Best Plug and Play?

[vladr]

Hey everyone,

Does anyone know what to look for when buying a plug and play chip for the 135?

I want to buy one but know NOTHING about the topic. ....at all!

I dont know what kind of price to expect, what kind of gains to expect after install, the safety issue associated with it, etc...


ANY advice/insight would be awesome!

~V

[roo97ss]

just search in the n54/n55 area. lots of talk about everything.

seems like the easiest may be the cobb at 900 bucks, but the gains can be had much cheaper with jb4 and procede in the 450-600 range.

depends on what's important to you.

[vladr]

hmmm. interesting. Sounds dumb but where is there a specific n54/n55 forum on this site? Do i just search for that?

BTW i thought JB4 and procede were piggy back types of chips, where you have to open your ecu and plug them in.

What i am looking for is a chip that plugs directly into your ODB area. I dont know....maybe there is no such thing but that's why I'm on here asking!!

[1speedbike]

Originally Posted by vladr

hmmm. interesting. Sounds dumb but where is there a specific n54/n55 forum on this site? Do i just search for that?

BTW i thought JB4 and procede were piggy back types of chips, where you have to open your ecu and plug them in.

What i am looking for is a chip that plugs directly into your ODB area. I dont know....maybe there is no such thing but that's why I'm on here asking!!

Don't know of any chips that plug right into the ODB but the JB+ and SSTT plug into the TMAP sensor wiring in the engine bay. No messing with the ECU. If you have an aftermarket intake, then install is literally less than 60 seconds.

As for the N54/N55 page, it's a sub-forum within the forum. if you go to the 1addicts home, (1addicts.com/forums) you see "general discussion" first.. then a subforum with M1 info, then a photos/videos forum, then you scroll down some more and you see the N54 subforum, the N52 subforum, the wheels and tires, cosmetic mods subforums, etc.

[Jeef Beef]

Originally Posted by vladr

hmmm. interesting. Sounds dumb but where is there a specific n54/n55 forum on this site? Do i just search for that?

BTW i thought JB4 and procede were piggy back types of chips, where you have to open your ecu and plug them in.

What i am looking for is a chip that plugs directly into your ODB area. I dont know....maybe there is no such thing but that's why I'm on here asking!!

Any sort of chip requires some sort of messing about in the engine bay. JB and PROcede require plugging into ECU (it's so easy to do I'd call it plug n play anyway) while JB+ like 1speed has said goes into TMAP wiring.

I'd recommend JB4 or PROcede over the JB+, since the former have full boost control and act like ECUs rather than tricking the car into providing more boost.

[MikeVictor]

[thez99]

You're all kind of off base with what this guy wants. Couple months ago he'd be SOL but now COBB has their AP for $900, that is the only handheld "self flashing" tune thru the OBD that is available. Seems like so far everyone that has installed theirs is happy, they make very good numbers even on a stock car, and better maps for more mods are coming soon.

I feel the same way as the OP, I dont wanna mess with the ECU or anything, even now I dont really like having the JB+ installed, the install wasnt THAT bad, I just dont like messing with stuff in the engine myself and the tune the JB+ gives is nowhere near the scale of the COBB AP so ill likely be switching as soon as I have money

People who go with the JB3-4's and procede tunes do their own thing, i would never want to dig into the ecu and mess with all those wires, etc. HELL no. I had a flash tune thru APR for my previous car (GTI) and I was very happy with it and never once had to mess with the ecu. And def the COBB's ability to uninstall and put the ECU back to stock in a matter of minutes with no codes traceable by a dealer without every touching the ECU itself, basically pays for the whole thing right there!

Also, price wise, the main reason for the high cost of the COBB AP is for two main ones: Ease of use, which this tune has for sure WAY over any other piggyback, etc. And the fact that this engine's ecu is harder to crack than say a subbie STI or something. To make it more obvious, the more work they had and have to do to flash tune an ECU thru the OBD port, the more its going to cost. Just like itll cost alot more when you have suspension parts installed at a shop as opposed to an intake (on a more basic level), takes longer to do with more steps and difficulty, i.e. more COST.

You get what you pay for.

[sti917]

Also, price wise, the main reason for the high cost of the COBB AP is for two main ones: Ease of use, which this tune has for sure WAY over any other piggyback, etc. And the fact that this engine's ecu is harder to crack than say a subbie STI or something. To make it more obvious, the more work they had and have to do to flash tune an ECU thru the OBD port, the more its going to cost. Just like itll cost alot more when you have suspension parts installed at a shop as opposed to an intake (on a more basic level), takes longer to do with more steps and difficulty, i.e. more COST.

You get what you pay for.[/QUOTE]

Really??? You don't think that cobb charges more because they know that people who buys BMW can afford to pay more?
you get what you pay for.Yes... but when they know that you are buying for a expensive car they charge more!

