My thoughts on engine tuning software: Street, Canyon, and Track Use

[flanast]

Originally Posted by Mike Benvo

I've got your Stage II file already prepared. See you at the dyno on Friday.

It's a good opportunity to put my M3 on the dyno with the latest 240E software.

Mike, is this tune something that can be done remotely or do you need to have the car?

[THE TECH]

Originally Posted by flanast

Mike, is this tune something that can be done remotely or do you need to have the car?

We don't need to have the car.

[flanast]

Originally Posted by THE TECH

We don't need to have the car.

Could you pm me with price

[THE TECH]

Originally Posted by flanast

Could you pm me with price

PM on the way!

[BPMSport]

Originally Posted by flanast

Mike, is this tune something that can be done remotely or do you need to have the car?

There's nothing we can't do remotely (other than physical installs)

The cable I send you allows you to flash the tune in, and flash back to stock. This is on top of being able to read and clear fault codes. The cable is yours to keep, factored in to the tune pricing.

Let me know if I can answer any other questions.

Thank you!
Mike

[jagman]

Please pm me pricing, too. I have an Akra slip on and I hate the cold start drone below 2000rpm. I want to add the MS intake and pulleys. I'm also thinking of picking up the Akra midpipe but keeping the stock one to reinstall for smog testing. Being able to reflash the OEM tune for smogging is awesome. And of course so is getting the latest OEM tune.

[dmurray14]

Originally Posted by Mike Benvo

Thank you for your question, I am happy to answer for you.

When I was in Europe a few weeks ago, I tested this particular reason as to why many of those that attempt an update on their own 'brick' their ECU. Theoretically, you should be able to use these cables for flashing. However, there is one BIG problem that 99.9% of people are unaware about.

I purposely used one of the coding cables to 'brick' the ECU and determine what in particular is happening behind the scenes. When people attempt these updates, it often goes to 100% and appears that it has successfully flashed, only to receive an error at the very end which leaves the ECU in a state of no communication. This means no reprogramming it through the OBD-II port, and no communication with the car itself - so basically it's a 4000lb paperweight.

Now.. on to why this happens. Many of the cables that people are using have an inherent firmware flaw. The DME and TCU are one of the few control units in the car that are programmed with D-CAN. Most of the other modules in the car are programmed via K-CAN or KLINE, and the junction box may convert signals to the appropriate type depending on the ECU we are dealing with.

What I have found is that when programming DCAN modules (such as the DME and TCU), the firmware flaw causes erroneous data - specifically '06' to be written to the ECU every 253 bytes. This causes almost irreparable damage to the software programming and pretty much makes the DME useless.

The MSS60 (M3) and MSS65 (M5) DME's have two Motorola MPC563 Freescale processors. The MSS60 and the MSS65 share a very similar architecture, however, there is one pretty major difference. On M3's (cars with software from 2009 and above), BMW has introduced a revision of the code which 'locks' the left processor from reading. The ECU I tested this on was my E60 M5 DME, and luckily, both processors are not locked. This allowed me to open the DME up, and BDM (Background Debugging Mode) them. BDMing an ECU is when you open up the DME and use heads to connect to the pins on the motherboard which connect directly to the processor. This allows for reading and writing to the DME even if it is bricked, allowing you to now program and read a corrupted processor. Reading out the information from the processor gave a clear indication of why these DME's are left in a bricked state after such failed updates. I was able to recover the M5 DME completely, and it is working great again. Even flashed an M3 file into it for fun, and it accepted the flash.

However - with the M3, when this happens, it's a different story. Because the left processor is locked, you can not read or write to it using BDM. You can recover the right processor no problem, but without both processors working properly the DME will not be operating as designed and the vehicle will not start or run. On the M3, in order to fix a damaged ECU programmed with one of these cables, you have to desolder the left processor from the DME, and resolder a new one. After that, the processor will accept programming once again, and you can fully recover it.

Even a completely working M3 ECU will not allow communication with the left processor over BDM. OBD II will read fine from both processors, but you can not program certain sections of the processors over OBD II. I have a spare M3 DME that I use for testing, and unfortunately it will not work in my car because of the electronic immobilizer data written to the left processor which is secured from OBD programming. For this reason I am going to replace the left processor which will allow it to be programmed to a virgin state. I will then be able to link this ECU successfully to my M3 and have two working DME's for my car.

Now onto why the cables that eVolve and I offer you do not cause this problem: They are designed 'specifically' for DME programming over D-CAN. They do not program any other modules because they are not designed for that, although the second generation of bluetooth cables will likely have a pass-through for coding and programming other modules. Not only that, the cables test ranges to program and are not nearly invasive as WinKFP for flashing. They don't alter the boot sector. They also have built in recovery mode features in the off-event that something does go awry, such as a cable getting pulled out in the middle, drastically low voltage, etc. The worse thing you can do to an electronic control unit is program bad data to the operating system part of the firmware/software. A properly designed system takes all measures to ensure that bad data is not written, and that in the event there is a fault, recovery can be performed. The master of all of this DME stuff is the engineer that designed these end user flashing cables.

I hope this helps!

