Bend Calibration Ultimate F8X flex fuel kit install/thoughts

[heitzke]

Note: not a FULL guide, there are some resources that I utilize that do a better job of explaining than what I would create

First, the FAQ are a good reference to start with: https://www.bendcalibration.com/faqs

Car:
'15 F82 6MT
VRSF downpipes/mid/charge, bmc drop-ins, Bm3 Stg 2, etc etc. Just your basic catless downpipe bolt-on car.

Parts added:
Bend Calibration Ultimate F8X flex fuel
https://www.bendcalibration.com/shop/p/f8x-ultimate with the optional plug 'n play harness (worth it imo)
All 1000% removable and can return back to stock easily if needed/desired.

Tools:
Very few tbh.
8mm socket
10mm socket
Interior plastic removal tools
Soldering iron w/ associated wiring accessories (shrink wrap, electrical tape, 20ga wire) for extending the Zeitronix harness 2-3ft.
Sharp pick for de-pinning connector
Wire hanger/snake


Tighten ALL THE DAMN FITTINGS Including the ones on the fuel lines


I forgot one and had a really significant fuel leak on initial start up of the hardware.

Hardware install - Reference THIS video:

It does a really good job of explaining what to do minus the removal of the push fitting on the OEM fuel line. Use the tool that Bend Cal 3D prints and sends along with the kit.

I didn't follow the video and there was a pretty significant amount of fuel that I had to catch when I removed the fuel lines. Very messy and potentially dangerous so be careful.






The hardware install is quite easy, just take your time, make sure everything is tightened down and check for leaks. I did this prior to the wiring so I wouldn't have to get underneath the car again later.

[heitzke]

Wiring

First - reference THIS and disconnect your battery: https://f80.bimmerpost.com/forums/sh....php?t=1017936 post/thread for the intricacies of interior panel removal and getting to the areas where you'll be doing the wiring.

Run the Zeitronix harness up into the engine bay on the driver's side and you can snake it across the bay within the cowl panels.

DCT cars: apparently you have a wiring grommet that the manual cars don't have on the driver's side firewall that we have to use for the clutch line.

I'd run your wiring through THERE and not what I did. I didn't have an access port besides the one on the passenger side and requires that you extend the harness for the Zeitronix sensor a few feet.

Manual cars: You're going to have to extend the harness a few feet so you can comfortably get into the passenger footwell and across the width of the engine bay.


Wiring extension in-progress:


Complete:


Running through the firewall:
On the passenger side BEHIND the fuse box is a grommet that we'll use


Remove the cover and basically.... jam something long and sharp through it to push the grommet into the footwell. It doesn't go STRAIGHT through, it goes slightly down at an angle. You'll get a feel for it though.



Open:


Use a snake or wire hanger to push the wiring harness down through this hole and you should see it within the passenger floor. Note: if you have all the interior plastics in now, it may go right behind the front right kick panel and you may not notice it.




This is what you'll see next/underneath the lower right kick panel.


The plastic guard is held on with a T20 screw and then you can pry the plastic cover off lightly. The wiring we'll do are in the the bottom right two clips.

Again, follow THIS: https://f80.bimmerpost.com/forums/sh....php?t=1017936 and then reference the wiring materials the come along with the F8X flex fuel kit. It all makes a ton of sense when you're looking at the wiring/plugs themselves.

I DIDN'T take more pictures because I was utilizing my phone flashlight for the rest.

Other install notes/tips:
- Pay attention to the pin numbers on the connectors themselves, and NOT the orientation or COLOR of the connectors. One of my connectors was the opposite as the instructions had suggested.

- The colors of mine were 100% match to the instructions but again, pay attention to the marked pin # on the connectors themselves.

- Pinning/de-pinning is VERY easy. Use a sharp pick and push into the release - lightly hook the wire behind the connector and it'll pull out.

- Pin/De-pin ONE at a time. This is where the plug 'n play harness was 1000% worth it. It comes with all the connectors needed to return to stock if needed and also comes with wiring labels that make it really straight forward.






Reconnect the battery, and start it up. Should be... exactly the same as it was.

