BMW 1 Series Coupe Forum / 1 Series Convertible Forum (1M / tii / 135i / 128i / Coupe / Cabrio / Hatchback) (BMW E82 E88 128i 130i 135i)
 





 

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      12-05-2020, 04:48 PM   #1
laptime
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Chip or ECU mod for 128i N51

My '09 128i E88 came with the N51 motor (confirmed) and therefore the DISA 3 stage intake manifold.
Is it better to get a 'plug and play' chip or remap my ECU with a stage 2 from Bimmerworld to optimize this intake?

Do these chips simply plug into OBD ? Is mapping an ECU from BM as easy as they make it sound and could I change it back just as easily for smog inspection?
I'm new to modding these cars and want to be able to remove whatever computer performance mod to pass CA smog when needed.
Is this how it works?


Thanks for your patience with these noob questions. Any help is appreciated.
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      12-08-2020, 11:44 AM   #2
carscatscoffee15
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Quote:
Originally Posted by laptime View Post
My '09 128i E88 came with the N51 motor (confirmed) and therefore the DISA 3 stage intake manifold.
Is it better to get a 'plug and play' chip or remap my ECU with a stage 2 from Bimmerworld to optimize this intake?

Do these chips simply plug into OBD ? Is mapping an ECU from BM as easy as they make it sound and could I change it back just as easily for smog inspection?
I'm new to modding these cars and want to be able to remove whatever computer performance mod to pass CA smog when needed.
Is this how it works?


Thanks for your patience with these noob questions. Any help is appreciated.
by chip you mean custom tune/OTS tune?
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      12-08-2020, 12:58 PM   #3
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http://https://www.racechip.us/shop/...oaAg3eEALw_wcB
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      12-09-2020, 12:46 PM   #4
///Makis
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They only have them for the 135 and 1m not the 128.

And I would stay away from these, especially the "throttle response one" it doesn't do anything except change the signal from your gas pedal to the ecu so basically it just tells the car that when you push the pedal down to 50% let's say, it will send a signal to the ecu that it's pushed to 75% or whatever you want it to.

It's not changing anything to the car but the signal it receives which they say increases throttle response but we're talking milliseconds here. What's the time difference between you pushing the pedal to 50% and 75% that's really it. And that's something you can even do with a tune so IMO it's a waste of money for a piece of flashy plastic that you probably have to cut some wires for and splice this device into.


I think you're better off going with BimmerGeeks and getting an off the shelf tune from them. But I don't know if they have them for N51 cars. But I would steer clear of this.

Just my two cents
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      12-09-2020, 11:59 PM   #5
laptime
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Quote:
Originally Posted by ///Makis View Post
They only have them for the 135 and 1m not the 128.

And I would stay away from these, especially the "throttle response one" it doesn't do anything except change the signal from your gas pedal to the ecu so basically it just tells the car that when you push the pedal down to 50% let's say, it will send a signal to the ecu that it's pushed to 75% or whatever you want it to.

It's not changing anything to the car but the signal it receives which they say increases throttle response but we're talking milliseconds here. What's the time difference between you pushing the pedal to 50% and 75% that's really it. And that's something you can even do with a tune so IMO it's a waste of money for a piece of flashy plastic that you probably have to cut some wires for and splice this device into.


I think you're better off going with BimmerGeeks and getting an off the shelf tune from them. But I don't know if they have them for N51 cars. But I would steer clear of this.

Just my two cents
I'm learning a lot just researching and reading posts like yours. I see the "racechip" is a gimmick and Bimmergeeks is much closer to the type of tuning I did on racebikes BITD. I'm really interested in their products.
Thanks for the heads up and direction.
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      12-10-2020, 06:33 AM   #6
SKI-R
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And I’ll take the opposite position from ///Makis and tell you ABSOLUTELY try a throttle response amplifier like a Sprint Booster! It is NOT a ‘tune’, I agree. Appropriately I also acknowledge there is no true power gain from it, but IMO it dramatically reduces throttle lag and certainly makes the car feel significantly more spirited.

There are alternatives, but it’s what I’ve used and it is literally unplug/plug it in and go.
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Last edited by SKI-R; 12-10-2020 at 06:34 AM.. Reason: wording
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      12-10-2020, 06:51 AM   #7
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Quote:
Originally Posted by laptime View Post
Quote:
Originally Posted by ///Makis View Post
They only have them for the 135 and 1m not the 128.

And I would stay away from these, especially the "throttle response one" it doesn't do anything except change the signal from your gas pedal to the ecu so basically it just tells the car that when you push the pedal down to 50% let's say, it will send a signal to the ecu that it's pushed to 75% or whatever you want it to.

It's not changing anything to the car but the signal it receives which they say increases throttle response but we're talking milliseconds here. What's the time difference between you pushing the pedal to 50% and 75% that's really it. And that's something you can even do with a tune so IMO it's a waste of money for a piece of flashy plastic that you probably have to cut some wires for and splice this device into.


I think you're better off going with BimmerGeeks and getting an off the shelf tune from them. But I don't know if they have them for N51 cars. But I would steer clear of this.

Just my two cents
I'm learning a lot just researching and reading posts like yours. I see the "racechip" is a gimmick and Bimmergeeks is much closer to the type of tuning I did on racebikes BITD. I'm really interested in their products.
Thanks for the heads up and direction.
yep. Bimmergeeks/Bimmerlabs is gonna be your go to if you want to do all of this yourself. There's some forum members who are still active on this front and have heard great things about going this route. It's also for the most part free aside from getting your cable/if you want a custom tune so to say. They support N52/N51 very well.

