Anyone running GIAC stage 2?

[bklounge]

I'm planning on getting it next month - anyone have first hand impressions?

[ozinaldo]

I think Powerbeast's Dakar Yellow has it, he was calling it "the tune to get" and smooth. There should be others here but no one posted anything yet.

[int2str]

Yes, I'm running it (N54 135i).

It's a strong tune that doesn't compromise drivability at all. Power delivery is absolutely smooth and strong. It's not "boosty" and very linear in it's power delivery.

I've done two autocrosses since switching tunes and I've won my class both times and finished very high overall. Both times beating every 1M in the field, btw

But the thing I absolutely like the best about the tune is how responsive GIAC is to any question or support and how well they stand behind their product!

Definitely highly recommended!

[fastauto]

Originally Posted by int2str

Yes, I'm running it (N54 135i).

It's a strong tune that doesn't compromise drivability at all. Power delivery is absolutely smooth and strong. It's not "boosty" and very linear in it's power delivery.

I've done two autocrosses since switching tunes and I've won my class both times and finished very high overall. Both times beating every 1M in the field, btw

But the thing I absolutely like the best about the tune is how responsive GIAC is to any question or support and how well they stand behind their product!

Definitely highly recommended!

good to know. the only reason why i have not put software on the car yet is i do not want to run into limp mode when on the track. any issues with that?

[int2str]

Originally Posted by fastauto

good to know. the only reason why i have not put software on the car yet is i do not want to run into limp mode when on the track. any issues with that?

I've not done a big track day since switching tunes. For the autocross events, the GIAC tune worked great and no limp mode at all.

I did hit limp mode with my previous tune at the track, so it'll be interesting going back with the new tune.

[Thomas@GIAC]

Originally Posted by fastauto

good to know. the only reason why i have not put software on the car yet is i do not want to run into limp mode when on the track. any issues with that?

Figured I'd chime in here, but you are very unlikely to see limp mode issues on the track due to the fact that we re-flash the entire DME. This allows the DME to work in symphony with the power requests, so you don't get any of the limp mode and surging issues that occur when you only flash maps.

We made this software for track duty, and encourage our customers to run the car hard. Much of the Stage 2 development was done on the Evolution Racewerks 135i, so we simply couldn't risk the car going into limp mode or underperforming in the slightest.

[fastauto]

Originally Posted by Thomas@GIAC

Figured I'd chime in here, but you are very unlikely to see limp mode issues on the track due to the fact that we re-flash the entire DME. This allows the DME to work in symphony with the power requests, so you don't get any of the limp mode and surging issues that occur when you only flash maps.

We made this software for track duty, and encourage our customers to run the car hard. Much of the Stage 2 development was done on the Evolution Racewerks 135i, so we simply couldn't risk the car going into limp mode or underperforming in the slightest.

Thanks for the response. I come from a life of larger turbo cars and know they can be a issue. From all of my reading about this engine and tunes, it looks like most of the people that use the car for TT or other track related events run your stage 2 tune and sometimes meth and have no problems. What supporting mods are needed to run a stage 2 tune? downpipes? upgraded ic? Thanks

[Thomas@GIAC]

Originally Posted by fastauto

Thanks for the response. I come from a life of larger turbo cars and know they can be a issue. From all of my reading about this engine and tunes, it looks like most of the people that use the car for TT or other track related events run your stage 2 tune and sometimes meth and have no problems. What supporting mods are needed to run a stage 2 tune? downpipes? upgraded ic? Thanks

For the 1M, Stage 2 only requires an upgraded intake and intercooler. We found that the factory downpipes aren't as restrictive as they are on the other N54 equipped cars. We do have a Stage 2 file for those wishing to utilize upgraded downpipes, but it is not a requirement for this Stage.

Berk Technology and Evolution Racewerks both run water-methanol injection on their 135i's. They are running our Stage 2 file, with the optional "Race" file (for 100 octane or 91/93 with 50/50 water-methanol injection).

[ozinaldo]

Originally Posted by Thomas@GIAC

For the 1M, Stage 2 only requires an upgraded intake and intercooler. We found that the factory downpipes aren't as restrictive as they are on the other N54 equipped cars. We do have a Stage 2 file for those wishing to utilize upgraded downpipes, but it is not a requirement for this Stage.

Berk Technology and Evolution Racewerks both run water-methanol injection on their 135i's. They are running our Stage 2 file, with the optional "Race" file (for 100 octane or 91/93 with 50/50 water-methanol injection).

This is interesting; so when you analyzed the exhaust for the 1M you came up with the conclusion that the downpipes are different and less restrictive than other N54 applications. Can you further comment, to what extend they are less restrictive? Is it still advisable to upgrade to let's say AR 1M down pipes or maybe it is not very cost effective because of minimal gains? I am not only talking about as a requirement for the tune.

