bootmod3: CustomROM release - Map Switching, Flex Fuel, AntiLag, New Map Editor...

[TideMD]

Originally Posted by sly1types

Hey TideMD who did your tune? does you slot 1 vs 2 just vary timing or does it boost when on slot1?

Cary Jordan did all of my custom tunes and I couldn't be happier.

Obviously can't access the locked tune details, but logs look like a combo of adding boost and timing for the E85 tune.

I went for the "max effort" tune on E85 and we went with a blended effort of max output -vs- driveability for the 93oct map, then refined both with "street logging/tuning."

Now I have the Bend Calibration "Ultimate" kit delivering tomorrow, so we'll see where things go from there.

[sly1types]

Originally Posted by tinpot

I’m about to pickup the Bendcalibration kit and curious why you went through the passenger side? To extend the harness what wires are needed?

I have the bend kit, works great.

I went in the driver side, then ran it over to the passenger footwell under the dash. You have to extended these wires for the sensor. I bought this the week all BM3 changes came out, I told bend about extending the harness and they were going to work on fixing it.

[jmciver]

Originally Posted by sly1types

I have the bend kit, works great.

I went in the driver side, then ran it over to the passenger footwell under the dash. You have to extended these wires for the sensor. I bought this the week all BM3 changes came out, I told bend about extending the harness and they were going to work on fixing it.

Unfortunately, that spot in the fire wall only works for DCT cars. 6MT cars have the clutch line going through that grommet and the hole is not big enough for both as the new harness wire for the kit is too thick. Also, when I did some research on this, there is a PT-CAN bus access point in the driver side footwell (I forget the module off hand, I found it while looking in ISTA). So for those of you who use this driver side fire wall location, you should not need to route the harness wires over to the PT-CAN bus access point in the FEM in the passenger footwell.

I have not installed this kit, just doing research in preparation for a potential install down the road. But I am still looking for a good access point into the driver side footwell since the kit is installed on the driver side of the car…

[tinpot]

Originally Posted by sly1types

I have the bend kit, works great.

I went in the driver side, then ran it over to the passenger footwell under the dash. You have to extended these wires for the sensor. I bought this the week all BM3 changes came out, I told bend about extending the harness and they were going to work on fixing it.

Thanks for the information! How did you tap into the FEM module - does Bend provide a connector or did you use something like a posi-tap?

[TideMD]

Originally Posted by sly1types

I have the bend kit, works great.

I went in the driver side, then ran it over to the passenger footwell under the dash. You have to extended these wires for the sensor. I bought this the week all BM3 changes came out, I told bend about extending the harness and they were going to work on fixing it.

I'm not sure if this update is related to your feedback, but Ian at Bend emailed me when I ordered my kit and said they have a new plug & play harness that hasn't been released on their website. Added it to my order and should deliver today. Interested to see what differences it adds to the install process.

[sly1types]

Originally Posted by tinpot

Thanks for the information! How did you tap into the FEM module - does Bend provide a connector or did you use something like a posi-tap?

They do give you some nice taps along with good instructions that show the connector/pin/color.

[sly1types]

Originally Posted by TideMD

I'm not sure if this update is related to your feedback, but Ian at Bend emailed me when I ordered my kit and said they have a new plug & play harness that hasn't been released on their website. Added it to my order and should deliver today. Interested to see what differences it adds to the install process.

Awesome! Yea I spoke with Ian about it and if they would have extended the sensor harness 6' it would be perfect.

Also dont forget to tighten all the AN connectors, they are finger tight.

[jpy1980]

Is there an install video on this?

Also, so if my car currently is only running BM3 stage 1 91ACN, but I want to go to full flex fuel, I would:

1. Buy this Bend Calibration Ultimate Flex Fuel Kit ($745)
2. Buy like 2 extra fuel filters since you need to change them every 10k miles or so ($100)
3. Install the kit
4. Flash a flex fuel map on my car?

That's it?

Also which flex fuel OTS map do I flash or should I go custom?

TIA

Julian

[FriedPiston]

Originally Posted by jpy1980

Is there an install video on this?

Also, so if my car currently is only running BM3 stage 1 91ACN, but I want to go to full flex fuel, I would:

1. Buy this Bend Calibration Ultimate Flex Fuel Kit ($745)
2. Buy like 2 extra fuel filters since you need to change them every 10k miles or so ($100)
3. Install the kit
4. Flash a flex fuel map on my car?

