What's the best ECU Flash?

[MonacoMurphy]

There are a lot of tuning opportunities out there, but which one is the best in regards to PRICE, PERFORMANCE, and NO CODES?

What do you guys think? I want something easy, well priced and won't void my warranty.

[135forthewin]

Well considering none of those besides Cobb are ECU flashes...

[pixelblue]

If you are worried about warranty then you have only one choice, BMW performance power kit.

[parky1215]

Originally Posted by pixelblue

If you are worried about warranty then you have only one choice, BMW performance power kit.

or Dinan

[Kamal]

Originally Posted by 135forthewin

Well considering none of those besides Cobb are ECU flashes...

I was expecting to see Cobb, GIAC, Dinan, ESS... not the piggy-backs.

[SV Concepts III]

You are also missing the Active Autowerke ECU Tune, this is a truly customized tune that is not a piggyback setup.

[infinitekidM2C]

Alright got my fanboy hat on...let's see here what should i vote for (and i'll ignore that Procede isnt a flash...)

[Dackelone]

You need to also add some other tune options...

Dinan
BMW PPK
GIAC

And maybe an other tab/box to cover guys like me who (I will have one soon!) from a German tuner flash.

[Jeff@TopGearSolutions]

Depends on your goals and modifications.

I would stick with the bottom 3 tunes at the very least though.

This topic usually turns into a much heated debate (where most hte people just vote for the tune they have without using any other tune), but if anyone is on the fence they can feel free to contact me as Ive tried the top 3 tunes and I'm familiar with all of them in many respects.

[135forthewin]

Are you mechanically inept? Or would you not mind poking around under the hood a little bit?

Out of the choices you placed in your poll, only Cobb will install and uninstall without opening the hood.

JB+ is the 2nd easiest install in my opinion. With the 1-series you have to remove the airbox, but after doing it once it's a 15 minute affair tops. Order it with the CAN tool (to clear codes while providing several other features) and it's still the cheapest option.

JB3, JB4, and Procede are all basically the same difficulty to install, as long as the JB3/JB4 you get is plug-n-play. JB4 requires one extra power connection compared to JB3, but it's simple. You have to open your ECU for any of these three options, and requires a bit more time and effort (see: patience) to install these tunes.

There will always be the JB4 vs. Procede bickering, but I don't really give a rats @$$ about it so I don't want to hear it from the fanboys, vendors, or companies themselves. Both have been considered great by whoever uses them, and that's about all you need to know. Procede has been considered more "advanced," but JB4 is cheaper and has been said to have great customer service.


IN CONCLUSION:

For you, get Cobb or the BMW Performance flash. No messing around under the hood, it's the simplest, and Cobb is the easiest to remove if you have to take your car in for service. Anything besides Cobb would have to be physically removed from your car every time you went in for service if you wanted to be super cautious.

That's all, hope you enjoy! Feel free to ask more questions...