To the guys with re flashes and tunes

[six-n-twins]

I see alot of people on this board using SSTT or ecu reflashes. This takes the quick 135 to a new level. Watching videos of ecu'ed 135's roasting bolt on camaros, mustang cobras and even hanging somewhat with a zo6. I want this kinda power.

But here's what freaks me out.... here goes the warranty talk again. Arent you guys afraid of blowing the turbos or motor? Can you imagine BMW believing you mushroomed the piston and blew the head gasket during "spirited" driving. Now you have a broken 40k car that will cost you 6 million dollars out of pocket to fix. If you kill the car, can you reflash the ecu to stock so beemer cant figure it out?

What would your plan be if you grenaded the car with an SSTT or flash, etc, when you had it towed to BMW? No one seems to care.

[jtsherri]

Sh*t happens, man. If you're going to play, prepare to [potentially] pay.

This is exactly why I have a line drawn in the sand for my mods and won't be crossing it until the car is almost completely paid off.

EDIT: Keep in mind that I speak from experience too... The good news is that I previously popped an STi motor that cost me $3500 to replace vs. $Texas for the N54B30 in our babies.

[six-n-twins]

Originally Posted by jtsherri

Sh*t happens, man. If you're going to play, prepare to [potentially] pay.

This is exactly why I have a line drawn in the sand for my mods and won't be crossing it until the car is almost completely paid off.

EDIT: Keep in mind that I speak from experience too... The good news is that I previously popped an STi motor that cost me $3500 to replace vs. $Texas for the N54B30 in our babies.

That sucks. With my supra, I had it modded pretty well. And I was prepared for things to go boom. It was a 10 year old car, far from warranty. But this is different. I think my wife would think about leaving me if I killed this car.

So basically, there is no safety net. Just keep your fingers crossed and hope you dont get caught holding the bag?

[jtsherri]

Originally Posted by six-n-twins

That sucks. With my supra, I had it modded pretty well. And I was prepared for things to go boom. It was a 10 year old car, far from warranty. But this is different. I think my wife would think about leaving me if I killed this car.

So basically, there is no safety net. Just keep your fingers crossed and hope you dont get caught holding the bag?

Pretty much, man. There's always SSTT, which runs the car within parameters that BMW intended it to, but you'd definitely want to remove it prior to any visits to the dealership. Dinan is a worth-while consideration as well since they take over coverage of the car under the same terms as BMW; however, many claim that you can get some arguing between BMW and Dinan as to who's actually at fault.

As soon as it's available for my DME I'll likely be going with Dinan because it's a full reflash and makes a bit more power, but it's also more expensive. I'm anxious to see more on Shark Edit and what CP-E is working on prior to deciding for sure though.

There are also other solutions out there and others in the works, but I feel there is more risk to running these vs. what I've mentioned above. This is just my opinion though.

Happy shopping! :smile:

[frimmelnojerz]

pay to play. warranty issues are definitely a concern and thats why dinan is so appealing. think about it this way..if youre afraid of a blown turbo or motor running up in the high thousands of dollars than a 2k pricetag for a flash with a warranty doesnt sound so bad does it?

[damian]

this is pretty much why i'm leaning toward dinan. I can't see myself doing much more than dinan + some exhaust stuff.

[coco_m3]

SSTT SSTT SSTT!!

what is so hard about plug it in, unplug it.
its simple i promise.
do et!

[itsthechuck]

Originally Posted by jtsherri

Sh*t happens, man. If you're going to play, prepare to [potentially] pay.

This is exactly why I have a line drawn in the sand for my mods and won't be crossing it until the car is almost completely paid off.

EDIT: Keep in mind that I speak from experience too... The good news is that I previously popped an STi motor that cost me $3500 to replace vs. $Texas for the N54B30 in our babies.

I blew a couple Subaru engines in my day, although mine were blown due to turbo upgrades. If your BMW goes due to a tune such as the juicebox or sst what is stopping you from pulling off the ecu/piggyback and bringing it back to the dealer?

[///M ichael]

Originally Posted by silverbullet135i

SSTT SSTT SSTT!!

what is so hard about plug it in, unplug it.
its simple i promise.
do et!

That is the way I am going, when the 1 is here....
No JB for me....

[MrRoboto]

Why not just go for the RR downpipes. No harm to the ecu and pretty good gains.