I then reflashed to the BM3 flex fuel tune and with a little logging on phone saw E11:



Then finally:

[heitzke]

Thoughts after driving after filling with E85 and blending to ~E40:

Torque delivery is strong and smooth. Is it faster? Yes indeed. How much faster is it? I'm not sure tbh and I want to see how the rest of the E-blends end up feeling as well.

Is it worth it the install?:
So far, yes for sure. The product is well-engineered and the wiring was quite easy to do in hindsight.

I think it'll be 1000% worth it once I get tuned to actually make efficient use of the extra fueling I have and not with a total OTS tune. I'd love to get the current state on a dyno prior to tuning, but i'll update this thread if/when I get that all done.

[OtisF80M3]

Thanks for the info! subscribed for future updates and dynos.

[RSXDC5]

A quick note for manual cars, you can buy the harness extension on the Bend website (links you to fuel-it's extension).

I just got my Bend ultimate FF kit in the mail yesterday! Will be pairing it with an F80Paul (Paul Johnson) track tune. No more worrying about ethanol blend ratios and map switching!

[heitzke]

Originally Posted by RSXDC5

A quick note for manual cars, you can buy the harness extension on the Bend website (links you to fuel-it's extension).

I just got my Bend ultimate FF kit in the mail yesterday! Will be pairing it with an F80Paul (Paul Johnson) track tune. No more worrying about ethanol blend ratios and map switching!

Haha you're right! I totally missed that in the FAQ screen. Extending wasn't too bad but about worth it just to buy the extension and make it easy.

[heitzke]

Little bump because i'm kicking off the process of flex fuel tuning with Bend Calibration!

Not sure if i'll just update here or start another thread when it's all wrapped.

[Gunzy]

Are you running the OTS BM3 flex tune? Thanks.

[heitzke]

Originally Posted by Gunzy

Are you running the OTS BM3 flex tune? Thanks.

That's what i'm running currently, yeah. All working well and seems like to really like E50/60.

[c4ss]

Great write up! How often are you changing your fuel filter? Bend Calibration recommends some pretty frequent changes initially if I recall.

[TouringM3]

Originally Posted by heitzke

Little bump because i'm kicking off the process of flex fuel tuning with Bend Calibration!

Not sure if i'll just update here or start another thread when it's all wrapped.

Are they tuning your BM3 maps, or are you going to switch to Ecutek?
I've been in touch with them, and i know they more or less do it all, but seem to prefer Ecutek.

[heitzke]

Originally Posted by c4ss

Great write up! How often are you changing your fuel filter? Bend Calibration recommends some pretty frequent changes initially if I recall.

Looks like they recommend every ~10k or sooner depending on fuel quality. I assume i'll just stick to that interval.

Originally Posted by TouringM3

Are they tuning your BM3 maps, or are you going to switch to Ecutek?
I've been in touch with them, and i know they more or less do it all, but seem to prefer Ecutek.

Yeah they're going to tune BM3 for me. Just got my initial calibration today and need to send them a pull in a bit.

[heitzke]

Just did my first couple pulls and datalogs in BM3 - all pretty easy tbh. I just couldn't get offline mode to work on my laptop so I pivoted to iOS and the logging worked fine there.

Also couldn't seem to get auto-logging to work? Would show a "VIN not matching your license" popup so I just manually started the logging with a double-tap. All good.

Starting off with 93 on two maps and these logs are all pretty fun to look through.

[hellokitty]

Originally Posted by heitzke

Haha you're right! I totally missed that in the FAQ screen. Extending wasn't too bad but about worth it just to buy the extension and make it easy.

Here is the extension (cheaper than buying from bend directly)

https://www.summitracing.com/parts/ICB-WEFLX40-48

[hellokitty]

Originally Posted by c4ss

Great write up! How often are you changing your fuel filter? Bend Calibration recommends some pretty frequent changes initially if I recall.

Depends how is the quality of your ethanol and gasoline.

Apparently dirt and sediment bypassing the fuel filters at the pump happens sometimes and that will kill your injectors and hpfp.

