Pure Turbo Stage 1 N55, 5 Month Review

[bmw0bsession]

Hey guys! So I have had my Pure Stage 1 for 5 months now and I had promised Jess of Pure Turbo that I would write this review. After having a fallout with the "Other guy", I can not express how happy I am with Pure Turbo.

First things first, Jess at Pure Turbo is absolutely amazing. They did the installation for me, very professional and in a timely manner. The communication is very open and any issue I have had (which were not related to the turbo) were answered very quickly. I am excited to know that I can exchange my Pure Stage 1 for credit towards the Stage 2 kit due for release soon.

My car is as follows:

2011 N55 135i DCT
FBO
Meth
Run e85 with Inline Fuel pump
Jb4 Backend Flash
Map 6 Settings: 16,17,17,17,19,19,19,19,19,19,18.5,17.5. (Boost Safety 21psi)

Before the Pure Stage 1 My car was equal to Mustang 5.0s and at times slower, same with other similar powered cars. The loss of power in the higher RPM range was something I always hated, and you could really feel it fall off. The moment I drove off Jesse's lot the improvement was already noticeable in Map 3, even though the boost taper was tuned for the stock turbo. When I switched to the custom map 6 given to me by Terry, the car was a MONSTER. The Backend flash really made the car much more smooth, advanced timing, and also allows my car to reach Target much easier. On the Dyno prior to the Pure Stage 1 my car made 365rwhp and 445rwtq in 75 Degree LA weather. After the Pure Stage 1 my car made 410rwhp and 435rwtq on a 105 degree LA Summer day. I have not dynoed in the cold weather yet but the performance is OUTSTANDING. Today, my car easily pulls away from 5.0 Mustangs and Certain Supercharged M3s. On the race track, I easily pulled away from a 500rwhp Supercharged e92 m3. Both him and I were surprised! C6 Corvettes and others alike are always surprised at how fast my car is against theirs. The car is running tip top and I have had zero issues running the car at its maximum potential. I can not wait for their Stage 2 kit!

Here is a Video recently uploaded by Burger Tuning of my Friends 135i with the same exact Mods as me minus Meth. This upgrade really puts the n55 near n54 performance. As Terry said, some exhaust systems cost more than this upgrade. This actually makes a difference in performance though.

http://instagram.com/p/xKo43Hst_Z/?modal=true

I will be posting my Dyno Results in the next few days overlayed with my friends n54 results along with some videos. You can clearly see how easily the car carries HP up to the higher RPM range.

[Grinchxvx]

Sounds really cool. I wish pure would finish their n54 hybrids. They seem to be priced pretty well and always deliver.

[loesch]

I am very pleased with mine so far also. Can't wait for Spring so I can finish testing and dyno it. Seat of the pants would suggest similar results though.

[PURE135i]

Dude meth and pure turbo with FBO/DCT are WICKED! PURE turbos is a true example of a company that's not about the BS "my turbo can do this my turbo will make that" but a company that makes a badazz product that performs FLAWLESSLY and let it do the talking. Great review and great company!

[1forI]

Same great experience here. It's already been stated how good the guys are to work with. I don't have any data to share yet, just wanted to post that it is what they promise and a TON of fun top end...definitely worth gaining the rest of the rpm range...on the fence? Get one!

[3002 tii]

I'm sure this has been discussed before but anyone know the limit of the DCT trans?

[1forI]

Def a few threads out there discussing this. Here is a good one to start you on your search.
http://www.1addicts.com/forums/showthread.php?t=773130

[houtan]

Originally Posted by 3002 tii

I'm sure this has been discussed before but anyone know the limit of the DCT trans?

A good person to provide feedback would be the op. I know it wont be the absolute max, but it's a data point.

Op, thanks for the review. how has the DCT been with the stage 1 turbo, meth, and e85? Also, can you please clarify how much ethanol you are running?

[e36addict]

I've had the same experience. The Pure has by far exceeded my expectations. The slightly longer spool time is so worth the top end power. I've also raced a few things that I shouldn't have beat, and i'm sure the looks on their faces were priceless

On shitty tires/stock turbo I was able to pull a 12.9@118. I'm curious what I can do now with some decent tires and the Pure

[houtan]

Are you running the back end flash as well to stop your dct from slipping? What map are you running on the jb4?

Originally Posted by e36addict

I've had the same experience. The Pure has by far exceeded my expectations. The slightly longer spool time is so worth the top end power. I've also raced a few things that I shouldn't have beat, and i'm sure the looks on their faces were priceless

On shitty tires/stock turbo I was able to pull a 12.9@118. I'm curious what I can do now with some decent tires and the Pure

[iuhutch]

Originally Posted by 3002 tii

I'm sure this has been discussed before but anyone know the limit of the DCT trans?

NewGuy123 has found the limit with Pure stg1 +FBO + Meth + inlet pipe + e30. He is now slipping in 4th pretty badly even with the BEF. Terry tuned the tq down a bit which helped with the slipping but now the car has misfires.

DCT seems to handle the above minus meth pretty well as long as car has BEF - Backend Flash.

DCT without BEF handles the above minus meth but only to about 17psi before symptoms start to appear.

