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      04-03-2024, 10:32 AM   #1
MADZ4U
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Chip Tuning for the SDRIVE35I

Hi All
I am a new member to this forum and can see a lot of great info on this site.
I love my Z4 35I and I am sure I am not the only one. Moving from a Motorcycle to the Z4 gives me (close to) a motorcycle experience.
I am sure what I am asking has already been out there in the forum, so please excuse my .."oh not again question".
The power on this Z4, is for me, incredible for a car.....but being an HP junky I started to look at ways to increase what I already have. I have been looking at chip tuning and particularly at the German made GAN GT.
Question is, has anyone used this particular chip set and would you need to upgrade the Intercooler to take/improve the increase in power?
Look forward to any suggestions by the forum
Thanks
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      04-03-2024, 12:30 PM   #2
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Have you looked thru the "Engine, Transmission, Exhaust, Drivetrain, ECU Software Modifications" sub-forum here? Lots of information there. Also a lot of info on YouTube regarding tuning the BMW n54. I don't have a tune on my Z4 35i, but I think the Burger Motorsports JB4 and MHD Tuning are well known and work well. Depending on how much horsepower you are seeking there are a number of improvements you will need to do, such as downpipes, charge pipe, intercooler, air intake, and a number of other parts.
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      04-03-2024, 12:58 PM   #3
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I think these days MHD dominates the N54 tuning market with both the off the shelf maps they sell plus big support from Indy tuners..

Add on chips are pretty old school and technically not the best solution …IMHO..
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      04-03-2024, 02:04 PM   #4
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Most popular is MHD flashing software on n54...
Dont know about the current situation, but they did update their maps regularly... making them better with each iteration...
Also you get an upgrade tree and all the maps for bolt on upgrades... also you can flash car back to stock and so on...

maps are set in stages and each stage has maps for different fuels 91 or 93 octane in us or 95/98 RON in europe... better fuel has a bit more aggressive map...

stage 1 is for stock cars
stage 1+ is for cars with upgraded intercooler and stock downpipes with cats...
stage 2 is for cars with stock intercooler and catless downpipes...
stage 2+ is for cars with both upgraded intercooler and catless downpipes...

supporting mods:
aluminum chargepipe that replaces the stock plastic one... plastic one can crack... though ive had stage 1 for years and stage1+ for half a year or more... and my stock chargepipe has been fine...

Next supporting mod would be air intakes... dual cones or some other, doesnt matter... point is to make turbos job easier with the less restrictive airbox system and allow more air in...

From there you can upgrade inlet pipes from airfilters to turbos to less restrictive silicon pipes. This does essentialy the same as intake upgrade... better less restrictive airflow to the turbos...

outlets do the same but for the pipe from turbos to the intercooler...

Inlets and outlets isnt really necessary... its an option when you have already upgraded everything else and on stage 2+ map already...

I do recommend changing out stock intercooler with a better one... even on stage 1, that says that it doesnt need it...
on stage 1 map in warmer weather you can do one or maybe 2 pulls that feel good... after those your intercooler is already heatsoaked and intake air temps get high... this results in ecu pulling timing and power... so you have to wait for the intercooler to cool down and then you have full power again for a pull or two... you would always feel how your car moves much better in colder night weather and not as well on warmer sunny summer days...

With upgraded intercooler this doesnt happen as much , if at all... and you have more consistent power all the time... even cheap ones are better than stock IC.

MHD app also lets you monitor engine parameters on a gauge display, read and delete engine codes , reset adaptations... datalog... and so on...
Makes diagnosing and troubleshooting alot more easier...

I would not use some universal chipping service that installs it and then you dont have any way to reverse it... for troubleshooting and so on...

also i would not use JB4 as it doesnt change ecu programming. It is essentially a box you install in the wiring loom that fools the ecu by falsifing data and feeding it to the ecu...
A proper remapping of the ecu is better IMHO.

Also as MHD is very popular, then there is alot of information online, on forums and many users that can help you out if you have issues...
with some unknown performance box you will essentialy have only the manufacturers support email to help you... be lucky if its good...often its not...

I myself use COBB that is very similar to MHD... Cobb is older... havent done any updates to its maps for a long time now. Isnt as complex as MHD and so on but does do the same essential job as mhd.. same stages system´with maps for different fuels and throttle pedal settings..
I got it more than 6 years ago... back then MHD was a new thing, not as proven solution as it is now. Also i happened to get my Cobb Accessport used for cheap on ebay.. just have to make sure its totally uninstalled from previous car and is unlocked... and back then mhd was android only... now i think it has apple support aswell, so you can use it on iphones too now...

Also before you tune it... i recommend to change spark plugs an coilpacks out.. if you havent done them recently... Tunes demand more from them and its common to have issues with them after installing a tune...
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Last edited by KennyP; 04-03-2024 at 02:21 PM..
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      04-04-2024, 10:07 AM   #5
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https://youtu.be/ayamBnhy1YQ

this video was pretty much what sold me on the COBB device many years ago...
added it in case someone is interested...

MHD does basically the same... it just doesnt have its own device and uses smartphone or tablet app.
MHD also has more customization options...
like you can adjust if and how obnoxious you want burble tune exhaust crackles to be... and so on...
has options to tell it if you have some mods installed... like some aftermarket ignition coil kits or n20 boost sensor.. and it adjusts your tune to them... but these are things for people who are more serious with power gains...

Cobb is more basic in that regard...

It would be great if someone who actually uses MHD does a writedown on its options features and so on...
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      04-04-2024, 10:34 AM   #6
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I have a JB4 with dual cone intakes. I'll do a charge pipe and intercooler next (for reliability) and then add down pipes for sound.

