Custom E85 & FlexFuel Tuning: Reviews of Different Tuners (MHD, BM3, & EcuTek))

[Commanderwiggin]

Originally Posted by slaughter.mode

Nice. I was going to take a pic and upload it, saves me the trouble. OE is Bosch though, isn’t it? I have a bunch of old Bosch ones in here in my plug bin. It’s been so long I forgot.

Yes the OE is Bosch for the majority of the S55 cars; the M2 CS Racing and M4 GT4 run the 97506 though along with the M235i Racing and a pile of 2/3/4/5/6/7/X/Z series variants.

[F80RN]

It’s been a couple months now, but so far my car is still running strong. I replaced my valve cover as well so I’m thinking of sending in a new log just to verify everything is still tip top.

That being said, still very happy to switch over to Bend.

[slaughter.mode]

Originally Posted by F80RN

It’s been a couple months now, but so far my car is still running strong. I replaced my valve cover as well so I’m thinking of sending in a new log just to verify everything is still tip top.

That being said, still very happy to switch over to Bend.

Gave up on the PCV fix? The long term fix is always replacing it anyway. I eventually did too (but only because I got a new engine).

I am about at the end of my life with the current setup (stock). Time for Mosselmans + Lift Kit + EU5s + EcuTek. I was going to go single turbo until I saw how egregious the installation was and how much custom fab work had to be done (4N or any brand). I'm sure I could get it done but my attention span for this stuff has dwindled, especially with another mini me on the way.

What I really want to know though is: Why on earth doesn't Bootmod3 support EU5s? Even MHD has it as part of their OTS map configuration settings...oh well.

[Commanderwiggin]

BM3 supports EU5's, they have a toggle as my buddy went down this road. He wanted to run the OTS and he switched to EU5's but it was really rich on tip in. Bend did the custom tune on it and requested all the extra maps they needed; that fixed up the rich behaviors and it ran great. So they can do it but there's likely more to it than that.

Also I know my buddy screwed up once when he didn't set his options correct in BM3 for the fuel injectors when the app was reset, something went wrong in the map config and he lost the ability to set it properly. Stuff like this the tuner should be able to lock imo.

Either way if Bend is saying go with a specific path, this probably can add more thought on that: https://www.bendcalibration.com/blog...ation-platform

[F80RN]

Originally Posted by slaughter.mode

Gave up on the PCV fix? The long term fix is always replacing it anyway. I eventually did too (but only because I got a new engine).

I am about at the end of my life with the current setup (stock). Time for Mosselmans + Lift Kit + EU5s + EcuTek. I was going to go single turbo until I saw how egregious the installation was and how much custom fab work had to be done (4N or any brand). I'm sure I could get it done but my attention span for this stuff has dwindled, especially with another mini me on the way.

What I really want to know though is: Why on earth doesn't Bootmod3 support EU5s? Even MHD has it as part of their OTS map configuration settings...oh well.

Yeah just too much hassle to do. And with the FCP Euro return policy, I figure paying for labor is worth the peace of mind.

I also looked into new turbos, but I figure the money would be better off on track time or even a PC Racing rig lol. The car as is, is plenty plenty fast for me.

[Idfkman]

I’ve received my base EU5 Flex Tune (stock turbo) from AB Performance the same day I purchased it and began datalogging. I had e34 left in the tank from prior to the tune and the car pulls significantly harder than the OTS Multi Map. This thing spins clear through 5th gear on e34 and 285/35/19 Yoko AD09’s in the rear. Love it.

When installing the EU5’s and new plugs (which required me to pull off the MAD charge cooler) I didn’t properly fill, bleed, and burp the cooling system for the top mount. ABP and I spotted the high IAT’s and he gave me instructions to top off with distilled water and RedLine Water Wetter to coral the IAT’s which has helped. I’ll be getting a Mishimoto heat exchanger to improve IAT’s since I would prefer to keep my SSR hot air intakes that sound amazing.

Here’s one of my datalogs after addressing coolant. IAT’s are still high but have dropped more since this pull with additional bleeding/burping and an entire bottle of Water Wetter.

I’m now on 93 so I can collect some logs for ABP and hope to get a revision here soon.

So far so good. Cold start is butter smooth as well as idle. The cold start is a bit different than the OTS multimap which I assume is ABP’s magic. (With the OTS Multimap the car would lope at idle during cold start.) That is not the case with the custom tune.

I went ahead and order the PTF BM3 v3 wifi adapter since my cable kept losing connection during pulls. (Likely my shitty iPhone 12 Pro which has a failing lighting port.)

All in all I’m happy with the base map and excited to see where we get to in the next stages.

[b_w.]

Originally Posted by slaughter.mode

Gave up on the PCV fix? The long term fix is always replacing it anyway. I eventually did too (but only because I got a new engine).

I am about at the end of my life with the current setup (stock). Time for Mosselmans + Lift Kit + EU5s + EcuTek. I was going to go single turbo until I saw how egregious the installation was and how much custom fab work had to be done (4N or any brand). I'm sure I could get it done but my attention span for this stuff has dwindled, especially with another mini me on the way.

What I really want to know though is: Why on earth doesn't Bootmod3 support EU5s? Even MHD has it as part of their OTS map configuration settings...oh well.

Curious what is so tough on a single turbo install? Just ordered the 4n kit and wondering what I am missing

[wheela]

Originally Posted by b_w.

