BM3 safety?

[F10toF80]

Hey guys
I have a stock F80 and have been really tempted by BM3’s stage 1 tune. I like the idea of having power beneath her feet when you need it as well as the change in the exhaust note in sport and sport plus mode. I’m no longer under warranty so I’m not worried about avoiding my warranty, however my concern is do flash tunes prematurely wear the engine and its components? I own the car now and do not want to worry about replacing a blown engine, etc.
Any help or advice from any of you who may have flash tuned or have been running one for awhile would be greatly appreciated!

[gatorfast]

If you do not want to worry about replacing a blown engine then I would recommend not doing the stage 1 tune. I would either just stay stock or maybe a mild tune like the CS tune.

[nbennettksu]

Originally Posted by gatorfast

If you do not want to worry about replacing a blown engine then I would recommend not doing the stage 1 tune. I would either just stay stock or maybe a mild tune like the CS tune.

I think stage 1 and blown engine is a tad extreme. GTS came with almost 500hp, and aside from the water injection, mechanically, there's no difference. Stage 1 doesn't get you close to 500.

[ntg44]

Originally Posted by nbennettksu

I think stage 1 and blown engine is a tad extreme. GTS came with almost 500hp, and aside from the water injection, mechanically, there's no difference. Stage 1 doesn't get you close to 500.

Using your example, if BMW added water injection to sell the GTS with roughly stage 1 power levels, I doubt they were confident enough to sell the car with just the tune.

Not saying a blown engine could/would happen with stage 1 tune, but gatorfast is right. If the highest level tune BMW sold with exactly the same hardware is the CS, then that's the one to get to expect closest to stock reliability in all conditions.

[chmura]

My buddy runs a BM3 stage 1 tune in his s55 M2c. Even tracks his car. You will be fine.

The whole crank hub thing is blown out of proportion on these forums.

[j2dad5389]

I personally wouldn't modify my car. It has way more than enough power as is. Why mess with it? If you're talking pipes or exhaust, that's another story. The sounds on stock are not the best.

[mike@x-ph.com]

Originally Posted by F10toF80

Hey guys
I have a stock F80 and have been really tempted by BM3’s stage 1 tune. I like the idea of having power beneath her feet when you need it as well as the change in the exhaust note in sport and sport plus mode. I’m no longer under warranty so I’m not worried about avoiding my warranty, however my concern is do flash tunes prematurely wear the engine and its components? I own the car now and do not want to worry about replacing a blown engine, etc.
Any help or advice from any of you who may have flash tuned or have been running one for awhile would be greatly appreciated!

Do it, its safe and proven by tens of thousands of users.

You can also datalog to check how the car is handling the extra power. Its very easy to determine if there is any knocks, lean AFR, overboost or if your turbos are working over their safe capacity.


the OTS maps are conservative and well within the limit of the car.

[Vegetable]

Originally Posted by ntg44

Using your example, if BMW added water injection to sell the GTS with roughly stage 1 power levels, I doubt they were confident enough to sell the car with just the tune.

Not saying a blown engine could/would happen with stage 1 tune, but gatorfast is right. If the highest level tune BMW sold with exactly the same hardware is the CS, then that's the one to get to expect closest to stock reliability in all conditions.

Stage 1 makes wayyyyyy more power than the GTS.

[ntg44]

Originally Posted by Vegetable

Stage 1 makes wayyyyyy more power than the GTS.

That just reinforces my point then. If BMW decided to incorporate water injection for GTS tune, then how can OP expect OEM like reliability with way more power than that? That was the point of my post.

[mrkmtchll]

Go Stage 2, you won't regret it.

[theweebabySeamus]

Originally Posted by ntg44

That just reinforces my point then. If BMW decided to incorporate water injection for GTS tune, then how can OP expect OEM like reliability with way more power than that? That was the point of my post.

I read gatorfast's post to be semi sarcastic. Eg, if you're going to be that worried about longevity then you shouldn't do the flash.

[ntg44]

Originally Posted by theweebabySeamus

I read gatorfast's post to be semi sarcastic. Eg, if you're going to be that worried about longevity then you shouldn't do the flash.

HAH! Joke's on me then. Gatorfast strikes again.

[TR930]

BM3 Stage 2 93 oct is silly good.

