what is the best way to tune a supercharged bmw?

[flyboyx]

i purchased the supercharger bracket white325is is selling right now and i also picked up an almost new vortech charger and a 540i maf. i know there is more than one way to make it work. as far as i can tell, i have the choice of getting my dme reflashed or getting a piggyback such as megasquirt.



i kind of like the idea of using a piggyback because it allows for the opportunity to fine tune it with my laptop and it would be generally speaking a little cheaper. the negative is that i don't have any experience with tuning software, but since i am a reasonably smart guy, i am pretty sure i could hold my own with it.

i believe getting my dme reflashed would be a bit pricey since i am running obd2. i called around a bit and some estimates were close to 1500 bucks. i have heard that the tune will likely be more generic and conservative this way.

anyway, i wanted to get some advice from those of you who have done it already or are in the same shoes and have already done some research in the right direction.

[graphikg]

I would be interested in this info too.

[e30polak]

Try to mimic a kit that's already out, and just purchase the tried and true tune. Tuning it on your own, without proper knowledge/experience could end up costing you a lot more if you blow your motor. :roll:

My $.02

[So Live]

Convert to obd1 and get a chip tune or if your set on standalone, call Maximum Psi and get a AEM ems plug n play standalone engine management system. Dont waste time with megasquirt on that motor. I know it CAN work well but its all in how you set it up. AEM system is very comprehensive and MaxPsi has done all the hard work for you!

[gregslow318i]

Convert to obd1 and get a chip tune or if your set on standalone, call Maximum Psi and get a AEM ems plug n play standalone engine management system. Dont waste time with megasquirt on that motor. I know it CAN work well but its all in how you set it up. AEM system is very comprehensive and MaxPsi has done all the hard work for you!

I have a standalone on my mustang and I love it...I also to got a bracket from white but its going to be a while till I do anything with it... but one thing is for sure my set up it is defiantly going to be a standalone...

sure chip tunes are ok at best...as in all remote tuning for any non-stock custom build
fact is there are just to many factors that come into play when doing them...and I believe to many tuners out there just sell a best guess and then leave it up to the dme to bridge the rest of the gap... and at $800-$1500 for a "chip" tune + what ever it takes to make it obd1 in the longrun a stand alone done right will be a little more ore even the same but with the added benefit of being able to change the programing when ever the mood hits you makes it worth it... at least to me...

leave re-flashes and re-programmers to the poor bastards that have the obd2 compliance crap... e30's ftmfw

[Under_Pressure]

This is news to me! I have been looking for a tuning option for this car and first thing that came to kind is the Aem I have been using on my old car but never found one for BMW unless I go universal and make my own harness.

[e30polak]

I have a standalone on my mustang and I love it...I also to got a bracket from white but its going to be a while till I do anything with it... but one thing is for sure my set up it is defiantly going to be a standalone...

sure chip tunes are ok at best...as in all remote tuning for any non-stock custom build
fact is there are just to many factors that come into play when doing them...and I believe to many tuners out there just sell a best guess and then leave it up to the dme to bridge the rest of the gap... and at $800-$1500 for a "chip" tune + what ever it takes to make it obd1 in the longrun a stand alone done right will be a little more ore even the same but with the added benefit of being able to change the programing when ever the mood hits you makes it worth it... at least to me...

leave re-flashes and re-programmers to the poor bastards that have the obd2 compliance crap... e30's ftmfw

Once again, the person tuning has to be competent enough to make the tune work well. Someone with little to no tuning experience will not be able to map the engine as well as an experienced tuner. The even harder part is controlling the VANOS, if it was non-VANOS it would be easier.

For around $1000 a lot of shops will do custom dyno tuning, and free adjustment re-tunes within a certain time period. That's what Osh at RMS does for any boosted application. I wouldn't skimp out on a tune, I'm sure AA would do a remote tuning application for that price or even cheaper.

[zav3n]

from what ive seem trm is the best bet w/ least amount of headache.... or war chip... ps megasquirt isnt a piggyback its a open source ecu alternative....

[graphikg]

My car is already obd1, s50 with a trm tune, euro MAF, and 21.5lb injectors. They say they do retunes for cheap if the chip is sent back within 6 months. So, in theory is the supercharger all i need? There is no need for internal work? port and polish etc?

[matt]

A supercharger tune is not the same price as an NA tune, but yes, we could swap the chips out for you. You would need a whole supercharger kit.

Piggybacks are... terrible. Get a DME tune or a standalone but don't waste your time with a piggyback.

[graphikg]

Would you mind educating us about the diferences about said systems? Piggyback vs. standalone etc.

[graphikg]

Would you mind educating us about the diferences about said systems? Piggyback vs. standalone etc.

I sure don't know the differences.

edit: sorry, meant to edit the first post rather than posting twice.

[Adrian_Visser]

My understanding is that a standalone ecu does exactly what the original dme did i.e everything from startup to WOT while a piggyback will trick the stock computer to modify engine paramaters at certain times like say add more fuel at WOT or retard ignition timing etc. it isn't in full control it just modifys the signals sent to the the original ecu in the car ( in a motronic system like a bmw that's a dme)

[Under_Pressure]

Correct a standalone system is a complete replacement of the ecu. It controls everything that the orriginal CPU did with the option to modify all it's functions.

A piggy back system modifies signals being read by the ecu to change things around limited to but not only fuel, timing, cam degree "some cars"

[graphikg]

so my turnermsport chip is a standalone then. Cool. I guess a supercharger kit is all I need then, with my chip retuned. So no internal work recommended?