Bootmod3 - Stage 1 Review on ACN91 (First impressions)

[hellokitty]

Hi guys,

I just wanted to share my thoughts on Bootmod3 stage 1 (ACN91) now that I just came back from a drive with it after flashing it from completely stock. My factory warranty expired this month, so I decided to add some pep to the car. It is a 2017 ZCP M3 with BMC filters, Bilstein DDC coilovers and an Akrapovic Evo system. Everything else is stock.

I was seriously considering the following tunes:

- Carbahn
- Dinan
- Weistec

However, I really wasn't sure which route to take and these tunes are $600+! So many options, so much money to lay out, all for an uncertain outcome on what would suit me best.

Then I realized something: my wife has a Bootmod3 tune on her car because she kept asking me for something to make her car feel peppier (N55).

So what did I do? What any reasonable husband would do... uninstall bootmod3 from her car, transfer her license to my VIN and hope she won't notice

Anyways, she now has a stock car and I am flashed on Stage 1 ACN91 and I like it! Based on EAS' dyno, the ACN91 map is supposed to be at around 460 whp / 460 wtq, so that is a gain of about 25-30 whp/wtq peak from my stock ZCP car. Nothing crazy in terms of the quantitative data, but in the real world, it is a completely different story.The power is much more substantial from 3500rpm to redline (i.e., there is more area under the curve for passing and heavy acceleration driving).

I am still on the original SCH, but I felt comfortable due to the ACN map's lower power levels, specifically less peak wtq compared to BM3 Stage 1 93 octane for example. There is only so much power one can extract from ACN91, so all of the tunes are pretty much in line with each other from my perspective when running on ACN91.

I may just add a crank bolt capture (or replace the entire hub down the line) since I am keeping this car for a long time.

Overall buttery smooth from the V9.1 map from PTF. It feels like stock down low, but much better throttle response and power up top. Feel free to ask me any questions

[bmwmdistrict]

Thanks, I am in a pretty similar situation as my CPO warranty expired in March and so I have gone open season with powertrain mods, etc. and have held off of a tune for this long because of the warranty.

I am on the fence still about if it is even worth it to tune the car, but I keep reading about how much better the throttle and power up top is. I do not have a CBC or crank hub fix so I am also cautious about doing anything stupid from a tuning perspective that will brick my M4. I would want to do a 91 octane Stage 1 tune even though I have upgraded top mount intercooler, heat exchanger, chargepipes and j-pipe. I have stock downpipes and until I get the crank hub fix or at minimum a CBC I just don't want to push my luck.

Thanks for your post and feel free to let me know your thoughts on my situation although I am not triyng to thread hijack.

So what did I do? What any reasonable husband would do... uninstall bootmod3 from her car, transfer her license to my VIN and hope she won't notice

man I was dying reading this

[jfritz27]

[hellokitty]

Originally Posted by bsm.m4

Thanks, I am in a pretty similar situation as my CPO warranty expired in March and so I have gone open season with powertrain mods, etc. and have held off of a tune for this long because of the warranty.

I am on the fence still about if it is even worth it to tune the car, but I keep reading about how much better the throttle and power up top is. I do not have a CBC or crank hub fix so I am also cautious about doing anything stupid from a tuning perspective that will brick my M4. I would want to do a 91 octane Stage 1 tune even though I have upgraded top mount intercooler, heat exchanger, chargepipes and j-pipe. I have stock downpipes and until I get the crank hub fix or at minimum a CBC I just don't want to push my luck.

Thanks for your post and feel free to let me know your thoughts on my situation although I am not triyng to thread hijack.

man I was dying reading this

I've talked to a lot of dealers and even called Dinan and Carbahn. The consensus is if you are running a ACN 91 map, you should be fine without a upgraded crank hub. I think once you start to push it on non-ACN 91, 93, E30, E85 and drive your car hard, then do the hub. I think 93 the octane map puts you at 500-510 whp and 530-550 wtq which is a lot higher compared to ACN91 which is 460whp and 460 wtq.

My car is a 2017 so it has the updates friction plate... better than nothing. However if you have an older car, then at least do a CBC. I've seen shops install those for $200 including the part itself.

The tune makes a big difference in daily driving. You don't really need to floor the car to get the car to move (eg to pass cars). It's just faster all around and very smooth like OEM.

[mike@x-ph.com]

Glad you like it

[bmwmdistrict]

Originally Posted by hellokitty

I've talked to a lot of dealers and even called Dinan and Carbahn. The consensus is if you are running a ACN 91 map, you should be fine without a upgraded crank hub. I think once you start to push it on non-ACN 91, 93, E30, E85 and drive your car hard, then do the hub. I think 93 the octane map puts you at 500-510 whp and 530-550 wtq which is a lot higher compared to ACN91 which is 460whp and 460 wtq.

My car is a 2017 so it has the updates friction plate... better than nothing. However if you have an older car, then at least do a CBC. I've seen shops install those for $200 including the part itself.

The tune makes a big difference in daily driving. You don't really need to floor the car to get the car to move (eg to pass cars). It's just faster all around and very smooth like OEM.

