TRF Performance X5 35D Stage 1 flash tune
 

Finally after more than a year development our stage 1 tune for 335D and X5 35D is close to official release. As I may have mentioned before I have been taking care of the logistics and development and Raymond from TRF Performance-Norway has been taking care of the of the re-mapping of the DDE. With the modern tuning software probably the first grader can do it, but it takes experience and some desire for perfection to do it right. The development has been going for more than a year and we have met more than a few well masked barriers in the EDC17 (DDE in our X5 diesels). It is very easy to mask some stuff here and there, disable the trouble codes and call it a day, but we spent more time to get to the bottom of every problem. In it's distilled form now stage 1 only consists of a different fueling strategy which leads to slightly increased boost and more than slight bump in the power output. Most factory limiters are untouched, and so is the transmission torque limiter. Boost maps are untouched too and the increase comes from the better efficiency of the engine because of the optimized fueling strategy. Many tuners also play with the advance in a relatively stock engines leading to emission problems.
We are not ready yet with the pricing, there are special discounts planned for the fellow X5D members on Xoutpost.
We spent around 6 hours on the dyno trying to get the best out of the X5. With this transmission it is impossible to load the car properly especially at low RPM. We've been doing 4th and 5th gear pulls on deserted freeways and if you roll on the gas for more than 40% under 3000 RPM it will downshift immediately. We had cases when it downshifted from 4th to 3rd at full load at almost 3700 RPM which is absolutely illogical. So there is no way we can load it under 2500 RPM and the real torque curve is shifted massively to the right. The correct numbers would be higher and at lower RPM. However the graph gives a good idea how much the tune has changed the character of this engine. It pulls hard and to the redline (the transmission shifts at around 4600 RPM, so there is a lot of power lost there too) and feels much more like gas engine.

http://i1362.photobucket.com/albums/...psiriogsa4.jpg

http://i1362.photobucket.com/albums/...psv7gymg3u.jpg

Of course you have to take this graph with a grain of salt as the baseline dyno is missing. Yesterday we got the news from the dyno operator that the files were lost and all i have is a printout of the best run. The car is already converted to Stage 2 so there is no going back. The Mustang dynos are pretty accurate, but it is what it is. Stock it pulled out something in the vicinity of 220whp/360wtq. 18-20 % are a good guess for the drivetrain and tire friction loss.
Stage 2 is up to the point of 400hp/550tq + without substantial smoke or uncivilized behavior. More to come soon ;)

Very, very nice! This is the tune I'm going with and that's not just based on this post but prior discussions, too. I like the philosophy, method and the endpoint reached by this group.

I think, if I can get my Tahoe back on the road next week when I get back home, I'll get my DDE out and sent off. In any case, I'll be in touch.

So since you said the DDE will be tuned by your friend in Norway.. does that mean it will need to be shipped to Norway or to your location? (not sure where you are)

You are more than welcome.

Nowadays the world is a global village and it doesnt matter much where you are located ;) But seriously, I am in Los Angeles and the DDE must be shipped to me. I have the proper equipment to read the DDE contents and sent it to Raymond in Norway. It takes a few hours for him to re-map it and send it back to me. After that I write the modified data back in the DDE. As part of the process, the DDE will be flashed with the newest software from BMW before it is tuned.

Sounds good, easier to ship to CA versus Norway and less time.

Are you able to delete any SCR/DEF codes? You know that whole issue we are having with the temp sensor :p

We can remove any codes as per customers request. We dont advise to do that because it only masks the problem, but it is everyone's choice after all.

Many tuners also play with the advance in a relatively stock engines leading to emission problems.

Good to hear: this is one of the things that worries me the most on diesel tunes and that's why I'm keeping the Cummins stock. I just have no faith whatshoever in the tuner changes to advance. The result, other than the emissions which would be sort of ok, is the potential of increase in peak combustion pressure which can results in lift heads and blown head gaskets, unless you replace head studs. Changing advance is one of the "easy" way to improve mileage too.

On another topic: without going into details, could you tell me if you do any changes to max rail pressure?

What about the torque management logics?

Do our DDE has defueling strategies when certain EGT are reached? I'm tempted to think there is because when I towed I've never seen EGT go above 700C (1300F). If there are are you keeping those fail-safe intact?

Since you're "nearby", I may at some point pay you a visit. Thanks!!!

