OpenFlash Tablet (OFT) Stage 1 Variants

[OpenFlash]

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Hi Guys,
Sorry we haven't been active on the forums for the past several days. Our calibration team has been living on the dyno until we wee hours of the night. But we are back and ready post some info which some may find interesting. First, let's start with providing info our this particular test car. It is a 2015 M3 with 6MT. It belongs to a member on this forum who graciously traded his car with our shop AMG GTS for our 6MT testing. It is stock with the exception of an Akrapovic cat-back which really only improves exhaust sound and has little to no effect on power output. The car still retains the factory downpipes/cats. All testing done on California 91oct fuel.

First, let's talk about baseline testing. As with all our testing, we are careful when it comes to keeping coolant temp, oil temp and intake air temp within a narrow testing window. This ensures repeatable results devoid of testing bias. It also helps the ECU adapt quickly. This ensures that we are able to quantify the true effects of our tune.

First thing we did to conduct our baseline was to write the stock (original) tune file back to the ECU using our OpenFlash Tablet (OFT). Once the ECU is written, the OFT automatically clears fault codes that are triggered during the write process. The ECU write process, regardless of programming tool used, also clears the ECU of adaptation/learned values. For example, the first baseline pull we recorded after the ECU was written with the stock tune file, was 398WHP which is a number often associated with stock cars tested on Dynojets. However, we did 3 more dyno pulls while carefully monitoring temps and letting the ECU adapt nice. Each pull was better than the one before it. Buy the 3rd pull, power had climbed approximately 25WHP. The 4th pull backed up the 3rd pull nearly perfect suggesting that we had reached the limit of ECU adaptation. We have seen this same learning behavior on several stock M3/M4s, as tested on 3 different Dynojets so this vehicle is not an exception.

What does this mean? Well, it means that it's a bit misleading to use the first dyno pull as the stock baseline. Instead, it's only fair to claim that this cars makes a repeatable 424-425WHP once the ECU has adapted. Using the first run as our stock baseline would make our tuned power numbers look even better. But that doesn't make your car any quicker

Stock Tune Baseline pulls:


To confirm that the ECU had fully completed the learning/adaption process we drove the car for another 2 days. Then we tested it again and it made 423-425WHP on two different Dynojets. For the sake of holding things equal, all the following runs are recorded on the second Dynojet.

Stock (fully adapted) ECU:


Next, we tested our OTS Stage 1 Full Torque calibration. But not after putting 50 hard road miles on the car to ensure that the ECU has gone through the learning process:


And finally, we wrote our OTS Stage 1 Flat Torque calibration to the ECU, ran the car for another 50 miles of hard driving on the road, and returned to the same dyno:


Comparing all 3 calibrations on the same graph/same dyno:


Some results showing the repeatability -- we like to show that results aren't by chance -> or cherry-picked:



Our two stage tune files do offer burble and rev-match features, too! Once we release our .xdf's the feature sets will be easily patched into (or out of) your ROM by any end user.

And last but certainly not least: Driving Impressions:

Stock ECU Calibration
It's a solid tune. The F series M3/M4 is certainly underrated from the factory. Judging by how much power the stock car puts down to the wheels, it's clear that the car makes at least 450hp at the crank. However, the shape of the power curve is unlike any M car before it. By virtue of it's meaty, torque laden power band, it makes close to peak hp at just under 6000rpm and holds it nearly flat until fuel cut. Having peak power at a low RPM means that you can drive the car lazily and still extract maximum performance out of it. Effective? Absolutely. Particularly thrilling/rewarding? Eh, maybe not to some.

OTS Stage 1 Full Torque Calibration
Very similar to the stock calibration with respect to the shape of the power curve. Just a lot more of it. The car is effortlessly quick with this calibration. Big midrange torque means not needing to downshift when overtaking a car on the highway. Very effective on the road. But as with the standard calibration, there isn't much use in revving the engine out to redline. Very strange for an M car engine.

