Remapping a 30i MSport
- Thread starter ProfCJJ
- Start date
It's a generic map. Done properly you can squeeze an extra 1-2 extra bhp over the 18bhp I believe unmodified. (I read somewhere that a guy managed to squeeze 282bhp out of the N52) I didn't bother with all that. I just did it for optimisation sake with a pessimists head on not expecting much but was pleasantly surprised...but now you mention it. I'd be keen to dyno it just for the hell of it.
wu_swordsman said:
Just getting a post-map run isn’t going to give you an accurate picture of any increase, you need a pre-map run (preferably on the same day) to give you an idea not just of the peak figure but comparing the output the whole way through the rev range
Rob
I don't disagree but the whole point in this post was to acertain if a remap on a 30i is worth it and speaking first hand for optimisation purposes it is 100% worth it.
I had the offer of getting mine remapped cheap via Superchips so I took the offer. I'm really not fussed for the dyno before and dyno aft. Infact I wasn't overly fussed about remapping it at all for the same reasons highlighted in this post.
I am just communicating that, in my experience, it's 100% worth it to make the car more responsive, linear and remove throttle lag.
I had the offer of getting mine remapped cheap via Superchips so I took the offer. I'm really not fussed for the dyno before and dyno aft. Infact I wasn't overly fussed about remapping it at all for the same reasons highlighted in this post.
I am just communicating that, in my experience, it's 100% worth it to make the car more responsive, linear and remove throttle lag.
A
Anonymous
Guest
For what’s it worth, having been out on lots of Z4 runs over the 2 years two observations..
Probably a total of 500 cars on runs..
The astonishing reliability....never seen one stopped bar one with a ripped tyre carcass.
Two E85s with minor issues but were either fixed or carried on undiminished ...
Other observation
Irrespective of type/size all the cars on the road seem to keep pace with each other unless the driver doesn’t want to..
Seen one really slow E85 driver and slow 35is E89 driver..the rest kept adequate if not good if not fast speeds up!
Probably a total of 500 cars on runs..
The astonishing reliability....never seen one stopped bar one with a ripped tyre carcass.
Two E85s with minor issues but were either fixed or carried on undiminished ...
Other observation
Irrespective of type/size all the cars on the road seem to keep pace with each other unless the driver doesn’t want to..
Seen one really slow E85 driver and slow 35is E89 driver..the rest kept adequate if not good if not fast speeds up!
PinkPineapple44
Member
ph001 said:
The removal of any 'take off delay' is worth the map alone even if you don't belive in any power gains. It's not the same as pushing the sport button (which still has a delay) and even if it had instant response the sport plus mode is still very intrusive.
Agreed. I've had some scary near misses in the past at junctions and roundabouts due to its unpredictable hesitance to take off before the map.
Now I have 100% confidence in its take off- it's pull out game is strong, lol.
Now I have 100% confidence in its take off- it's pull out game is strong, lol.
Well, I have gone ahead and booked remap with Celtic Tuning, they will come in just under a month. I am aware the any BHP gain are likely to be small, but I gather that the other gains mentioned above and on other discussion fora make a remap and positive experience. Worst case, if I don't see any sort of change that I can detect I can opt to have it put back to stock and get my money back 
Cheers all,
Cheers all,
This ‘take off delay” is a complete mystery to me. The N52 is a superbly responsive engine right out of the box. Basically if I blip the throttle in neutral I get a pretty instant response...in terms of the map that’s all that comes into it. While many of the modern stuff doesn’t even respond in terms of engine revs...I mean you can literally stamp the throttle to the floor in neutral and if you do it quickly enough the revs don’t even move! Not the Z4 though.
looking forward to your review too!
Good choice of tuner, one of the best, they write there own software in house and you will get a 12 month warranty against any map related damage. You can also drive away and pay nothing if you're not happy so bear that in mind.gwatson said:
With mapping people always concentrate on BHP, this is far from the reality of mapping. Torque is of primary importance as is how the power is delivered.
I had my 23i mapped by Celtic, i got around 7-8 BHP but the power delivery curves for both torque and BHP were radically different.
Torque is what gives the car its real grunt, that kicks you back in the seat, the smoother the delivery of said torque the more 'driveable' the car.
I am quite sure you will appreciate the difference post map, plz post a scan of the dyno reading after its done.
mcbutler said:
I would imagine if you noticed a difference in how the car drives / performs in a 23i then it should also be noticeable on the 30i too.
As they will be coming to my home address to upload the tune there will be no Dyno unfortunately - they do offer a go on the Dyno but I have to go to them (I'll see if I can go at a later date perhaps?). The expected changes are based on a standard engine (I guess in good nick) and so the gains are "advertised" - I'll know if they are there by (hopefully) driving the car.
Its interesting how people differ, I've heard people say there is no discernible difference between NORMAL and SPORT mode. where-as for me I ALWAYS engage sport mode, the throttle response and steering I find to be detectably different and "positive". I am hoping that I will be able to sense these type of difference after the map.
I will keep you all posted. I just had them on the phone actually, to adjust the time slightly as apparently the BMW ECUs take quite a while uploading and so its now up to a 2.5 hour appointment as opposed to 1 hour!
Its interesting how people differ, I've heard people say there is no discernible difference between NORMAL and SPORT mode. where-as for me I ALWAYS engage sport mode, the throttle response and steering I find to be detectably different and "positive". I am hoping that I will be able to sense these type of difference after the map.