More advance in the low and mid-load areas is good for the efficiency without ill effects for the engine. It may create slightly more NOX, nothing worst than TDI ;)
The rail pressure was not increased for Stage 1, not real need for that. Everything in this engine is well sized with high limits.
Some of the limiters have been increased, but the tables were not recalibrated. All the fail safes in the EDC17 have been left intact, including the EGT defuelling. One of the strong sides of this DDE is the many fail safes and it would be pity to cancel any of them.
Despite the aluminum block this engine looks pretty heavy duty. Raymond says that he has never seen one destroyed(like you can see gasoline engine) and they have been running EGT as high as 950C for prolonged periods of time.
Anyone is welcome to stop by and test drive my X5, but it may be very addictive as it sits now close to 400hp ;)

I don't mean to sidetrack, but am I right in thinking that the pegging of the EGT at 700C is due to defueling or was it a simple coincidence?

Keep us posted on development, pricing and availability.

Look forward to seeing the release / final offerings, keep up the good work!

Actually defueling starts just above 700C, so your results are looking legit.

We have decided to offer a promotional price of $700 for the Xoutpost members until the end of the year. Regular price is over $1k. The price includes SW update to the newest version for the DDE. By customer request some DTC can be deleted and would not appear.
I also offer spare keys programming with this service-$100 for a regular and $150 for a CA key.
I also plan to get the proper sponsorship to Xoutpost very soon.
Please use PM for specific inquiries.
Stage 2 almost completed with 400+hp and 520+tq. X5 is a beast, I am almost scared to drive it ;)

Awesome! Have you done any MPG comparisons, has it increased or decreased with the tunes?

I can say the MPG will remain unchanged under normal driving conditions. Mine has gone a bit down, but I am a fairly aggressive driver and having more power on tap makes it even worse.

What is the complete list of upgrades that you have completed to achieve "Stage 2?" What are the concerns if you live somewhere where removing DPF/SCR is not possible. If this was discussed, I didn't see it.

The idea of "TRF Stage 1" is for the engine to remain as close to stock as possible, bumping the power while improving the torque curve over stock significantly. Even though the absolute numbers are not huge, the change is impressive. In the finalized and extensively tested variant the changes dont cause problems with the engine and mostly DPF and the regeneration. All engine's fail safes and monitoring is unchanged and even if a problem occurs the DDE will take action or trigger a code. In other words, one will be able to give the X5 to his wife or daughter for a long time and be sure nothing bad will happen because of the tune. We will probably offer "TRF Stage 1.5" where there will be more power added, but some caution has to be exercised. If you race from light to light at full tilt every day and drive the car on a short distances some regeneration problems may occur. Many owners dont know, but there are 2 types of DPF regeneration-active and passive. Active is the one triggered by the DDE when certain conditions are met. Passive is when the engine has been at partial or full load for a prolonged period and the temp in the DPF rises enough so that the soot will start to burn. Just an interesting fact is that the Le Mans winning Audi diesels dont use active regeneration, only passive.
"TRF Stage 2" is all Stage 1 isnt. Generally it is ALL OFF. SCR doesnt have to be removed, it can remain and in working condition. Main idea behind removing the DPF is removing the backpressure behind the turbos. This completely changes the character of the engine and brings it very close to a gas engine. As a matter of fact, it is now pulling very hard to 4600 RPM and if we can delay the upshifts with another 500-600 RPM it will still be strong. But this power level will not be possible at all with all emission stuff still installed. If pushed too much, problems with the DPF will occur very soon. I was thinking about an exhaust cutoff but everything is very crammed down there. Perhaps some kind of internal bypass tube cam be constructed with an electric actuator. Or one can just empty the DPF and leave it installed, this is what I did with a flooded DPF I had laying around.
Removing the EGR is not required, but at the rate they crack and the price it will be economically sensible to remove it or just leave it there, but close the exhaust side.
Most limiters were changed and some tables re-calibrated for stage 2, but the most important tables for the torque calculation and injection quantity/times were not recalibrated. In our modern DDEs all internal calculations are based on air and fuel per stroke. According to the internal calculations, in stage 2 we have over 720nm at 2200-4000 RPM (around 540 ft/lbs) and over 430hp at 4200 RPM. It feels we are starting to reach some limits of the fuel system when we try to push even more, so probably it will be finalized at 420HP/520TQ. We plan to have it tested for a few months on 2 cars and release it sometimes next year.

DPF inside:
http://i1362.photobucket.com/albums/...pspnkknhkt.jpg

What are 0-60 for Stage1 and Stage2? I know they don't matter much, but can't help being curious..

Unortunately we didnt clock the stock and Stage 1. Stage 2 in 80F weather,hot engine, slight uphill and 3 people in the car clocked just a tad over 6 seconds. This is with slight brake-boosting, around 1200 RPM. I am sure I will get it to 5.5 when the time comes. Of course the X5 sucks big time to 30-50 mph. I found as amazing 30-85 mph pulls on 3rd gear and will take some videos soon.
P.S. Looks like advertised time for stock X5 35D is 6.9 secs 0-60.

