[gemini.m3]

so, i know this has been rehashed and i have read a lot on the forums.. purchased a 12 135i m-sport about a little over a month ago

thought the car was quick, got bored of the speed already now looking into the PPK1, cobb access port (one of the lucky few built in 11), or JB4 G5 ISO.

The question I ask that I couldn't find is.. if I plan to keep my car bone stock with maybe only the addition of the BMW performance exhaust, wouldn't the JB4 map 1 or cobb sport be the equivalent to what the PPK1 provides? except no worries about warranty?

I have factory warranty for 1 more year then 2 additional CPO years, thinking of going PPK1 + PE for about the next year and a half or so then maybe jump on the JB4 G5 ISO, does the car really drive stock smooth w/ the iso boost control?

It can be nauseating reading all the different threads on diff forums lol

[Schmidty335i]

Originally Posted by ntsthrilla

so, i know this has been rehashed and i have read a lot on the forums.. purchased a 12 135i m-sport about a little over a month ago

thought the car was quick, got bored of the speed already now looking into the PPK1, cobb access port (one of the lucky few built in 11), or JB4 G5 ISO.

The question I ask that I couldn't find is.. if I plan to keep my car bone stock with maybe only the addition of the BMW performance exhaust, wouldn't the JB4 map 1 or cobb sport be the equivalent to what the PPK1 provides? except no worries about warranty?

I have factory warranty for 1 more year then 2 additional CPO years, thinking of going PPK1 + PE for about the next year and a half or so then maybe jump on the JB4 G5 ISO, does the car really drive stock smooth w/ the iso boost control?

It can be nauseating reading all the different threads on diff forums lol

i have a 2012 335i and i gotta say the JB4 is the way to go. if you are worried about voiding your warrenty it only takes about 30 mins to uninstall it completely from your car. the JB4 runs smooth on my car and if i ever turn it back to stock mode i feel like my car is sloooow slow haha. i wanna get a cobb also though, but that will be after i get an upgraded turbo. once you start pushing the boost a little more you realize how weak the stock one is. good luck and enjoy your car!

[LGCubana]

I have an N55 E90, with the PPK. No mods yet

I recently tried the Cobb, Stage 1+

They are very comparable

Considering that they cost about the same, I would opt for the Cobb. This will give you options for future upgrades and the Cobb AP v3 will also add metering and data logging.

[Johnny Boost]

Originally Posted by LGCubana

I have an N55 E90, with the PPK. No mods yet

I recently tried the Cobb, Stage 1+

They are very comparable

Considering that they cost about the same, I would opt for the Cobb. This will give you options for future upgrades and the Cobb AP v3 will also add metering and data logging.

What he said. I would skip the PPK and go Cobb or JB4. For the JB4, you should be somewhat comfortable working under the hood because it will need to be removed for dealership visits. For the Cobb, you will probably need a battery trickle charger/tender so that it does not drain your battery but you will not need to go under the hood.

[snaimpally]

I have a 2011 335i. I would go either JB4 or Cobb AP and skip PPK.

JB4 is a product that has been around for a while and works very well - the downside is that you have to open your engine compartment and plug stuff in to the various sensors. If you are up for that, then JB4 is an excellent option and the cheapest.

Cobb AP is another product that has been around for a while and is well supported. Cobb installs new maps to the ECU through the OBD port. It does take approx. 20 mins so it is recommended that you have a battery charger hooked up during the install to avoid bricking the ECU. But you don't have to open the hood or monkey around inside the engine compartment. Cobb AP is more expensive than the JB4, but may be worth the extra money if you want to change the tune without opening the hood.

The performance gains with both Cobb and JB4 are comparable. Both JB4 and Cobb provide data logging etc.

[atc1009]

Im in the same boat as ntsthrilla. I picked up a 2011 E90 335i M-Sport and am now looking at doing an ECU upgrade. I have the BMW PE. Does anyone have dynos for the three options above? Ive seen the BMW PPK listed on one thread as 336hp and 377lb-ft. Anyone have anything different?

[Dark_Knight_335]

If you're worried about retaining a warranty (of some form), go with either PPK or Dinan.

Now of course, everyone here is going to argue about how expensive Dinan is blah blah blah it's slow blah blah blah, but it will provide more HP and torque than the PPK, and won't blow your warranty like the juice box or COBB (if discovered, and of course the dealership can link it to some failure should that occur mind you) - just a thought.

Now for the maximum performance out of a Dinan stage III, you would need to get an upgraded oil cooler and intercooler, which will set you quite a bit back in the piggy bank, but whatever- it was worthwhile for me to have a 4 year warranty that matches my factory warranty, should something go wrong (nearly 2 years running the tune/setup and zero issues so far).

