HEX Tuning - BMW F8X M3/M4 - SOFTWARE UPDATE

[VF-Engineering]

Originally Posted by Sahbatage

Add me to the list of MT with this symptom

Will do.

As mentioned, it still seems to be exclusive to 6MT cars.

We're working to get a couple local cars for some further testing and will follow up as soon as we have it all sorted.

[Sonic_M2c]

Spent another day at track yesterday. The hesitation in 3rd and 4th gear is real! Like every single time when I exit corner and accelerate, no exceptions.I'm DCT btw

[VF-Engineering]

Originally Posted by Levi

Spent another day at track yesterday. The hesitation in 3rd and 4th gear is real! Like every single time when I exit corner and accelerate, no exceptions.I'm DCT btw

I'm willing to bet your symptom is completely different from what the
manual transmission customers are experiencing.

Are your running with full Traction Control On, or MDM, of TC Off?

All of the DCT customers we have reviews from have been favorable
for this update. Even the 6MT customers who have the symptoms are
still very much satisfied with the product overall, and understand that
we are looking to improve drivability to a very high degree, and beyond
the standards most other software products currently available.

[clutchdj]

The MT symptom is throttle sensitivity (over sensitive) issue. I have over 700m since the reflash and have noticitced the following: When the engine is cold the pogo effect is most noticeable when rolling off the throttle at low street speeds. When the engine's at operating temp (oil above 200F) you have to squeeze the pedal on/off (low street speeds) and you can almost eliminate the pogo'ing. I think its a mid range calibration thing that can be tweaked. On days south of the border where you can wind out 3rd and 4th, nothing else matters after that. the car's very fast for a street car has a linear pull post 3k. I don't get any surging in euro mdm or with all nannies off.

[M4apex]

I've had the Hex Stage 1 and TCU tunes for about 3 weeks now, and about 800 miles of driving, with several dozen key cycles (daily driver for the most part). I have a '15 F82 with DCT. And I have the Hex software update. Overall, very impressed and pleased with the tune. If your in Denver, Scott and the team at 3zero3 Motorsports did an awesome job on the install!! I highly recommend them!!

Passengers are shocked at the torque and pull in 2nd and 3rd gears. So am I! Took it to test and tune at Bandimere (Denver, CO drag strip at 5800' elevation). Best runs were in the 11.8 and 11.9 sec range, at about 119mph. Traction is the issue. The Hex tune pulled strong and no issues. I also had a few runs at 122mph speed, but poor 0-60' time. I was running my stock MPSS at about 25 psi. Before the tune, my best run was 12.2 at 116mph, with most runs in the 12.4-12.5 range. I'm pretty sure I could get into the 11.6 range if I can get better traction and better 0-60'. Slips attached. I'm car 732.

But on the street, I'm also getting two small issues:

Issue 1:
The slight hesitation issue. I did some ad-hoc testing and tracked results on the BMW M Laptimer to track throttle position. I did multiple pulls, in both 3 gear and 4th gear, always started at 2,500rpms and pulled to 5500+rpms. I did all pulls in DCT S2 and also in S3, throttle in Sport +, and with DST fully off. I've also tested with DST in MDM (Euro MDM) and fully-on with same results, and also a couple pulls in throttle Sport, DST off, with same results. So this is not a DST or throttle sensitivity issue, best I can tell. My findings:

- There are always 3 slight hesitations, first the most noticeable, then the 2nd two, very slight. The hesitation is not DST (since it is fully off). And the hesitation feels as if I slightly let off the throttle for an instant. But I'm at WOT and the M Laptimer shows 100% throttle for every run I recorded.

- Hesitations are always between 4000 and 4500rpms. After 4500rpms it pulls hard to redline. Before 4000 rpms, it pulls clean and strong.

- I don't notice the hesitations in 1st or 2nd gear, but I'm guessing because it pulls so quickly through the rev range.