OTS Stage 1 Flat Torque Calibration
With this calibration, we limited boost in the low end/midrange to generate just over 400lbft of torque. But we kept it from rolling off abruptly at higher engine speeds. This means that the car makes the same peak power at our Stage 1 Full Torque calibration, but at a more rewarding 6800RPM. The lower low end/midrange torque output also means that the transmission needs to be worked to keep the engine on boil. When this is done, the car is every bit as quick as it is with the Stage 1 Full Torque calibration. But since it runs less boost through most of the power band, it is less sensitive to heat soak and octane fluctuations. In other worlds, it feels more like a naturally aspirated engine. The fact that it's also less stressful for the engine means that this may be the optimal tune for many people who want maximum performance when needed, and understands that too much torque isn't always the best thing. High TQ figures may be great for dyno queen bragging but not-always-ideal for real world driving.

[Dr._Who]

Hey,

Originally Posted by OpenFlash

… First thing we did to conduct our baseline was to write the stock (original) tune file back to the ECU using our OpenFlash Tablet (OFT). Once the ECU is written, the OFT automatically clears fault codes that are triggered during the write process. The ECU write process, regardless of programming tool used, also clears the ECU of adaptation/learned values. For example, the first baseline pull we recorded after the ECU was written with the stock tune file, was 398WHP which is a number often associated with stock cars tested on Dynojets. However, we did 3 more dyno pulls while carefully monitoring temps and letting the ECU adapt nice. Each pull was better than the one before it. Buy the 3rd pull, power had climbed approximately 25WHP. The 4th pull backed up the 3rd pull nearly perfect suggesting that we had reached the limit of ECU adaptation. We have seen this same learning behavior on several stock M3/M4s, as tested on 3 different Dynojets so this vehicle is not an exception.

What does this mean? Well, it means that it's a bit misleading to use the first dyno pull as the stock baseline. Instead, it's only fair to claim that this cars makes a repeatable 424-425WHP once the ECU has adapted. Using the first run as our stock baseline would make our tuned power numbers look even better. But that doesn't make your car any quicker ...

If, I'm understanding you correctly here:

* a.) You plugged in the OFT to the cars' ECU
* b.) You copied the cars' original/stock tune file to the OFT.
* c.) You copied it back, from the OFT onto itself - the cars' ECU, again??

...all else is as follows, Correct?


Cheers!

[OpenFlash]

Originally Posted by Dr._Who

Hey,

If, I'm understanding you correctly here:

* a.) You plugged in the OFT to the cars' ECU
* b.) You copied the cars' original/stock tune file to the OFT.
* c.) You copied it back, from the OFT onto itself - the cars' ECU, again??

...all else is as follows, Correct?


Cheers!

As we've described it here:

We've been developing our stage files for a few weeks now. When we first pulled onto the dyno, the car had our Stag 1 Full TQ map flashed to the ECU. In order to obtain new baseline figures (for this particular dyno [because we do our best to use multiple dyno's for our testing and presentation]), we needed to re-flash the original tune file BACK onto the ECU.

After you flash the Original Tune file to the vehicle, the ECU needs to go through an adaption phase that happens quite rapidly.

If you only concede to completing only 1 test pull after you've flashed the ECU (in this case the OEM tune file), you'll find that the power figures are quite low. In the case of our test last night, the initial baseline pull that was performed showed output at 398HP ... This is near a figure that we've noticed has been widely adopted as 'stock power'.

The intent with our baselines was to educate. The test results showcase that after some normal driving, and some test pulls, the adaption within the ECU actually ramps the power up more toward the 424-425 HP range. This is a totally STOCK tune. The ~420HP figures are what we're noticing is the actually factory output of the F80 M3 -> we've tested many chassis' now, and all have been within 5HP of this same "factory power" (~420HP) figure that we've adopted.

We're just being transparent with our testing practice and to help our customers understand what to expect if they decide to put our OTS tunes to test on the dyno.

[whitedc5]

Is the "full torque" variant comparable/similar to other OTS stage 1 offerings from the other tuning companies? (In terms of power/torque delivery / AUC).

[OpenFlash]

Originally Posted by whitedc5

Is the "full torque" variant comparable/similar to other OTS stage 1 offerings from the other tuning companies? (In terms of power/torque delivery / AUC).

