Question about PPK and MHD (because I'm dumb)

[mfindigital]

I've been emailing Joe from Top Gear Solutions, and he is very, very helpful, but I'm still a bit confused.

I have all the throttle lag issues (especially with a/c on, it stutters, rpm fluctuates, etc.) that others have complained of in my 2011 n55 DCT 135. I have searched and searched regarding the topic, and it seems as though the PPK is the primary fix for the issue. So I want to purchase the PPK from Joe.

I also have a power addiction issue, the 135i is great fun and very quick, but I need more powah. I am going the MHD stage 1 route (looking for FMIC atm, picked up a berk street axleback from a user here last weekend).

So my question is, if I install the PPK first, then the stage 1 MHD tune, will the issues that are supposed to be resolved by the PPK be overwritten, meaning I'll be right back to having these throttle lag issues again?

Thanks in advance.

[Esteban]

PPK doesn't fix those issues for everybody. I'd get PPK first and then see if your issues are gone. zx10guy has had a difficult time with the DCT issues and did a variety of things to clear them up. Here is his thread explaining what he did. I don't believe his issues are 100% gone all of the time, but mostly fixed. Good luck.

[zx10guy]

No the primary fix for the lag issue is what I've posted in my thread here:

http://www.1addicts.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1402323

As I wrote in my thread, I've tried everything from having the PPK done, to the SIB for the DME, to having the Dinan S2 tune. The only fix which I feel if I had the tech that finally did the fix work on my car first, I wouldn't have done the PPK or the Dinan S2 tune to chase after this problem. I would have done either one of them for purely performance reasons.

I had the Dinan S2 done before the fix outlined in my thread above. To my knowledge, the tune is still there as my butt dyno feels nothing has changed and the better fuel economy I got after the S2 tune is still there. I guess if I really wanted to make sure I can go back to the indy I had the S2 tune done and have them run through another re-programming.

But my SA said the tech did not have to reflash the DME to perform the fix.

[zx10guy]

Originally Posted by Esteban

PPK doesn't fix those issues for everybody. I'd get PPK first and then see if your issues are gone. zx10guy has had a difficult time with the DCT issues and did a variety of things to clear them up. Here is his thread explaining what he did. I don't believe his issues are 100% gone all of the time, but mostly fixed. Good luck.

Beat me too it!

[Esteban]

Also, it might be a good idea to check with the guys at MHD and ask if their tunes have helped clear up the DCT issues (throttle lag, lurching forward, idle fluctuation) for other owners.

[Esteban]

Originally Posted by zx10guy

Beat me too it!

"Great minds think alike."

[HyeWarrior]

Sub’d because I’m in a similar boat. Hoping to have it taken care of by summer

[mfindigital]

Thanks guys, I have looked over zx10guy's thread a bunch, of course I ended up with one of the cars that loves to do this. I will be doing that as well if the PPK doesn't resolve my issue. I appreciate the feedback.

Primary question though is if the MHD will completely over ride the PPK. Joe told me I will maintain exhaust, but *if* the PPK fixes my throttle issue, will installing the MHD behind it overwrite my PPK?

Thanks again, great community here! This issue is especially annoying because I commute from East LA to Santa Monica every day (read; literally a top 3 most dense traffic drive on planet earth), so it sucks. Doesn't shake my love of this car, she gives me that sexual feeling. Every part of me believes these 1er's will be highly sought after in 7-10 years.

[mfindigital]

Originally Posted by HyeWarrior

Sub’d because I’m in a similar boat. Hoping to have it taken care of by summer

I used to live in San Dimas too! San Dimas Canyon Rd. The summers there are brutal. My old Mazdaspeed 3 had busted a/c for 3 years because of FMIC fitment, such a nightmare.

[Esteban]

Originally Posted by mfindigital

I used to live in San Dimas too! San Dimas Canyon Rd. The summers there are brutal. My old Mazdaspeed 3 had busted a/c for 3 years because of FMIC fitment, such a nightmare.

I used to live in San Dimas as well, many moons ago. Loved San Dimas Canyon Park. Used to go there often and hike the trail behind the park. Will have to go there again soon for old times' sake.

[zx10guy]

Originally Posted by mfindigital

Thanks guys, I have looked over zx10guy's thread a bunch, of course I ended up with one of the cars that loves to do this. I will be doing that as well if the PPK doesn't resolve my issue. I appreciate the feedback.

Primary question though is if the MHD will completely over ride the PPK. Joe told me I will maintain exhaust, but *if* the PPK fixes my throttle issue, will installing the MHD behind it overwrite my PPK?

Thanks again, great community here! This issue is especially annoying because I commute from East LA to Santa Monica every day (read; literally a top 3 most dense traffic drive on planet earth), so it sucks. Doesn't shake my love of this car, she gives me that sexual feeling. Every part of me believes these 1er's will be highly sought after in 7-10 years.

This is what I've gathered when I was looking at flash tunes. What ever you have loaded into the DME WILL be erased when you load something different. I checked with Dinan about if their tune would be "additive" to the PPK I already have installed. They said no. There has been some speculation that some residual effects of the PPK will remain such as the exhaust pop everyone wants from the PPK. I don't know if this is true or not. The only way to know for sure is for someone who knows exactly how the flash process works and what is being updated. Or to have someone do a memory dump to see what exactly is being retained in the DME.

With that said, as you've seen in my thread, the fix which worked for me was outside of what any of the tunes would do anyways. I say this to you or anyone reading this thread, you're better served by going to a shop or dealer to have them do what I spelled out in my thread. Maybe the PPK will fix the problem for you. Maybe it won't. Maybe doing the PPK and then MHD will retain what ever fix you get. Maybe it won't. It's your money. I'm trying to keep you from spending money needlessly chasing a problem which I've already been down that road. But again it's your money. There are other threads where people have done the adaptation reset which have fixed their problems. So I'm not alone in this regard.

[PDXE82]

I was in the same boat. Horrible throttle lag and jerky DCT especially with the AC on. First did the PPK flash and then when the Dinan stage 2 first went on sale I had that flashed. Neither of the tunes helped with the DCT/throttle issues on my car. Others have had different experiences.

I recently had the plugs changed at 37k miles while I was in for an oil service. At the same time I had them reset the DCT adaptations just to see what it would do. So far my idle and throttle response is much better and the DCT seems to be shifting smoother. The idle used to take a dive below 500rpm and then recover up to 1000rpm and finally settle at the normal 600rpm when coming to a stop. Now it just settles like it should at 600rpm. That could be from the fresh plugs, I don't know.

I followed the steps posted somewhere here recently after the reset of 15 miles of granny driving followed by 15 miles of more aggressive driving and then 15 miles of drive it like you stole it. So far it's much improved but that could just be until the DCT "relearns" the bad patterns. Could be worth a try for you OP.