Wow. I am a tech nerd, been coding BMWs for 3 years, and I have a tendency not to trust the remote flashes out on the market because I don't know what they're doing behind the scenes.

You have demonstrated beyond all doubt that you GET this stuff, and have no problem sharing how your product works. I am picking up my M3 in Germany next week, you can be sure you will be hearing from me as soon as it hits the mainland!

Dan

[yinlee]

Just thought I shoot a quick response. I received the cable from Mike today. He sent me an email with the software. The software installation and OBD II hookup was very simple and anyone can do it. First, I had to download my car's ECU data. This took about 35 minutes. After completion of this, I sent the file to Mike and within half an hour he sent me the updated tune file. I uploaded the file back to the car which took about 5 minutes. Once that was complete, we were done. Very simple and painless for me as I'm no techy.

First impression after a spirited 15 min drive is the car is much smoother. I have DCT and ZCP and when in sports mode with highest throttle response, it would feel very jerky in city driving. With the tune, it has helped this significantly. My butt dyno tells me the car has more power across all RPM range. So far, this has been a great experience and glad I got it. I will do a more thorough report later when I have more time in the car.

Overall, very please and Mike provides excellent client service!!! You got a customer for life here.

[KmndntKlink]

Thanks OP for that great writeup. I've been looking into getting a tune, was thinking ESS so far but I want a tune for the exact reasons you do, I HATE that rought cold start you described, and the low torque at low rpms. Hate the rattling kind of sound you get on cold starts too, makes me think i'm driving some sh*&y toyota or something. Course once it warms up its fine, but ya, glad it worked out so well for ya.

Mike, could you pm me with pricing? I was also wondering what you know about getting warranties after a tune. I thought if you just flash back to stock before taking it in, you'd be good. I've been reading otherwise though. IS there some sort of log that is written to when RPMs go past stock max or the speed goes past factory limit? Seems like you reaaaaly know your stuffs so maybe you could answer this? I know some other posters here were asking in another thread.

Cold start, speed limit, tweaking the throttle so tip in is a little smoother are all things I'd like done. TIYA

[BPMSport]

Originally Posted by KmndntKlink

Thanks OP for that great writeup. I've been looking into getting a tune, was thinking ESS so far but I want a tune for the exact reasons you do, I HATE that rought cold start you described, and the low torque at low rpms. Hate the rattling kind of sound you get on cold starts too, makes me think i'm driving some sh*&y toyota or something. Course once it warms up its fine, but ya, glad it worked out so well for ya.

Mike, could you pm me with pricing? I was also wondering what you know about getting warranties after a tune. I thought if you just flash back to stock before taking it in, you'd be good. I've been reading otherwise though. IS there some sort of log that is written to when RPMs go past stock max or the speed goes past factory limit? Seems like you reaaaaly know your stuffs so maybe you could answer this? I know some other posters here were asking in another thread.

Cold start, speed limit, tweaking the throttle so tip in is a little smoother are all things I'd like done. TIYA

Give me a ring on my cell in my signature. I'm behind on PM's and emails and working on too many projects at the moment to address them now - but more than happy to take a phone call to discuss with you. Also working on uploading the pics/video from the dyno yesterday.

Thanks,
Mike

[adc]

Originally Posted by Mike Benvo

It is!

Cables start shipping next week.

Allows you to flash the tune to your car, and flash back to stock. Takes 5 minutes to flash back to stock or flash a tuned file to your car.

Cable also supports reading and clearing of fault codes.

Also allows me to send you updates in the future (free of charge of course), and other custom tailored files such as valet mode, tune with changed throttle response, etc.. things you can request and try out at your leisure.

Ilya, thanks for the comprehensive write up and I'm glad the tune is serving you well!

Can you please provide more details about the cables please, and PM me the price? I've been wanting to do this for awhile, perhaps now is the time...

[KmndntKlink]

Originally Posted by Mike Benvo

Give me a ring on my cell in my signature. I'm behind on PM's and emails and working on too many projects at the moment to address them now - but more than happy to take a phone call to discuss with you. Also working on uploading the pics/video from the dyno yesterday.

Thanks,
Mike

No worries mate, take your time not in any rush to get this. Will probably get it early next year.

[BPMSport]

Originally Posted by adc

Can you please provide more details about the cables please, and PM me the price? I've been wanting to do this for awhile, perhaps now is the time...

Hi adc,

Sorry for the slow reply.

The cables are in stock and ready to ship. A group buy will be offered very soon once the final batch of cables arrive from Europe. Right now I only have two left.

The cable + software is an all encompassing suite for flashing your car with the tuned software, and back to the stock software. It also allows for easy reading and clearing of fault codes should a CEL light appear. I have had customers in the past ask me to provide different files, for example, one with raised rev limit, and one without.

The software is proven to be 100% reliable and is very easy to use.

Please check out http://www.bpmsport.com/tuning.php for some more info and reviews on the tune.

Please let me know if you have any other questions!

Mike

(P.S. Our new fully featured site will be launched soon, please stay 'tuned' )

[passing]

Originally Posted by Mike Benvo

(P.S. Our new fully featured site will be launched soon, please stay 'tuned' )

HAH i see what you did there.

