Powerchip group buy interest in Houston?

[JC919]

^hmmm........

[Nucking Futs!]

Originally Posted by JC919

^hmmm........

Just a suggestion since I have no affilation w/them...So if da facility's horrible then don't blame me!

[TLud]

VRTX's shop is a convenient location for me, and would be good for any Austinites coming in on US- 290.

[BPMSport]

Does Vivid Racing work for everyone else?

1. TXM32B
2. TLud
3. King Tut
4. Nucking Futs!
5. Ajax-Prime - maybe

Anyone else, please add yourself to the list. Hopefully we get enough interest to fly out there and meet and tune personally.

[MGZT]

Please educate me about this chip tuning... I am assuming modifications are required to do this chip tuning, correct? Can I do this chip tuning first since this group buy in Houston and pick my modification later? Because I am still shopping around for exhausts and the only mod I have now is air filter.

[BPMSport]

Originally Posted by MGZT

Please educate me about this chip tuning... I am assuming modifications are required to do this chip tuning, correct? Can I do this chip tuning first since this group buy in Houston and pick my modification later? Because I am still shopping around for exhausts and the only mod I have now is air filter.

You do not need to have any previous mods to your car to get the tuning. I had it on my m3 over 14,000 miles ago, and was one of the first M3's to ever get tuned. All I have in terms of power is the tune and the crankshaft pulley (which is irrespective of the tune anyway). I now have almost 17K on the clock.

If you add an exhaust system in the future, the car will adapt for the added airflow the exhaust will provide more. There is no reason to get a retune unless you remove your cats or go with high flow cats that throw a check engine light.

So in theory, you could get the tune, and put the exhaust on at your leisure. Then all of your bases are covered.

[frankzlin79]

Hmmm...so for $990 we can have a custom tune. But does that include the price of using the dyno? In other words, is Vivid Racing going to charge us for time spent on the dyno?

[frankzlin79]

Originally Posted by Mike@Powerchip

In the case that your car is reflashed at the dealer, Powerchip charges a $100 fee to have your car reflashed with our software.

However, as a gesture of good faith, I will offer one free reflash within the first year. It's very unlikely that your software would be overwritten by the dealer at this point. But if they do, this will cover you.

DCT updates come out about every six months for DCT cars. So, there is a high possibility of the dealer having to erase the Powerchip flash.

[BPMSport]

Originally Posted by frankzlin79

Hmmm...so for $990 we can have a custom tune. But does that include the price of using the dyno? In other words, is Vivid Racing going to charge us for time spent on the dyno?

No, unfortunately it does not include that. The dyno time is separate because it goes straight to the shop itself. I'm sure that we'll be able to arrange a group rate with them for the event, which would cut down on the cost normally.


However, factoring in the dyno time and the cost of the tune together, there is still a drastic savings over the non promotional cost of the tune itself. The extremely low promotional price offsets the cost of the dyno time completely.

That was a good question and I'm sorry I didn't mention that sooner.

[frankzlin79]

Mike,

So the tune is performed via the OBDII port...meaning that the ECU of the car does not have to be removed, right?

Also, is the tune going to be detectable by the dealer? Because if I make too much power from the tune and start breaking engine/tranny components (probably not likely) the dealer will argue it was due to the tune and therefore not cover the repairs under warranty. I mean if the dealer really wanted to be nosey, do they have a machine to hook up to the car and check if the mappings have been fiddled with?

[JC919]

Originally Posted by Nucking Futs!

Just a suggestion since I have no affilation w/them...So if da facility's horrible then don't blame me!

I think I'll go check it out. I've seen Todd on 6speed so I'll PM him through that forum.

Originally Posted by Mike@Powerchip

You do not need to have any previous mods to your car to get the tuning. I had it on my m3 over 14,000 miles ago, and was one of the first M3's to ever get tuned. All I have in terms of power is the tune and the crankshaft pulley (which is irrespective of the tune anyway). I now have almost 17K on the clock.

If you add an exhaust system in the future, the car will adapt for the added airflow the exhaust will provide more. There is no reason to get a retune unless you remove your cats or go with high flow cats that throw a check engine light.

So in theory, you could get the tune, and put the exhaust on at your leisure. Then all of your bases are covered.

