[E82tt6]

Turnaround was 3 days, which is really very, very manageable, and well worth it, I believe.

I am VERY pleased with the tune thus far. The biggest, most immediately noticeable difference between the ESS Flash and the JB3 are smoothness, and speed with which boost builds. You don't know what "lag free" is until you've driven this car! Hitting the gas, even as low as 2k, results in 6psi of boost seemingly instantly the bargraph on my EBG moves fast enough that I can't even see it tick up the first couple notches. Unreal response.

Smoothness is out of this world. Part, throttle, full throttle, this feels like a completely different motor. It's the type of free-reving smoothness accompanied by overwheling torque that places this engine's driving characteristics up there with the big boys. It feels like a less powerful Porsche turbo 6, with less lag. It's that same sort of substantiall torquey rev-happy feel that's characteristic of those engines, and some other powerful German engines, like the S54, or the V8 in the current M3. It doesn't feel feather-light or insubstantial, more like a powerful, agile animal, that explodes rapidly and smoothly in a fluid motion, rather than just moving quickly because there's nothing there to move.

My girlfriend had an interesting way of putting it. She said that rather than feeling like a series of explosions, it feels like a very rapidly flowing river, gaining speed. Though it was practically imperceptible, she also noted that it seemed to her like there were a few places were the JB3 seemed to "wake up" or transition, when the power ramped up suddenly even though the throttle was already down. She says now it's more a river quickly picking up speed. No sudden explosion, but rather a continuous wave of power.

Speaking of power, I'm sure you all are interested! Stage 1 (the most conservative) mapping has the car reach 8-9 pounds of boost by 2500, and ramp up to 10.5-11 at 4500, holding that until just before 6k, where it starts to taper off, down to 8 by 6500 and 6 by redline. Power feels relatively comparable, even at these low boost levels, to what I was getting on the JB3 map 4 in similar temeperatures. Map 4 would hit 12-13psi peak for the most part in these temps, and the ESS tune feels like it's right there in terms of power, despite lagging 1-2 psi of boost behind.

I seem to have an easier time maintaining traction in 1st-2nd, and 0-60 definitely comes up more quickly. I attribute this to smoothness, and greater ease of modulating torque. The power is still there to keep the car sideways through all of 1st and 2nd, if one chooses to to do. Power delivery at the shift is also superior. It seems almost as though ESS keeps the wastegates closed when you shift to allow for instnat full boost in the next gear. My girlfriend actually heard the different when I let off the gas quickly at high RPMs, she said she could here another sound other than the DVs that went away after a second or so. I believe it's the sound of the WGs remaining closed.

The car in general feels more aggressive and responsive than it did even running map 6 on the JB3.

It does NOT make at much power as map 6 does past 3.5k or so, but it is certainly equal below that. I anticipate when I get the prefected flash running a full 15psi of boost that it should be pretty comparable to JB3 map 7, given how well it seems to perform at a given boost level.

I will post an updated review and iPhone dyno numbers when I get the finalized flash in a week or so.

As it stands, it feels like the car is a driver's race with a 997S from 0-100.

I feel that the tune was well worth the money and the time in shipping. Customer service has been absolutely fantastic. Todd at ESS gave me his cell number so I could get in touch with him at any point with any concerns, and he's been comunicating directly with the programmers to ensure that the flash is programed to perform exactly the way I need it to. It's refreshing to see a relatively large company provide this level of service. One of the things I liked best about the JB3 experience was the personalized and quick service I recieved from Terry. That level of service is unheard of in most industries. I honestly expected to feel left out in the cold by comparison with a larger company, but that is not at all the case. A large company that wants to deal directly with an individual customer to ensure that all of their needs are met, and that their product is perfect is something that is really a breath of fresh air.

Two thumbs up for ESS.

Cross posted to e90post, 1addicts, and n54tech.

[sd390r]

nicely written, interesting

take a vid of your car accelerating once you have stage 3

[joec500]

Uhm...What happens when you bring your car in for service? Or is warranty not a concern for you at this point? Also if the dealer flashes over your flash, that ECU is being sent back to ESS?

[bolty]

Thanks for this. Nice review!