[F10toF80]

Originally Posted by mike@x-ph.com

Do it, its safe and proven by tens of thousands of users.

You can also datalog to check how the car is handling the extra power. Its very easy to determine if there is any knocks, lean AFR, overboost or if your turbos are working over their safe capacity.


the OTS maps are conservative and well within the limit of the car.

Thanks Mike
I just ordered through your shop. I’m going to start the the CS mao and go from there. Any chance you can also ship the BM3 stickers with it?

[theweebabySeamus]

Originally Posted by ntg44

HAH! Joke's on me then. Gatorfast strikes again.

Lol you could still be right, Ive definitely been wrong before.

[Justin.AutoTalent]

I've put almost 25k miles on my personal car on Jordan Tuned's E85 map and BM3 OTS Stage 2 (91 octane) no issues at all. The only fear you should have is the affect the tune has on your gas mileage after you're womping it everywhere

[Mandi90TT]

I track my F82 with a BM3 tune, stage 2 normally, stage 1 on the track. 91 octane for both. No issues.

[AlterZgo]

Originally Posted by F10toF80

I’m no longer under warranty so I’m not worried about avoiding my warranty, however my concern is do flash tunes prematurely wear the engine and its components? I own the car now and do not want to worry about replacing a blown engine, etc.
Any help or advice from any of you who may have flash tuned or have been running one for awhile would be greatly appreciated!

I don’t understand why people wait until warranty ends to mod a car. If you blow up the car now, what will you do? Just throw it in the trash? No, of course not. You would replace the blown engine. This is exactly the same as you would o if the car was still under warranty. BMW denies your claim and you pay for your engine repair.

The reality is, it’s actually more risky to mod a car out of warranty than a relatively new one because the out of warranty car is older with more worn out parts that would be even more prone to breaking if you turn up the boost.

Personally, I always mod my cars ASAP so I can get as much use out of the mods as possible and I know the car is healthy and in tip top shape and is ready for mods. I don’t worry about the warranty because I understand the risks and accept them and will pay for repairs out of pocket regardless of whether car is under warranty or not.

As for your question, yes, there would definitely be more wear and tear on things like your tires, suspension, transmission, engine, etc. but the added wear and tear is generally negligible and your car will run fine for a long long time as long as you properly service the car and don’t go crazy with boost and run high quality gas and don’t rape the shit out of it.

A lot also depends on how you drive. I would say my modded car w/ BPM tune sees much less wear and tear than a 100% stock car that is tracked 5-10 times or more per year because 99% of the time I’m not raging on the roadway. I only give the car full throttle in brief spurts here and there and virtually never launch the car hard off the line or do 1/2 mile shift sector type events.

[matty088]

Why go stage 2 for 30 more hp when the negatives clearly out weigh the positives. Smell, emissions, poisonous, and added probability of crank hub issue. All this for 20-30hp. Seems incredibly silly to me.

[Florida18F80]

So I loaded the BM3 stage 1 on my car a few months ago. My M3 is all stock Base model. My M3 is not my DD so I am pretty easy with it. On a whim I called a local Dyno shop today and they had a slot open so I took it in and we hooked it up to a Mustang Dyno with the latest SW updates. We ran it three times in 5th gear to 7000 RPM...first was the best because temps were still low....it pulled 488RWHP and 522TQ to the wheels on a Mustang Dyno. Not too shabby and honestly since I don't drive like an idiot or race my car I am leavin the Time on there and adding supplimental hardware upgrades DP's, charge pipes, and CAI mainly cause I have the CAI already. I personally am not worries about this tune.

Just my $.02

Side note.....the dyno shop was completely amazed at how well the AFR maintained 12.4 the entire session.....tuning freaks you guys build also tunes...thank you!

[gatorfast]

Originally Posted by ntg44

HAH! Joke's on me then. Gatorfast strikes again.

lol no you're right I was being serious. I mean the obvious answer for any engine tune is if warranty is a major concern then just don't do it. That being said the CS tune seems to be perfectly safe as I have yet to see a single issue reported with it. Once you start getting to stage 1, 2, e85, etc then the fun starts and issues seem to be more likely.

[mike@x-ph.com]

Originally Posted by F10toF80

Thanks Mike
I just ordered through your shop. I’m going to start the the CS mao and go from there. Any chance you can also ship the BM3 stickers with it?

Will do