[0002s]

Originally Posted by MrRoboto

Why not just go for the RR downpipes. No harm to the ecu and pretty good gains.

1. Because you need to tune the car to get the best out of downpipes

2. DP's will cause boost spikes without tune

3. DP's are a bitch to install or more to the point un-install when you have to go back to the dealer for service. They will redflag your car if they see the DP's

4. Potential "limp modes"


-jm2c

[0002s]

Originally Posted by six-n-twins

I see alot of people on this board using SSTT or ecu reflashes. This takes the quick 135 to a new level. Watching videos of ecu'ed 135's roasting bolt on camaros, mustang cobras and even hanging somewhat with a zo6. I want this kinda power.

But here's what freaks me out.... here goes the warranty talk again. Arent you guys afraid of blowing the turbos or motor? Can you imagine BMW believing you mushroomed the piston and blew the head gasket during "spirited" driving. Now you have a broken 40k car that will cost you 6 million dollars out of pocket to fix. If you kill the car, can you reflash the ecu to stock so beemer cant figure it out?

What would your plan be if you grenaded the car with an SSTT or flash, etc, when you had it towed to BMW? No one seems to care.

SSTT and JB1 are about as safe as it gets.

SSTT FACTS:
http://www.e90post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=92054


If you cannot afford to deal with the potential consequences of modding your car then it's probably not a good idea to mod your car. Modding a lease car is probably not a good idea either.

SSTT lets the ECU maintain control of the car. It intercepts the TMAF signal and sends a signal to the ECU that runs the car as if it were at higher altitude and cooler temps. (say you live in Boulder, CO) If you lived in Boulder you would run higher boost than Death Valley. SO.....if you were running Boulder boost in Death Valley you would be faster.

Now the BMW ECU has a range of running based on OCT, Temp, Barometric Pressure...and so on. SSTT stays within BMW's factory preset ranges thus never shows up and or causes limps (limps could be caused by SSTT with other mods).

Finally....nothing but a stock car is foolproof for potential warranty issues. Most of the horror stories you hear are from people who push the car well beyond reasonable power increases.

-jm2c

[MrRoboto]

Originally Posted by 0002s

1. Because you need to tune the car to get the best out of downpipes

2. DP's will cause boost spikes without tune

3. DP's are a bitch to install or more to the point un-install when you have to go back to the dealer for service. They will redflag your car if they see the DP's

4. Potential "limp modes"


-jm2c

The other thing. If SSTT and JB are as good as it gets where is the warranty to ensure blown components will be looked after? The chap at e90 was running JB.
Are you a SSTT reseller? Seems like your comments are quite one sided at times.

Have you been following this thread? The issue at hand is software has caused some major damage in some cases.

1. As per RissRacing, no software tune is needed for modest gains. Forget about pushing it to the limit.

2. Please elaborate.

3. I see your point about uninstalling. If it is a catted DP their shouldnt be much problem with dealer. Have to look into it.

4. I would have to look into this more.

[jtsherri]

Originally Posted by itsthechuck

I blew a couple Subaru engines in my day, although mine were blown due to turbo upgrades. If your BMW goes due to a tune such as the juicebox or sst what is stopping you from pulling off the ecu/piggyback and bringing it back to the dealer?

There really is no reason you couldn't, BUT given the location of the DME in this vehicle I would be VERY careful with these options. If there's any indication that you were in there fooling around BMW can and will deny warranty.

Also, I personally haven't kept up with the details of the "hidden" codes being thrown by the newer version of the DME because I'd be safe running either of the upgrades that I'm considering; however, if they really do exist you'll get busted regardless of having a piggyback installed or removed at the time of visiting the dealership.

[MrRoboto]

Originally Posted by 0002s

SSTT and JB1 are about as safe as it gets.

SSTT FACTS:
http://www.e90post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=92054


If you cannot afford to deal with the potential consequences of modding your car then it's probably not a good idea to mod your car. Modding a lease car is probably not a good idea either.

SSTT lets the ECU maintain control of the car. It intercepts the TMAF signal and sends a signal to the ECU that runs the car as if it were at higher altitude and cooler temps. (say you live in Boulder, CO) If you lived in Boulder you would run higher boost than Death Valley. SO.....if you were running Boulder boost in Death Valley you would be faster.

