ECU flash for 125i

[dr.bmw]

Has anyone done it?
these guys distribute the Evolve-Technik flush in sydney
http://www.cityperformancecentre.com
they tell me I'd get about 18KW and 30Lbs after the tune as well as less petrol consumption
the tune is $1775 and is done overnight
Sounds good but i'm cautious.. warranty almost up so might give it a go after
Anyone tried it?
cheers!

[BMWRX]

I don't have a 125i but $1775 seems a lot of money to pick up 18kW.

[RadiuM]

considering it's N/A, I think 18kw is a pretty good update for that price.

[dr.bmw]

yeah for an NA engine to get 10% improvement in power and torque is actually quite good for just an ECU flash
maybe too good...

[Jeef Beef]

Waiting for chylld to chime in, he seems to be in the know regarding tunes for the 125i.

Not sure how they are able to find 18kw from a BMW N/A engine though...

[BMWRX]

I know this question has probably been answered somewhere on here before, but how much would it cost to modify the engine to get the 190kW from the engine that the 130i hatch puts out?

[dr.bmw]

afaik it can't be done

[Jeef Beef]

Originally Posted by BMWRX

I know this question has probably been answered somewhere on here before, but how much would it cost to modify the engine to get the 190kW from the engine that the 130i hatch puts out?

Even though the engines are the same block, I believe there are quite significant differences in the internals. It is not possible with just a tune.

[chylld]

rofl jeff

yes it can be done, but only the german tuning houses know how for some reason. basically you need a flash tune only and it brings the 125i up to 201kw.

b2bp has installed such a tune on his 128i and the first dyno results show 178kW at the wheels... so in his particular case a fair bit more than 200kw at the engine.

there was also a very long thread somewhere about someone who managed to install the special 3-stage intake manifold (the only physical difference between the 125i and 130i) and it was a lot of trouble and he only just managed to get 130i power levels.

i've chatted with the head of winter tuning (in germany) and it seems possible for our cars, but i've yet to muster up the courage to ship my ecu all the way around the world. he's offered to sell me the equipment required to flash the car here, but i don't have a spare 4000 euro lying around (the tune itself is under 1000 euro)

i've also tried to get winter tuning to play nice with peakrpm (who have a range of flashing equipment here) but no go there either.

so basically: yes with just a software tune you can have more than 200kw in your 125i and it will only cost you around AU$1-1.5k after shipping etc. $1775 for 18kW is a bit expensive by comparison.

there is also the bms powerbox. some say it reduces your power, but in my testing it reduced my 0-100 by 0.5 seconds - a significant improvement and for only ~$300

edit: jeff my rofl was at ur first post not the one just before mine

[x5mad]

If you buy the equipment for flashing yourself does it mean you can only flash yours or it can be done on multiple cars? If so 4000 euros divided amongst several owners may be worthwhile?

[mra]

A lot of tuners will let you trial their software so maybe ask if you can try it for a day or a week. No harm in asking.

City Performance have a solid rep so if they are saying it's good then that's something in itself - plus they have a dyno on hand so you can check the actual results (at your expense).

Evolve source their tunes from Germany but don't say who they use for BMW. Distributed by Fitzgerald Racing in Melb who also have a great rep.

[chylld]

Originally Posted by x5mad

If you buy the equipment for flashing yourself does it mean you can only flash yours or it can be done on multiple cars? If so 4000 euros divided amongst several owners may be worthwhile?

i think each tune is specific to each car (encoded by vin or something) so it probably wouldn't scale that nicely.

however, it will still scale of course... just checked my emails with harald, it's 3200 euro for the equipment and 700 for the tune, so the AUD prices work out like this:

1 $5,509.65
2 $3,249.28
3 $2,495.82
4 $2,119.09
5 $1,893.06
6 $1,742.37
7 $1,634.73
8 $1,554.00
9 $1,491.21
10 $1,440.98

[dr.bmw]

I'm a strong believer in that if it sounds too good to be true, than it probably is
saying that, city performance tune sounds like it is at least reasonable and wouldn't blow your engine to bits

[Taymaishu]

Originally Posted by dr.bmw

I'm a strong believer in that if it sounds too good to be true, than it probably is
saying that, city performance tune sounds like it is at least reasonable and wouldn't blow your engine to bits

18kw... Really imo isn't worth it for 1.7k.

I'd rather put $300 or so into the BMS tune to have a bit better responsiveness.

[Cruiser]

Don't know bout that Alex. I would much rather spend the 1.7K on a noticable 18KW than a powerbox.

I mean if someone said there was a full exhaust system for 1.7K that gave 18KW gain we would all be buying it...

Even ticking the Xenon box on my order sheet cost $1920...

..

I would still prefer to have a re-installable OBD2 port option (or whatever it's called) so I can go stock for service.

[dr.bmw]

Powerbox gives you the placebo effect, i.e. you think you're faster without actually being faster
but well, if it makes you feel better...

[E92325i]

Originally Posted by dr.bmw

Powerbox gives you the placebo effect, i.e. you think you're faster without actually being faster
but well, if it makes you feel better...

Andrew@southernBM installed a pbx on an E90 325i and the dyno results showed 4.8kw gain at the rear wheels so it obviously the pbx does something positive...

see:

[Taymaishu]

Originally Posted by E92325i

Andrew@southernBM installed a pbx on an E90 325i and the dyno results showed 4.8kw gain at the rear wheels so it obviously the pbx does something positive...

see:

When people assume an ECU flash is all about MORE POWAHHH - it's frustrating to see.

The biggest advantage, from what I have seen said about the PBX, is the throttle responsiveness. That seems, to me, to be the biggest fall-back of the car.

[chylld]

Originally Posted by dr.bmw

Powerbox gives you the placebo effect, i.e. you think you're faster without actually being faster
but well, if it makes you feel better...

not quite. i did a dozen or so 0-100 runs and after removing outliers (i.e. fastest and slowest runs for each setting) the mean and stdev was as follows:

stock: 8.50 +/- 0.16
pbx: 8.00 +/- 0.34

conditions weren't the best (unsurfaced road, searing hot temps) but the numbers speak for themselves