Getting the old girl remapped... I should have learned my lesson by now...
- Thread starter Maniac
- Start date
TitanTim said:
At a local /dealer level you're probably correct - they will just fit another part from stock but if there is a biggie i.e. Engine or gearbox burst - they (BMW) surely will!
Its all part of preventing / reducing failure rates and engineering development - If something goes bang engineers generally need to know why!
By analysing previous data and failures is just one of the reasons we have engines today that in general will do 100k and more with ease. Its not that long ago that engines in every day cars were considered old and in need of a rebuild at 40k
Most tunes will flag up tuning codes in the ECU so be visible to anyone with a code scanner.
If you use something like MHD or BBFlash the codes are nop'd out in the code and won't trigger so it will be invisible to most.
I have a copy of DIS and ISTA/D and neither will flag up anything about the car being tuned.
If you are really paraniod it's easy enough to return the car completely back to stock using WinKFP or MHD. The car will then not trigger any warnings at the dealer.
If you use something like MHD or BBFlash the codes are nop'd out in the code and won't trigger so it will be invisible to most.
I have a copy of DIS and ISTA/D and neither will flag up anything about the car being tuned.
If you are really paraniod it's easy enough to return the car completely back to stock using WinKFP or MHD. The car will then not trigger any warnings at the dealer.
ronk said:
If the map is on the car they will be able to tell. If the map has been removed then no.
Anyone who drives the car will be able to tell the difference. In the 35i it's huge. In stock form the 35i feels glacial to anyone used to driving it tuned so if they are expecting the normal 300hp and the car is chucking out 400hp then it would become obvious very quickly.
R.E92 said:
But is there a flash history on the ECU? That is, could BMW at least see if the ECU has been flashed multiple times since it was built? This may be enough info to say it's been modified, even if it's back to stock when they look at it.
Unless there's no history stored somewhere in the system?
enzed4 said:
You're right, there is a counter, but it only increments when the ECU is completely re-flashed.
There's a few registers and counters in there that get in the way of flashing the ECU. There's one that knows when the ECU is fresh from the factory and once it has been activated it will not allow other ROM versions to be written, a 35is ROM in a 35i for example requires this to be reset.
If my memory serves me right Shiv from Vishnu addressed this concern years ago in a thread about the OpenFlash tablet over on E90Post. I remember him saying that because his device only writes to part of the ECU that the counter is not incremented. Part of the map writing process is to recreate the checksum on the data being entered back into the ECU, I think this is what allows people to modify part of the code.
Martial, the creator of MHD is incredibly knowledgeable about all that. I find all this ECU tech fascinating, the process of reading and writing to modules is quite possibly more fun that driving for me
There's a lot of myths surrounding a cars electrical system, I think most is due to the car world being populated by people who have grown up hitting their engine with spanners and think anything involving a laptop is wizardry.
There's also a lot of "this is true for this ECU so it's true for EVERY ECU" theory. There was a ECU that needed the EEPROM to be removed and bench flashed (we're talking early 90s here), the case actually had bolts to hold the ECU case together. This was replaced with a ODB flashable model after a few years, yet to this day people still say you need pull the ECU apart and use an EEPROM programmer to remap ANY ECU even this hasn't been true for almost 25 years!
stuartinzg
Active member
pvr said:
Although contrary to this I've always been totally open to the BMW dealers I visit, informing them my previous car had a remap-they appreciated the openness so that when they plugged in and checked they understood why certain warnings displayed (according to them) - so they must know.
Never had a problem with any warranty work as a result of the remap. They did all the timing chain work free of charge. If the engine popped and I had a remap, I would take responsibility for that. There's always a risk and BMW are in this to make money after all
Twin Turbo
Active member
To be honest that why I prefer to use non-intrusive systems than remapping and ECU, Basically the black boxes.
Taken my car to stealer's with induction modifications - and they been fine.
So when I have the car serviced I just turn off my JB4, and when warranty work is needed remove it - takes 20 minutes.
Taken my car to stealer's with induction modifications - and they been fine.
So when I have the car serviced I just turn off my JB4, and when warranty work is needed remove it - takes 20 minutes.
SO8 said:
yes ive known of Jason for a while now bw chiptune gets the fastest times at santpod each year at bmw fest so he knows what to do with them being an ex bmw tech aswell before starting bw chiptune up hes got very good rep in bmw industry obviously a lot will say evolve are no.1 being bigger company.
ronk said:
Anycar will develop flat spots within the rpm range so its good to have a remap on any car really despite what u might gain, its like a mini brain checkup I suppose. Obviously turbo cars u adjust the parameters for air and fuel and you get 30% increase. People look too much at the peak values which is odd as no one drives at peak for a long time if u did your car would probably die quite quickly. Its really what the graph is telling you under the curve which is important. Their wont be 50bhp increase but any extra torque gained lower in the rpm range will be like night and day compared to the old bmw map being more linear from my experience remaping petrols. There are other benefits like raising the rev limit I suppose but its the torque gains that transforms a petrol not bhp. No more gearing down on overtakes, no hesistant jerkiness pulling away fast, less accleration needed as theres now more low down torque available and generally giving better mpg because of that. So its always worth a remap its not about gains more how the car now drives after remap.