[adc]

Originally Posted by Mike Benvo

Hi adc,

Sorry for the slow reply.

The cables are in stock and ready to ship. A group buy will be offered very soon once the final batch of cables arrive from Europe. Right now I only have two left.

The cable + software is an all encompassing suite for flashing your car with the tuned software, and back to the stock software. It also allows for easy reading and clearing of fault codes should a CEL light appear. I have had customers in the past ask me to provide different files, for example, one with raised rev limit, and one without.

The software is proven to be 100% reliable and is very easy to use.

Please check out http://www.bpmsport.com/tuning.php for some more info and reviews on the tune.

Please let me know if you have any other questions!

Mike

(P.S. Our new fully featured site will be launched soon, please stay 'tuned' )

No worries Mike, thanks for the heads-up. I may have 2 cars to tune, a friend would like at a minimum to have the latest OEM software uploaded and of course mine. More if I can get more local guys to sign up. I don't trust my wifi where the car sits so I bought a 100ft CAT5 cable and will test it soon.

I guess I am a little unclear on something - for the quoted price, do I get my own cable and SW which I can continue to use? If so, what else would I be able to do with it on my own? Or is it still a loaner that I'm getting?

And one more - do I need some sort of battery charger?

[BPMSport]

Originally Posted by adc

No worries Mike, thanks for the heads-up. I may have 2 cars to tune, a friend would like at a minimum to have the latest OEM software uploaded and of course mine. More if I can get more local guys to sign up. I don't trust my wifi where the car sits so I bought a 100ft CAT5 cable and will test it soon.

I guess I am a little unclear on something - for the quoted price, do I get my own cable and SW which I can continue to use? If so, what else would I be able to do with it on my own? Or is it still a loaner that I'm getting?

And one more - do I need some sort of battery charger?

Hi adc,

Thanks for your questions.

Don't worry about CAT 5/6 or having a stable wireless connection. This is only required when we are coding, not tuning. The coding virtual machine, however, is designed with this in mind, and there is no risk to the car even if the connection drops mid-coding. It happens all the time.

Now for tuning, everything you need is 100% contained within the cable and software. There is no need for a live connection. However, if you have one I'm happy to initiate the reading and programming remotely. It's a very simple process:

1. Plug the cable into the car and press read.
2. After the read has completed, email me the file
3. A tuned file will be sent back to you programmed to your spec.
4. Press program and select the tuned file.
5. 5 Minutes later, Enjoy your new performance software.

The price of the tune includes the end user cable which you can use to flash the tune in, and flash back to stock. It's a valuable tool even after your purchase because of it's ability to read and clear fault codes at any time. You will not need a battery charger either, writing the tuned file back to the car only takes 5 minutes.

Please let me know if you have any other questions and thank you for your interest.

Mike

[adc]

Originally Posted by Mike Benvo

Hi adc,

Thanks for your questions.

Don't worry about CAT 5/6 or having a stable wireless connection. This is only required when we are coding, not tuning. The coding virtual machine, however, is designed with this in mind, and there is no risk to the car even if the connection drops mid-coding. It happens all the time.

Now for tuning, everything you need is 100% contained within the cable and software. There is no need for a live connection. However, if you have one I'm happy to initiate the reading and programming remotely. It's a very simple process:

1. Plug the cable into the car and press read.
2. After the read has completed, email me the file
3. A tuned file will be sent back to you programmed to your spec.
4. Press program and select the tuned file.
5. 5 Minutes later, Enjoy your new performance software.

The price of the tune includes the end user cable which you can use to flash the tune in, and flash back to stock. It's a valuable tool even after your purchase because of it's ability to read and clear fault codes at any time. You will not need a battery charger either, writing the tuned file back to the car only takes 5 minutes.

Please let me know if you have any other questions and thank you for your interest.

Mike

Excellent, that answers my questions, thanks. I forgot to mention I want some coding done as well so the cable might come in handy.

[BPMSport]

Originally Posted by adc

Excellent, that answers my questions, thanks. I forgot to mention I want some coding done as well so the cable might come in handy.

My pleasure.

I can send the coding cable to you too, both are in stock. Euro MDM + tune is always fun.

Thank you
Mike

[mikew2069]

Are there any before and after dynos to show gains?

[WolfeS2K]

I just received my cable from Mike yesterday for his tune. I will able to able to have my car on the dyno while he is tuning it so I will post before and after for everyone to see.

I've had it on the same dyno for all my mods to show the gains.

Stock-- she made 329.5whp
Challenge street x-pipe -- 344.1whp
Challenge race x-pipe (primary cats removed)-- 366.7whp
All done on 93oct

[BPMSport]

Originally Posted by mikew2069

Are there any before and after dynos to show gains?

http://www.m3post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=748613

[dcs2k]

Hi Mike, im on a euro spec RHD 08 DCT. Had a CIC retrofit done to have the newer idrive. Usually when I get software updates I'm require to fixed back the old set before the programming can go thru.

In my case am I still a candidate for your tune? Do I need to install back to old set for the tune to read and update? Thanks

Daniel