- I did a couple pulls in 5th and 6th gears, with same hesitations, but ran out of reasonable open road on highway to record more runs in those gears.

- I'm in Colorado and running 91 octane. As a side note, I filled with 10 gal of 100 octane when I did the dragstrip this past weekend. I did a few ad-hoc pulls on the highway with same hesitation between 4000 and 4500rpms.

I do not have experience with the details behind tuning, fuel, engine parameters, etc., so I wanted to document my testing to see if it helps VF or others here troubleshoot the issue.


Issue 2:
Hesitation when applying throttle after sharp corner apex. This is a more seat-of-pants testing, so no tracking of data or anything.

- this feels like DST coming on when applying throttle, but I don't see the dashboard light flash. Once car is straight, it provides full throttle and pulls very hard.

- I'm in DST MDM mode, again Euro coded.

- When I fully shut off DST, I don't feel the hesitation, and get a nice controlled oversteer, as expected.

- So, I'm pretty sure this hesitation is due to DST MDM mode, but I don't see the light flashing on the dash.

- If I do same corner with DST fully on, I see lots of flashing DST lights on dash.

- so, maybe this is not an issue, DST is working as designed, but I don't see the light flashing when in MDM mode. If I just do WOT in 1st or 2nd gear going straight, with MDM on, I do get lots of flashing light on my dashboard, so the MDM mode light is working. But not in the corner exit scenario. Maybe it's my MDM Euro coding settings. I don't know. Again, I'm not experienced in coding and had a friend do it.

Hopefully, this long post is helpful. VF... if interested, PM me and I can provide more details. And overall, I'm extremely pleased and happy with the Hex tune!! My issues are minor. I highly recommend the Stage 1 and TCU tunes!

[Sonic_M2c]

Originally Posted by M4apex

Issue 2:
Hesitation when applying throttle after sharp corner apex. This is a more seat-of-pants testing, so no tracking of data or anything.

- this feels like DST coming on when applying throttle, but I don't see the dashboard light flash. Once car is straight, it provides full throttle and pulls very hard.

- I'm in DST MDM mode, again Euro coded.

- When I fully shut off DST, I don't feel the hesitation, and get a nice controlled oversteer, as expected.

- So, I'm pretty sure this hesitation is due to DST MDM mode, but I don't see the light flashing on the dash.

- If I do same corner with DST fully on, I see lots of flashing DST lights on dash.

- so, maybe this is not an issue, DST is working as designed, but I don't see the light flashing when in MDM mode. If I just do WOT in 1st or 2nd gear going straight, with MDM on, I do get lots of flashing light on my dashboard, so the MDM mode light is working. But not in the corner exit scenario. Maybe it's my MDM Euro coding settings. I don't know. Again, I'm not experienced in coding and had a friend do it.

Exactly the same experience as mine. Maybe I'll try next time with DSC fully off. Thank you for sharing the info!

[Pak317]

Originally Posted by M4apex

I've had the Hex Stage 1 and TCU tunes for about 3 weeks now, and about 800 miles of driving, with several dozen key cycles (daily driver for the most part). I have a '15 F82 with DCT. And I have the Hex software update. Overall, very impressed and pleased with the tune. If your in Denver, Scott and the team at 3zero3 Motorsports did an awesome job on the install!! I highly recommend them!!

Passengers are shocked at the torque and pull in 2nd and 3rd gears. So am I! Took it to test and tune at Bandimere (Denver, CO drag strip at 5800' elevation). Best runs were in the 11.8 and 11.9 sec range, at about 119mph. Traction is the issue. The Hex tune pulled strong and no issues. I also had a few runs at 122mph speed, but poor 0-60' time. I was running my stock MPSS at about 25 psi. Before the tune, my best run was 12.2 at 116mph, with most runs in the 12.4-12.5 range. I'm pretty sure I could get into the 11.6 range if I can get better traction and better 0-60'. Slips attached. I'm car 732.