Then I'm going to need to wait for a while until I'm done with engine/drivetrain mods.

[BPMSport]

Originally Posted by frankzlin79

Mike,

So the tune is performed via the OBDII port...meaning that the ECU of the car does not have to be removed, right?

Also, is the tune going to be detectable by the dealer? Because if I make too much power from the tune and start breaking engine/tranny components (probably not likely) the dealer will argue it was due to the tune and therefore not cover the repairs under warranty. I mean if the dealer really wanted to be nosey, do they have a machine to hook up to the car and check if the mappings have been fiddled with?

Yes, your factory file is downloaded from the ECU and the powerchip file is uploaded to the ECU via an OBD-II port flash. The ECU does not have the be removed.

The dealer will have no idea at all that it is tuned. To them, it looks like a factory file. All of the diagnostic equipment they have will not indicate a tune, and they have no way of reading out the code and comparing on site. The only people that I know of that can see if you have a tune are tuners, or people actually have the tools and resources necessary to compare the code in the car to the stock code the car came with. Not to mention, the software doesn't cause any problems with the car, so there would be no reason to perform this analysis. You can always be flashed back to stock as well


JC919: What engine/drivetrain modifications do you have planned for the car?

[JC919]

Originally Posted by Mike@Powerchip

JC919: What engine/drivetrain modifications do you have planned for the car?

Pulley, filter/scoops, and full exhaust (preferably w/cats b/c I want to be legal). I was looking at intakes, but for the price I don't think the Dinan for example is worth it.

As far as the exhaust, I'm trying to decide between Akrapovic, AA, and RPi. Do you have an opinion on any other these or can you recommend others? I do a track day a month with this car so hp to weight is important.--JC

[BPMSport]

Originally Posted by JC919

Pulley, filter/scoops, and full exhaust (preferably w/cats b/c I want to be legal). I was looking at intakes, but for the price I don't think the Dinan for example is worth it.

As far as the exhaust, I'm trying to decide between Akrapovic, AA, and RPi. Do you have an opinion on any other these or can you recommend others? I do a track day a month with this car so hp to weight is important.--JC

I saw the RPI exhaust and I liked it very much. But I like my car to be sort of on the quiet side. Powertrips car had the Agency Power exhaust and it sounded really good and the product looked nice as well.

[frankzlin79]

Mike,

So I assume that you also have the factory default software to reflash back to stock? How much is that service?

[JC919]

Originally Posted by Mike@Powerchip

I saw the RPI exhaust and I liked it very much. But I like my car to be sort of on the quiet side. Powertrips car had the Agency Power exhaust and it sounded really good and the product looked nice as well.

This is my DD so I don't want it to be too loud, and performance it far more important. I wasn't aware that RPi was that loud, but then again I haven't heard it in person. I'll look into the Agency Power as well.

[frankzlin79]

Exhaust collaboration video meet is just what you need to help make your exhaust decision.

[JC919]

^Exactly, can't wait

[BPMSport]

Originally Posted by frankzlin79

Mike,

So I assume that you also have the factory default software to reflash back to stock? How much is that service?

Yes, we retain the factory software file that was programmed into your car by BMW before delivery to the dealership.

The flash fee is $100. It's very rare that we have to flash a car back to stock. But if that needs to be done it is not a problem.

[TXM32B]

Mike,

Will there be a noticeable difference between the normal Powerchip flash and the custom tune? How much is the standard Powerchip flash (without dyno tune)? Thanks.

[BPMSport]

Originally Posted by TXM32B

Mike,

Will there be a noticeable difference between the normal Powerchip flash and the custom tune? How much is the standard Powerchip flash (without dyno tune)? Thanks.

Standard Flash is on special for $800. The dyno tune is $1000 + dyno time.

There will be some difference because it's custom fitted to your car. However, we're not talking about a HUGE difference. Our custom tunes are actually quite good to begin with. Dyno tunes are a little more in depth.

Every car reacts a little bit differently.

I just heard back from a couple customers that were just tuned in New York with our custom tunes, and they were raving to me on the phone about it. I'm sure you'll see some posts from them later today.

[Ajax-Prime]

Ok, I'm in, but we need to keep this on the dl or my fiancee is gonna flip.

It will be followed by