Re-mapped N20 engines

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One for those with recent remaps done, with the remaps you had done were the ECUs removed from the car or left in situ?
 
Boltz said:
One for those with recent remaps done, with the remaps you had done were the ECUs removed from the car or left in situ?

Straight through the OBD port on mine.
 
Boltz said:
When Celtic did mine they removed the ECU just wondering why some are removed and others are left in situ

How long ago was that?
I'm sure someone, possibly Peter or R.E92, said they only more recently found out how to 'hack' the security stuff to get in through the OBD port.
 
enuff_zed said:
How long ago was that?
I'm sure someone, Peter or R.E92 said they only more recently found out how to 'hack' the security stuff to get in through the OBD port

It was September 2019
 
Strangely on mine, maybe because they had to re-load the base operating system and map for the ECU they used both the OBD port and did some jigery pokey with little jumper wires on the DME unit..

With COVID 19 I wasn’t allow to get close enough to ask/see those details..
 
Pbondar said:
Strangely on mine, maybe because they had to re-load the base operating system and map for the ECU they used both the OBD port and did some jigery pokey with little jumper wires on the DME unit

Do you think Celtic did something to stop any subsequent overwriting map being loaded by another company?
 
Boltz said:
Pbondar said:
Strangely on mine, maybe because they had to re-load the base operating system and map for the ECU they used both the OBD port and did some jigery pokey with little jumper wires on the DME unit

Do you think Celtic did something to stop any subsequent overwriting map being loaded by another company?

Who knows...generally I’m not into conspiracy theories so it sounds obtuse..but the new guys did struggle to do anything ‘on top of’ the Celtic tune so that’s why they did a re-flash of the o/s and a new base map..then they did their map ontop of the reference point...

I’m with the Performance Centre guys now for a intake valve clean and dyno re-run..

They’ve removed the inlet manifold and with much discussion declared it’s a waste of time n money doing a full clean...there’s hardly any crap in there..so a bit of a mechanical clean with a wire brush , quick dyno run to see how she has settled down and then back home .. :thumbsup:

Good day for handling evaluations..atrocious weather / road conditions .the yellow peril handling it all with sure footed aplomb..that huge low/mid range torque pushing the car along very nicely...reminded me of how great my Audi A4 Quattro felt in appalling conditions.. :driving:
 

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I think it depends what hardware they use.

There's two methods to writing to a control module.

1. Normal OBD port write
This is how updates are applied by BMW to all the modules in the car. The device connects to the control module (DME in this case), it sends a command to enter reprogramming and the DME sends a request for authorisation. This is a cipher that the device needs to pass the request through and then sends the reply (basically just a massive password), if correct the DME will then accept data to be written to the target area of the chip. Once the code is written to the DME, it will then perform CRC and signature checks on that code before it lets the engine start.
So for this method you need to crack 3 layers of protection.

2. Boot mode write
This is typically when tuners have to remove the ECU. I'm not as knowledgeable about this method but fro my understanding this involves bridging a few pins on the DME (so they have to remove and crack open your DME) which causes it to boot into a diagnostic mode that allows complete read and write access to the memory on the chip and they can just write their code that way. This method probably involves the deletion or modification of the protection in the DME (CRC and signature) which is why when that vehicle is taken to another tuner or even BMW they will be unable to write anything to it and this is where the issues start.

There's a few other methods that fit inbetween. OBD unlocking is when they remove and crack open the DME and use the 2nd method to disable the checks that prevent the 1st method working for them, seal it back up and then use method 1 from there on.

If a tuner is still having to crack open your DME on the N20 to flash in 2020 then their tools are out of date. Either way though they are just flashing generic tunes regardless of the name on the door as these people don't tend to have full ECU definition files, just partial definitions. If they can show you a fully defined OLS project on their laptop then that's a sign they are a proper tuner, if not they are just clowns.
 
Has anybody had a full diagnostic done after their remap?

Mine has a permanent fault code logged about ECU tampering detected. Impossible to clear it. To be clear though, this does not show up on EOBD alone, it only shows on vehicle specific scans on advanced equipment.
 
Pooltee said:
Has anybody had a full diagnostic done after their remap?

Mine has a permanent fault code logged about ECU tampering detected. Impossible to clear it. To be clear though, this does not show up on EOBD alone, it only shows on vehicle specific scans on advanced equipment.

Does it show up as a code in the DME or from another module like the CAS?
 
R.E92, so it appears mine had the Boot Mode Write so I am now expecting trouble as I have had a decat done and need the sensors mapping out so I suspect the tuner will have issues overwriting the Celtic map already in place.
 
Can't say for sure. Seems a waste paying for another tune to be applied just to remove the catalyst codes, don't Celtic offer some sort of reduced rate for that work? After all it just involves the changing of 1 byte in the code and you've already paid them once.
 
R.E92 said:
Pooltee said:
Has anybody had a full diagnostic done after their remap?

Mine has a permanent fault code logged about ECU tampering detected. Impossible to clear it. To be clear though, this does not show up on EOBD alone, it only shows on vehicle specific scans on advanced equipment.

Does it show up as a code in the DME or from another module like the CAS?

R.E92, it shows up in the DME.
 
Pbondar said:
They’ve removed the inlet manifold and with much discussion declared it’s a waste of time n money doing a full clean...there’s hardly any crap in there..so a bit of a mechanical clean with a wire brush , quick dyno run to see how she has settled down and then back home .. :thumbsup:

That's very interesting, and encouraging for other owners, that yours is so clean.
What mileage are you on out of interest?
I would assume you'll be citing quality fuel as the main reason? Or is the N20 not renowned for having issues?
 
R.E92 said:
Can't say for sure. Seems a waste paying for another tune to be applied just to remove the catalyst codes, don't Celtic offer some sort of reduced rate for that work? After all it just involves the changing of 1 byte in the code and you've already paid them once
Celtic want £150 but for £300 I can have a rolling road and remap
 
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