[Amer]

With all the warranty voided threads popping up I thought why not another thread.

The question is: How invisible are these piggyback mods?

One of the biggest things is removing the piggyback whether it be JB2, Procede, SSTT. Assuming you have returned all the wires and stuff back to appearing stock, does anyone know if the car's computer records psi boost which the dealer could read?

[5soko]

i would like to kno that too, cuz wouldnt the dealer ask, umm u were at about 11-15psi peak and now within the last few days u are at 8.

[bimmerguy2006]

Higher altitude means more boost - stock ecu makes up for lack of oxygen. Just say you were up in the mountains for business.

[michsu]

You went to the Rockies to do some skiing..

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rocky_Mountains

The range's highest peak is Colorado's Mount Elbert at 14,440 feet (4,401 meters) above sea level.

[FastLane]

You play stupid.

"I dont know why the car would boost twice the normal amount....whats boost anyways?"

[raceyBMW]

Just say you drove up to Colorado for skiing since highest pass open this time of year is at about 12,000 ft. In the summer you can drive up to Mt. Evans or Pikes Peak which top out at ~14,000 ft.

[e90AW335i]

They arnt gonna know. If they did more peoples warranty would have been voided by now.....

[toofasttooslow]

I suppose it's technically possible, but in a business like that they just want to get the stuff done and get the next customer in the door. They aren't going to invest a whole lot of time doing data analysis of your ECU...

[silvrevo]

I quick asked a sales monkey,,errrr how you say SA?? the other day about mods.

He was like, I dont think we sell anything in our department.

I then said, no like an open air intake. He said I dont think we sell those.

Ok, dumbass,,, What happens if I bring my car in for service and I have an open air intake on my car, will you guys have an issue with this?

He then said the offical,,, G I dont know? You will have to sak about that in service. Okay ,,,, your further sales leads from me, and mine for that matter are gone, thanks for playing.

He did say that they can hook up thier equipment and see if there has been anything done to the ecu.

For someone playing so stupid,, he sure got right to the point of ecu mods.

I still think its B.s.,,,,,,,,hanst it been proven there are no tell - tail signs of ecu mods.?

[O-cha]

Originally Posted by silvrevo

I still think its B.s.,,,,,,,,hanst it been proven there are no tell - tail signs of ecu mods.?

No, they will see it if they go looking. Don't give them a reason to go looking.

[Malek@MRF]

No they cannot detect it through the OBDII port.

A lot of technicians are stupid these days anyway.

[O-cha]

Originally Posted by Malekreza11

No they cannot detect it through the OBDII port.

A lot of technicians are stupid these days anyway.

You do realize the dealer can see a lot more through there then you can. They have instant access to every single sensor and all the trims as well as hundreds of codes you don't even know about.

I can see it, but I'm not an idiot. You think they will send an idiot to go looking for a reason to deny warranty work though?

[E82tt6]

BMW doesn't have a reputation for voiding warranties at the drop of a dime, like some other makers. I know my dealer encourage modification to enhance the experience of the driver, and everyone I've dealt with in sales or service drives some kind of mildly to heavily modified car. From a track setup E30, to a heavily modified R32 GTR.

As to the question at hand, most piggybacks make it pretty obvious they were installed, if the dealer goes looking for it. Still not as obvious as flashes, but if they open up the ECU box, they'll be able to see that wiring was altered at some point.

SSTT!

[5soko]

alot of good info.

the SSTT uses the stock boost levels the ecu would use under certain circumstances. how can bmw ever kno that anything was done to the car once the SSTT is removed? its pretty much impossible to tell? right

[Bubbles]

Originally Posted by O-cha

You think they will send an idiot to go looking for a reason to deny warranty work though?

O-cha makes a valid point.

Originally Posted by E82tt6

BMW doesn't have a reputation for voiding warranties at the drop of a dime, like some other makers. Still not as obvious as flashes, but if they open up the ECU box, they'll be able to see that wiring was altered at some point.

Reputation carries little weight when $$ is involved. Keep in mind, cost was BMW's primary motivation for extending oil change intervals to 15k (keeping cost of ownership down).

For each fiscal year/product cycle, BMW estimates and budgets for warranty service for each model. For example, assume the aggregate amount of actual warranty service for the 335i exceed the budgeted warranty amount thereby triggering a budget variance. BMW (like most businesses) will investigate the root of this variance. Eventually, BMW will scrutinize high cost repairs, such as turbo replacement, requiring the dealer to transmit ECU information to BMWNA for approval prior to any warranty work. BMW will use this ECU information to collect data and "correct" the problem. One could speculate that denial of warranty service could be part of the "correction".

[O-cha]

Originally Posted by Bubbles

O-cha makes a valid point.



Reputation carries little weight when $$ is involved. Keep in mind, cost was BMW's primary motivation for extending oil change intervals to 15k (keeping cost of ownership down).

For each fiscal year/product cycle, BMW estimates and budgets for warranty service for each model. For example, assume the aggregate amount of actual warranty service for the 335i exceed the budgeted warranty amount thereby triggering a budget variance. BMW (like most businesses) will investigate the root of this variance. Eventually, BMW will scrutinize high cost repairs, such as turbo replacement, requiring the dealer to transmit ECU information to BMWNA for approval prior to any warranty work. BMW will use this ECU information to collect data and "correct" the problem. One could speculate that denial of warranty service could be part of the "correction".

He was wrong anyway. BMW does not have a reputation of ignoring mods for warranty work in the first place. People need to learn to make a distinction between SERVICE and WARRANTY work.


I mean look at the e46, they were denying warranties for a while for a defect when cars were totally stock.

[ChaneRZ]

sstt!

[Bubbles]

Originally Posted by O-cha

He was wrong anyway. BMW does not have a reputation of ignoring mods for warranty work in the first place. People need to learn to make a distinction between SERVICE and WARRANTY work.


I mean look at the e46, they were denying warranties for a while for a defect when cars were totally stock.

Why pay for something, when you could get it for free.

[Fraggy]

My dealer was the one that told me about Dinan, but did mention they cant install it in CA yet. He also told me about a throttle device as well that increases responsiveness, he gave me website name, but Ive forgotten it.

[Long Drive]

Originally Posted by FastLane

You play stupid.

"I dont know why the car would boost twice the normal amount....whats boost anyways?"

Best answer so far!!

[Malek@MRF]

Originally Posted by O-cha

You do realize the dealer can see a lot more through there then you can. They have instant access to every single sensor and all the trims as well as hundreds of codes you don't even know about.

I can see it, but I'm not an idiot. You think they will send an idiot to go looking for a reason to deny warranty work though?

You do realize that you are the bigger idiot for assuming another persons knowledge right?

You do realize that you can purchase the same type of scanner that those BMW tech's are equiped with to read every parameter in the car right? You do realize that with these scanner tools you can to some extent even customize the car right? Such as door locks, lighting and so on..

Yes, the scanner costs THOUSANDS of dollars (over 10k and a little more since it also uses CAN type communication). But I will give you the benefit of the doubt this time.

Stop by my place next time, see what is done around here and that way you can stop assuming.

Forum know-it-alls like yourself always crack me up. Keep it coming.