Trying to decide on a Tune for my X5M...
 

Seems like a lot of people on here like ESS.

If you go to Xbimmers everyone raves about Velos

AA offers a tune as well that seems to have a good following.

Then there's Berger tuning which has a huge following among the BMW community.

I wouldn't consider Dinan because IMO it's overpriced BS.

But the one requirement i have is that i can return the vehicle back to stock in the event that it needs to go to the dealer for a warranty issue...so obviously i'll need a handheld to do so. I know the Velos offers this as well as AA. i might be mistaken but the JB for the vehicle would simply be disconnecting the module under the hood...which is no big deal.

My truck is a 2010 X5M. Other than possibly a muffler at some point it's otherwise going to remain stock.

Thoughts?

even if you revert to stock before a visit the dealer can see if you have a tune or not.

Really? I was told by a few vendors that it would be undetectable.

PUMA can detect it and if they have a reason to hunt for something to void warranty on an expensive repair they will find it.

you can remove that tune before visiting your dealer and put it back on when you get home.

Sure you can.

But there have been many cases of manufacturers being able to detect that tunes have been installed (and removed) simply by checking flags in the engine control system. Every time a tuner thinks they are outsmarting a manufacturer, the manufacturer goes one step further. Tuners will make all sorts of claims but they won't win this game. If certain parameters have gone outside the ranges that BMW programmed, that history will be there. They don't need to see hardware hanging under the hood to know why the logs show those parameters were outside the ranges they designed them to operate in.

I think you have to accept that it is detectable. If you get over that hurdle, then get whatever you want and enjoy it. If it causes a subsequent failure, or a dealer thinks it did, you will be SOL. It is what it is.

I had a tune and had a catastrophic failure and my X5d was flat bedded to the dealer. They couldn't figure out what went wrong they replaced my turbos and all of the emissions equipment. They had BMW North America involved and tested the fuel and all kinds of diagnostics. They couldn't figure it out...so they replaced about $20,000 worth of parts and labor. They finally figured out I had a tune when they took it for an extended test drive when it was all put back together. In the end they figured the DPF melted/clogged up.

I played dumb and said I bought it that way and asked them a million questions, I asked why they couldn't see it while doing diagnostics they said the only way they could tell was how fast it was on the test drive.

My 2011 is a highly modded Velos designworks product. It has an after market 700+ HP tune with akropovic exhaust, suspension mods, rubber, rims, & tons of other stuff that BMW failed to do the first time. After nearly $50K in upgrades, it is finally the way it should be. It's under factory warranty + a service contract & they have not said a word. I called the experts at Velos & they said to just let it ride---not take it off before it went in for work. I believe the thought process is that if they really want to, then they can be dicks. Most of the time they are trying to close their mouths from the inevitable jaw dropping when she comes in that this fails to be a priority. Having said that, I do not trust anyone when it comes to this stuff----especially BMW corporate. At some point you will run across someone who has a vested interest in narcing you out & making a big deal over this.

My method? Glad you asked.....
Each & every time I drive in there for anything on either of my X5's or Dr. Girlfriends 335---and I mean EVERYTIME----I palm a $20 & make sure my girl (service writer) gets this. This provides me with no guarantee of anything, but it does help me with certain issues & gets me better pricing most of the time. As well as pick up & delivery to my home as we have very strange clinical schedules. Granted, I have probably the most modded & unusual X in our area but this tends to set me apart from the hundreds of other people she deals with daily. Basic Pavlovian mechanisms here.

Just a thought.

Vorsteiner lip
 

Just FYI & BTW, if anyone is looking to add this lip & would prefer fiberglass instead of CF as I did. Don't make the mistake of buying it from this idiot overseas in Latvia. Body kit.LV. Waste of time. Showed up wrapped in plastic wrap & waste cardboard. Literally. Broken, of course. Really poor quality. I had to have my boat guy actually tear it down & do it the right way. Cost me more than the stupid thing was worth.

Ebay is equally worthless in these matters. 20 yrs of buying thru eBay & they would not help me a bit, even with the submitted proof. Just spend the $ on the CF & take your chances.

Sounds like you're incentivizing her to want to see your car in for service :D

:stickpoke

Jailbreak tuning.