[dbchun]

Originally Posted by ozinaldo

This is interesting; so when you analyzed the exhaust for the 1M you came up with the conclusion that the downpipes are different and less restrictive than other N54 applications. Can you further comment, to what extend they are less restrictive? Is it still advisable to upgrade to let's say AR 1M down pipes or maybe it is not very cost effective because of minimal gains? I am not only talking about as a requirement for the tune.

it is certainly an interesting observation

since we are talking about OEM downpipes it still has to abide by emission laws for US, even if it may be slightly less restrictive

so I think you'll still see an improvement by switching to catless downpipes

[RaptorKTM]

im going to be getting GIAC stage 2 more then likely after I get my ER intercooler next week. I have the akrapovic downpipes and there is for sure a gain, not sure how big till i get it on the dyno.

[Thomas@GIAC]

Originally Posted by ozinaldo

This is interesting; so when you analyzed the exhaust for the 1M you came up with the conclusion that the downpipes are different and less restrictive than other N54 applications. Can you further comment, to what extend they are less restrictive? Is it still advisable to upgrade to let's say AR 1M down pipes or maybe it is not very cost effective because of minimal gains? I am not only talking about as a requirement for the tune.

The downpipes on the 1M are a different part number than those on the other N54 vehicles. We didn't look at them in depth, but the WGDC was lower when the car was making the same boost as a similarly equipped N54.

With that being said, there are still gains to be had with aftermarket downpipes. I am not saying that the 1M downpipes are ideal, but they do appear to flow better than the 135i/335i downpipes. You will still see good gains with an aftermarket downpipe on the 1M, just maybe a little less than on another N54 vehicle. We mainly offered the Stage 2 for factory downpipes because they do flow slightly better and many 1M owners want a more stealth car with a factory-sounding exhaust.

[Thomas@GIAC]

Originally Posted by RaptorKTM

im going to be getting GIAC stage 2 more then likely after I get my ER intercooler next week. I have the akrapovic downpipes and there is for sure a gain, not sure how big till i get it on the dyno.

Waleed,

Feel free to email or PM me once your new parts arrive, and we can get you taken care of. It's good to hear that you went with the ER intercooler, as we had a hand in its development and can attest to its compatibility with our software.

One of the problems with aftermarket intercoolers is that they are actually too big and lead to pressure drop. For the turbos to run efficiently, there has to be a degree of back pressure. With some of these monster intercoolers, we have actually seen pressure drop that leads to the turbos actually working harder to make the same level of boost. In my eyes, the ER intercoolers are an ideal match for the stock N54 turbos.

[RaptorKTM]

Thomas,

I sent you an email, let me know if you get it.

[Thomas@GIAC]

Originally Posted by RaptorKTM

Thomas,

I sent you an email, let me know if you get it.

Replied!

[Blue55]

Probably not the right place to ask, but do you know if the ER piece requires any cutting to fit? FYI - I'm OK with some minor cutting. There are quite a few intercoolers on the market right now and I track my car fairly frequently in SoCal so when I'm ready to purchase, I'm looking for a unit that will deliver the most hp/torque and also deal with the heat appropriately under track conditions.

[RaptorKTM]

I believe that a small amount of trimming may be required, however I wont be able to confirm until im in the process of having it installed. I will keep you updated.

[Thomas@GIAC]

Originally Posted by Blue55

Probably not the right place to ask, but do you know if the ER piece requires any cutting to fit? FYI - I'm OK with some minor cutting. There are quite a few intercoolers on the market right now and I track my car fairly frequently in SoCal so when I'm ready to purchase, I'm looking for a unit that will deliver the most hp/torque and also deal with the heat appropriately under track conditions.

I believe that it does require some trimming, but retains the use of the factory bolt location. Evolution Racewerks runs this intercooler in their Time Attack 135i, so it is well suited to track duty. Since we deal with them a lot, I have been able to look at the logs and the IAT's and pressure drop are some of the most favorable that I have seen.

[m3dragon]

Thomas any experience with the AA sport inter cooler? Looks to be the same as the ER design one. I just got the AA sport intercooler and was looking to get the AFE STI intake and AR downpipes. Already sold on your software as this is a DD so no worries there =)

[Thomas@GIAC]

Originally Posted by m3dragon

Thomas any experience with the AA sport inter cooler? Looks to be the same as the ER design one. I just got the AA sport intercooler and was looking to get the AFE STI intake and AR downpipes. Already sold on your software as this is a DD so no worries there =)

I haven't had too much experience with the AA intercooler, but I'm sure it will be fine your your purposes.

As for the exhaust, we used the AR Design downpipes on our 1M development car, so I can attest to their power. Our setup used these downpipes with a 3" Borla midpipe.

[m3dragon]

Thanks for the info. I was looking to do AR, Mad Dad and Essiman sport.

[Thomas@GIAC]

Originally Posted by m3dragon

Thanks for the info. I was looking to do AR, Mad Dad and Essiman sport.

Sounds like a winning combo! I would love to hear the sound of that