Moreover, I have all the supporting mods that will keep my car running with the necessary power and efficiency I need for years to come.

Now if you don't care about potential warranty woes, and you want max power without any other supporting mods to keep everything running at maximum performance and efficiency for the life of your car, definitely go with the juice box or COBB.

Just remember this - the dealership has to a discover the tune (when in doubt, pull it out), and be able to link it to some point of failure- if one should occur- in order for you to get screwed.

This is something worthwhile to keep in mind.

[snaimpally]

Originally Posted by atc1009

Im in the same boat as ntsthrilla. I picked up a 2011 E90 335i M-Sport and am now looking at doing an ECU upgrade. I have the BMW PE. Does anyone have dynos for the three options above? Ive seen the BMW PPK listed on one thread as 336hp and 377lb-ft. Anyone have anything different?

Both Cobb and Burger Tuning have published dynos - go look on their websites. I already mentioned that Cobb and JB4 are comparable and provide significantly more hp/tq than PPK.

[Dozhdbog]

Originally Posted by Dark_Knight_335

If you're worried about retaining a warranty (of some form), go with either PPK or Dinan.

Just remember this - the dealership has to a discover the tune (when in doubt, pull it out), and be able to link it to some point of failure- if one should occur- in order for you to get screwed.

This is something worthwhile to keep in mind.

I went with Stage 2 PPK, but if Dinan had a tune out when I dropped the hammer, I would've considered it. Having had a couple friends who had 3rd party unwarrantied tunes blow their turbos/engines and then be denied warranty work is one reason I made the decision I did.
Another reason is I have a somewhat ethical streak in me which precludes me from trying to rip off the company that has given me a car which I truly love and enjoy every time I get in it.
Also, I actually like and get along with my SA at the dealership, and he has done me some serious favors in the past.

[Dark_Knight_335]

I know right? I was one of those guys that actually pulled the trigger on the PPK, and then the Dinan stage III came out, and I jumped on everything they had and went hog-wild LOL

in retrospect, I'm not sure if I would've plonked down all that green again, but right now, I love how I can push this car to its limits on a fairly regular basis, and that oil cooler and those coolant temps barely approach stock running conditions even on the hottest of days.

I can feel the power in my car just fine, and while it might not launch me into the stratosphere as a JB4 or COBB might, I have the peace of mind of knowing I have somebody- whether it be Dinan or the dealership- covering my ass should something go south.

As a matter fact, I just had my radiator replaced under warranty at a dealership three months ago, even though they knew full well I had a Dinan tune/parts.

No codes, no breakdowns- no worries- going on nearly 2 years

Yes, you make an excellent point about getting in with a dealership and being cool with an SA as well.

Funny story- one particular dealership, who will remain unnamed to protect the innocent, had actually mentioned the Juicebox to me across several salesman and service advisors LOL

Finally, I just had a buddy of mine sell his E92 335 coupe, with a Dinan stage III, oil cooler, intercooler, bushings, mono ball control arms, and LSD for about $3000 above private resale value.

Of course, another point worthwhile to note is you can't sell a flash on its own, and you can remove your JB4 piggyback tune and sell it privately, and even your COBB.

I hear COBB is a bit of a pain in the ass to resell though, because it "marries" itself to a certain vehicle, and I believe you have to pay COBB to get around that situation.

[waldo2014]

JB4 or Cobb have a big advantage over PPK: you can try it out, and if you don't like the performance increase you can sell it here (or somewhere else), there are always buyers for this kind of stuff and you won't loose much money trying it out.

[snaimpally]

Originally Posted by Dark_Knight_335

... won't blow your warranty like the juice box or COBB (if discovered, and of course the dealership can link it to some failure should that occur mind you) - just a thought.

Correct. You would have to be under warranty and the dealership would have to find evidence of the JB4/Cobb and link it to a failure of a component, per the Moss-Magnuson Act.

Both JB4 and Cobb can be removed in under 30 minutes.

[Dark_Knight_335]

Great discussion- all with fantastic points!

I will tell you this though- if I were the OP right now, I sure would have a hell of a time choosing between all the great options we all presented, and all of the great points we've made

[waldo2014]

To the OP: find a friendly JB4 and or Cobb owner in your area and try it out on your car or on the friendly owner's car, I am sure your mind will be made up after testing it!
If you go with Cobb, I would add a PTF map, the OTS maps from Cobb are not that great for the N55.

[gemini.m3]

Thanks all for the info. I'm going go with the PPK1, for now warranty trumps all. Yes, I know you can take it off, etc but really I'm not 20 years old anymore I'd rather not deal with that stress for 20-30 HP, I ain't racing anybody anytime soon!