That's it?

Also which flex fuel OTS map do I flash or should I go custom?

TIA

Julian

1. Bend Calibration's solution is perfect for those retaining the stock fuel lines. Otherwise, Precision Raceworks offers something fully customizable depending on your entire fueling setup (e.g. EoS, Fuel-It, BMP, other).

2. Filter replacements can be purchased at other online outlets also. Just search for Injector Dynamics fuel filter.

3. Correct.

4. AFAIK, BM3 isn't compatible with the Zeitronix ECA-2 unit at this time. During install, I recommend leaving off the CAN bus connections until you're on a tuning platform that can properly communicate with the ECA-2, like EcuTek.

[az989]

Would we be able to view live ethanol content from idrive, like the ecutek flexfuel?

[MJ6]

Originally Posted by FriedPiston

AFAIK, BM3 isn't compatible with the Zeitronix ECA-2 unit at this time.

I have Bend Calibrations Ultimate kit installed currently with the Zetronix ECA-2 wired in to the DME, and it reads ethanol content correctly so far. Although I'm still waiting to be tuned for flex-fuel, proTUNING Freaks did reference it in their original introduction post back in December so I'm hoping that I didn't make a costly mistake installing it, lol

Originally Posted by proTUNING Freaks

In this case we're using a Continental flex fuel sensor with a Zeitronix ECA2 kit which sends Flex Sensor's data over the CANBus which the DME handles in real-time to make the tune more or less aggressive based on ethanol % in the fuel.

[jmciver]

Originally Posted by FriedPiston

1. Bend Calibration's solution is perfect for those retaining the stock fuel lines. Otherwise, Precision Raceworks offers something fully customizable depending on your entire fueling setup (e.g. EoS, Fuel-It, BMP, other).

2. Filter replacements can be purchased at other online outlets also. Just search for Injector Dynamics fuel filter.

3. Correct.

4. AFAIK, BM3 isn't compatible with the Zeitronix ECA-2 unit at this time. During install, I recommend leaving off the CAN bus connections until you're on a tuning platform that can properly communicate with the ECA-2, like EcuTek.

Regarding your response #4, that is not true - at least not according to those that have already installed this kit AND have upgraded their BM3 with CustomROM maps that add flex fuel integration. Bend Calibration even advertises a "BM3 Kit" option on their site. When BM3 first released the flex fuel capability, in one of their demo videos they mention that it is the Zeitronix device that is used to get the ethanol content signal.

[MJ6]

Originally Posted by jpy1980

Is there an install video on this?

Also, so if my car currently is only running BM3 stage 1 91ACN, but I want to go to full flex fuel, I would:

1. Buy this Bend Calibration Ultimate Flex Fuel Kit ($745)
2. Buy like 2 extra fuel filters since you need to change them every 10k miles or so ($100)
3. Install the kit
4. Flash a flex fuel map on my car?

That's it?

Also which flex fuel OTS map do I flash or should I go custom?

TIA

Julian

One of our fellow forum members detroitm2 did two installation videos on the installation process, both for the flex fuel kit and the Zetronix to DME.

[chewbakam4]

Originally Posted by jmciver

Regarding your response #4, that is not true - at least not according to those that have already installed this kit AND have upgraded their BM3 with CustomROM maps that add flex fuel integration. Bend Calibration even advertises a "BM3 Kit" option on their site. When BM3 first released the flex fuel capability, in one of their demo videos they mention that it is the Zeitronix device that is used to get the ethanol content signal.

+1

BM3 made all of this work with Zeitronix ECA2. Its in their instructions. They have a kit coming that uses their own hardware too which looks really really trick:

[TexasF80]

Originally Posted by tinpot

I’m about to pickup the Bendcalibration kit and curious why you went through the passenger side? To extend the harness what wires are needed?

Sorry, I went into the cab through the hole on the drivers side but did the wiring in the passenger side fem. there are a bunch of videos that say wire inside the engine bay but with the controller not being water proof the right way is to keep it protected.