Originally Posted by joec500

Uhm...What happens when you bring your car in for service? Or is warranty not a concern for you at this point? Also if the dealer flashes over your flash, that ECU is being sent back to ESS?

Read the other big ESS thread but short answer; no its generally not detectable by the dealer but if they do flash it over, ESS will reflash for free up to 2 more times.

[OpenFlash]

Originally Posted by E82tt6

Quick disclaimer at the top: It looks like I accidentally got the Stage 1 version of the tune, however, I am the first 135i regardless, and they're making a couple tweaks to the software regardless, specifically in terms of catless fucntionality stuff. Shipping to get the ECU reflashed with the updated program will obviously be free overnight. The programers are working on the 135i specific bits right now, so a 135i program should be ready to go very quickly! Apparently BMW handles some of the catalyst functions and checks a bit differently in the 1er.

Turnaround was 3 days, which is really very, very manageable, and well worth it, I believe.

I am VERY pleased with the tune thus far. The biggest, most immediately noticeable difference between the ESS Flash and the JB3 are smoothness, and speed with which boost builds. You don't know what "lag free" is until you've driven this car! Hitting the gas, even as low as 2k, results in 6psi of boost seemingly instantly the bargraph on my EBG moves fast enough that I can't even see it tick up the first couple notches. Unreal response.

Smoothness is out of this world. Part, throttle, full throttle, this feels like a completely different motor. It's the type of free-reving smoothness accompanied by overwheling torque that places this engine's driving characteristics up there with the big boys. It feels like a less powerful Porsche turbo 6, with less lag. It's that same sort of substantiall torquey rev-happy feel that's characteristic of those engines, and some other powerful German engines, like the S54, or the V8 in the current M3. It doesn't feel feather-light or insubstantial, more like a powerful, agile animal, that explodes rapidly and smoothly in a fluid motion, rather than just moving quickly because there's nothing there to move.

My girlfriend had an interesting way of putting it. She said that rather than feeling like a series of explosions, it feels like a very rapidly flowing river, gaining speed. Though it was practically imperceptible, she also noted that it seemed to her like there were a few places were the JB3 seemed to "wake up" or transition, when the power ramped up suddenly even though the throttle was already down. She says now it's more a river quickly picking up speed. No sudden explosion, but rather a continuous wave of power.

Speaking of power, I'm sure you all are interested! Stage 1 (the most conservative) mapping has the car reach 8-9 pounds of boost by 2500, and ramp up to 10.5-11 at 4500, holding that until just before 6k, where it starts to taper off, down to 8 by 6500 and 6 by redline. Power feels relatively comparable, even at these low boost levels, to what I was getting on the JB3 map 4 in similar temeperatures. Map 4 would hit 12-13psi peak for the most part in these temps, and the ESS tune feels like it's right there in terms of power, despite lagging 1-2 psi of boost behind.

I seem to have an easier time maintaining traction in 1st-2nd, and 0-60 definitely comes up more quickly. I attribute this to smoothness, and greater ease of modulating torque. The power is still there to keep the car sideways through all of 1st and 2nd, if one chooses to to do. Power delivery at the shift is also superior. It seems almost as though ESS keeps the wastegates closed when you shift to allow for instnat full boost in the next gear. My girlfriend actually heard the different when I let off the gas quickly at high RPMs, she said she could here another sound other than the DVs that went away after a second or so. I believe it's the sound of the WGs remaining closed.

The car in general feels more aggressive and responsive than it did even running map 6 on the JB3.

It does NOT make at much power as map 6 does past 3.5k or so, but it is certainly equal below that. I anticipate when I get the prefected flash running a full 15psi of boost that it should be pretty comparable to JB3 map 7, given how well it seems to perform at a given boost level.

I will post an updated review and iPhone dyno numbers when I get the finalized flash in a week or so.

As it stands, it feels like the car is a driver's race with a 997S from 0-100.

I feel that the tune was well worth the money and the time in shipping. Customer service has been absolutely fantastic. Todd at ESS gave me his cell number so I could get in touch with him at any point with any concerns, and he's been comunicating directly with the programmers to ensure that the flash is programed to perform exactly the way I need it to. It's refreshing to see a relatively large company provide this level of service. One of the things I liked best about the JB3 experience was the personalized and quick service I recieved from Terry. That level of service is unheard of in most industries. I honestly expected to feel left out in the cold by comparison with a larger company, but that is not at all the case. A large company that wants to deal directly with an individual customer to ensure that all of their needs are met, and that their product is perfect is something that is really a breath of fresh air.