But on the street, I'm also getting two small issues:

Issue 1:
The slight hesitation issue. I did some ad-hoc testing and tracked results on the BMW M Laptimer to track throttle position. I did multiple pulls, in both 3 gear and 4th gear, always started at 2,500rpms and pulled to 5500+rpms. I did all pulls in DCT S2 and also in S3, throttle in Sport +, and with DST fully off. I've also tested with DST in MDM (Euro MDM) and fully-on with same results, and also a couple pulls in throttle Sport, DST off, with same results. So this is not a DST or throttle sensitivity issue, best I can tell. My findings:

- There are always 3 slight hesitations, first the most noticeable, then the 2nd two, very slight. The hesitation is not DST (since it is fully off). And the hesitation feels as if I slightly let off the throttle for an instant. But I'm at WOT and the M Laptimer shows 100% throttle for every run I recorded.

- Hesitations are always between 4000 and 4500rpms. After 4500rpms it pulls hard to redline. Before 4000 rpms, it pulls clean and strong.

- I don't notice the hesitations in 1st or 2nd gear, but I'm guessing because it pulls so quickly through the rev range.

- I did a couple pulls in 5th and 6th gears, with same hesitations, but ran out of reasonable open road on highway to record more runs in those gears.

- I'm in Colorado and running 91 octane. As a side note, I filled with 10 gal of 100 octane when I did the dragstrip this past weekend. I did a few ad-hoc pulls on the highway with same hesitation between 4000 and 4500rpms.

I do not have experience with the details behind tuning, fuel, engine parameters, etc., so I wanted to document my testing to see if it helps VF or others here troubleshoot the issue.


Issue 2:
Hesitation when applying throttle after sharp corner apex. This is a more seat-of-pants testing, so no tracking of data or anything.

- this feels like DST coming on when applying throttle, but I don't see the dashboard light flash. Once car is straight, it provides full throttle and pulls very hard.

- I'm in DST MDM mode, again Euro coded.

- When I fully shut off DST, I don't feel the hesitation, and get a nice controlled oversteer, as expected.

- So, I'm pretty sure this hesitation is due to DST MDM mode, but I don't see the light flashing on the dash.

- If I do same corner with DST fully on, I see lots of flashing DST lights on dash.

- so, maybe this is not an issue, DST is working as designed, but I don't see the light flashing when in MDM mode. If I just do WOT in 1st or 2nd gear going straight, with MDM on, I do get lots of flashing light on my dashboard, so the MDM mode light is working. But not in the corner exit scenario. Maybe it's my MDM Euro coding settings. I don't know. Again, I'm not experienced in coding and had a friend do it.

Hopefully, this long post is helpful. VF... if interested, PM me and I can provide more details. And overall, I'm extremely pleased and happy with the Hex tune!! My issues are minor. I highly recommend the Stage 1 and TCU tunes!

Having the same issue with my DCT car

[frankiebones]

Its been over a month since anyone posted and I'm close to pulling the trigger on a stage one hex tune for my 6MT. any update from anyone or VF?

[VF-Engineering]

Originally Posted by frankiebones

Its been over a month since anyone posted and I'm close to pulling the trigger on a stage one hex tune for my 6MT. any update from anyone or VF?

We've issued a soft-update on the 6MT software for select customers to try out.

The feedback has been really solid, but keep in mind that the issue we are trying
to solve is subtle and varies slightly from car-to-car, and between customers as the
feedback we are receiving is subjective.
(we are trying to improve upon a condition that exists even on stock cars,
that becomes slightly exaggerated by the increased power of our software)

All of our existing customers seem to be very satisfied with their purchase and these
updates are in an effort to offer even further fine-tuning to an already stellar product.

[M4apex]

Originally Posted by VF-Engineering

We've issued a soft-update on the 6MT software for select customers to try out.

