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      05-01-2016, 08:58 AM   #1
jacob_dk
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Tuning 20xi - recommendations

EDIT:
I finally found time to do a review.
Conclusion: I'm very satisfied with the performance of the Racechip based on gut feeling. No dyno run, read on for details.

Long story short:
Delivery - 5 workdays from payment to arrival at my doorstep.

Installation - not all that straightforward as the chip comes with generic installation instructions. I had to write them to get specific X3 pics - they did state that they always send specific instructions to the email entered during the ordering process, but they must have forgotten in my case. After receiving specific instrutions installation was a 10 minute procedure including attaching the harness and chip with the supplied strips.

First use - bummer...my phone would see the chip in Bluetooth connections but the Racechip app would not connect, no matter what I tried including a full reset of the phone.
Also an engine warning lit up and after confirming with their support that the harness was correctly connected etc. I ended up sending the harness and chip back and receiving a new set.
This time everything worked immediately, so obviously something was wrong with the first set.

The Racechip Ultimate has 3 pre-configured modes selectable in the app: efficiency, sport, and race. Racechip promises both fuel savings and power boost and I suppose the first correlates with the Efficiency mode and the latter with Sport and Race.

Efficiency mode - no noticable improvement in power. Fuel savings - I guess time will tell.
Sport mode - nothing that will take your breath away, but definitely more power. A clear improvement in the lower gears above 2000rpm. In 0-100km/h runs the gain is roughly 1 second.
Race mode - wow...just...wow. 0-100km/h +2 sec gain. Remember the old Esso commercial "put a tiger in your tank" ? That's the Race mode. Acceleration and torque feel as if it's a completely different engine.
I know that 'gut feeling' is not exactely a scientific approach, but I won't be doing a dyno - no need to. I had a mate timing the 0-100 runs and the results were consistent over 10 runs.

So - was the Racechip worth the money ? In my humble opinion - absolutely.


ORIGINAL POST:
Hi all

Contemplating getting my 2011 F25 20xi tuned.
I've attempted to research as much as possible but there's definitely a limit to my knowledge and experience with tuning, so I'd be grateful for any opinions and recommendations on how to proceed.

So a handful of questions - much obliged if someone can set me straight one these:

- the only tuning option for F25 is a piggyback chip, the ECU can't be remapped 'manually'. True or false ?

- the N20 engine parts in 20xi and 28xi are identical - true or false ?
(I've actually compared all engine parts of the two on realoem.com, and as far as I can see they are completely identical. The only difference I could spot was in the exhaust system, where the rear muffler has one exhaust pipe on 20xi and two on 28xi - and possibly a 0.5cm wider diameter on the front muffler ?)

- If true to the above - will there be any benefits by replacing the 20xi mufflers (hopefully just the rear?) with the ones of the 28xi in connection with a tuning ?

- Which tuning to get (I'm in Europe) ?
-TCM
-Hartge
-AC Schnitzler
-Something else ?

Thank you for reading - all opinions and recommendations welcome and appreciated.

Last edited by jacob_dk; 06-18-2016 at 12:35 AM..
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      05-02-2016, 04:01 AM   #2
poiuytre111
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I normally frequent a forum that deals with the E81-E87 range and the name that seems to get the most positive feedback is Jason Balbier from BW Chiptune, based west of London.

http://www.ecuremaps.mobi/about-us.html

He seems to be towards the leading edge when it come to remapping newer models. I think his firm used to need to remove the ecu to remap some F- series models but more recently one hears of plug-in reprogramming for even these. This is a list of what he believes is possible:-

http://www.engineperformancechips.co...wer-Gains.html

Normally his remap would include before and after dyno runs which it surely the best way to optimise any engine but I understand that his maps are also available though other suppliers which might help those outside the UK.

http://www.babybmw.net/viewtopic.php?f=92&t=53322
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      05-02-2016, 11:42 AM   #3
jacob_dk
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Thank you very much ��
As you stated his emphasis seems to be on the e-range but I'll write him. Maybe I'm in luck, in any case I absolutely agree that a dyno run and a remap specifically tailored for the car is the best way to go.
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      05-02-2016, 02:38 PM   #4
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No - I just don't think he is very good at keeping his web site up to date.
If you look at the babybmw.net thread you will see mention of a user tool to load maps and/or to support customers in other countries. Don't know if it was ever made available.
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      05-03-2016, 04:16 PM   #5
jacob_dk
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Ok, so after hours of searching and reading reviews, pros and cons, etc. I've sort of changed my mind - and hopefully learned a bit too...

Most likely ending up with a plug n play chip:
- much cheaper
- apparently offers performance gains similar to e.g. acs or hartge

I have my eyes on 2 solutions, tmc or racechip as both have received mostly positive reviews and have been in the game for a number of years - and the performance gains they present are fairly conservative (and thus more realistic I would imagine).

Any opinions or perhaps even personal experience with either ?
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      05-04-2016, 12:06 AM   #6
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I think it would be a lot easier just to sell your 2.0i and buy a 2.8i model. Than you get 245 horsepower instead of the 184 for the 2.0i. With some chiptuning you will not be able to go from 184 to 245.... and even so, you can never be 100% sure it will not damage the engine in the long run.
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      05-04-2016, 08:17 AM   #7
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Have you seen these:
http://www.racechipgalaxy.com/product/obd-2-petrol/

Not sure how good they are but cheap and easy to fit .
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      05-04-2016, 12:28 PM   #8
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Endre2 View Post
I think it would be a lot easier just to sell your 2.0i and buy a 2.8i model. Than you get 245 horsepower instead of the 184 for the 2.0i. With some chiptuning you will not be able to go from 184 to 245.... and even so, you can never be 100% sure it will not damage the engine in the long run.
With the tax system in Denmark - oh no no no.
Cars are taxed with 150% (yes - you read right - one-five-zero), and the bigger the engine, the higher the price, the higher the price, the higher the tax.

