ESS 550 Kit.. Tuned by Mike Benvo

[DansM]

Hello All I want to post this here in order to compliment the outstanding work and knowledge that mike has given me from day 1. Starting from my NA tune all the way to my new SC tune and kit.

About a year ago I called mike up for a tune after many many people recommended him. Needless to say, the tune was flawless and the performances was noticeable. All in all mike was very patient and professional answering every question I threw his way.

Several months later (now) I purchased a ESS kit without a tune and decided to ask Mike if he were up to the challenge. we talked for a while to decide on how it was going to be done and again he answered all my questions in a timely professional manner. the crucial factor for this particular tune was the injector sizing which Mike calculated to the nearest 100th decimal percentile so that it would run optimally. He went out of his way to understand the exact flow of my particular injectors in order for the car to run at peak performance as well as SAFE.

After my installation and his meticulous calculations, we proceeded with the installment of the tune and voilà! it worked perfectly. Initially he gave me a very conservative tune to see how everything else would work. the next day he sent my the finalized tune for 5.5lbs of boost. To sweeten the deal, he also included the servotronic upgrade which is awesome! and much needed.

Over all I only have 80 miles on the car so far and waiting for it to fully adapt but the car is already an animal and runs super smooth. Thanks to mike and his great work, I have confidence the car will perform flawlessly every time I turn her on. His tuning skills are defiantly better than most that I've dealt with over the years. For those whom are skeptical about his ability to tune a boosted M, dismiss your skepticism and give Mike a call. Also, If any one was on the fence about SC or NA tuning with him or didn't know where to go... I can say that my experience was very pleasant and fun!! I highly recommend him. BPM +1 Vote for Mike!

[SYZ]

what kind of logging was done?

[TMR]

SWEET!!!!!!

[///M Power-Belgium]

Good to hear this,and we all know Mike is the top
And i hope that he will say.....".i'll be back."..better and stronger than ever before

[maaicher]

I know you stated you went with Mike while you were still NA, but what would make you use him again when ESS has proven to be one of the most reliable tuners on the market?

Not trying to cause conflict. Just curious. It seems like an unnecessary risk. I would prefer to have a company give me a custom tune on a dyno not just tune and pray.

[ZEEM3R]

he told me he was gonna tune a supercharged car.. glad he did so now everyone can shut up about his tuning skills

[nullrouted]

Isn't his own M3 supercharged? I would think he's given quite a lot of thought to the subject...

[DansM]

Originally Posted by SYZ

what kind of logging was done?

He had done his own logging on other SC cars he has tuned.

[THE TECH]

Originally Posted by nullrouted

Isn't his own M3 supercharged? I would think he's given quite a lot of thought to the subject...

No, it is not although he has been wanting to do one for some time now.

Originally Posted by DansM

He had done his own logging on other SC cars he has tuned.

This is correct. DansM isn't the first s/c car that we've done.

[nullrouted]

Originally Posted by THE TECH

This is correct. DansM isn't the first s/c car that we've done.

Very cool. Can't wait to see the dyno results when you get the tune optimized the way you want.

[DansM]

Originally Posted by maaicher

I know you stated you went with Mike while you were still NA, but what would make you use him again when ESS has proven to be one of the most reliable tuners on the market?

Not trying to cause conflict. Just curious. It seems like an unnecessary risk. I would prefer to have a company give me a custom tune on a dyno not just tune and pray.

No conflict started its ok. I went with Mike because I was a loyal customer seeking the same top notch service. Besides, I got a lot more for my dollar with my tune including; cold start RPM reduction, and servo-tronic. Mike was also very forward with me in that he made sure every aspect that needed to be addressed would be covered in order for the car to run correctly. As stated before, he went to the extent of flow benching my injector sizing for proper scaling and pulse width parameters. I feel like I had a more personal, hands on tuning experience with my SC car than any other could offer. Meaning not just a cable sent and a file uploaded. He made sure I was covered safely and that I would have the enjoyment that I sought from a SC. This doesn't mean the ESS isn't good, just that Mikes was more personal and offered more plus he stand behind it.

[rjd598]

Originally Posted by maaicher

I know you stated you went with Mike while you were still NA, but what would make you use him again when ESS has proven to be one of the most reliable tuners on the market?

Not trying to cause conflict. Just curious. It seems like an unnecessary risk. I would prefer to have a company give me a custom tune on a dyno not just tune and pray.

you used to have a gintani exhaust and sc kit...same could be said for you. not trying to start anything as i have no problem with gintani and would love to run their products, always have. just saying you don't have a valid argument there. you could have chosen ess and probably eisenmann exhaust at the time since they are companies that are "proven to be the most reliable".

[BuckRodgers]

Originally Posted by maaicher

I know you stated you went with Mike while you were still NA, but what would make you use him again when ESS has proven to be one of the most reliable tuners on the market?

Not trying to cause conflict. Just curious. It seems like an unnecessary risk. I would prefer to have a company give me a custom tune on a dyno not just tune and pray.

Without direct access to the car and months of testing and data logging this is exactly what you are getting "tune and pray". The only reason someone would be this foolish would be if they were too cheap to buy the real thing. There is nobody in their right mind and who has the funds that would take a home garage tuner making a remote tune on a supercharged car VS the guys who actually spent years perfecting it. The only possible exception would be is if the file was borrowed from an ESS car and reused. Even then not worth the risk IMO. There is no way in hell I would let a 3rd party tune my ESS kit.

