source of the detune

[professor]

compared to the us-spec model how is ours "detuned"? ecu? cats? throttle body? does anyone know for sure? thanks in advance.

[Zuzu]

Hi Prateek..
I thought it wasnt as much as our cars were "detuned" but, the Oz cars are tuned for our petrol octane rating..
Maybe I am wrong..:iono:

[xa-coupe]

Originally Posted by Zuzu

Hi Prateek..
I thought it wasnt as much as our cars were "detuned" but, the Oz cars are tuned for our petrol octane rating..
Maybe I am wrong..:iono:

I thought we had higher octane petrol than the states. No doubt if we do have a detuned version it'll have something to do with a bizarre ADR.

[Zuzu]

Thats what I mean xa-coupe..
Cause of our higher octane rating the car is tuned (detuned) to suit

[xa-coupe]

Originally Posted by Zuzu

Thats what I mean xa-coupe..
Cause of our higher octane rating the car is tuned (detuned) to suit

It took me a second to get what you meant ... now I have seen the light !:biggrin:

[WAY]

Prateek, where did you get this info that our car is detuned? Doesn't the US 135i also rate at 306hp?

[AussieRacer]

US cars are rated at 300hp. Typical US detune for the lower spec fuel.

Aust spec has same rating at Japanese cars, which have historical had the highest power due to their higher octane fuel. Aust is catching up :smile:

[professor]

maybe i should have started by saying that US reviews seem to place the 0-60mph mark at 4.8 and the aussie versions consistently say 0-100kph at 5.3. my suspicion comes from the notion that surely it does not take half a second to gain those extra 3.44kphs! couple this with the factory claims that the us model is heavier as stock and has slightly more torque (though slightly less hp) at slightly higher RPM than ours. just wondered whether any of this is coming from some fundamental mechanical difference. :iono:

[WAY]

100kmh is 62 miles. I don't know the gearing for the car, but perhaps it needs an extra gear shift to get to 100kmh?

[professor]

possible wayne but seems unlikely to me it happens to be right at the critical juncture in that short space of 3.44kphs where one gear is too short and the other too tall!

[Guran]

The only road test of the 135i I've seen in an Aussie car magazine was in MOTOR ... and those tests were done on a runway with a loose road surface which they described as "gravel" (0-100km/hr in 5.7s, 0-400m in 14.0s). I've not seen any Aussie tests on a decent surface. The 5.3s figure quoted is merely the BMW figure, which is conservative according to US and UK road tests.

BTW, don't belive the myth that the US has lower octane fuels than we do in Australia. The US use a different scale for octane rating than we do in Australia. We use RON (Research Octance Number) exclusively whereas they use MON (Motor Octane Number) in addition to RON. Depending on the composition of the fuel, the MON is typically about 8 to 10 points lower than the RON. Australia quotes RON whereas the US quote the average of RON and MON. This means that the octane in the US is about 4 to 5 points lower than the same fuel elsewhere, eg 87 octane fuel in the US, would be 91-92 in Australia.

[Zuzu]

Originally Posted by Guran

The only road test of the 135i I've seen in an Aussie car magazine was in MOTOR ... and those tests were done on a runway with a loose road surface which they described as "gravel" (0-100km/hr in 5.7s, 0-400m in 14.0s). I've not seen any Aussie tests on a decent surface. The 5.3s figure quoted is merely the BMW figure, which is conservative according to US and UK road tests.

BTW, don't belive the myth that the US has lower octane fuels than we do in Australia. The US use a different scale for octane rating than we do in Australia. We use RON (Research Octance Number) exclusively whereas they use MON (Motor Octane Number) in addition to RON. Depending on the composition of the fuel, the MON is typically about 8 to 10 points lower than the RON. Australia quotes RON whereas the US quote the average of RON and MON. This means that the octane in the US is about 4 to 5 points lower than the same fuel elsewhere, eg 87 octane fuel in the US, would be 91-92 in Australia.

So what are you saying??

That our cars are detuned??

The dyno didnt suggest that they where detuned..:thumbup:

[Guran]

Originally Posted by WAY

100kmh is 62 miles. I don't know the gearing for the car, but perhaps it needs an extra gear shift to get to 100kmh?

Nope. According to the abovementioned MOTOR test, 2nd gear can run to between 110 and 120km/hr (true speed) at the engine cutout. MOTOR were pretty slow with the gear change though ... it added about 0.6s to the 110-120km/hr bracket (compared with 100-110 and 120-130).

[Guran]

Originally Posted by Zuzu

So what are you saying??

That our cars are detuned??

The dyno didnt suggest that they where detuned..:thumbup:

I'm saying that no-one's properly tested the 135i in Australian conditions. But I'm not expecting any significant difference between the Aussie and US output spec. On the other hand, we get the M Sport as standard in the 135i and that means it'll be carrying a bit more weight. So, ours might possibly be a tenth or two slower than the base spec 135i in the US.

Careful with comparing dyno tests, especially between Australia and US. My understanding is that at-the-wheel dyno tests are really only useful for comparing before/after modifications ... not between different dynos or different countries / atmospheric conditions.

[professor]

only, the torque/hp curves do seem to be very slightly different and the australian version car is lighter not heavier.

[Kris]

That's because they weighed the car in the states with an american in it!

*hehehe*

[Timbo]

How come the Aussie car is lighter? wouldn't the electric seats etc which come standard make it heavier? And on another side note... isn't Australia now the most overweight country after recently overtaking our friends the Americans?

[Kris]

Timbo: That's rubbish, obviously spread by the Telegraph The herald wouldn't spread crap like that..

[taiheung]

Originally Posted by Timbo

How come the Aussie car is lighter? wouldn't the electric seats etc which come standard make it heavier? And on another side note... isn't Australia now the most overweight country after recently overtaking our friends the Americans?

Shot in the dark but it may have to do with the fact that the US spec 135i's come standard with sunroof. Also - we have had a look at a few 135i's on a dyno and I heard they all put out around 170rwkw.

Didn't someone say that here on the forum?

[cozza]

On a simliar note, does anyone know why the 125i here is rated 10kW less than the 128i in the US? Same engine...

[Wraith]

Originally Posted by professor

maybe i should have started by saying that US reviews seem to place the 0-60mph mark at 4.8 and the aussie versions consistently say 0-100kph at 5.3. my suspicion comes from the notion that surely it does not take half a second to gain those extra 3.44kphs! couple this with the factory claims that the us model is heavier as stock and has slightly more torque (though slightly less hp) at slightly higher RPM than ours. just wondered whether any of this is coming from some fundamental mechanical difference. :iono:

I could be wrong, but have you taken into account that the U.S times of under 5 sec. to 60mph and mid 13's over the 1/4 have been with the autos, ie 6sp steptronic which seem to pull the quicker times than the manual 135i...

The few Aussie reviews I've read have been with the manual and all have been over 5 sec. to 100km/h I've only ever seen the auto pull under 5 sec. to 100km/h...

[qship]

The 4.8 second time achieved by Road and Track was a manual. I was told (not sure how trustworthy) that all countries run the same ecu and program and that the car itself will adjust for the quality of fuel, not a specific program for each market. :iono:

http://www.roadandtrack.com/assets/d...508_RT_BMW.pdf