I will keep you all posted. I just had them on the phone actually, to adjust the time slightly as apparently the BMW ECUs take quite a while uploading and so its now up to a 2.5 hour appointment as opposed to 1 hour!
Dave 2 dogs
Senior member
ProffCJJ
had a Celtic remap recently on my 3.5i
If you have it done, then ask for it to be put back to stock ... I’ll be amazed.... I KNOW it’s a different engine to mine, but even so , I’d put money on you wanting to keep the remap due to grin factor
You don’t have to drive it crazy all the time, just knowing the response is there is enough for when you want it , ABSOLUTELY LOVE MINE
had a Celtic remap recently on my 3.5i
If you have it done, then ask for it to be put back to stock ... I’ll be amazed.... I KNOW it’s a different engine to mine, but even so , I’d put money on you wanting to keep the remap due to grin factor
You don’t have to drive it crazy all the time, just knowing the response is there is enough for when you want it , ABSOLUTELY LOVE MINE
Celtic Tuning came and spent a couple of hours downloading then uploading the new map to my Sdrive 3.0i last Friday (it was bally freezing outside!). All proceeded well without a hitch - I took it for a quick spin to see that all was well just afterwards but I wanted to delay judgement until after I had driven it a bit more.
Well, yesterday I did a longer 300 mile trip along a mix of B-roads, A-roads and Motorway and now I can comment. It certainly makes a difference - I was not expecting to feel any massive changes in BHP (what with the huge 18 BHP gain I have on paper!) and I didn't! However - what everyone says about "take up delay" is true - even in "normal/comfort" mode you can feel better throttle response. I tend to drive in Sport mode all the time and in Normal mode it now feels close to Sports mode in terms of Sport mode - it then gets better when you put it into sports mode. It feels less "jittery" when pulling away - I also feel that the delivery across the rev range is better more constant and it keeps pulling more consistently instead of falling away at higher revs. I have also definitely noticed a sportier/ raspier exhaust note coming from that nice 6 cylinder in-line engine Also - and this may be more to do with the weather conditions (it was 2 degrees C last night on my way home) - last night for the first time I was accelerating out of a roundabout (well within the 30 mile an hour limit!) and the back end twitched and kicked out! I corrected it - wasn't going that fast - but I wondered where that had come from!?! It's never really happened before.
So all in all the remap is performing as I was led to believe it would. I could not see any massive drop in mpg (based on one 300 mile trip though so will keep monitoring that) - I currently average around 32-34 mpg from memory. The car just feels more responsive and more "alive" - I would drive in Sport mode to get that feel before, now you get more of that in Normal mode ... but I still prefer Sport mode
So I am happy with what I have got and if you feel the above outcomes are "good enough" for you then I recommend the remap.
HTH
Well, yesterday I did a longer 300 mile trip along a mix of B-roads, A-roads and Motorway and now I can comment. It certainly makes a difference - I was not expecting to feel any massive changes in BHP (what with the huge 18 BHP gain I have on paper!
) and I didn't! However - what everyone says about "take up delay" is true - even in "normal/comfort" mode you can feel better throttle response. I tend to drive in Sport mode all the time and in Normal mode it now feels close to Sports mode in terms of Sport mode - it then gets better when you put it into sports mode. It feels less "jittery" when pulling away - I also feel that the delivery across the rev range is better more constant and it keeps pulling more consistently instead of falling away at higher revs. I have also definitely noticed a sportier/ raspier exhaust note coming from that nice 6 cylinder in-line engine Also - and this may be more to do with the weather conditions (it was 2 degrees C last night on my way home) - last night for the first time I was accelerating out of a roundabout (well within the 30 mile an hour limit!) and the back end twitched and kicked out! I corrected it - wasn't going that fast - but I wondered where that had come from!?! It's never really happened before.So all in all the remap is performing as I was led to believe it would. I could not see any massive drop in mpg (based on one 300 mile trip though so will keep monitoring that) - I currently average around 32-34 mpg from memory. The car just feels more responsive and more "alive" - I would drive in Sport mode to get that feel before, now you get more of that in Normal mode ... but I still prefer Sport mode
So I am happy with what I have got and if you feel the above outcomes are "good enough" for you then I recommend the remap.
HTH
From what you have said and also the experience of another forum member who has had this done to his 30i, it certainly seems worthwhile doing. You say it seems not to have affected the MPG but it will be interesting to see if it is affected in any way over the next few days / weeks. I wonder how the car would drive with this remap plus the XHP Flashtool if the car has the auto box. Incidentally I notice a change in exhaust note when I put the car in sport mode, it sounds somewhat angrier! :-D then again it could be just me!
North West Surrey
Yes, the forum member on the other thread seemed pleased with the results too!
Anyway it's quite possible a remap may add a bit more power to an N52 E89 than an E86, seeing as the E89 got a 255 bhp version of the engine but the E86 got a 261 bhp version. According to Wiki there was a 268 bhp version as well that was used for the E92/3, X3 and X5.
I imagine the only difference between the three is the mapping, so just getting the 268 bhp mapping ought to give you another 13 bhp.
I'm starting to wonder about getting my 330i done now!
Anyway it's quite possible a remap may add a bit more power to an N52 E89 than an E86, seeing as the E89 got a 255 bhp version of the engine but the E86 got a 261 bhp version. According to Wiki there was a 268 bhp version as well that was used for the E92/3, X3 and X5.
I imagine the only difference between the three is the mapping, so just getting the 268 bhp mapping ought to give you another 13 bhp.
I'm starting to wonder about getting my 330i done now!