Thanks, this was very helpful!

[TopJimmy]

Dude, I give you Two Gold Stars for jackin the BM3 back from Wifey!!!

That's friggin hysterical!

Say "I guess your turbos are old..." if she notices. Buy yourself GCs and put her back on a Stage!
(yes I'm divorced)

[blkcow]

Any chance you have a link to the ACN91 dyno graphs? I couldn’t find them anywhere

[hellokitty]

Originally Posted by blkcow11291

Any chance you have a link to the ACN91 dyno graphs? I couldn't find them anywhere

https://f80.bimmerpost.com/forums/sh....php?t=1665741

[blkcow]

Originally Posted by hellokitty

https://f80.bimmerpost.com/forums/sh....php?t=1665741

Thanks! Though that post seems to suggest that regular stage 1 and ACN stage 1 make ~460hp and I thought stage 1 was closer to 500?

[CT_M3]

Thanks for the review, appreciate it as I have to use 91 too.

A little curious though as this confused me.
ZCP runs 445hp but that is crank rated. WHP should have a drive train loss of around 15-20%, which puts it at 370-390 whp.

The stage 1 map from BM3 claims about 20% gain, which puts you back around the 440+ whp range, which is roughly in the ballpark of what you stated. This puts the crank hp of a Stage 1 closer to 500 ish crank hp.

So the gain isn’t 20-25 hp, its closer to 60-80 hp at least (I’m guesstimating here).

That makes sense from many of the stage 1 maps. 93 does give you more oomph, but not substantially more.

Besides, a 20-25hp gain over ZCP stock is even less than a GTS tune which is considered mild. If you want a mild tune, this is offered OTS from BM3 too.

Originally Posted by hellokitty

Anyways, she now has a stock car and I am flashed on Stage 1 ACN91 and I like it! Based on EAS' dyno, the ACN91 map is supposed to be at around 460 whp / 460 wtq, so that is a gain of about 25-30 whp/wtq peak from my stock ZCP car. Nothing crazy in terms of the quantitative data, but in the real world, it is a completely different story.The power is much more substantial from 3500rpm to redline (i.e., there is more area under the curve for passing and heavy acceleration driving).

[hellokitty]

Originally Posted by blkcow11291

Thanks! Though that post seems to suggest that regular stage 1 and ACN stage 1 make ~460hp and I thought stage 1 was closer to 500?

Since both guys were running Cali fuel, the DME reduced timing to the point where they both made the same power even though the regular 91 map is more aggressive.

[hellokitty]

Originally Posted by CT_M3

Thanks for the review, appreciate it as I have to use 91 too.

A little curious though as this confused me.
ZCP runs 445hp but that is crank rated. WHP should have a drive train loss of around 15-20%, which puts it at 370-390 whp.

The stage 1 map from BM3 claims about 20% gain, which puts you back around the 440+ whp range, which is roughly in the ballpark of what you stated. This puts the crank hp of a Stage 1 closer to 500 ish crank hp.

So the gain isn't 20-25 hp, its closer to 60-80 hp at least (I'm guesstimating here).

That makes sense from many of the stage 1 maps. 93 does give you more oomph, but not substantially more.

Besides, a 20-25hp gain over ZCP stock is even less than a GTS tune which is considered mild. If you want a mild tune, this is offered OTS from BM3 too.

Here is a base M3 dyno at EAS. It made around 420 whp 420 wtq completely stock on 91 octane. The second video is a stock ZCP car making 440 whp 440 wtq. The link I posted above shows two cars with bootmod stage 1 (both on 91 octane maps) making 460 whp and 460 wtq on the same dyno.

I am only comparing EAS dyno numbers measured at the wheel. Once you start comparing different dyno videos from all over the world then start throwing out crank vs wheel power, the information becomes incomparable.

Don't even get me started on the advertised gains from different vendors and tuners LOL... everyone claims something different but as consumers, we need a real baseline to measure what is best for our needs and goals.

[Trevorstein]

Originally Posted by CT_M3

Thanks for the review, appreciate it as I have to use 91 too.

A little curious though as this confused me.
ZCP runs 445hp but that is crank rated. WHP should have a drive train loss of around 15-20%, which puts it at 370-390 whp.

The stage 1 map from BM3 claims about 20% gain, which puts you back around the 440+ whp range, which is roughly in the ballpark of what you stated. This puts the crank hp of a Stage 1 closer to 500 ish crank hp.

So the gain isn’t 20-25 hp, its closer to 60-80 hp at least (I’m guesstimating here).

That makes sense from many of the stage 1 maps. 93 does give you more oomph, but not substantially more.

Besides, a 20-25hp gain over ZCP stock is even less than a GTS tune which is considered mild. If you want a mild tune, this is offered OTS from BM3 too.

Yeah! Same here.

BMW notoriously underrates their cars. Mine Dyno'd. @404RWHp and I've heard a lot hover around 426RWHp - "Stock"!

As you indicated, "BM3" posts their gains in %'s so do the math from these real world numbers and you'll be better
able to calculate actual Hp from there.