If you wanna go with an OTS tune there are a couple.. StageFP and AA being the main guys in this route. There are other tunes out there that support the N52/N51 as well.. Evolve (if you search around you'll find some stuff on them and their work on this platform), Kassel Performance from PA, oetuning but idk if they still actively support the platform. Also, a little less is known about these tunes compared to StageFP or AA.

As mentioned before, those little sprint booster things are only for throttle response and is generally a placebo effect thing... if it were really that easy, everyone would have done it! even if I had the cars supported by racechip it sounds a little too good to be true and in those vehicle instances there's other ways to gain more power...

PM me if you wanna know a bit more/the experiences on some of these tunes or you got any questions
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Mods Done: AA Exhaust/Headers | 3SIM | MILVs | StageFP Dyno Tuned | Euro Box Intake Swap | LCI Blackline Tailights | OEM Euro Bi-Xenon Swap from Halogen | Rear Bumper M-Sport Swap | Rear PDC Retrofit | BMW OEM CF Diffuser/Spoiler | BMW Front Aero Kit | Supersprint Sec 1 Cat Delete Straight Pipes

To Do: Ohlins R n T Suspension | Front/Rear Sway Bars | M3 Front Control Arms/Bushings

Eventually: AT -> MT Swap (!?)
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      12-16-2020, 12:52 PM   #8
laptime
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Quote:
Originally Posted by carscatscoffee15 View Post
yep. Bimmergeeks/Bimmerlabs is gonna be your go to if you want to do all of this yourself. There's some forum members who are still active on this front and have heard great things about going this route. It's also for the most part free aside from getting your cable/if you want a custom tune so to say. They support N52/N51 very well.

If you wanna go with an OTS tune there are a couple.. StageFP and AA being the main guys in this route. There are other tunes out there that support the N52/N51 as well.. Evolve (if you search around you'll find some stuff on them and their work on this platform), Kassel Performance from PA, oetuning but idk if they still actively support the platform. Also, a little less is known about these tunes compared to StageFP or AA.

As mentioned before, those little sprint booster things are only for throttle response and is generally a placebo effect thing... if it were really that easy, everyone would have done it! even if I had the cars supported by racechip it sounds a little too good to be true and in those vehicle instances there's other ways to gain more power...

PM me if you wanna know a bit more/the experiences on some of these tunes or you got any questions
Thank you for the info. I might hit you up on a few of your mods.
Greatly appreciated!
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      12-28-2020, 10:34 PM   #9
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Kassell Performance in York, PA is actively tuning these cars. I just had a dyno tune, but they do offer a out-of-the-box tune for N52 and 51 cars.
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      01-02-2021, 03:44 PM   #10
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Quote:
Originally Posted by sibanez View Post
Kassell Performance in York, PA is actively tuning these cars. I just had a dyno tune, but they do offer a out-of-the-box tune for N52 and 51 cars.
I admire their work.

Do you have dyno sheet?
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To Do: Ohlins R n T Suspension | Front/Rear Sway Bars | M3 Front Control Arms/Bushings

Eventually: AT -> MT Swap (!?)
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      01-03-2021, 01:06 PM   #11
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Quote:
Originally Posted by carscatscoffee15 View Post
I admire their work.

Do you have dyno sheet?
Here you go - This is with the factory exhaust manifolds, Super Sprint cat-back exhaust with no secondary cat and the AFE intake.

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      01-03-2021, 02:03 PM   #12
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Quote:
Originally Posted by sibanez View Post
Quote:
Originally Posted by carscatscoffee15 View Post
I admire their work.

Do you have dyno sheet?
Here you go - This is with the factory exhaust manifolds, Super Sprint cat-back exhaust with no secondary cat and the AFE intake.

[IMG]http://www.contextoverview.com/wp-co...1/IMG_5592.jpg[/IMG]
wow reads a bit better than mine.. are you on a MT?

here's my sheet done in Raleigh on a 90ish degree day in Aug (dynojet instead of a mustang)

mods done at baseline: AA headers, AA exhaust, res and 2nd cats intact

mods done on second pull: 3IM, MILVs + everything mentioned above

haven't dynoed it since but after those mods I just ended up keeping the res and removing the secondaries.

happy with the results?
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Mods Done: AA Exhaust/Headers | 3SIM | MILVs | StageFP Dyno Tuned | Euro Box Intake Swap | LCI Blackline Tailights | OEM Euro Bi-Xenon Swap from Halogen | Rear Bumper M-Sport Swap | Rear PDC Retrofit | BMW OEM CF Diffuser/Spoiler | BMW Front Aero Kit | Supersprint Sec 1 Cat Delete Straight Pipes

To Do: Ohlins R n T Suspension | Front/Rear Sway Bars | M3 Front Control Arms/Bushings

Eventually: AT -> MT Swap (!?)
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      01-03-2021, 02:12 PM   #13
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Quote:
Originally Posted by carscatscoffee15 View Post
wow reads a bit better than mine.. are you on a MT?

here's my sheet done in Raleigh on a 90ish degree day in Aug (dynojet instead of a mustang)
Yes, six-speed manual transmission.

Temps were in the upper 40s, so it was a bit cooler than your runs.

I don't really pay attention to dyno comparisons. It's a tool for tuning a specific car on a specific day.

I will say, the tune has drastically improved the feel of the car. There's always been a weird delay in throttle on/off and that's gone. The change in power starting at 3K should be a boost at autocross, the car always felt flat coming out of tight elements.
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