[harkes]

Went to the dealer yesterday to have my ECU flashed back to stock. Asked them if they could see the flash which they could not but they can in Germany HQ he said.

Now that you all know - if you don't want to risk paying yourself in the event of a warranty case - DONT tune your car...

[Buckeyes]

Why did you flash back to stock?

[harkes]

There was some sort of conflict between the flash and JB4 causing unstable AFR. Did not experience with this on stock flash.

[oceanview]

Originally Posted by harkes

Went to the dealer yesterday to have my ECU flashed back to stock. Asked them if they could see the flash which they could not but they can in Germany HQ he said.

Now that you all know - if you don't want to risk paying yourself in the event of a warranty case - DONT tune your car...

Well, sure a flash tune can be seen by comparing the original software with the tune software. Nothing magic!
A flash tune has other software parameters / commands than the original software. (like higher turbo pressure at same RPM, opening this valve later and that valve earlier).
I bet it takes a BMW software specialist just a few minutes to find most of the relevant code that was changed in a flash. Most tune effect is done with tweaking around the turbo charger pressure. (That's why every tuner can gain about 20% more power on turbo engines. Compared to regular engines where effective tuning is manly based on hardware changes)

[Krelle]

Originally Posted by oceanview

Well, sure a flash tune can be seen by comparing the original software with the tune software. Nothing magic!
A flash tune has other software parameters / commands than the original software. (like higher turbo pressure at same RPM, opening this valve later and that valve earlier).
I bet it takes a BMW software specialist just a few minutes to find most of the relevant code that was changed in a flash. Most tune effect is done with tweaking around the turbo charger pressure. (That's why every tuner can gain about 20% more power on turbo engines. Compared to regular engines where effective tuning is manly based on hardware changes)

It will take any tuner 30 sec to see my file is manipulated as I have named the different lines in order to find those faster during tuning,
/Krelle

By the way. Hope your enjoying the LSD

[oceanview]

Originally Posted by Krelle

It will take any tuner 30 sec to see my file is manipulated as I have named the different lines in order to find those faster during tuning,
/Krelle

By the way. Hope your enjoying the LSD

Right! Why hide it, if it can be proofed anyway.

Krelle Whenever I get the chance I owe you a undefined quantity of beer for heading me into the Quaife decision

[IndotagSwizz]

so we are just going off what some guy at the dealer told you?? it must be true!! even if they can tell at HQ in Germany it will take a crazy and huge warranty claim for them to send the dme over there for analysis.... and even then we all know that tuning these car come with these kinds of risks anyways

[Earthmaster]

If anybody tells you it is 100% fool proof they are lying I think people should understand this. Just like a piggy black any flash tune can be found by looking through the actual DME. Theres no way around it. However, the likelihood is much lower as bmw must invest in alot of resources to detect the tunes. They don't like doing this unless it is a huge warranty claim.

[mike@x-ph.com]

I thought it has always been a known fact that flash tune can be discovered rather easily by the dealership

Piggybacks are always harder to catch because instead of changing ECU tables, it tricks the ECU into thinking that its running stock boost.

Of course no tune will guarantee you 100% protection from the dealership.

[Bmw doubles]

I don't think a dealer is going to remove your ecu, save the tables and then diff the files line by line comparison to see if you've been flashed. Additionally I bet most of the BMW mechanics don't have full comprehension of all the parameters and therefore would just send the ecu back to HQ.

So it would come down to:
- Labor
- Loaner car
- And a lot of resources both in the states and overseas

The only time they might is if the warranty claim was huge and a outside BMW rep approved and recommended that action be taken. Basically I think it would be extremely rare.

It would be cheaper to flash it to stock if they suspected it and then make a warranty claim on a part busted due to the tune. At that point, if that happened you might want to consider another tune

[Buckeyes]

My SA thought the N55 had 2 turbos.

[zinner]

Originally Posted by mike@x-ph.com

Of course no tune will guarantee you 100% protection from the dealership.

Dinan and MPPK do :-D

[mike@x-ph.com]

Originally Posted by zinner

Dinan and MPPK do :-D

Dinan will void your BMW warranty like any other tune.

[CIWS]

Originally Posted by mike@x-ph.com

Dinan will void your BMW warranty like any other tune.

Technically that is correct, but Dinan also offers to cover that cost through the original 4yr/50000.

I've owned two BMUUs now that have carried Dinan modifications. In both cases the dealership was aware of it and never even brought the subject up when performing repairs that could have been linked to the failed parts. That's because the real truth is the ownership experience has a lot to do with the dealership(s) they deal with. One dealership can, and often do act differently than others when it comes to mods and warranty repairs. A smart owner will have researched his local ones and have a good idea where they stand on the subject.

I've just traded in and picked up a new 335i MSport. Right now it's stock, but after break-in and a stock dyno run for a baseline, it will be improved.

[mike@x-ph.com]

Originally Posted by CIWS

Technically that is correct, but Dinan also offers to cover that cost through the original 4yr/50000.

I've owned two BMUUs now that have carried Dinan modifications. In both cases the dealership was aware of it and never even brought the subject up when performing repairs that could have been linked to the failed parts. That's because the real truth is the ownership experience has a lot to do with the dealership(s) they deal with. One dealership can, and often do act differently than others when it comes to mods and warranty repairs. A smart owner will have researched his local ones and have a good idea where they stand on the subject.

I've just traded in and picked up a new 335i MSport. Right now it's stock, but after break-in and a stock dyno run for a baseline, it will be improved.

Correct lots of dealership will not give you a hard time about having a tune if you are going for regular maintenance work. Thousands use other tunes and have no problem getting warranty work ( I am one of them ).

DINAN does offer you their own warranty in case BMW voids the original warranty but that was not OP question.