I'll stick to their 10k interval for peace of mind

[hellokitty]

Originally Posted by heitzke

Thoughts after driving after filling with E85 and blending to ~E40:

Torque delivery is strong and smooth. Is it faster? Yes indeed. How much faster is it? I'm not sure tbh and I want to see how the rest of the E-blends end up feeling as well.

Is it worth it the install?:
So far, yes for sure. The product is well-engineered and the wiring was quite easy to do in hindsight.

I think it'll be 1000% worth it once I get tuned to actually make efficient use of the extra fueling I have and not with a total OTS tune. I'd love to get the current state on a dyno prior to tuning, but i'll update this thread if/when I get that all done.

Based on my experience on Cary Jordan stage 2 (91 and E75):

E40 is the perfect blend for street use. Puts the power down even though temperatures are dropping and tires aren't up to temperature (I'm on cup 2s)

E50 is good for extra kick but need to be careful since this will spin third gear easily

E60 - E75: you better check your TPMS to ensure tires are warm before sending it otherwise you'll lose the tail lol

[hellokitty]

Originally Posted by Gunzy

Are you running the OTS BM3 flex tune? Thanks.

IMO OTS is trash compared to a custom tune. Power delivery is not smooth/refined compared to a custom tune. It's night and day.

The Cary Jordan FF maps are smooth as butter and IMO drives better than stock.

Make sure you guys consider flashing XHP if you have a DCT since the GTS DCT tune is very spongy and shifts slow when running on full E85 power levels.

[heitzke]

Originally Posted by hellokitty

Based on my experience on Cary Jordan stage 2 (91 and E75):

E40 is the perfect blend for street use. Puts the power down even though temperatures are dropping and tires aren't up to temperature (I'm on cup 2s)

E50 is good for extra kick but need to be careful since this will spin third gear easily

E60 - E75: you better check your TPMS to ensure tires are warm before sending it otherwise you'll lose the tail lol

That's all really good to know. Bend Calibration says we're going to tune for max power at the E50/60 range and keep the fueling system happier and keep it pretty safe.

Originally Posted by hellokitty

IMO OTS is trash compared to a custom tune. Power delivery is not smooth/refined compared to a custom tune. It's night and day.

The Cary Jordan FF maps are smooth as butter and IMO drives better than stock.

Make sure you guys consider flashing XHP if you have a DCT since the GTS DCT tune is very spongy and shifts slow when running on full E85 power levels.

Definitely why i'm going the custom route too. So far the absolute base tuning maps have been super super smooth and quite nice driving. Looking forward to getting it turned up and dialed in over the next few days.

[c4ss]

Originally Posted by hellokitty

Depends how is the quality of your ethanol and gasoline.

Apparently dirt and sediment bypassing the fuel filters at the pump happens sometimes and that will kill your injectors and hpfp.

I'll stick to their 10k interval for peace of mind

Did you install the Bend BM3 ultimate kit? Comes with a fuel filter. Bend instructions say change the filter after first tank of E...then again shortly thereafter. I forget the interval exactly.

[hellokitty]

Originally Posted by c4ss

Did you install the Bend BM3 ultimate kit? Comes with a fuel filter. Bend instructions say change the filter after first tank of E...then again shortly thereafter. I forget the interval exactly.

I have the ultimate kit.

I didn't change my filter after the first tank, must have missed that part. I haven't seen any adverse effects by not doing this.

The change interval is every 10k miles

[heitzke]

Interesting, I didn't pick up any additional filters with my order so maybe i'll go ahead and have a few on hand. I was just planning on changing it at the 10k mark.

[CT92F80]

Originally Posted by hellokitty

IMO OTS is trash compared to a custom tune. Power delivery is not smooth/refined compared to a custom tune. It's night and day.

The Cary Jordan FF maps are smooth as butter and IMO drives better than stock.

Make sure you guys consider flashing XHP if you have a DCT since the GTS DCT tune is very spongy and shifts slow when running on full E85 power levels.

What xhp stage are you running? Stage 2? Default settings or adjustments made? I heard Stage 3 flash is too aggressive.