LSB M3 Tuned by Benvo

[ROB_S2K]

Hello Guys,

This weekend many SoCal BMW enthusiasts were looking forward to the meet at McKenna BMW. So my friend and I decided to attend and meet some of our fellow enthusiasts. I had good intentions of not spending any more money on my car but as you all know "once a crackhead always a crackhead" applies to mods as well lol .

So I arrived at McKenna and I saw that Mike Benvo was setting up his table. I approached him and we started chatting it up a bit. One thing led to another lol and I ended up agreeing to purchase his tune.

I went to get some food and Benvo hooked up his computers to my car. He looked like a mad scientist trying to launch some nuclear missiles lol. After a few minutes Benvo finds me in the crowd and tells me that it is so damn hot that his computers are overheating and refusing to connect to my car. It was what seemed like 100+ outside. Needless to say I was kind of disappointed and I am not a patient person when it comes to mods. I love instant gratification.

So, Benvo and I hooked up on Sunday and he went to work. My main complaints with the car were, it was too jittery all the time especially when it was cold, and I wanted the cold start feature to be removed so I wouldn't get removed from my neighborhood lol. In addition, all the coding stuff was done as well to compliment the tune.

After I spent a couple of hours spent at Benvo's place the car was ready for the initial test drive. Now let me sum up my performance mods before I get to the review. I have the following:

--Fabspeed X-Pipe with HFC's
--Revinora rear section

So we go out for the drive and I let the car warm up. The car is already feeling great it's a lot smoother around the parking lot going over speed bumps and such in 1st gear. It doesn't buck anymore. So I am already happy. We get on a straight empty piece of road and I punch it. My initial reaction was "HOLY Sh$T" . This is the way the car should have come from factory and I don't know why it doesn't. The power is unbelievable now. I didn't think that it could be better than factory without going SC but wow anyone looking to do this mod, do yourself a favor and do it. I drove the car about 50 miles since then and the power is intoxicating. I have 305's in the rear and even with the EURO MDM activated the traction control kicks in on an aggressive 1-2 shift. It didn't do that before.

I would like to dyno the car again to see actual gains. Stock it dynoed 362 whp on a dyno jet.

In addition, this morning I had totally forgotten about the cold start mod he did and I was dreading starting my car. Once I started it the RPM's settled immediately below a thousand and the car was so quiet. I was ecstatic that my neighbors will not hate me anymore for starting up my car at 5:30 AM every morning lol.

To sum this up, if you're looking for a tune Benvo is the way to go and if you aren't looking to tune you should lol.

[THE TECH]

Great review. Thanks!!

[img]

That is awesome,thanks for the review !

[kawasaki00]

Originally Posted by THE TECH

Great review. Thanks!!

PM Sent

[THE TECH]

Originally Posted by kawasaki00

PM Sent

Replied.

[flipm3]

Amazing what a lot of these different tunes can do! It really does transform the car!

Enjoy the new power and keep us posted on that dyno

I have yet to see a dyno of the popular BPMsport tune!

[Mike Benvo]

Here is an older dyno on 200E software. Will be doing some development in London and when I get back to the states in early September, so I'll have new ones for you then. My revised file on 231E is even better Also, this file is without any RPM changes and without the latest VANOS changes as well (although it does have some vanos changes).

[ROB_S2K]

Originally Posted by flipm3

Amazing what a lot of these different tunes can do! It really does transform the car!

Enjoy the new power and keep us posted on that dyno

I have yet to see a dyno of the popular BPMsport tune!

Will do.

[Mike Benvo]

Originally Posted by m3alabama

So here is an answer I cannot seem to get from anyone. I fail to see how any tune can tune for more peak power when using the same 91 octane gas. COnsidering there is ample threads and evidence that even with the STOCK tune, the engine can't make its peak horsepower and is limited by knock sensors and not being able to fully advance timing.

So how does one expect a tune to increase power output at peak with using 91 octane? I can see it maybe improving some power lower in the curve and in the middle but it should be essentially impossible to improve peak power on 91 given with a stock tune it is unable to hit its targets.

