Tuning - Chip/Flash Question

[PeteD]

I have a rather old school set up for my motor. It is a 1992 Non vanos 525i head with two s50 intake cams and a 1995 s50 bottom end. The car will run on the 525i computer, however I have no idea if it will be running to it's full potential.

I'm wondering if I can get a chip to have a tuner flash in order to avoid going stand alone. Is there a low cost way (relatively speaking) to optimize this set up?

[mr ilia]

That's quite a hybrid you've got there!

[PeteD]

lol you're telling me.

[justin_l_]

You're pretty close to turner motorsports. I would give them a call. I know at one point they were doing tuning, I don't know if they have gotten away from it and only doing pretuned chips now. Give them a call and try.

[325ix]

It would honestly probably be cheaper to go stand alone, and you will get better performance. No one else has a motor like that, you will need dyno time to optimize it.

[PeteD]

You're pretty close to turner motorsports. I would give them a call. I know at one point they were doing tuning, I don't know if they have gotten away from it and only doing pretuned chips now. Give them a call and try.

Thanks, I have talked to them a few times and nothing materialized.

It would honestly probably be cheaper to go stand alone, and you will get better performance. No one else has a motor like that, you will need dyno time to optimize it.

Yeah, in the end it might be cheaper to run stand alone. It is my understanding this was a popular set-up years ago, but with the development of VANOS it fell to the wayside.

I actually got the idea from a BMW tuner that used to work for Turner. After talking with him, I was under the impression he could burn a chip if I bought one for my ecu. Him and I just started discussing it so I figured I'd toss it to the forums.

[nando]

your motor is nearly the same thing as an S50 with vanos disabled. I'm pretty sure any competent BMW tuner can make you a chip for it.

definitely no point in going full standalone for this..

[PeteD]

your motor is nearly the same thing as an S50 with vanos disabled. I'm pretty sure any competent BMW tuner can make you a chip for it.

definitely no point in going full standalone for this..

Yeah that is what I was hoping. I don't see the point in going full stand alone for my application anyways (plus I don't want to spend the money assuming ultimately the cost is more), I just want to make sure I'm not leaving any power on the table.

[PeteD]

Can any stand alone guys/tuners add anything? I was offered $2,500 for a full stand alone set up for an s50 motor from a tuner by me. Even though the owner paid $4,000 for it all, it still seemed high to me.

[nando]

did that include a tune?

what is it? $2500 can buy you an awful lot these days.

also - I've been doing it for years, but I wouldn't neccesarily reccomend standalone on a DD.

[mann000]

I have a rather old school set up for my motor. It is a 1992 Non vanos 525i head with two s50 intake cams and a 1995 s50 bottom end.

I though you couldn't use the s50 intake cams on a non vanos head. I'm running almost the same setup. I been looking into running two m50 intake cams.

[M-technik-3]

The NV intake gets switched to the exhaust side and you can run twin intakes or swap a Schrick in as well. Schrick used to make hot NV cams back in the day, I don't know if the stock them these days.

[PeteD]

did that include a tune?

what is it? $2500 can buy you an awful lot these days.

also - I've been doing it for years, but I wouldn't neccesarily reccomend standalone on a DD.

I'm waiting to hear back from him, as that is the same question I have. I told him I could swap the head and get an off the shelf tune for less than that - perhaps that is why he is slow to get back to me. lol Although, I don't think that price included a tune.

Edit: he just sent me this: The Ecu is a electromotive tec3R. The plug and play is made from sias tuning.

Here is the shop I am talking to, Tim the owner seems like a cool guy willing to help.

http://www.kmcauto.com/

I estimated a high end range of $1,000-1,500 for a proper tune and chip - most of that money going into pulls.

I though you couldn't use the s50 intake cams on a non vanos head. I'm running almost the same setup. I been looking into running two m50 intake cams.

You might be right, and I might be speaking wrong. A former engine builder, Pete McHenry, sourced the cams to his colleague, Mike, (the builder of the motor I bought). I think it is a "hot cam" set up using BMW's "hottest" NV cams in the intake and exhaust trays. Mike built engines for BMW's as a living and he was sick of VANOS always breaking so he wanted it gone, but still wanted to have power, so this is what Pete sent him - allegedly upping the HP to 260. I never popped the valve cover off to check it out...

It's a long story: http://www.r3vlimited.com/board/show...lla+headlights

Cliff notes: I bought a barn find hybrid motor on the cheap.

[DesertBMW]

You can't use vanos intake cam on non vanos engine, sprocket won't bolt on.

What people do is use one more non vanos intake cam on the exhaust side timing it without a tool, and you will get 240 duration and 9.7mm lift on both. This is still less aggressive than stock S50 cam setup.

Your non vanos ECU will work just fine with stock tune. Thats because stock tune is made for 2.5L with 10.3 compression ratio, and will have pritty advanced timing maps. Then when you put in your S50 10.5:1 compression ratio 3.0L block in there, you will actually have to 'detune' the timing maps or engine may ping on 91 octane fuel.

As for non vanos DME tuning, there are few free options that you can tune the dme yourself for cheap. PM me I will send you the links

[nando]

Hi hakkenTT

- funny, people have been using the S50 exhaust cam as an intake cam on M50 NV heads for decades now...