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      07-22-2012, 09:18 AM   #1
mark896
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Thumbs up Remotely tuned by Mike Benvo

Finally getting the chance to write my review on an impressive customer service experience by Mike Benvo. I had my 2011.5 E92 M3 coded by him about a month ago, and was so blown away by the amount of knowledge the guy has on our cars that last week I had him remotely tune the engine as well.

Other than an AA filter and the OEM exhaust mod, my car is stock. I gave Mike the exact parameters of the way I drive, as well as the modifications performed, and also the gas that we have out here (93 octane). From start to finish, it took about 30-45 minutes.

The car should have came this way from the factory. The acceleration pulls harder over the ENTIRE tachometer, and really screams on the top end. I don't have a dyno near me or else I would've performed before/after pulls and posted the sheets. But the car performs MUCH different from stock, even the exhaust note is different. I expected a reduction in mpg, but there is none, if anything the car might actually be MORE efficient.

I had him delete the cold start, change the redline on cold startup (comes down to 4500rpm when the oil is really cold, which keeps the kid at the stealership from tearing up your engine while he's hot-rodding it around town) and remove the top speed limiter. He asked if I wanted my redline raised but I declined. Mike also tweaked the aggressiveness of the Normal, and Sport throttle mapping modes. I no longer have to constantly run around in Sport mode and burn that LED up on my panel (I'm OCD about that, for some reason).

If anyone is on the fence on who should tune your car, Mike's flash tune is efficient, demanding, and CUSTOMIZED to your car and setup. Give him a call, text, or email and I promise, you will be blown away at the quality of customer service and tech support from the guy. I wish he was still on this board, m3post.com has done itself a disservice.
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      07-22-2012, 02:09 PM   #2
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Mike is great, unfortunately powers to be of this site banned Mike..a shame.

Dave
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      07-22-2012, 04:42 PM   #3
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All these Benvo reviews read a lot alike...
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      07-22-2012, 06:53 PM   #4
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Dave07997S View Post
Mike is great, unfortunately powers to be of this site banned Mike..a shame.

Dave
Banned again!? I know the Tech is back.
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      07-22-2012, 07:20 PM   #5
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Snig View Post
Banned again!? I know the Tech is back.
I saw a few recent posts by him, but I did a search for his posts, and the recent ones are gone and his posts have 'banned' on them (again).
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      07-22-2012, 07:50 PM   #6
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Quote:
Originally Posted by aajami View Post
All these Benvo reviews read a lot alike...
what's wrong with that?
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      07-22-2012, 08:22 PM   #7
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Quote:
Originally Posted by rjd598 View Post
what's wrong with that?
+1

They're a lot alike, because the guy is legit, and puts out a quality product. Is that weird to you?
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      07-22-2012, 08:40 PM   #8
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I saw a few recent posts by him, but I did a search for his posts
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      07-22-2012, 09:10 PM   #9
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Quote:
Originally Posted by aajami View Post
All these Benvo reviews read a lot alike...
Agreed.

Quote:
Originally Posted by mark896 View Post
+1

They're a lot alike, because the guy is legit, and puts out a quality product. Is that weird to you?
Or he's asking people to post reviews for him since he seems to have the ban stick AGAIN!!
Him and The TECH seem to be working together now- Just an observation I've seen in threads.

.
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Let me get this straight... You are swapping out parts designed by some of the top engineers in the world because some guys sponsored by a company told you it's "better??" But when you ask the same guy about tracking, "oh no, I have a kid now" or "I just detailed my car." or "i just got new tires."
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      07-22-2012, 09:23 PM   #10
mark896
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People posted reviews for his products before he was banned as well.

???
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      07-22-2012, 09:35 PM   #11
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Him being banned is more of a punishment to the community than it is to him.

Mark, congrats on the tune. Reviews like this make me more eager to get my car tuned.
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      07-22-2012, 10:10 PM   #12
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Quote:
Originally Posted by JulieDriving View Post
I saw a few recent posts by him, but I did a search for his posts, and the recent ones are gone and his posts have 'banned' on them (again).
Quote:
Originally Posted by ErasmoHar View Post
I saw a few recent posts by him, but I did a search for his posts
am i crazy or why is it that every thread i go in there is a low post count account posting exactly what another person posted? I have seen this in almost every single thread recently. what gives.

/rant
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      07-22-2012, 10:19 PM   #13
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Quote:
Originally Posted by mark896 View Post
People posted reviews for his products before he was banned as well.

???
This is true. This is the first review written after mike got banned
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      07-22-2012, 10:43 PM   #14
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how do i get in contact with him?

and how much does it cost?
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      07-23-2012, 12:05 AM   #15
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Quote:
Originally Posted by System Of A... View Post
how do i get in contact with him?

and how much does it cost?
google Mike Benvo...
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      07-23-2012, 02:00 AM   #16
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Quote:
Originally Posted by System Of A... View Post
how do i get in contact with him?

and how much does it cost?
You're in LA, Alex@alpine charges $60 for everything!!

.
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Let me get this straight... You are swapping out parts designed by some of the top engineers in the world because some guys sponsored by a company told you it's "better??" But when you ask the same guy about tracking, "oh no, I have a kid now" or "I just detailed my car." or "i just got new tires."
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      07-23-2012, 03:10 AM   #17
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you know there are websites and forums that teach you how to code these yourself for free..its not hard nor does it require equipment. They even supply the software necessary.
matter fact its common knowledge way before the E9x came around.
just use google and search for bmw and coding as the admins have seem to blocked out the website on this forum.
And some might argue that there is danger to ruin your ECU or whatever, thats a lie. You can always revert to original file if you do it correctly, but who wouldn't do it correctly?
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      07-23-2012, 04:37 AM   #18
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Quote:
Originally Posted by aus View Post
You're in LA, Alex@alpine charges $60 for everything!!

.
wait what? is this a tune or a code? alex already coded my car..didnt know he tunes cars too
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      07-23-2012, 07:29 AM   #19
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Quote:
Originally Posted by System Of A...
Quote:
Originally Posted by aus View Post
You're in LA, Alex@alpine charges $60 for everything!!

.
wait what? is this a tune or a code? alex already coded my car..didnt know he tunes cars too
Alex doesn't tune, he doesn't do cold start removal, he doesnt update DME, he doesnt do BMW live activation.. And if he DID do any of those things it CERTAINLY wouldn't be done for $60.
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      07-23-2012, 07:37 AM   #20
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The dealership in Turkey is refusing to update the version, the car is under warranty. They say that an error needs to pop up, then they can upgrade.

F**k...
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      07-23-2012, 07:42 AM   #21
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Quote:
Originally Posted by aus View Post
Him and The TECH seem to be working together now- Just an observation I've seen in threads.

.
Yes, we are.
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      07-23-2012, 02:19 PM   #22
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I remember Mike Benvo from several flame wars with other vendors on here. He seemed very knowledgeable. However, I've asked myself how is it really going to be like dealing with a vendor like that when I have problems and I have to call them.

I know I don't have the full knowledge of their histories but it made me think twice.

Getting these reviews up are a step in the right direction but what of the recent happenings.
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