Mike can you chime in

Sure, thanks for your question.

There is undoubtedly a gain on 91 octane gas, although it's certainly not as significant as the gain on 93 octane and above. On 93 octane you ran run slightly more ignition timing than on 91, due to the propensity for higher octane gas to resist pinging.

There are many stock cars that actually hit their targets, although some of them may not. This is due to a number of different reasons, mainly fuel quality, and environmental conditions. However, there are some tricks that can be made to the calibration that 'help' the car achieve it's targets faster. You should expect a properly tuned car to achieve higher targets than a stock car, even on the same fuel.

There are also a few other things that can be done, such as slightly modifying the knock strategy which can also help the car achieve it's targeted timing.

I hope this helps.

Mike

[mark896]

Mike custom coded and tuned my car--remotely, I might add. Incredible work, customer service, and knowledge. Invaluable, having him back on this board.

[Mike Benvo]

Originally Posted by mark896

Mike custom coded and tuned my car--remotely, I might add. Incredible work, customer service, and knowledge. Invaluable, having him back on this board.

Thank you sir!!! Glad you are enjoying the software

[Ohh_5H1T]

Originally Posted by Mike Benvo

Sure, thanks for your question.

There is undoubtedly a gain on 91 octane gas, although it's certainly not as significant as the gain on 93 octane and above. On 93 octane you ran run slightly more ignition timing than on 91, due to the propensity for higher octane gas to resist pinging.

There are many stock cars that actually hit their targets, although some of them may not. This is due to a number of different reasons, mainly fuel quality, and environmental conditions. However, there are some tricks that can be made to the calibration that 'help' the car achieve it's targets faster. You should expect a properly tuned car to achieve higher targets than a stock car, even on the same fuel.

There are also a few other things that can be done, such as slightly modifying the knock strategy which can also help the car achieve it's targeted timing.

I hope this helps.

Mike

Mike im located in NY... Any idea as to how can i attain this kind of tune out here?

[Mike Benvo]

Originally Posted by Ohh_5H1T

Mike im located in NY... Any idea as to how can i attain this kind of tune out here?

Yes, absolutely.

I can send you a cable and flash the car remotely.

However, I am out of the country for the next 2-4 weeks on a business trip (leaving tomorrow). Please shoot me an email at benvo@bpmsport.com and I will contact you when I return to set up logistics. You can also email thetech@bpmsport.com or PM 'THE TECH" and he can take your information and I'll be sure to take care of you when I return.

Thank you!

Mike

[Ohh_5H1T]

Originally Posted by Mike Benvo

Yes, absolutely.

I can send you a cable and flash the car remotely.

However, I am out of the country for the next 2-4 weeks on a business trip (leaving tomorrow). Please shoot me an email at benvo@bpmsport.com and I will contact you when I return to set up logistics. You can also email thetech@bpmsport.com or PM 'THE TECH" and he can take your information and I'll be sure to take care of you when I return.

Thank you!

Mike

great! im in no rush. i'll be emailing you! thank you!

[anselmw]

This tune sounds promising, I will need to get this done as well. Mike are there gains on stock cars or do you need some mods?

[THE TECH]

Originally Posted by anselmw

This tune sounds promising, I will need to get this done as well. Mike are there gains on stock cars or do you need some mods?

There will be gains on all cars but more gains will be seen in conjunction with catalytic converter removal. One of the most noticeable things that we do is smooth out the response of the car.

[Mike Benvo]

Originally Posted by anselmw

This tune sounds promising, I will need to get this done as well. Mike are there gains on stock cars or do you need some mods?

Definite gains on stock cars. Much more pronounced on cars with high flow cats or decatted as there are additional changes to ignition timing, and vanos position.

Stock or modded, the car drives like it should have come from the factory with our software calibrations

[GIdriver]

Nice review. Thanks for sharing. Only good things at BPM!!

[ElsalGaston]

I will need to get this done as well.