[FriedPiston]

Originally Posted by jmciver

Regarding your response #4, that is not true - at least not according to those that have already installed this kit AND have upgraded their BM3 with CustomROM maps that add flex fuel integration. Bend Calibration even advertises a "BM3 Kit" option on their site. When BM3 first released the flex fuel capability, in one of their demo videos they mention that it is the Zeitronix device that is used to get the ethanol content signal.

I encourage you to ask PTF directly for current ECA-2 compatibility in their Production environment. I've inquired about FF tuning with one of the popular BM3 e-tuners using the ECA-2 unit back in April. After some hesitation, I was advised that it's better to wait for the BM3 hardware for FF tuning.

I didn't push for any additional information, but this tells me a few safe assumptions from a technical standpoint:

1. ECA-2 hasn't completed testing (you'll need to setup proper CANbus comms for it to work). EcuTek has a flag for this from what Zeitronix told me.
2. There is no drop down for FF in BM3 configuration, so the flag is likely hidden in CustomROM while in closed beta.
3. The e-tuner isn't familiar with the ECA-2 unit yet

[FriedPiston]

Originally Posted by chewbakam4

+1

BM3 made all of this work with Zeitronix ECA2. Its in their instructions. They have a kit coming that uses their own hardware too which looks really really trick:

No mention of ECA-2 in that post, but see reference to closed beta from another thread:

https://f80.bimmerpost.com/forums/sh...0&postcount=11

[TideMD]

Originally Posted by FriedPiston

1. Bend Calibration's solution is perfect for those retaining the stock fuel lines. Otherwise, Precision Raceworks offers something fully customizable depending on your entire fueling setup (e.g. EoS, Fuel-It, BMP, other).

2. Filter replacements can be purchased at other online outlets also. Just search for Injector Dynamics fuel filter.

3. Correct.

4. AFAIK, BM3 isn't compatible with the Zeitronix ECA-2 unit at this time. During install, I recommend leaving off the CAN bus connections until you're on a tuning platform that can properly communicate with the ECA-2, like EcuTek.

Curious about #4 - Bend Calibration specifically offers options for stand-alone, EcuTek, and BM3 versions of their kit. In what way is BM3 not compatible? You've got me suddenly questioning my purchase.

[jpy1980]

Originally Posted by TideMD

Curious about #4 - Bend Calibration specifically offers options for stand-alone, EcuTek, and BM3 versions of their kit. In what way is BM3 not compatible? You've got me suddenly questioning my purchase.

May want to call Bend to find out?

Also, great info FriedPiston!

Thanks and I think I'll just wait for the BM3 Full FF hardware support. I went down the rabbit hole with Ecutek when I had my Subaru back in 2015 and I didn't like the fact that I needed to go to a tuner to uninstall my tune. Love that BM3 is user friendly, yet I know Ecutek is probably more robust.

[FriedPiston]

Originally Posted by TideMD

Curious about #4 - Bend Calibration specifically offers options for stand-alone, EcuTek, and BM3 versions of their kit. In what way is BM3 not compatible? You've got me suddenly questioning my purchase.

They could probably advertise it as non-EcuTek instead of labeling it as a BM3 kit, and it won't really make a difference since the ECA-2 taps into the high/low signals of the P-CAN bus.

My information is about a month old, so it's best to check with PTF for current compatibility of the ECA-2 unit in their Production environment.

[TideMD]

Originally Posted by jpy1980

May want to call Bend to find out?

Also, great info FriedPiston!

Thanks and I think I'll just wait for the BM3 Full FF hardware support. I went down the rabbit hole with Ecutek when I had my Subaru back in 2015 and I didn't like the fact that I needed to go to a tuner to uninstall my tune. Love that BM3 is user friendly, yet I know Ecutek is probably more robust.

I have spoken to Ian at Bend several times and discussed details of my build, tune/tuner, etc. At no point was there mention of compatibility issues. Plus, there's this social media plug from PTF stating the Bend kit is a great option for running a FF setup, hence my confusion.

[proTUNING Freaks]

Zeitronix ECA2 (CANBus version) is the original board we did all of our Flex Fuel development with. Its mentioned in the original post of this thread. Zeitronix ECA2 CANBus default out of the box configuration works with BM3's Flex Fuel features. There's no need to configure it in any special way as we made the software support its CANBus id and data format. Hope that clarifies any questions