Two thumbs up for ESS.

Cross posted to e90post, 1addicts, and n54tech.

It's great to see more reviews and feedback from people who have been driving "old guard" tunes. The new gen of tunes that actually map off-boost load conditions, keep a handle on throttle activity, actually have a mapped ignition curve, etc,. will always drive better than devices that raise boost and let the DME do the rest. Regardless of whether we are talking about a flash or piggy.

Shiv

[O-cha]

Good that flashes are coming and will relegate the piggybacks to a cheap poor excuse of an alternative.

[mwahlert]

Originally Posted by O-cha

Good that flashes are coming and will relegate the piggybacks to a cheap poor excuse of an alternative.

i'm happy i'm not alone

[Proper Motion LLC]

Originally Posted by shiv@vishnu

The new gen of tunes that actually map off-boost load conditions, keep a handle on throttle activity, actually have a mapped ignition curve, etc,. will always drive better than devices that raise boost and let the DME do the rest. Regardless of whether we are talking about a flash or piggy.

Shiv

x100

[E82tt6]

I will do a video
And dyno with the fully finised stage 3 135i spcific tune. I'll dyno on the dyno where I did stock and jb3.

To be clear I was not unhappy with jb3. I just think a flash is a better solution.

[Garissimo]

Originally Posted by 09AlpineTTSedan

x100

And I'll multiply that another x100. Someone has an insecurity complex.

[Turkishexpress]

Flashes are good, but I can't wait until we can custom tune for an individuals car for reasonable prices.

[mwahlert]

Originally Posted by Turkishexpress

Flashes are good, but I can't wait until we can custom tune for an individuals car for reasonable prices.

or at least the ability to flash at home w/o having to send the ecu away.

[Lotus99]

I didn't understand, how did you find out that you got stage 1 by mistake? Did they tell you proactively themselves, or was it just b/c it didn't feel like enough power to you, and you questioned them? Not great QA on their part regardless...

[HP Autosport]

ESS is not the only one having the fun!

Stay tuned for the LET Motorsports flash!

[Fraggy]

Its there ever a chance that any of these other flashes can be done at a local site so the ecu doesnt need to be shipped?

[Bubbles]

Good to see another flash on the market but how did they make a stage load mistake?

[HP Autosport]

Originally Posted by Fraggy

Its there ever a chance that any of these other flashes can be done at a local site so the ecu doesnt need to be shipped?

Yes, LET Motorsport's flash does not require the removal of your ECU! The flash can be done at your local LET Motorsport's dealer/installer!

[JoosyJoos]

Originally Posted by HP Autowerks

Yes, LET Motorsport's flash does not require the removal of your ECU! The flash can be done at your local LET Motorsport's dealer/installer!

And how many locations do they have...?

[HP Autosport]

Originally Posted by JoosyJoos

And how many locations do they have...?

It's best to check with LET Motorsports directly.

[E82tt6]

Originally Posted by Bubbles

Good to see another flash on the market but how did they make a stage load mistake?

Long story. An issue of the system used to communicate internally that's been fixed. Not a huge deal for me given I'll be getting a second finalized program anyways. I could see it being an inconvenience for someone else, but I think that they've corrected what lead to the issue.

As for custom tunes, I believe that's ideal, but given how smart and adaptable the MSD80/81 is, I wonder how much extra you could pick up.

[SennaZ]

LET Motorsports gained instant credibility with me when they reported that the AFE Dual Intake install gave them 0 HP gain.

One thing for certain, it's nice to have someone like them independently test all the 'usual' mods to see how they really perform.

[E82tt6]

Turns out I DID get the stage 3 flash. Todd and I assumed I had accidentally gotten the stage one because of the boost levels I was seeing, but now it's looking as though there MAY be an HPFP issue.

This week I'm doing a dyno with boost/afr/fuel pressure logged. Should be an interesting experiment, and maybe helpful to those with potential HPFP issues.