I chose the JB4 over the MHD for a couple of reasons. It's very easy to change tunes with the JB4 and I didn't want to take the chance of "bricking" the ECU every time I wanted to make a change. Theoretically the MHD is superior, but I believe either option is effective.
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      04-04-2024, 11:51 AM   #7
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yes one thing COBB emphasized after MHD came out was that their flashing is done over the wired connection not over the air... i havent heard any issues with wireless obd dongles and flashing over the air though... but even then you can use a wired dongle if you want...

Cobb basically downloads your ecu data and saves it when you install it and when you uninstall cobb it loads original ecu data back... so even if something happens you can restore it back to stock and try again... i guess MHD does the same?
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      04-04-2024, 03:45 PM   #8
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MHD works over most connections..the primary problem with the K/DCAN is it’s very slow for the initial write of the core MHD code..

I use their orange dongle which is the correct version for E series cars..

Having written probably 20+ ECU tune updates it seems pretty bulletproof…of course a fully charged battery before you start is a most excellent idea..
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      04-04-2024, 04:04 PM   #9
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yep same with Cobb... initial install takes some time... after that changing maps is relatively quick...
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      04-05-2024, 05:03 PM   #10
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Hi All...
Thanks very much for your information to do an upgrade on my Z4.
The COBB upgrade sounds like the one I would take with an intercooler upgrade as well.
I will be looking at this over the weekend to see what options are best for my needs....$...?
I like older stuff like COBB, because it obviously has been proven and tested....and at 64, it goes well with my nature. Would not want to go more than Stage I , that would be good enough for me.
I thought I would get an email notification if there were any replies to my Post, but I didn't get any emails, so sorry for the delay in my response here. Thanks again for your feedback!
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      04-05-2024, 05:23 PM   #11
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If you are really considering Cobb, then you can go on their website and buy everything you need new.

Stage 1 package for n54 costs 700 usd. This gives you accessport itself and drop in highflow airfilter.
In addition they also sell you CSF intercooler aswell that is totally plug and play.. just swap it. For this intercooler they ask 525 usd.
and then you would be able to run stage 1+ maps.

Also i would recommend contacting them by email.
They dont currently list z4 35i on their site... but they used to years ago... im sure they just forgot about this model... but worth asking them first before buying.
they do still list all the other n54 models though... for example 335is that has the same DCT transmission as Z4.

stage 1 pack:
https://www.cobbtuning.com/products/...r-package-w-v3

CSF intercooler:
https://www.cobbtuning.com/products/...ercooler-black

And they also sell stage 1+ package that also includes CSF intercooler!
price is reduced that way to 1150 usd.
https://www.cobbtuning.com/products/...-package-black
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      04-05-2024, 05:36 PM   #12
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also here is one used COBB for sale on ebay... its in canada though... so some import tax may be involved and that may not make it worth buying it from there...

https://www.ebay.com/itm/12617876347...Bk9SR5CXqobWYw
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      04-07-2024, 08:43 AM   #13
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Hey KennyP
Thanks again for the info. Mapping the Z4 chip will be a first....used to Carbs.
But I do have a question relating to the "Used COBB". Will the "Used Unit" hold the original mapping of that vehicle or will that be rewritten once it is connected to my Z4. Or once connected it will become virgin to the new setup.
Thanks
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      04-07-2024, 09:56 AM   #14
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Quote:
Originally Posted by MADZ4U View Post
Hey KennyP
Thanks again for the info. Mapping the Z4 chip will be a first....used to Carbs.
But I do have a question relating to the "Used COBB". Will the "Used Unit" hold the original mapping of that vehicle or will that be rewritten once it is connected to my Z4. Or once connected it will become virgin to the new setup.
Thanks

When you install it the very first time it downloads your original ecu data and stores it.. it also becomes married to that vehicle at that point. So you cant plug it into a second car and install it on that the second time.

Now if you want to uninstall it.. you hook it up... select uninstall...
this removes all the ecu modifications from cars ecu, takes all the original data that was stored during install and puts it back... basically it restores ecu to its original state.
When you uninstall it from the car it also unlocks from that car and is basically as if its brand new again... and it can be installed on another car with same engine... N54 in this case.

You then can go to the second car and install it.. and same process happens again... it saves ecu-s original data and installs itself, locks to that specific car..

So there isnt really any difference between new accessport and used one... If used one was uninstalled from the previous car...

Also if you want to go back to stock mapping for whatever reason.. you dont have to completely uninstall and unmarry your accessport... Accessport comes with stage 0 map aswell.. that is basically stock map...
so you can just switch to that stage 0 map and you can keep monitoring the gauges, read and delete codes and so on...

When you first time try to install it... sometimes it needs to download your ecu data first, then you send it to cobb and they will send back a new file version that works with your car based on the data downloaded from your car... and then you can install it as usual...

I had to do it when i got mine... something about the ecu version...

Even this process was easy.. accessport downloaded everything by itself... hooked it up to pc with the usb... sent the file to cobb... few hours later got new file back... loaded it up and went to install it in the car.
This can be expected as Z4 is a bit rarer model. Nothing to really be intimidated about.

Also have to mention: you dont have to keep this accessport hooked up all the time. You can do that and use it as a gauge pod but basically after install and map change you can unhook it and put it away in the glovebox...

i do keep mine always in the car in the storage compartment between the seats in the rear wall... i only occasionaly take it out and check codes and live data and sometimes reset adaptations with it. But then i put it back to where i store it again... So basically you can just set it once to your preferred map , unhook it and forget about the device.... and use the car normally as always.

Only if you set it to 93 octane fuel, then you have to remember to only fill it up with 93 oct fuel and not use 91 with it. This means if you lend it to anyone always tell them to only use 93 in it.
you can always use better fuels... like install 91 oct map and fill it with 93. No problem there..
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Last edited by KennyP; 04-07-2024 at 10:07 AM..
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