SoCal Folks...Know Of Any Tuners That Work With E30 Motronic?

[bmwman91]

Hello SoCal folks! I have checked around my area (San Jose) and there are exactly ZERO tuners that can work with Motronic 1.7 (stock 318iS ECU). I have a very custom M42 and want to get a custom tune to go with it. So, does anyone know of a tuner down south that can do custom tunes for our cars' old ECU's? I am up for a SoCal road trip for some dyno tuning!

The engine runs fine as it is, but there are a couple parts of the powerband that need the fuel maps re-done. MarkD developed the tune for this build (the builder has done multiple of these engines and enlisted him to make a generic chip for the build), but every engine is different and I had some tweaks made to the cam profiles and injectors, so I want to get on a dyno and really dial in the performance. I have tried to get a hold of MarkD multiple times over the last 18 months, and while he has shown willingness to do a "remote tune", I just couldn't get a commitment for the job. So, I really REALLY want to find someone within a 500 mile radius of San Jose that knows what they are doing.

A stand-alone ECU isn't something I want to deal with right now. I started making plans to build my own MS3Pro conversion with a modified stock harness, but that seems like a bunch of unnecessary complexity and hassle. There has to be someone that can still tune Motronic on the west coast. Besides, I'd want to be able to buy the rights to the fuel & spark maps in the stock tune so I could adapt them to the MS3Pro if I ever decide to try to do it.

Anyway.

Thanks!

[2mAn]

WAR chip is probably your best bet

[bmwman91]

Oh yeah, I forgot about that. So is Miller considered reasonably legit? There was a bunch of controversy around possibly-faked dyno charts and stuff a few years back.

Also, now that I am back from vacation and stuff, I am trying to figure out a good time and place to do some photos of my car for your request. I am a crappy photographer and need to borrow a decent SLR from a family member.

[2mAn]

Oh yeah, I forgot about that. So is Miller considered reasonably legit? There was a bunch of controversy around possibly-faked dyno charts and stuff a few years back.

Also, now that I am back from vacation and stuff, I am trying to figure out a good time and place to do some photos of my car for your request. I am a crappy photographer and need to borrow a decent SLR from a family member.

First of all, welcome back from vacation. I am sure theres a few guys who would love to help take pics. I know that Eric (Cabriolet) was willing to help out, and he's usually in the San Jose area when he's not in Sack town.

With Miller, I've heard many different things, but at the end of the day, their software allows you to make the adjustments you are looking for. It does require you to switch to a Mass Air Flow sensor VS the Air Flow Meter the M42 currently runs so you'll have to take that into consideration

[bmwman91]

Hmm, I am already running a MAF using a converter that I developed. To the best of my knowledge, they never did release a MAF kit for the M42 due to a few technical challenges. Anyway, I checked their site and it looks like I can buy just the WAR chip for my ECU. I shot them an email with some questions.