@bawareca -- Thanks for the quick detailed response

You are welcome.
Here is a short video for some viewing pleasure ;)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H020...ature=youtu.be

It cannot be timed precisely because the car was rolling a bit before I let off the brakes, but looks right under 6sec 0-60.

Stage 2 looks exciting.

I've put a little over 3K on the stage 1 tune at this point and have had absolutely zero issues and loving every minute of it. The sluggishness of 1st and 2nd gear is now completely minimized (why i felt the need to get a tune right out of the gate). Although I only had the truck a few weeks before getting this done the difference in overall feel was immediately apparent. Felt like the truck was operating on a whole different power band.

On top of that, mpg slightly improved even with much more aggressive driving. Since, Ive gone through around 6 tanks the mileage has consistently been between 535-560 miles to 20.5-21.5g. Got to love that! I am now on a mission to get as much performance out of this as possible, the 35d is a real sleeper! Next comes the deletes and ditching the rft's to get the rotational weight down.

Kirk is also a great guy to deal with. I drove down from Northern CA and was back home by 7pm same day, would highly recommend.

Bawareca pm sent.

very interested in mod. No one offers this work around New York area.

I will answer you shortly. Too busy this week.

I am one of the beta testers with the X5 35d. Bawareca, is the tune on mine considered Stage 2? I have to say the power delivery is extremely smooth. I have done roughly two tankfuls of diesel since getting the DDE back and I am impressed with this progress.

I am averaging an indicated 21.8 mpg mixed driving. My first tankful, with a lot of throttle stomps, I got 20.5. I see the looks on the faces of many fellow "test track" motorists and it is priceless. Recent victims have been a G35 sedan and I seem to be getting the attention of various trucks. I made a Tahoe very disgruntled in my testing earlier today. It's very funny because I have a rooftop cargo carrier on and the X5 looks so completely pedestrian.

Definitely need to meet up once I get my vacuum hoses replaced.

Just hit me up when you're ready. Stage 2 will make you jealous ;)

Hey Kiril, hope everything is well! Any update on progress of stage 2? I now have over 10K on stage 1 and want to take it to the next level. Any meth/h20 experimentation yet?

I am glad you enjoy the improved experience.
Looks like the hardware side of the Stage 2 is a no go. It will take too much time and funds to order a full kit, with unclear view of the potential profits.
We offer Stage 1&2 tunes only, which I believe is the only offering without hardware package.

So are you stating that stage 2 tune would require hardware from another supplier or can we run the tube by itself?

Stage 2 will clog the DPF pretty quickly, so it is not worth to install on a stock car. We will not offer any hardware for a while.

Next weekend is Bimmerfest at Auto Club Speedway in Fontana:
BMW Event: Bimmerfest 2016 California Sponsored by ESS Tuning on May 28th, 2016
I plan to make a few laps on the track to test my beast to it's limits. I know X5M's are wickedly fast around tracks with their proper brakes and torque vectoring, but didnt see heard of any other X5 seriously driven on the track.
Whomever is interested in chat and ride along is welcome to stop by and say hello.

I decided to go Saturday and had no regrets.
The car is completely stock (lol, except the engine) with almost full tank, spare tire and some tools in the trunk. With me inside it must be sitting at around 5,700 lbs. This is Speed ventures Red Group, open passing, dedicated track cars and very experienced drivers.
In the morning it ran great getting to 126 mph in the early laps, but after the air warmed-up the power dropped. I am still running the stock intercooler, which is Ok for stock power, but insufficient by large margin for the power I am running at. The brakes started to fade after 6-7 laps, which is amazing considering the speeds and the weight of this tank. There were 2-3 seconds to be found without changes, but the idea was not to take chances, just to have some fun and prove a concept. Yeah, i dare guys with Fords, Acuras, etc to try this ;)
Oh, and it does 7-8 Mpg around the track :rofl:

https://youtu.be/ZwDGvcq8cXk

126mph! That's pretty quick. I'm pretty impressed by the braking performance as well. Six or seven laps before fading is amazing, as you say, for a tank that is the X5.

And pulls 1G lateral in a stock form :yikes:

Hi everyone. Here's a quick review of DPF/EGR/SCR Delete.
Entire process took me few weeks but that's only because I used the car on daily after dde flash. Nevertheless, after dpf and. Egr were removed all I can say is wow! What a difference.... Its like driving brand new car. Turbo sounds awesome, throttle became crisp and responsive. Very very impressed with results!

Thanks to Bawareca for dde work and my buddies who helped to remove emission crap. Also, it's not a kind of job that can be done in the garage. Professional shop with proper equipment is highly recommended.

