listed however. Is this a load on to the the factory ecu or is it a piggyback system like the JB4? Like I said, my only concern is warranty repairs being covered. And I've not yet felt out my local BMW dealerships to see if they're at all "mod friendly".

[vivanapoli806]

Originally Posted by frcefed

What does the PPK sw flash cost to have done at the dealer? Anyone know off hand?

I just looked up the Giac sw upgrade. Looks impressive. There's no price listed however. Is this a load on to the the factory ecu or is it a piggyback system like the JB4? Like I said, my only concern is warranty repairs being covered. And I've not yet felt out my local BMW dealerships to see if they're at all "mod friendly".

I went with cobb because I didn't want to have to mess with Ecu and it's easy to uninstall if I had to. My dealer is mod friendly so I have nothing to worry about. Best bang for ur buck is jb4 or find a used cobb on here. Search around for dealers in ur area for a mod friendly one

[Dackelone]

Originally Posted by frcefed

What does the PPK sw flash cost to have done at the dealer? Anyone know off hand?

I just looked up the Giac sw upgrade. Looks impressive. There's no price listed however. Is this a load on to the the factory ecu or is it a piggyback system like the JB4? Like I said, my only concern is warranty repairs being covered. And I've not yet felt out my local BMW dealerships to see if they're at all "mod friendly".

The PPK runs about $1K installed. Some have gotten it for free. Some have bought the "sw key code" for ~$700 and paid a local dealer an hour's labor to install the BMW PPK sw. PPK will only get you a marginal improvement in Hp. ~20 Hp.

Giac's sw flash - you have to take your car to them. Its not a piggy tune. That's an advantage if you ask me. Cobb is fairly popular bc you can revert back to your "stock" mapping. But every time your car is flashed, the DME/ECU records the flash number. So if down the road when you need something major done by BMW for warranty... they can find out. Both will get you an easy 80 Hp or more.

IF I were in the states... I think I would go with Giac. But over here in Germany I am quite happy with my German sw flash tune. Almost 50K miles and no trouble at all. Not even a engine check light in all that time. No one with those "other" piggy tunes can say that.

[darkrom]

Originally Posted by Dackelone

Not even a engine check light in all that time. No one with those "other" piggy tunes can say that.

I can say that easily with my JB4. Its been as reliable as the car was stock so far.

[Dackelone]

Originally Posted by darkrom

I can say that easily with my JB4. Its been as reliable as the car was stock so far.

I bet you have it set to "auto clear" your ECL codes. Not the case with a flash tune.