I believe the tq rating of the non-M DCT clutch packs is right around ~600nm, so we are pushing the limits with current products on n55 and are likely to run into trans issues with a stg2 turbo.

SSP does have clutch packs available that they use on their non-M DCT WR HP holder car and this is likely what will be needed for us to get above 600nm; bad news is the packs are $2,300 before installation...

[houtan]

This is why I was asking op if his clutches are slipping since the setup is almost identical to newguys. based on his map 6 settings, he is boosting more than 17 psi so I wouldn't say definitively that 17 psi is the limit until we hear how his car is running.

also why I am curious if e36addict is running the backend flash, and if not, what map and boost the car is running.

IIRC, the DCT clutch pack in our car is the same as the DCT clutch pack in the E9X M cars. Meaning, same part number. I believe the main difference between the two is SW and TCU related.

Originally Posted by iuhutch

NewGuy123 has found the limit with Pure stg1 +FBO + Meth + inlet pipe + e30. He is now slipping in 4th pretty badly even with the BEF. Terry tuned the tq down a bit which helped with the slipping but now the car has misfires.

DCT seems to handle the above minus meth pretty well as long as car has BEF - Backend Flash.

DCT without BEF handles the above minus meth but only to about 17psi before symptoms start to appear.

I believe the tq rating of the non-M DCT clutch packs is right around ~600nm, so we are pushing the limits with current products on n55 and are likely to run into trans issues with a stg2 turbo.

SSP does have clutch packs available that they use on their non-M DCT WR HP holder car and this is likely what will be needed for us to get above 600nm; bad news is the packs are $2,300 before installation...

[iuhutch]

Originally Posted by houtan

This is why I was asking op if his clutches are slipping since the setup is almost identical to newguys. based on his map 6 settings, he is boosting more than 17 psi so I wouldn't say definitively that 17 psi is the limit until we hear how his car is running..

I have all of the above without BEF and 17 is where I start to see slippage...

[houtan]

which make sense right? without the BEF isn't the issue the TCU not seeing actual load signals, so the required clamping force is not applied? I think this would be an example of the limitations without the back end flash, but not the HW because the actual load values are not being transmitted.

very interested to hear from e36addict to find out if his experiences is the same as yours.

also interested to hear from the op on how his clutch is holding up. especially since newguys started slipping with a similar setup.

Originally Posted by iuhutch

I have all of the above without BEF and 17 is where I start to see slippage...

[PURE135i]

Originally Posted by houtan

which make sense right? without the BEF isn't the issue the TCU not seeing actual load signals, so the required clamping force is not applied? I think this would be an example of the limitations without the back end flash, but not the HW because the actual load values are not being transmitted.

very interested to hear from e36addict to find out if his experiences is the same as yours.

also interested to hear from the op on how his clutch is holding up. especially since newguys started slipping with a similar setup.

pretty sure OP has a slipping DCT too. we've spoken via text in the past and he slips on the freeway in higher gears from what i remember...:/

[bmw0bsession]

Hey Guys! When I have the Sport button on my DCT I slip horrible. With it off, car runs fine. Newguys car had misfires but it may be linked to something else, he also was running 80/20 meth (Was talking to him last night) I have the new Flash from Terry and my car does not slip and I have zero misfires after many many Laps around the race track. Car has never been better! A lot of time misfires occure when fuel and meth are suddenly cut off, had this issue when I had traction control on and it would kick in cutting off throttle killing meth delivery of that makes any sense.

[e36addict]

Originally Posted by houtan

Are you running the back end flash as well to stop your dct from slipping? What map are you running on the jb4?

No backend flash yet.. DCT slips on Map6 if I target over 17psi. Right now I have it dialed in right around 16.5-17.0 max and it does alright

[bmw0bsession]

Originally Posted by 3002 tii

I'm sure this has been discussed before but anyone know the limit of the DCT trans?

For me the clutch started slipping at 465rwtq so had to dial it down

[bmw0bsession]

Originally Posted by houtan

A good person to provide feedback would be the op. I know it wont be the absolute max, but it's a data point.

Op, thanks for the review. how has the DCT been with the stage 1 turbo, meth, and e85? Also, can you please clarify how much ethanol you are running?

I run e50 in my car with meth at all times, car has been amazing. Transmission was slipping at 465rwtq so that was dialed down with the flash.

[bmw0bsession]

Originally Posted by houtan

This is why I was asking op if his clutches are slipping since the setup is almost identical to newguys. based on his map 6 settings, he is boosting more than 17 psi so I wouldn't say definitively that 17 psi is the limit until we hear how his car is running.

also why I am curious if e36addict is running the backend flash, and if not, what map and boost the car is running.

IIRC, the DCT clutch pack in our car is the same as the DCT clutch pack in the E9X M cars. Meaning, same part number. I believe the main difference between the two is SW and TCU related.

Newguy was running 21 psi on map 6, I am about to dial in his settings into my car today to see how it performs.

[bmw0bsession]

Originally Posted by houtan

Are you running the back end flash as well to stop your dct from slipping? What map are you running on the jb4?

Yes Backend flash and Map 6 with custom settings that I posted up top.

[PeterPure]

Nice to read more people are enjoying pure stage1.
I am patiently awaiting the stage2 for 2015