[maaicher]

Originally Posted by DansM

No conflict started its ok. I went with Mike because I was a loyal customer seeking the same top notch service. Besides, I got a lot more for my dollar with my tune including; cold start RPM reduction, and servo-tronic. Mike was also very forward with me in that he made sure every aspect that needed to be addressed would be covered in order for the car to run correctly. As stated before, he went to the extent of flow benching my injector sizing for proper scaling and pulse width parameters. I feel like I had a more personal, hands on tuning experience with my SC car than any other could offer. Meaning not just a cable sent and a file uploaded. He made sure I was covered safely and that I would have the enjoyment that I sought from a SC. This doesn't mean the ESS isn't good, just that Mikes was more personal and offered more plus he stand behind it.

Gotcha, sounds like he took very good care of you. Looking forward to your dyno results and seeing how the car holds up. Enjoy it as much as you can

[Skooterbrah]

Any interest in tuning a ESS 650+ car on 9psi on E85? May be bumping to 10-11psi once the switch to corn is made

[maaicher]

Originally Posted by rjd598

you used to have a gintani exhaust and sc kit...same could be said for you. not trying to start anything as i have no problem with gintani and would love to run their products, always have. just saying you don't have a valid argument there. you could have chosen ess and probably eisenmann exhaust at the time since they are companies that are "proven to be the most reliable".

Not sure why my history with Gintani would render my argument invalid. Alex tuned my car from the beginning and it always ran great at the track. Never had any issues. I went with Gintani because they were the most local company to me, so support would always be available if any issues occurred. I would have probably went with ESS if I lived in their area.

The basis for the question was in regards to the OP choosing a tune from a third party over the manufacturer. The fact that ESS is the most reputable Supercharger company on the forum just added fluff to the question.

[Superfly_M3]

Originally Posted by BuckRodgers

Without direct access to the car and months of testing and data logging this is exactly what you are getting "tune and pray". The only reason someone would be this foolish would be if they were too cheap to buy the real thing. There is nobody in their right mind and who has the funds that would take a home garage tuner making a remote tune on a supercharged car VS the guys who actually spent years perfecting it. The only possible exception would be is if the file was borrowed from an ESS car and reused. Even then not worth the risk IMO. There is no way in hell I would let a 3rd party tune my ESS kit.

BuckRodgers,

OP said he was happy with the tune, and happy with Customer Service. In the end, only time will tell right? I mean, it must have taken 100x more effort to tune a supercharged car than N/A car, so this "home garage tuner" must know what he is doing right?
Good Job Mike

[happos2]

Originally Posted by BuckRodgers

blah blah blah

Thank you for your opinion which is fine since you are entitled to it and your property (in all seriousness). But to accuse BPM of taking ESS files and modifying without any proof, your accusation has no base and shows your ignorance. Also saying it isn't reliable with no proof.... ugh. And nobody that has funds? Home garage tuner? You made me speechless!!! Congrats!


As for usefulness, can't wait to see the dyno. And I am glad the OP is enjoying their car.

[TMR]

Originally Posted by Superfly_M3

BuckRodgers,

OP said he was happy with the tune, and happy with Customer Service. In the end, only time will tell right? I mean, it must have taken 100x more effort to tune a supercharged car than N/A car, so this "home garage tuner" must know what he is doing right?
Good Job Mike

[Superfly_M3]

Originally Posted by happos2

As for usefulness, can't wait to see the dyno. And I am glad the OP is enjoying their car.

A dyno with full data log would be awesome, don't you think?

[DansM]

Originally Posted by BuckRodgers

Without direct access to the car and months of testing and data logging this is exactly what you are getting "tune and pray". The only reason someone would be this foolish would be if they were too cheap to buy the real thing. There is nobody in their right mind and who has the funds that would take a home garage tuner making a remote tune on a supercharged car VS the guys who actually spent years perfecting it. The only possible exception would be is if the file was borrowed from an ESS car and reused. Even then not worth the risk IMO. There is no way in hell I would let a 3rd party tune my ESS kit.

I then doesn't take years to perfect. Tuning is simple if yiu know wheat your doing. Certain parameters change with boost and mostly it's to do with the car recognizing or not recognizing boost. Having a sound fuel curve and timing advances throughout the load/rpm range is also imperative when running sc. As I'm any tune wether NA or boosted-these parameters are not impoasie to figure out. The the car is safe and I trust mike with his work. He's seen and been around all this stuff for many years and he's no back yard tuner as you stated. If there was a problem, the drivability of the car would shows his tunes flaws but in fact it is proven to work amazing this far. I shall give up dates every so often but so far no complaints, no check engine lights, and no worries. Oh. Also, since I am an existing customer, mike gaveme a discount. I'm glad I have his cable

[happos2]

Originally Posted by Superfly_M3

A dyno with full data log would be awesome, don't you think?

Always....though I would have no idea what I am looking at! I could probably figure it out if I studied it a little.

Anyways, this will eventually turn into a bash fest between ESS and BPM, just waiting for it... I don't see why there can't be equal competition where person X prefers product A over product B that person Y prefers. Like clothing / watches / etc...