AT Trans Upgrade - Nizpro

[135i2]

For the AT guys pushing big numbers there is a ray of sunshine on the horizon with any luck. The TCU is now cracked by Nizpro and the door for strong AT's could well be here.

Please see the info off Nizpro Website below for those interested.

Enjoy.

BMW Transmission upgrades

The BMW community are well aware that the transmission fitted to their 335 N54 powered vehicles is the smaller cousin to what is used in the Ford Falcon XR6 turbo range. We have been able to achieve amazing results from the ZF 6HP26, it is now capable of handling well over 1200 engine horse power with our latest hardware and software upgrades.

Unfortunately the BMW guys have not had the luxury of ongoing development to their ZF 6HP21’s. Suffering all the issues experienced by Turbo Ford Falcon owners back in 2006-2008 before Nizpro started development of what has now been proven as a fantastic transmission for high performance upgraded cars.

That being said, no matter what power levels have been achieved with the mighty twin turbo 3 litre BMW engine, acceleration times have always been off the pace for the given power and weight of the vehicles. There have been endless complaints by owners suffering with slipping transmissions and long gear changes, hence slow quarter mile times.

With our reputation growing due to the achievements of customers running Nizpro upgraded ZF transmissions, it was only a matter of time before we were asked to develop an upgrade package for the smaller 6HP21 for BMW owners.

Due to an already heavy workload, and a project that snowballed in size, it’s been nearly 2 years since we initially undertook the 6HP21 development. Most of the development for the 6HP21 was simply carried over from the 6HP26, but still required all our tooling and jigs to be reproduced due to the different size of all the components. On an upside for 6HP26 owners, some extra developments needed for a successful 6HP21 were now carried back to 6HP26.

After 8 years experience with the 6HP26, the mechanical upgrades needed for the 6HP21 were not groundbreaking as far as we were concerned, however a massive problem was the transmission software calibration, or lack of to be precise.

Transmission power handling capabilities and performance can be divided into two almost equally important categories:

1. The upgrading of internals to allow for extra torque requirements.
2. The software calibrations allowing for adjustment of torque management, shift speeds and transmission pressures.

One without the other gives a 50% result at best.

Now, many said re-calibrating the ZF via the BMW OBD2 port along with locating the calibration tables required for transmission control could not be possible. We at Nizpro are very excited to say that we have now been able to achieve this goal. It is now possible to read existing calibration, and also write new calibrations. New calibrations can be flashed directly to the ZF TCU via the OBD2 port.

The next development period will see us concentrating on custom calibration for use with both the standard ZF 6-HP21, and our upgraded transmissions. We will have hardware and software calibrations that can be purchased directly from us, and then loaded into the vehicle by their owners.

So what does this mean regarding performance gains for N54 owners?

Here’s the bit that most of you will love, these are real world measurements of transmission improvement:

• As a proven example, one of our Level 2 internally upgraded 6HP26 transmissions using standard calibration will be 2 tenths faster over the ¼ mile compared to a good condition standard transmission.
• Take the same Level 2 upgraded 6HP26, add a recalibrated file and you will see a further reductions of 4 tenths.
• Now, if you were to put the same recalibrated file into the stock transmission the input shaft would likely fail before the end of the first pass.

These numbers are based off proven results on a flat 10 second 4200 lbs vehicle. To be clear, the recalibrated and upgraded transmission will take a flat 10 second time slip down to 9:40 or better. After purchasing our own test BMW 335I, and performing mild upgrades to lift power to 300 rwkws, we see that the standard shift speeds are far slower than any standard Ford XR6 Turbo fitted with a ZF transmission running a standard calibration. I would say that the improvements of the BMW will prove greater than the above examples.

I look forward to providing more information and results as they come to hand.

Regards Simon

[OzJustin]

Very interesting. As an N54 auto owner I'm keen to see the development in this space. Thanks for sharing.

[dh58]

Yeah I'm keen. This is the reason I held off a big turbo upgrade.

[Sk8fe]

Subscribing to this thread to keep on the bleeding edge.

I already have Level10 valve bodies, torque converter and bulletproofing service done to my STEPTRONIC with Alpina Sport flash.

[135]

Finally but waiting to see real-world results. It's unlikely to be an option for most since Nizpro quoted USD$6150 (AUD$9000) plus shipping. And you might not be able to get a courier to insure it for the value of the auto trans + $10K.

There have also been announcements in the last couple days from other parties that are going to be providing AT upgrades - see other forums.

[135i2]

Yes, hardware updates. Not a cracked TCU to take advantage of the hardware. You need both electronic and physical upgrades.

[dh58]

Is Launch control something possible with this update?

[135i2]

Originally Posted by dh58

Is Launch control something possible with this update?

Torque converter in an auto gives you a massive torque advantage at launch.

Dont know about you but there is no way I can get any traction with anything but a part throttle and gradual pedal pressure. Frying the tyres is all to easy until there is a lot of speed on board.

[135]

Originally Posted by 135i2

Yes, hardware updates. Not a cracked TCU to take advantage of the hardware. You need both electronic and physical upgrades.

For one, nobody has (until now) cracked the TCU or transmission control unit.

I thought that meant Propulsive Dynamics but looks like it was Nizpro.

I though tonight I had also read another thread about someone else cracking the TCU but I can't find it now so maybe not.

[135i2]

US forums are all excited about some hardware upgrades from Propulsive as if its the new level10 messiah, but doesn't address the TCU. Nizpro, to date, are the only people who have cracked this.

At the moment my money is on the Nizpro guys who have been building carzy horsepower ZF cousins for the Ford's for a long time now. Into the 8's with a Falcon..!

Each of our cars will require a tailored auto trans solution over a certain power level. We see cars from just a tune and simple bolt on's at 270rw to full house monsters with 400+rwkw and huge torque figures. Cars are in deveopment locally that will see high 400's if not 500 plus moving forward.

Clutch and bearing upgrades alone wont be near enough to hold the power. And lets not forget US dynos are around 15% happier than ours, so 420rw is in the realm of 480rwkw in the US.

[dh58]

Originally Posted by 135i2

Torque converter in an auto gives you a massive torque advantage at launch.

Dont know about you but there is no way I can get any traction with anything but a part throttle and gradual pedal pressure. Frying the tyres is all to easy until there is a lot of speed on board.

Yeah I have to start in second and go gradual, I can't put my foot down to the floor. Even if i'm cruising at 40-50 in 2nd and put my foot down, its going sideways lol.

[martymil]

The problem is not only the tcu as the clutches even though upgraded are only around 50% stronger than stock.

The stock transmission is rated to 400nm and when upgraded by nizpro its 600nm at the flywheel.

Our cars are making with upgraded turbos north off 400rwk and 750nm + at the wheels

At the flywheel its far more than that.

Sure the transmission will last longer when upgraded but don't expect miracles and don't expect it to last for years.

I enquired into this last year and decided to ditch the auto in favour of manual

I would expect the transmission to last on the street for at least a few years but if your going to race it wont last long

We really need a ford 6hp26 in there with upgraded internals to a 6hp32 at least, which will hold a good 1000hp. Well at least that's what I've been told.

So don't expect miracles from this upgrade, but its definitely a step forward but also a very expensive one.

[BMW86]

Exciting times ahead but 0.4 sec improvement is ambitious