All tunes seem to produce similar performance numbers on paper. To fully understand the differences between them, one would have to compare the tunes side by side with two identical vehicles.... as far as I know, no one has done this. I chose Active Autowerks because of their strong reputation, familiarity with their products and ultimately better pricing. I have not been able to compare the tune to another X5M that has been "tuned", however I have been able to compare "tuned" vs. "Stock" side by side. First impressions of the tune were felt immediately by the seat of my pants. The truck responds quicker and accelerates faster and smoother through all gears. From a dead start, first gear is almost useless because it is so short, but the difference you feel most occurs in 2nd and 3rd gears. After that the race is already over and the stock X5M is fading in your rearview. At 60mph on the expressway... downshift twice and the truck jumps with authority. The nose of the "untuned" X5M quickly finds itself inline with my door. Grab another gear and the gap becomes a car length...
good times!

Active Autowerke:

Active Autowerke X5M & X6M Performance Software | Active Autowerke

Ask for Prestige.

How much is the Active Autowerke tune? And how hard is the installation?

My bad I just realized that link had the price

Has anyone used a Burger Motorsports (BMS) tune on their X5M? It's a piggyback system, but for $449, it looks like the results are promising, and right in line with peak Hp/tq gains that are found on all the other tunes (as opposed to the max differential hp/tq gains - broadest space under the curve at the same RPM, which is what most of them quote, quite deceptively.) To be honest I'm a little surprised tunes only pick up 20-40 hp max on these cars.

I'm about to close on a 2011 X5M and am very tempted by this. Their gains with the S63 in the F10 look pretty effective.

These are my recommendations:L

1. Eurocharged
2. Active autowerks
3. Velos

All produce about the same power, but Eurocharged is the best priced deal.

I have RennTech ECU software with Akrapovic downpipes and love this combo

You ever goto local BMW meets? I'm torn on a tuner as well, but I'd like to drive some to see for sure. Renntech is expensive as hell for minimal gains over Burger or Eurocharged, so other than ///M tax, I'm curious as to why

I sell jailbreak tunes/ GSR technik!

What are "jailbreak" tunes or GSR Technik? Threads, dyno/1320 proven power, etc?

I know this is an old thread, just wondering if there is anyone here running the AA tune.
I've been looking at a few and so far this one looks the best overall.

HOLY THREAD REVIVAL!!! :bustingup

Absolutely! Go for it! That's what I have and I love it.... Active Autowerkes has also updated my tune as I have added downpipes, new turbos, etc....

Good! Thanks for the reply!

How long have you had it, how many miles have you put on it?
Anythings you don't like? Mine will be all stock for awhile, I did notice it has less power then factory until around 2400rpm, can you tell the difference?
How long did you run factory until you upgraded turbos and down pipes, what kind of gains did you see, what turbos did you use?
I know, a lot of questions! Thanks!

Would also like to know answers. Looking at X5Ms but want to take it to over 700 HP.

Purchased a 2013 X5M. Right now the best value, HP/TQ gain per dollar spent, seems to be the Active Autoworks tune at $995. Any new information or tunes that I should consider?

Also look up Alpine MSS. Its not on his site but just send him an email and he'll respond. great guy and much more reasonably priced than the others.

Thanks

What did you end up going with?

Have not made the buy yet but think it will be the Turner Motorsports tune for 93 octane ($850). Active Autowerke tune requires a reflash. I would rather get a little less gain and have it be plug and play.

Yeah, I understand that.
I like the AA G5 tool, looks pretty cool. Seems like it would be pretty easy to just leave it in the glove box and flash it back.
I am torn between AA and VF engineering at the moment, the VF stage 2 is at 110whp+ and 160wtq+ With just down pipes. $995
$1100 for the AA tune with the G5 programmer on stock.
I am going to make a decision by the end of the day and pull the trigger! 🍻

The AA, Gintani and Alpine Mss tunes are all worth going for. Ill personally go with either AA or alpinemss.

I am leaning towards the AA just for the convenience of the G5 tool.
I saw gixxers M on YouTube shooting flames on the dyno, I think he’s using AA also with a whole slew of upgrades. It sounds to me like AA is good at hooking you up when you need to change the tune?
As with anything I am trying to find bad reviews on either product and not coming up with anything!

Yeah AA is the logical choice having so many satisfied customers.

Very interested to hear about the 0-60 improvement.

Next weekend I am gonna track mine and get a stock 1/4, hopefully I get all my mods done before track time runs out and winter hits.
If it happens before then I’ll post results here.