I did want the car to get a lil more ooomph and a better exhaust note.. maybe a year or two down the road I'll go with Dinan

All the options are incredibly tempting, and they all have their own merit so not like you could really go 'wrong' with any of them.

[Dozhdbog]

For best exhaust note, I don't think you can beat PPK with PE. I love, just LOVE how it sounds with the exhaust pops and burbles and stronger more urgent bellow under throttle. And then, when you just want to have a conversation with the passenger, driving under normal throttle creates a nicely serene experience. Best of all worlds.

[gemini.m3]

so should I bother changing plugs and coil packs at 29k? for ppk1 or wait till the 45k interval

[Andrewe92]

Originally Posted by Dozhdbog

For best exhaust note, I don't think you can beat PPK with PE. I love, just LOVE how it sounds with the exhaust pops and burbles and stronger more urgent bellow under throttle. And then, when you just want to have a conversation with the passenger, driving under normal throttle creates a nicely serene experience. Best of all worlds.

I have this setup it's awesome although I ended up putting in a jb4 stg 2 cuz the ppk wasnt enough for me lol but the pe exhaust is perfect

[mustangivore]

Originally Posted by ntsthrilla

so should I bother changing plugs and coil packs at 29k? for ppk1 or wait till the 45k interval

i got spark plug change under warranty with 4th oil service, since total miles at that point was under 50K. Not sure if that info is even relevant to you spark plug change recommendation for ppk didn't apply for me since I got the flash after I bought the car used (rather than flashed when car purchased brand new).

[mustangivore]

Originally Posted by ntsthrilla

Thanks all for the info. I'm going go with the PPK1, for now warranty trumps all. Yes, I know you can take it off, etc but really I'm not 20 years old anymore I'd rather not deal with that stress for 20-30 HP, I ain't racing anybody anytime soon!

I did want the car to get a lil more ooomph and a better exhaust note.. maybe a year or two down the road I'll go with Dinan

All the options are incredibly tempting, and they all have their own merit so not like you could really go 'wrong' with any of them.

1. i agree with others here that ppk + pe is a very nice sounding combination. i love it as well.

2. as far as warranty, if you would stress, then your logic is very reasonable to me. i would only add that you might be able to achieve the best of both worlds (no stress from warranty and extra oomph via strong tune) by using your new car limited 50K warranty for oil service, spark plug changes, etc, then ignoring remaining 50K of CPO (if that's what you have) in favor of getting whatever less expensive but stronger tune and using a quality trusted shop to service your car.

the amount you could save with jb4 tune versus ppk could be applied to possible needed repairs that would normally be covered under your CPO. It's all probability and expected outcome, just don't have much data since newer cars aren't reaching 100K yet. water pump failure would suck but even then you could still be relatively even, financially. point is that you could estimate the cost for enjoying the extra power without stress over warranty if you are willing to repair yourself, which might not be that much more than the cost of the ppk1. of course if that causes you stress, go ppk for sure

just my 2 cents.

[Johnny Boost]

Originally Posted by ntsthrilla

Thanks all for the info. I'm going go with the PPK1, for now warranty trumps all. Yes, I know you can take it off, etc but really I'm not 20 years old anymore I'd rather not deal with that stress for 20-30 HP, I ain't racing anybody anytime soon!

I did want the car to get a lil more ooomph and a better exhaust note.. maybe a year or two down the road I'll go with Dinan

All the options are incredibly tempting, and they all have their own merit so not like you could really go 'wrong' with any of them.

If you don't plan on racing or anything, the PPK will be a great fit for you and I agree with what the above posters have said. The PPK only becomes a waste of money if you try to add more power modifications down the road. The PE also will sound amazing on your car. However, I do not agree with the people that say that Dinan will not void your warranty because it can. You would need to have a conversation with your adviser and make sure that it is ok. Dinan is still considered aftermarket. It really varies by the dealership. Some dealerships are Dinan distributors and do not care while some will.

[Dark_Knight_335]

This. To clarify- Dinan provides their own 4 year warranty.

Should something go south, it will be determined at the time where the fault lies.

It is also true that only certain BMW dealers will provide and install the Dinan products.

I go to prestige BMW in Ramsey New Jersey- a Dinan dealer- and they have always taken very good care of me, no matter what I need on my car.

I know there have been nightmare stories of who blames who for a fault, but generally speaking, Dinan is a company that has been around over 25 years, and although they've went through a few rough patches, they are still one of the most respected companies for BMW performance and tuning products in the industry.