A brand new X3 28i will set you back 110.000-120.000$ - and that's the entry level price. Add sports package etc. - well you can do the math.

And that's why it makes sense to retrofit and tune.
I'm fine with not transforming 184 to 245 HP - a more modest result also seems what most tuners offer anyway.

I am aware of the risks - however the 20i and 28i apparently have completely identical engines - as in every single part - I've done a comparison on realoem, and therefore logic (mine at least ) would dictate that the added stress from a tune would be well within the limits of the components, because the 20i is basically Forest Gump before his leg braces came off

Again - if someone can set me straight on the 20i vs 28i engines, please do.
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      05-04-2016, 12:32 PM   #9
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Quote:
Originally Posted by poiuytre111 View Post
Have you seen these:
http://www.racechipgalaxy.com/product/obd-2-petrol/

Not sure how good they are but cheap and easy to fit .
Thank you for the link - I'll search for reviews.
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      05-04-2016, 02:08 PM   #10
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A new 28i for 110.000 $ ???? Is that for real ?
Here in Hungary a new 20i costs 40.000 euro, which is about 46.000 $.
The 28i costs 48.800 euro , about 56.000 $

And I thought BMW's were expensive here.....
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      05-05-2016, 12:20 AM   #11
jacob_dk
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Quote:
Originally Posted by poiuytre111 View Post
Have you seen these:
http://www.racechipgalaxy.com/product/obd-2-petrol/

Not sure how good they are but cheap and easy to fit .
Thank you for taking the time to chip in, I appreciate it.
However after a bit of reading, this particular unit seems to be something one definitely should steer clear of. Highlights of the seemingly dubious or to-good-to-be-true aspects of it:
- one size fits all. same unit for all brands and models.
- will dynamically 'learn' how to adjust signals to the ecu.
- certifications boasted on their website are merely a how-to-solder-things-together course.
- user reviews stating that at best it does nothing.
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      05-05-2016, 12:54 AM   #12
jacob_dk
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Endre2 View Post
A new 28i for 110.000 $ ???? Is that for real ?
Here in Hungary a new 20i costs 40.000 euro, which is about 46.000 $.
The 28i costs 48.800 euro , about 56.000 $

And I thought BMW's were expensive here.....
Oh - believe it

1$ = 6.4 danish kroner
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Last edited by jacob_dk; 05-05-2016 at 01:26 AM..
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      05-05-2016, 03:37 PM   #13
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So - about to wrap this up after many, many hours of plowing through forums, reviews, tech specs, etc.

With no further ado: An order for Racechip is in the outbox.
(Very important to point out that it is this one: www.racechip.de - not the 'galaxy' thing mentioned a few posts up)
Choice based on a combination of factors:
- competitive price
- plug n play install/no invasive procedures necessary
- engine 'friendly' boosting parameters
- empirical and documented results

The two runner-ups are:
BMS Stage1/JB4:
- Pros: elaborate and (in lack of better wording) scientific approach
- Cons: would require wire splicing on the 20xi engine

TMC Motorsport:
- Pros: well established reputation
- Cons: ?

The final deciding factor was actually this:
http://www.ac-schnitzer.de/fileadmin...t_englisch.pdf

Highlights in favour of Racechip:
- Results on par with Hartge and ACS
- achieves results without pushing turbo to the limit
- boost mainly in the 2000-4000 rpm range

The report also mentions that the the turbo pressure of the 28xi is significantly higher than that of the 20xi. This to me confirms to things:
- that the 20xi and 28xi are identical in terms of components
- that the higher performance of the 28xi is achieved purely in ECU parameters

And that leads me to the conclusion that the 20xi can be tuned up to the performance level of the 28xi with negligible risk to engine health.

Last edited by jacob_dk; 05-06-2016 at 12:10 AM..
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      06-18-2016, 12:36 AM   #14
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Bump for review.
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      06-18-2016, 12:56 AM   #15
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Nice to know you had a favourable experience with the RC Ultimate, Jacob_dk. I'm about to pull the trigger and get myself one on my x20i too.

A quick question, that 3 settings i.e Eco, Sports and Race, these are the presets through the RC Ultimate phone app, right? (As I understand without the app, you'd need to manually change the dial settings in the device). When switching through the 3 settings, was it instantaneous or you need to switch off the car first? Thanks!
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      06-18-2016, 08:47 AM   #16
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Hi

They are indeed presets in the app, and yes w/o the app you'll need to turn dials.
RaceChip put in a lock, so if the engine's running you won't be able to switch preset for safety reasons - safety reasons being a don't-use-the-phone-while-driving thing.

So with the engine off you select the preset and the chip will use that setting until you change it to another - meaning that you don't need the phone with you every time you get in the car.

I was a bit confused about that at first, 'cos there's a warm-up timer counting down from 5 mins (can be changed to less if desired) in the app, and I thought that it was the app doing the countdown, and therefore the app needed to be active on the phone, but that's not the case though - would also have been quite stupid.

A piece of advice:
remind them to send you specific instructions otherwise you'll be doing some digging to find the right sensors to plug in to, and you'll also need a tool for the 'D' connector (only the D), which is attached to the front of the engine block and is released by pressing gently into a hole on the back side of the connector.
The tool will need to be something like a knitting pin with one end bent 90 degrees - at least that's what I stole from my wife
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