[bryce]

Originally Posted by mattyv

x9595987765841386341864186418648678979843684168146 384




.....and if you're still too lazy to search, use the general intake/exhaust/tune/etc thread to post redundant questions like this that appear several times per week

[mineo77]

Originally Posted by bryce

x9595987765841386341864186418648678979843684168146 384




.....and if you're still too lazy to search, use the general intake/exhaust/tune/etc thread to post redundant questions like this that appear several times per week

another one of these!!!!

[SlicktopTTZ]

Also check out N54.tech and B immerB oost.com for info.

[vladr]

Originally Posted by thez99

You're all kind of off base with what this guy wants. Couple months ago he'd be SOL but now COBB has their AP for $900, that is the only handheld "self flashing" tune thru the OBD that is available. Seems like so far everyone that has installed theirs is happy, they make very good numbers even on a stock car, and better maps for more mods are coming soon.

I feel the same way as the OP, I dont wanna mess with the ECU or anything, even now I dont really like having the JB+ installed, the install wasnt THAT bad, I just dont like messing with stuff in the engine myself and the tune the JB+ gives is nowhere near the scale of the COBB AP so ill likely be switching as soon as I have money

People who go with the JB3-4's and procede tunes do their own thing, i would never want to dig into the ecu and mess with all those wires, etc. HELL no. I had a flash tune thru APR for my previous car (GTI) and I was very happy with it and never once had to mess with the ecu. And def the COBB's ability to uninstall and put the ECU back to stock in a matter of minutes with no codes traceable by a dealer without every touching the ECU itself, basically pays for the whole thing right there!

Also, price wise, the main reason for the high cost of the COBB AP is for two main ones: Ease of use, which this tune has for sure WAY over any other piggyback, etc. And the fact that this engine's ecu is harder to crack than say a subbie STI or something. To make it more obvious, the more work they had and have to do to flash tune an ECU thru the OBD port, the more its going to cost. Just like itll cost alot more when you have suspension parts installed at a shop as opposed to an intake (on a more basic level), takes longer to do with more steps and difficulty, i.e. more COST.

You get what you pay for.

You hit the nail on the head my friend! THIS is what I was asking about. I looked into the COBB as well:

http://cobbtuning.com/products/?id=5832

I think I'm going to go ahead and get this one. Its hard to believe that you can literally just plug this into the ODB and gain 50-60hp! Anyone else skeptical? Or does anyone acutally USE this?

~V

[SlicktopTTZ]

Originally Posted by vladr

You hit the nail on the head my friend! THIS is what I was asking about. I looked into the COBB as well:

http://cobbtuning.com/products/?id=5832

I think I'm going to go ahead and get this one. Its hard to believe that you can literally just plug this into the ODB and gain 50-60hp! Anyone else skeptical? Or does anyone acutally USE this?

~V

It's a turbo car. They turned up the boost and richened the A/F ratio to make sure you don't knock. Nothing new, unusual or dangerous.

Piggy-backs (V5,JB4) have been doing this for a while now on the N54, but using a different method.

[Jeef Beef]

Originally Posted by vladr

You hit the nail on the head my friend! THIS is what I was asking about. I looked into the COBB as well:

http://cobbtuning.com/products/?id=5832

I think I'm going to go ahead and get this one. Its hard to believe that you can literally just plug this into the ODB and gain 50-60hp! Anyone else skeptical? Or does anyone acutally USE this?

~V

Cobb is comparatively new to the N54 tuning scene compared to JB and Vishnu, but there is nothing dangerous about how they achieve the power gain. 50-60hp would be rwhp too so you'd be getting quite a bit more at the crank.

[thez99]

Really??? You don't think that cobb charges more because they know that people who buys BMW can afford to pay more?
you get what you pay for.Yes... but when they know that you are buying for a expensive car they charge more![/QUOTE]

You're an idiot...

CHEAPER CARS have CHEAPER TUNES, this car is NOT CHEAP, therefore NOT CHEAP TUNES.

Businesses cant just charge more based on nothing, theyve put out PLENTY of info as to why it costs what it does in the already 3-4 threads started here about the COBB piece.

[cwg]

[QUOTE=thez99;8726608]You're all kind of off base with what this guy wants. Couple months ago he'd be SOL but now COBB has their AP for $900, that is the only handheld "self flashing" tune thru the OBD that is available. Seems like so far everyone that has installed theirs is happy, they make very good numbers even on a stock car, and better maps for more mods are coming soon.

