UPDATE: Fault codes (Post#5) [Traction and power on a standard 135i]

[Kkuba]

Hi Guys,

So, I have had a few questions pop up recently (I always put them off until I get too many, and then combine them into one thread - sorry for the block of text).

I have searched, and found some answers, but I am looking for answers specific to the ADM and our roads etc.

All questions relate to a 2008 135i MT, no modifications.

First of all, can anyone confirm if our cars come with a torque limiting feature for first and/or second gear? I have read this somewhere, but difficult to find a definitive answer. And what is the justification, is it simply to protect the transmission?

Secondly, will a generic/universal error code reader read codes from our cars? As, about 6 weeks ago, I had a CEL appear when I tried to WOT, car idled very rough. After cycling the ignition, it didn't reappear, ever since. But last week I ran an error code check with my friends tuning tool (for his FPV F6 Typoon), which reads codes, and it came back empty.

Three possibilities I can see here.
1. A universal reader does not/may not work on our cars
2. Not every CEL event triggers a fault code (unlikely I would think)
3. Fault codes clear after a certain time (even less likely than [2] I would think).

The reason I ran this check was because I feel like the car has become slower over my months of owning it. I know one can 'get used' to the power/acceleration, but I feel I am well enough experienced to recognise and differentiate this.

Also, I took my best friend for a spin (also a fast car person) soon after I got it, and he was blow away. Then fast forward to 5 months later, he has not been in the car since that first day, I asked him to drive it, so I could experience the car as a passenger, which usually makes the car *feel* faster ( I remember this distinctly in my old car, as well as other cars I have driven). It almost felt slower, and about as fast as my old car (standard Nissan 180SX). As the driver, my friend was also underwhelmed, this part surprised me, given how he was blow away 5 months earlier.

Furthermore, I was reading about the torque limiting in first gear on another forum, and if there was any way to remove it. One response was "why would you want to, our cars already don't have enough grip in first gear, what difference would it make" or something to that effect. That says to me that (even excluding a clutch dump scenario) the rears on a 135 will not have enough traction to contain the torque in standard trim. My car seems to have FAR more traction than what the engine puts out. Dry conditions, straight line, without manipulating the clutch, my car will not break traction.

Possibilities:
1. Different tyres (mine are OEM and newish - sticky) - however, there seemed to be a consensus on the forums, or at least no disagreement, with the comment, indicating possibly that it wasn't limited to one person with crappy tyres.
2. Different roads (this story have come from overseas)
3. There is indeed an issue with my car, and it SHOULD spin up first gear.

What is everyone else's experience with traction?

Also, for the last month or two, most times when I switch the car on, it gives me a yellow low coolant alert. I guess this shouldn't throw any codes, or de-tune the engine to protect it.

I want to get this nutted out, as I want a JB4, because, as I said the car feels a bit slow now, but I don't want to be modifying if I have some underlying issues.

Thanks for taking the time to read this any help would be appreciated.

Thanks in advance guys.

[sparoz]

Stock 135i doesn't spin up the wheels. Stock 1M doesn't even spin up the wheels. If you want a car that does that, get a Falcon Ute. Or a Mercedes.

If you really feel that it is slowly - you can reset the timing to see if it makes any difference.

JB4 is cheaper and you can do more, but reliability is definitely better with a flash. Cobb would be the pick.

Any concerns, take your car to Andrew at SouthernBM and he can sort you out.

[Kkuba]

Originally Posted by sparoz

Stock 135i doesn't spin up the wheels. Stock 1M doesn't even spin up the wheels. If you want a car that does that, get a Falcon Ute. Or a Mercedes.

If you really feel that it is slowly - you can reset the timing to see if it makes any difference.

JB4 is cheaper and you can do more, but reliability is definitely better with a flash. Cobb would be the pick.

Any concerns, take your car to Andrew at SouthernBM and he can sort you out.

Thanks for your response.

Just a clarification,

Stock 135i doesn't spin up the wheels

are you basing that on the fact that the 1M doesn't? Because one might argue that with the M3 rear end, wider wheels, and I would guess, stickier tyres, that it is not an accurate conclusion.

Also, I am very confused if I should get the flash or JB4, any links to comparisons?

Can anyone else shed any light on the torque limiting and also the universal diagnostics tool?

[sparoz]

Originally Posted by Kkuba

Thanks for your response.

Just a clarification, are you basing that on the fact that the 1M doesn't? Because one might argue that with the M3 rear end, wider wheels, and I would guess, stickier tyres, that it is not an accurate conclusion.

Also, I am very confused if I should get the flash or JB4, any links to comparisons?

Can anyone else shed any light on the torque limiting and also the universal diagnostics tool?

I had a 135i before the 1M.

Re flash vs JB4 - it is a matter of opinion. Plenty of discussion in the forum previously.

Try to see if someone has a BT in Victoria can read it.

[Kkuba]

Hi all,

Apologies in advance for the oversized photos.

So I borrowed a friend's diagnostics tool, which he bought to use on his 118i, and am struggling to make sense of it. I would speak to him but he is too busy for the next couple of months to meet up, and this isn't really a discussion to be had over text message.

It seems to have two (among many) modes: Fault Codes and Auto Scan.

They both seem to do different things. Photos numbered for easy reference.

Fault codes list gave me this:

1.


Only thing I can think of is soon after I bought it, one of the angel eye globes blew, replaced it the day after the notification appeared in my instrument cluster.

Then, Auto Scan gave me these:

2.


3.


4.


Not sure sure what the rest of these mean.

Points to consider:

a. Which of these could relate to the CEL that appeared a couple of months ago.
b. If none of these apply to (a.), then is it possible that no fault code was logged for the CEL event?
c. Car was running low on coolant (notification at start up) at time of scan, filled it last night, have not run a scan since.

I don't want to clear fault codes just yet, because the CEL event was a once off only, so I don't want to be getting rid of information that might be pointing to a potential future issue.

Thanks in advance guys.

[7smurfs]

Get your car to Steven @ active motorwerkes and get a scan for BMW codes.

Then you can tell exactly what the CEL was brought up for.
Could have been a phantom misfire if it hasn't occurred again

[fontana302]

None of those are to do with a CEL. Car access system & footwell for example.

[Dackelone]

Originally Posted by racer_x

I am no expert but I imagine that the CEL code maps for the 118 are different to the N54 codes and you're just seeing N54 errors translated to "English" using the wrong map.

Go to a proper workshop and all mysteries will be revealed.

RE: Flash vs. JB4

I think it comes to personal taste. The JB4 can be switched on the fly. Cobb etc can't.

RE: 1st Gear torque limiter.

I had the same question when I first bought my car.

I was told that it feels this way because 1st gear is such a big ratio. With a bit more power, you really do feel a kick in the back when the second turbo comes on song @ 4,500 RPM... Mind you, it's all over by about 6,000 RPM so it's not there for very long before you are grabbing 2nd.

The N54 has two turbos of the SAME SIZE. They both come to full boost at 1,800 rpms. They are NOT sequential turbos like a 959.

CORRECTION

According to this thread: http://www.babybmw.net/viewtopic.php?f=11&t=40535

It does look like 1st and 2nd gear are torque limited on MT cars to preserve the gear box.

MT cars are NOT torque limited. Traction limited, YES! But there is nothing limiting the torque.

Dackel

[racer_x]

Forgive the ignorance... Not going to reply on technical matters again