Now the BMW ECU has a range of running based on OCT, Temp, Barometric Pressure...and so on. SSTT stays within BMW's factory preset ranges thus never shows up and or causes limps (limps could be caused by SSTT with other mods).

Finally....nothing but a stock car is foolproof for potential warranty issues. Most of the horror stories you hear are from people who push the car well beyond reasonable power increases.

-jm2c

If JB and SSTT are as good as it gets where is the warranty on potential damaged components?

[jtsherri]

Originally Posted by MrRoboto

The other thing. If SSTT and JB are as good as it gets where is the warranty to ensure blown components will be looked after? The chap at e90 was running JB.
Are you a SSTT reseller? Seems like your comments are quite one sided at times.

Shawn is partial to SSTT for good reason. First and foremost, he owns one! And while it isn't covered by warranty, it is cheap, reliable and doesn't take the car beyond safe parameters. Essentially it's not attempting to achieve anything that BMW hasn't intended the car to do on its own. In a sense this really isn't a "tune" as much as a "trick."

[Crowley]

What is funny is that the cars you metioned all respond well to mods as well. Having owned a 2001 SS and 2004 Mustang Cobra, those motors were bulletproof .. I don't think that the 135i engine is as robust. That being said, I also think it has to do with how you take care of the car. If you don't beat it all of the time and make sure to change fluids regularly and "listen" to it, I am sure that even modified 135s will last a fairly long time.

If you want to stay with a warranty .. DINAN is the only option right now.

Crowley

[MrRoboto]

I guess I need to do some more research. Is their much difference between JB and SSTT?

[JuggernautTCW]

Originally Posted by Crowley

If you want to stay with a warranty .. DINAN is the only option right now.

when you actually blow your turbo or motor, whos to say Dinan wont argue that its BMW's fault?... Once that happens, Dinan blames BMW and BMW blames Dinan... guess whos the loser of the battle? you...

[0002s]

Originally Posted by MrRoboto

If JB and SSTT are as good as it gets where is the warranty on potential damaged components?

Never said there was, or should be a warranty claim by BMW or the tuners. Modding a car has RISK. If you one does not like the risk then one should not take said risk.

SSTT / JB1 (not 2) are the tunes that have the least risk associated with using them. The are also at the low end of power increases.

MORE POWER = MORE BOOST = MORE RISK - simple as that.

Dinan warranty is NOT BMW warranty. If you have an Dinan issue you will have Dinan pay. Dinan will claim it's BMW's fault and BMW will claim it's Dinan's fault.

The part of Dinan that gives people a "warm fuzzy" is that the dealer installs it. The dealer is NOT BMW. They are private business. BMW can still void your power train warranty with Dinan tune.

Dinan's warranty is only as good as Dinan's honoring it. Since Dinan Stage One is pretty much the same as SSTT and JB1 gains it's also relatively safe to run. It's the $2500 part that doesn't add up for the power gains.

Again....anytime you mod a car's power train past the factory specs you are taking a risk. The amount of risk is a personal choice. There are VERY FEW catastrophic failures with any of the tunes though. Most of them are because the owner/driver added more mods beyond the stock tune and didn't get a customer tune to match or ran right at the edge of the tune.

[0002s]

Originally Posted by jtsherri

Shawn is partial to SSTT for good reason. First and foremost, he owns one! And while it isn't covered by warranty, it is cheap, reliable and doesn't take the car beyond safe parameters. Essentially it's not attempting to achieve anything that BMW hasn't intended the car to do on its own. In a sense this really isn't a "tune" as much as a "trick."

I don't really own one, I just play one on TV......:wink:

btw....I am no fai boy of SSTT. It's not the best for overall power gains. There are many faster tunes that are relatively safe.

I personally don't see taking a much greater risk for 20 whp gains. I also don't see adding DP's, CB exhausts, o2 sensors and the rest as being viable to remove before service. That's just me though...:wink::biggrin:

[Crowley]

Originally Posted by JuggernautTCW

when you actually blow your turbo or motor, whos to say Dinan wont argue that its BMW's fault?... Once that happens, Dinan blames BMW and BMW blames Dinan... guess whos the loser of the battle? you...

True .. but some chance of keeping (or rather Dinan paying for) a warrenty vs No warrenty makes it the better choice in that respect.

Crowley