Curious what is so tough on a single turbo install? Just ordered the 4n kit and wondering what I am missing

Nice, EFR for the win! I believe you'll need some fab at the downpipe/midpipe connection, unless you also buy his midpipe. Also not sure if you'll retain all 4 O2's or go down to just 1 upstream and 1 downstream like on an n55 (that would need some tuning solution)? On n55 I believe his kit requires relocating the coolant expansion tank, but I'm not familiar enough with s55 to know if you'll need to do that or not. You've probably seen guys on here running his kit, here's one such thread:

https://f80.bimmerpost.com/forums/sh....php?t=1905578

[Hotflare]

Originally Posted by slaughter.mode

Mostly updates to the interfacing with their V3 Wifi adapter but also some other issues with flashing, dashboard sync issues, and the list goes on and on. Oddly, they stopped posting their release notes on their website. The tl;dr is the V3 adapter has been unusable for almost 6 months, now it finally works on the F8X platform and it doesn't cause battery DTC codes. There's still issues, though. One is that you can't even read DTC codes via iOS (I have to use MHD, still). There's also performance synchronization issues that are making it take way too long to even start showing dashboard data. There's also an issue on the iOS app where custom tunes do NOT have the 'original' option for many of the configuration parameters. This is actually critical for my custom tune to be able to use it. 'OEM' does not give me a proper cold start (for example). I have to use my Windows machine with the BM3 desktop agent + run a super long ethernet cord from my office to the car just to tune it. Not ideal. It's at the point where I'm praising basic functionality where it should've just worked to begin with. Not ideal but I'm still supportive of the platform.

Yikes. You make me want to stick with Ian then lol I was thinking of installing my bend kit and run bm3 flex for a while and see if I wanted to spend another 2k on a custom tune but if bm3 is semi problematic (even though doesn't sound like it's anything major, just a bunch of minor nuisances) then idk now haha

[b_w.]

Originally Posted by wheela

Nice, EFR for the win! I believe you'll need some fab at the downpipe/midpipe connection, unless you also buy his midpipe. Also not sure if you'll retain all 4 O2's or go down to just 1 upstream and 1 downstream like on an n55 (that would need some tuning solution)? On n55 I believe his kit requires relocating the coolant expansion tank, but I'm not familiar enough with s55 to know if you'll need to do that or not. You've probably seen guys on here running his kit, here's one such thread:

https://f80.bimmerpost.com/forums/sh....php?t=1905578

I went with the full kit so no fab on the exhaust required...although I can tig stainless so wouldnt be an issue if needed. Absolutely need a retune and talking to a few tuners about fueling upgrades etc. already.

[wheela]

Originally Posted by b_w.

I went with the full kit so no fab on the exhaust required...although I can tig stainless so wouldnt be an issue if needed. Absolutely need a retune and talking to a few tuners about fueling upgrades etc. already.

Nice, I hope you'll start a build thread here for it!

[Jbonly21]

Hit the Dyno today, I was a bit disappointed. First two runs was BM3 stage 2 and the last 3 was on E30 stage 2.

[Hotflare]

Originally Posted by Jbonly21

Hit the Dyno today, I was a bit disappointed. First two runs was BM3 stage 2 and the last 3 was on E30 stage 2.

There's alot of factors to consider. What were your base numbers vs the dyno runs? Ambient temp? Mods? Sea level?

[Hotflare]

Originally Posted by Jbonly21

Hit the Dyno today, I was a bit disappointed. First two runs was BM3 stage 2 and the last 3 was on E30 stage 2.

And seems like you're in socal? Acn91 is underpowered vs regular 91 naturally. E30...yeah that's a bit low lol, I'd just go stage 2 93 flex and datalog/call it good. Only real option here in cali

[Jbonly21]

Originally Posted by Hotflare

And seems like you're in socal? Acn91 is underpowered vs regular 91 naturally. E30...yeah that's a bit low lol, I'd just go stage 2 93 flex and datalog/call it good. Only real option here in cali

Yeah I am in So cal, same Dyno stock I made 420. Now the car has downpipes, and it was 85 degrees on the day of the Dyno.

[Idfkman]

Originally Posted by Jbonly21

Yeah I am in So cal, same Dyno stock I made 420. Now the car has downpipes, and it was 85 degrees on the day of the Dyno.

Have you checked for boost leaks? Also what were your IAT’s?

[Jbonly21]

Originally Posted by Idfkman

Have you checked for boost leaks? Also what were your IAT’s?

My IAT was between 99 to 120, we were data logging, no boost leaks. Is it possible to make over 500 hp on 91 OTS stage 2?

[hellokitty]

Originally Posted by Jbonly21

My IAT was between 99 to 120, we were data logging, no boost leaks. Is it possible to make over 500 hp on 91 OTS stage 2?

500whp is about right for 91. Maybe a little less for ACN91. 93 will get you around 510-520whp.

[Hotflare]

Originally Posted by hellokitty

500whp is about right for 91. Maybe a little less for ACN91. 93 will get you around 510-520whp.

This is why I'm personally going flex. Allows me to run the car in stage 2 93 from ACN and really bring the car alive as long as I have at least 3 gal of e85 in the system

[Joy15779]

no one is better than Halim. His problem is that you cannot find him

[Joy15779]

my car with Ron 100 and kratos turbo torch hpfp (no lpfp) Is doing 943 nm