The power is plotted on the graphs. Check it out!

[4everkidd]

Very cool, I love the look of that flat torque curve. I'd be extremely interested to see how the two tunes line up on the 1/4 mile.

[Dr._Who]

Hey,

Excellent !

Originally Posted by OpenFlash

[I]... When we first pulled onto the dyno, the car had our Stag 1 Full TQ map flashed to the ECU. In order to obtain new baseline figures (for this particular dyno [because we do our best to use multiple dyno's for our testing and presentation]), we needed to re-flash the original tune file BACK onto the ECU.

After you flash the Original Tune file to the vehicle, the ECU needs to go through an adaption phase that happens quite rapidly. ...

This was the missing bit that had me .


Thanks!

[parabmw]

Any other tuners have a low torque map?
That could help crank hub failure rates.

[OpenFlash]

Originally Posted by parabmw

Any other tuners have a low torque map?
That could help crank hub failure rates.

That is a nice byproduct of the flat tq calibration. Not only is it often more rewarding to drive, it’s also going to be easier on the engine/transmission.

[4everkidd]

Originally Posted by OpenFlash

That is a nice byproduct of the flat tq calibration. Not only is it often more rewarding to drive, it’s also going to be easier on the engine/transmission.

What about transmission features? GTS coding etc that other tunes offer?

[mike@x-ph.com]

Excellent result, good job

[cookiesowns]

Great data as always Shiv & Team! Can't wait to start playing with OFT on my personal N55.

[mike@x-ph.com]

Are you guys working on stage 2 as well?

[Thescout13]

Originally Posted by bm3nyc

Great post!
I'm a fan of Bootmod3 and looks like I'm liking OFT. So far looks way better and more honest than all I've seen from Terry Burger and his lying burgertuning.

So I take it you're a big fan of BMS huh?

[LongBeachDinanFan]

This looks interesting but doesn't MHD already do all this right from your smart phone?

[4everkidd]

Ordered. Hoping the communication gets better in regards to platform potential, additional features etc.

[dpgfunk]

Originally Posted by 4everkidd

Ordered. Hoping the communication gets better in regards to platform potential, additional features etc.

i'm holding off until it actually gets better.

[shay2nak]

How does the low torque curve compare to factory CS tune? Can anyone overlay that?

[domino_z]

Originally Posted by LongBeachDinanFan

This looks interesting but doesn't MHD already do all this right from your smart phone?

i dont believe MHD offer you unlocked ots maps to edit yourself in open source (tunerpro in this case)

this is a big selling point if you have a preferred tuner and want to dyno tune in real time, as the bulk of the map is already there. i'd imagine then adding cooling and turbo hardware would be pretty easy for your tuner to dial in on the dyno

afaik openflash are only tuner atm to offer their ots map in an unlocked format, but i could be wrong

[Dr._Who]

Originally Posted by bm3nyc

No, mhd is android only
BM3 is all Platform
OFT seems to be tablet only

Hey,

Most mobile telephone devices running Android today are considered "Smartphones".

"BM3" is a tuning platform offering a user friendly GUI and an App., for use on your smartphone.

The term, "smartphone" isn't exclusive to "Apple iPhones".


Cheers!

[azn_fcuk]

Originally Posted by 4everkidd

Ordered. Hoping the communication gets better in regards to platform potential, additional features etc.

I had another friend just order Openflash and is also complaining on the lack of receiving any communication or return emails from the vendor.

If they have poor customer service now imagine if there was an issue with the product.

Maybe consider getting a refund now.

[OpenFlash]

Originally Posted by azn_fcuk

I had another friend just order Openflash and is also complaining on the lack of receiving any communication or return emails from the vendor.

If they have poor customer service now imagine if there was an issue with the product.

Maybe consider getting a refund now.

Could you please PM me the name of your friend? While we are a few days behind on emails due to the sheer volume we have received these past couple of weeks (and due to the amount of time we have been testing/developing OTS tunes on the dyno), we should be fully caught up by tomorrow.