The feedback has been really solid, but keep in mind that the issue we are trying
to solve is subtle and varies slightly from car-to-car, and between customers as the
feedback we are receiving is subjective.
(we are trying to improve upon a condition that exists even on stock cars,
that becomes slightly exaggerated by the increased power of our software)

All of our existing customers seem to be very satisfied with their purchase and these
updates are in an effort to offer even further fine-tuning to an already stellar product.

I highly recommend the Hex tune. I'm confident that the minor issue I described in my post above will be figured out by VF.

[frankiebones]

Originally Posted by M4apex

I highly recommend the Hex tune. I'm confident that the minor issue I described in my post above will be figured out by VF.

Thanks for the feedback! hey, youre in colorado, how do you handle this tune during the winter??

[///MFlight81]

Are there any company that does Hex tuning in Germany? Anyone on here can help out in this?

[VF-Engineering]

Originally Posted by ///MFlight81

Are there any company that does Hex tuning in Germany? Anyone on here can help out in this?

I don't have anyone in Germany at this time, but we do have a Certified Installer in the UK.

Regal Autosport in Southamptom, UK to be specific.

The ECU can be shipped to them for the unlocking process, and then the software and map switching is all done directly through the OBDII Port.

[M4apex]

Originally Posted by frankiebones

Thanks for the feedback! hey, youre in colorado, how do you handle this tune during the winter??

So far, I'm leaving Stage 1 in place and have been driving in Sport for throttle. It's been fine. My usual setting in sport + is a bit too difficult to modulate throttle and instantly overwhelms the snow tires in cold pavement. It's easy to get MDM flashing wildly in 4th gear at 50mph if you stupidly mash the throttle!!

I have the Hex cable in case I want to put back to stock tune for winter. But I'm addicted to the stage 1 performance, exhaust burbles, etc, and probably won't go back to stock.

[Daxos]

Originally Posted by M4apex

So far, I'm leaving Stage 1 in place and have been driving in Sport for throttle. It's been fine. My usual setting in sport + is a bit too difficult to modulate throttle and instantly overwhelms the snow tires in cold pavement. It's easy to get MDM flashing wildly in 4th gear at 50mph if you stupidly mash the throttle!!

I have the Hex cable in case I want to put back to stock tune for winter. But I'm addicted to the stage 1 performance, exhaust burbles, etc, and probably won't go back to stock.

Agreed!. I have Stage 2 and I've had traction kick in in 4th or 5th on a cold day at highway speeds. I have no intention of getting rid of the tune just because of snow or cold weather. Just need to be more sensitive with the throttle in those conditions.

[frankiebones]

Originally Posted by M4apex

So far, I'm leaving Stage 1 in place and have been driving in Sport for throttle. It's been fine. My usual setting in sport + is a bit too difficult to modulate throttle and instantly overwhelms the snow tires in cold pavement. It's easy to get MDM flashing wildly in 4th gear at 50mph if you stupidly mash the throttle!!

I have the Hex cable in case I want to put back to stock tune for winter. But I'm addicted to the stage 1 performance, exhaust burbles, etc, and probably won't go back to stock.

Nice! Did you consider the features only file?

[M4apex]

Originally Posted by frankiebones

Nice! Did you consider the features only file?

Nope. I always planned to tune when I bought my F82 back in May '15, but I don't care for piggyback tunes. I decided to wait for a flash tune. After reading a lot of positive comments on the VF Hex tune, I finally did it this past September. The features that come with Stage 1 are a bonus to me. And I love the burbles. I giggle like a kid every time I hear it. Fun!

[supremepower]

Originally Posted by frankiebones

Nice! Did you consider the features only file?

We've done Features Only a couple times now and those same customers always call us back for the upgrade to Stage One or Two within a few days.

The Features are fantastic, but if you are going to go through the effort to unlock your ECU for Port Flashing, you might as well take advantage of the ability to add more power while you're at it.

We show every customer how to do the Map Switching on their own and they are always surprised by how quick it is. We timed it recently and changing maps takes 2 - 3 minutes.