[CT_M3]

Yep. Totally get that some cars are underrated. But if Stage 1 only gets you 20 additional whp, I wouldn't bother, especially because of the wear and tear, crank hub risk. So lets say a ZCP dynos @ 420hp. A 20% gain nets you 80 hp all things being equal~ 500hp.

Originally Posted by Trevorstein

Yeah! Same here.

BMW notoriously underrates their cars. Mine Dyno'd. @404RWHp and I've heard a lot hover around 426RWHp - "Stock"!

As you indicated, "BM3" posts their gains in %'s so do the math from these real world numbers and you'll be better
able to calculate actual Hp from there.

[Trevorstein]

And, As far as the heirarchy (in power) of the maps goes (take a look here)...

Originally Posted by Trevorstein

Thanks!

Ok., I mentioned the, "separate Stage CS+ map". According to a post (by PTF ?), a while back...

Cheers!

[hellokitty]

Originally Posted by CT_M3

Yep. Totally get that some cars are underrated. But if Stage 1 only gets you 20 additional whp, I wouldn't bother, especially because of the wear and tear, crank hub risk. So lets say a ZCP dynos @ 420hp. A 20% gain nets you 80 hp all things being equal~ 500hp.

Here is a dyno of the M4 GTS. When you do the conversion to US Dynojet numbers, the GTS makes 460 whp. This is the same output as BM3 stage 1 on 91 octane.

This is really the "limit" of where I'm comfortable in terms of power. My thinking is that as long as my existing tune's output falls in line with the most hardcore BMW factory tune, then the risk of failure is unchanged since the engine is the same as the GTS except for water injection. Once you start blowing past these numbers with higher octane, the risk of failure becomes exponential. This is apparent when running E85 and adding another 100 whp on top of where BMW set their factory limits on the GTS.

Of course, the GTS has water injection to manage the higher intake temperatures from factory tuning to ensure it can ensure track duty. With that said, you can try to overcome that by installing a bigger heat exchanger to maximize the factory intercooler efficiency and get a comparable setup to the M4 GTS in terms of peak power. We've seen proof that the factory heat exchanger is the weak link when running higher boost rather than the intercooler itself.

[CT_M3]

That makes sense except:

I've heard of GTS cars also having crank hub issues from local shops. Even if you stay stock, the risk will never entirely go away. It's rare but it does happen.

I think if I'm tuning, a CBC is the minimum or going all the way with the CH fix, because if you're stock, at least you can get BMW to warranty it otherwise you're rolling the dice. If and when I tune, it's the full fix and Stage 1/2 at minimum with E85 if I need it. Pay to play is how I look at it.

PS. My point earlier was that yes, while the GTS is making 460whp thereabouts, that was for that particular car; the claim of 20hp gain in your initial post is underrated unless you dyno your car before and after the tune. Stage 1 makes 20% gains i.e 80+hp gain off the baseline of each car, not 20hp, based on the many reviews we've see here.

[F80RN]

Are OEM plugs ok to use on ACN91 Stage 1 or 2? I'm eventually going to go with full e85 (or flex fuel tune) once I get a few additional parts and that's when I was planning on changing out plugs and plug boots. Just don't want to change plugs until then since the dealer just threw in new plugs when I got the car.

[hellokitty]

Originally Posted by CT_M3

That makes sense except:

I've heard of GTS cars also having crank hub issues from local shops. Even if you stay stock, the risk will never entirely go away. It's rare but it does happen.

I think if I'm tuning, a CBC is the minimum or going all the way with the CH fix, because if you're stock, at least you can get BMW to warranty it otherwise you're rolling the dice. If and when I tune, it's the full fix and Stage 1/2 at minimum with E85 if I need it. Pay to play is how I look at it.

PS. My point earlier was that yes, while the GTS is making 460whp thereabouts, that was for that particular car; the claim of 20hp gain in your initial post is underrated unless you dyno your car before and after the tune. Stage 1 makes 20% gains i.e 80+hp gain off the baseline of each car, not 20hp, based on the many reviews we've see here.

I'm basing my 20 whp gain claim on the fact that EAS has dynoed a stock base car, a stock zcp car and a stock BM3 stage 1 acn 91 car and each level up has increased 20 whp peak. I am local to EAS, but never felt the need to dyno my own car there since there are tens of not hundreds of F8X cars that have been on that same dyno with varying modifications and each has produced a similar power level for the types of mods within a marginal variance.

We are talking about peak numbers at the end of the day... the power curve is really what makes the car feel like night and day rather than just the peak gains.

[hellokitty]

Originally Posted by F80RN

Are OEM plugs ok to use on ACN91 Stage 1 or 2? I'm eventually going to go with full e85 (or flex fuel tune) once I get a few additional parts and that's when I was planning on changing out plugs and plug boots. Just don't want to change plugs until then since the dealer just threw in new plugs when I got the car.

Here ya go!

https://bootmod3.atlassian.net/wiki/.../pages/2558945

[F80RN]

Originally Posted by hellokitty

Here ya go!

https://bootmod3.atlassian.net/wiki/.../pages/2558945

thank you very much!!!

There's so much info that I'm sure I've read this and forgotten it already.