Bcredliner, you have local talent that can match all the bigboys right here in the DFW. I’m local so you can come down, get a ride in my X5m, check out the shop (JP euro) and spectate the next 1/2 mile Airstrip event in Grand Prairie 11/10-11 by wannagofast.com

Are you associated with JP euro? I will put the event on my calendar. Thanks for the offer of a ride, would be great. I see you have cat-less downpipes. Do you have any problem passing emission testing?

No sir, not affiliated just a happy customer. They did my Pure stage 2 Turbo upgrade. All seals, hoses, clamps, Valve stem replacement, fuel pumps, battery then tuned till she put down over 700awhp :nanana:

Good to know.

I got incredibly busy with work, pretty much spent the whole summer in Texas on a project and didnt get much time at home.
What time I had was absorbed with local projects, wasn’t still convinced on what tune I wanted, what type I wanted and how much money I wanted to spend.
Was getting close to pulling the trigger on something almost 3mos ago when a truck ran over a 1/3 sheet of plywood 1/2” thick.... @70mph on the freeway.
It was like the matrix in slow motion coming at me.
It pretty much exploded when it hit my X.

It hit hard enough to destroy the front bumper completely and dent the steel impact pretty good, when I pulled over there was a chunk of plywood sticking out the front of my bumper, not a little piece either!
$12k in damage. $1500 if it was a toyota🤣
Anyways, its still currently at a Certifed BMW bodyshop waiting on the third bumper to show up... so hasn't been much time to think about doing anything.

In the meantime I’ve been following both VF-engineering and AA on instagram and talking with people who have had or have their tunes.
Watching their content etc.
Also just paying attention to prices on downpipes, fitment etc.
Talked to a guy whos made some youtube videos with tunes and done installs.

I should be getting my car back next week... if not it’ll be the third time I’ve heard that.
😑

VF had a Black Friday sale with 20% off HEX tunes and I couldnt resist.
I grabed the stage 2 tune for the price of the stage 1.
Heres the cool part!
If you buy the stage 2 you also get stage 1 if you download them both.
That was a selling point for me.
I had read that before digging around, VF confirmed it.
So ill acctualy get to see/feel the difference.
From stock to stage 1 to mod stage 1 and stage 2.

Just thought I would throw out there where I’ve gone with it.
My local tracks are closed until spring so I am going to find the best standalone for 0-60 and qurter.
Ill report back what I think of the tune when I am done.
Anyone have suggestions on a standalone performance meter?

VF makes software and superchargers for supercars, and it looks like they really take care of their customers.
Not to mention they do some damn cool stuff!
I had an issue with my order, it was fixed right away and communication was super quick even through email.

The best part is I can run stage 1 while deciding on the down pipes and waiting for the day I have time to do my exhaust mods.
I am thinking I am going to remove the resonators, add an X-pipe and mod the factory muffler.
Unless I can get an unbeatable deal on a cat back after market I don’t see any reason to spend that type of money.
Besides it sounds more fun to mod the factory stuff on the cheap and get the same results.

Hopefully I’ll report back here with stock vs stage 1 numbers next weekend.
🍻

Very interested in the improvement.

Purchased the Turnersports stage 1 tune. Going to send a file of current stock tune to them this week. They say they will send me the stage 1 tune in about 24 hours. Hope to have it installed by this weekend.

I finally got to putting the stage 1 on and immediately pulled it off the next day, the exhaust flaps didn’t open on cold start, it smelled rich, I had zero improvement on my 0-60. It felt as though It was a bit faster then stock on the freeway at WOT. Also it seemed like there was a lot of lag when I floored it from a stop.
I wasn’t going to run the risk with everything else acting strange.
Contact VF through my original tech emails and had to put my car back in the shop because the just replaced aux pump was toast and had a small coolant leak.
Then back to the body shop because the hood looked like crap and my insurance originally denied it, got a new hood and new paint... about the only good thing is I’ve kept miles off the car. 🤦*♂️
I finally just called VF, resent the stock file... that was mid april.
Sent them a email last week and still haven’t got anything back, I’ve been traveling a lot so I haven’t pressed the issue (currently on the road now) plus I had to do front rotors and pads, got the brakenetik ones... so far so good with those.
I’ll call VF this week and see whats up, so far I’ve been pretty dissatisfied.
Bcredliner do you have the draggy app? It’s what I used for comparison.

Thanks for your feedback. Awaiting to see how it goes once you get the file back from VF.

The tune I purchased is from Turner. They state it delivers 150HP and 198TQ. I have the exhaust flaps wired open. Yes, I can measure 0-60 1/8 and quarter mile.