RaceChip Ultimate for 20L 184HP

[jagi00]

Hi, my 20L Pure Traction is about to be delivered I would have preferred the 240HP version but only the 184HP model is available in Thailand for now. I'm considering fitting the RaceChip Ultimate box which apparently will boost the HP by up to 23% so would appreciate any feedback on this or other options. Also can anyone advise how BMW achieve the extra HP in the 2L engine - is it just a remapped chipset?

Cheers.

 

[DR-Z]

Do not believe the advertising crap - you will not gain an extra 23% by re-chipping a non-turbo car. Save your money. If you have £2k to spare, consider upgrading the car to a 3.0.

 

[Maniac]

Im hoping to achieve an extra 20-25bhp from my 2L but thats with a quad exhaust, Air scoop, K&N air filter, full BMW service then a re-map. Total cost is 2K and this is me hoping but i cannot see a re-map alone would achieve such an big increase in BHP on a 2L just from a re-map, i got some grieve over my plans so i think you need to look more into this mate. :wink:

As this was posted in the e89 section Jonny, you can only assume its the new N20 engine which is turbo'd. Meaning that will allow for far greater bhp increases than the normally aspirated engine in your car. Many don't believe the money is worth it for marginal gains on NA engines, however with turbo much better gains can be had for much less money than you'd spend on an NA car.

 

[jagi00]

s**t never saw the E89 post lol, i will remove post then

No worries Jonny! Yep it's a N20 2L twin scroll turbo and from the few comments on the I-Net, it would seem that 23% is achievable. However, I would still like to know how BMW boots the output from 184 to 240HP - just a remapped chipset or ...??

 

[Maniac]

It is essentially a remap yes, though there are one or two part differences (I can't remember if its the turbo or injectors etc). You can boost your engine more, the question is how reliable it will be when you do.

 

[jagi00]

It is essentially a remap yes, though there are one or two part differences (I can't remember if its the turbo or injectors etc). You can boost your engine more, the question is how reliable it will be when you do.

Yes, it's my concern of possibly overstressing components that made me raise the query. Thanks for all the responses so far guys.

 

[Maniac]

It is essentially a remap yes, though there are one or two part differences (I can't remember if its the turbo or injectors etc). You can boost your engine more, the question is how reliable it will be when you do.

Maniac you know your stuff, do you think i can get 20-25bhp more from my 2L with the mods above mentioned?

I'm no expert Jonny, but I've been building cars since I was a kid, kit cars, engine rebuilds etc, so I have a bit more knowledge than the layman. Honestly, with all the changes you list, you might get 5-10bhp more/would be my expectation. 20hp+ from flow changes, a remap etc, is a stretch in my experience... and, even 20hp you'll not notice too much, so 10hp you'll really not notice at all. All this hp rolling road business too is quite subjective as I've had cars on different rolling roads come up with quite different figures so I take those with a pinch of salt too.

What you might get from the work is a slightly improved revving feel given the flow changes, a few bhp more, perhaps a few more revs if the remap allows it, but to be honest, I'd just enjoy the car and spend your money elsewhere as while all the extra kit will look nice, it won't make that much difference in overall performance. If you really wanted to spend money without changing the car for a bigger engine, then forced induction is the way to go, but I've no idea if they make kits for your engine?

Just my thoughts on it...

 

[jaz4]

peejay has done it on his see my 2.8 remap post

manic is right, non turbo cars are are so limited and not worth the money to push them that far like 20 bhp.

I saw little difference when the E85 03 was 192 then went to 210 on the 06 post face lift models.

Turbos on the other hand are a different breed and can be pushed and remapped and pushed way further reason why you may see the wording stage 1, 2 and 3's modifications. withe the N20 engine satage 3 and above 340 bhp may have head issues.

Any stage 2 + will need other mods to cope with the extra bhp.

the 35i v 35si is remap with a few other bits.

Thats one of the benefits of the 4 pot turbos we can get better 0-62 and economy than the fat 6 pot non turbos with a simple remap.

Quadracer does warn and I can see his point that a generic box is not as good as a dedicated remap on a rolling road, each engine has a different power curve and needs tweaking to avoid overrun and possible damage, generics do not do this. On the back a remap will be seen by BMW but a plug in box once removed wont, so if damage did happen with a box and it was removed it will be hard for bmw to point fault, even though the ecu would show a different engine run than programmed. A remap will possibly not damage the engine but if it did or anything else failed, a simple download will show the remap and say tata to any warty.

Now 18i v 20i v 28i is still not fully understood but if it was just a remap then the chip box for the 28i to get it to 300 bhp would also be available for the 18i for £330!!!! ahh but its not available. How about the 20i to 300 bhp!!! but its not available. So something is also different about the 3 cars and not a simple remap. Not sayimg that each of the plants can push 340 bhp but not form a single stage 1 remap.

Even the Z2 was quoted to be 300 bhp bet this will be Z2 35i