Actually ESS also has a hand held "self flashing" tune for about a $100 more. Quoted from ESS web site

ESS DirectFlash N54 ECU Performance Software


RRP:
Price:$995.00
SKU:101-81


Product Description
ESS DirectFlash N54 ECU software is a result of extensive testing and exact calibration of ECU parameters to allow conservative performance gains on an otherwise stock car. The ESS 335i software is developed and tested in extreme heat in the Arizona desert as well as extreme cold temperatures in Scandinavia. The end user can select between 2 different power levels and cat/no cat in the DirectFlash unit

DirectFlash Stage 1 :
Top Speed Governor: Removed
RPM Limit: 7000RPM
Fuel requirement: 91US/95Euro
Horsepower: 355 DIN (Stock 306)
Torque: 480NM (Stock 400NM)

DirectFlash Stage 2 :
Top Speed Governor: Removed
RPM Limit: 7200RPM
Fuel requirement: 93US/98Euro
Horsepower: 400 DIN (Stock 306) - 390DIN if used with stock intercooler
Torque: 550NM (Stock 400NM)

Custom tuning available on an hourly basis, files can be loaded with DirectFlash unit through email.

When ordering this product you will receive 1 ESS DirectFlash handheld programmer which will VIN lock to your car. This unit can be used to program between stock and tuned, and it can also be used to load custom files/race fuel files/updates received from ESS over email. The ESS DirectFlash unit can hold up to 10 tunes + stock, allowing the end user full control over what program they want to run at any given time.


I have no personal experience with this tune, but others have given it a good review and it is an option available to you.

[N55_BBM]

Originally Posted by thez99

You're all kind of off base with what this guy wants. Couple months ago he'd be SOL but now COBB has their AP for $900, that is the only handheld "self flashing" tune thru the OBD that is available. Seems like so far everyone that has installed theirs is happy, they make very good numbers even on a stock car, and better maps for more mods are coming soon.

I feel the same way as the OP, I dont wanna mess with the ECU or anything, even now I dont really like having the JB+ installed, the install wasnt THAT bad, I just dont like messing with stuff in the engine myself and the tune the JB+ gives is nowhere near the scale of the COBB AP so ill likely be switching as soon as I have money

People who go with the JB3-4's and procede tunes do their own thing, i would never want to dig into the ecu and mess with all those wires, etc. HELL no. I had a flash tune thru APR for my previous car (GTI) and I was very happy with it and never once had to mess with the ecu. And def the COBB's ability to uninstall and put the ECU back to stock in a matter of minutes with no codes traceable by a dealer without every touching the ECU itself, basically pays for the whole thing right there!

Also, price wise, the main reason for the high cost of the COBB AP is for two main ones: Ease of use, which this tune has for sure WAY over any other piggyback, etc. And the fact that this engine's ecu is harder to crack than say a subbie STI or something. To make it more obvious, the more work they had and have to do to flash tune an ECU thru the OBD port, the more its going to cost. Just like itll cost alot more when you have suspension parts installed at a shop as opposed to an intake (on a more basic level), takes longer to do with more steps and difficulty, i.e. more COST.

You get what you pay for.

this is exactly how I feel too. I'd rather pay a couple hundred more and not have to do anything in the engine bay... now I just need to wait until the Cobb comes out for the N55 dammit..

by the way, i've always wanted to ride a tuned 135 to see how it feels, would you be willing to meet up? im in harrisburg too

[Diver]

I would really like to see something from BMW for the N55, but so far all factory tuning has centered around the N54.

[ModBargainsTech]

You should definitely look into the JB4. Our 135i has it and it always manages to give us a big fat smile everytime we floor it

[thez99]

Originally Posted by N55_BBM

this is exactly how I feel too. I'd rather pay a couple hundred more and not have to do anything in the engine bay... now I just need to wait until the Cobb comes out for the N55 dammit..

by the way, i've always wanted to ride a tuned 135 to see how it feels, would you be willing to meet up? im in harrisburg too

All i have right now is a JB+ and I just get that feel up top really, prob wont end up going for this till early summer maybe when I have the money to burn.

[thez99]

Originally Posted by **********sTech

You should definitely look into the JB4. Our 135i has it and it always manages to give us a big fat smile everytime we floor it

Even without a tune I can get into my car, floor it and smile big time. Dont try n sell a very NON pnp tune in a PNP thread. The COBB AP is a truly pnp tune, the JB's you need loads of time and instructions dicking around all inside the engine and the ecu compartment, all of which does NOT make me smile.

[N55_BBM]

Originally Posted by thez99

Even without a tune I can get into my car, floor it and smile big time. Dont try n sell a very NON pnp tune in a PNP thread. The COBB AP is a truly pnp tune, the JB's you need loads of time and instructions dicking around all inside the engine and the ecu compartment, all of which does NOT make me smile.

I meant I've never been in a tuned 135 period, I was asking if you'd mind meeting up so I can see what the JB+ feels like. How much hp do you gain by the way?