For those who wonder what EGR looks like after 118K miles with 3-4k miles oil change see below:

http://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/2016...4766dbc2b5.jpghttp://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/2016...334ad2a83d.jpg
http://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/2016...81bbc2cfa9.jpg


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Mine at around 76k
http://i145.photobucket.com/albums/r...pslntfjnmf.jpg

After cleaning with Acetone
http://i145.photobucket.com/albums/r...psnnnxwwaq.jpg

My CPO warranty expires next month so I'll very interested in doing the delete and getting the tune. Just have to figure out how to pass CA emissions which is my biggest concern.

TRF Performance X5 35D Stage 1 flash tune
 

Friend of mine who works as mechanic at Paul Miller BMW of Wayne replaced temperature sensor for me yesterday. He said that over the past few years so many diesel cars experienced problems with emission regulatory equipment that now they keep in stock bunch of parts such as active/passive tanks, sensors and etc. They all surprised that recall hasn't been issued. Nevertheless, I am very pleased with the path I went. Instead of replacing damn def tanks and spending tons of money I decided to do it once and for all. Anyone who has questions during the removal process feel free to ask, but I'm sure there are plenty of info on this matter. Results will pleasantly surprise you. Btw, my mpg is 26.7 vs 19 prior the tune.
http://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/2016...d3111b58b2.jpg


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So what exactly was your path?

Stage 2 tune with hardware delete vs keep replacing faulty oem parts...


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Your avg speed was 64mph so almost all highway looks like.
I get close to 29 mpg in similar situation. 29.6 mpg i got once on full tank, all highway driving. Im sure it helps with mileage but 26.7 seems normal for me.
2011 x5d is what i have with 117k miles

You're right, i got 26.7 on the highway, but that's after a few pretty heavy pulls that I had before I got on a freeway. I guess that affected average mpg, or not... In either case it is huge improvement in overall vehicle performance.


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I wish i could do it but i live in NYS and we have emissions, otherwise i would love to. The sound and performance will be worth every penny. Have fun!

Same here.

I live in NJ but had no choice. My inspection expires in the end of this year so I need to figure something out by that time...


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In NJ im sure you will find willing individuals to make something work for the right amount of money ;)
Or, get a dealer license if you can and get rid of your insurance and plate. Dealer plates dont require the car to have an inspection sticker.

After many delays on my part and waiting until the last minute in my schedule, I FINALLY got my DDE sent in and the Stage 1 tune installed on it. Due to heroic and very appreciated efforts by Kirk and the tuner, I sent it on Tuesday last week and it was back in my hands on Friday. Removal and installation of the DDE was a cinch barring an issue I caused myself which I mention below. Based on advice and after reading about more than a few flooded DDEs, I drilled two 1/8" holes in the very bottom of the DDE enclosure prior to reinstallation.

There is more of a difference than I expected. The 1 and 2 shift is very much improved and after that it just keeps pulling and pulling. Passing acceleration is affirmative and sure. I only have a little over 50 miles on it so I'll have more to say later but I am very, very pleased.

As I mentioned, there was only one problem. Due to rain, I had to close the rear hatch after disconnecting the negative battery terminal connector. As there is no mechanical release, this is a problem. Connecting a battery to the jumping terminals under the hood did not work. I had propped the trunk floor open before closing the hatch and with the rear seats folded down, I was able to use a piece of wood with a clothes hanger taped to it to touch the connector to the negative terminal and get the hatch open.

Is that with the stage 1 tune only? I just bought a 12,first tank 496 miles,21.5 gl=23.25 mpg.Quite a bit of idling wth AC on.Mixed driving.Its a blast!
If stage 1 what was it getting before the tune?

There are not any significant gains to be expected with Stage1. Just more fun to drive ;)

:thumbup:I wasn't aware these truck would get that fuel mileage on highway .

On the highway, I usually get over 28 mpg, even 30+ sometimes. This is OBC mileage; the calculations are always different and all over.

My OBC mileage is always very close to the real life mileage. With the 20"s (style 214) I was never able to get readings over 24-25 for a longer trip. But I usually stay in the 75-80 mph range.

There is a mechanical release for the rear hatch, if you look on the inside trim, you will see there is a cutout under which is a mechanical release

I so want to do this, but we have emissions which consist of plugging into the OBDII port and ensuring that the monitors are set to ready and there are no CELs or MILs

I read of a release but couldn't find it and it seemed crazy one wouldn't be provided. Got a picture to help locate it?

He went with Stage1 only, but this also quite a bit of improvement over the stock tune.

My OBC reading and my manual calculation was always dead on, maybe .5 variation with stock 18s.
After i got my style 214s, i cant get past 25 mpg on the OBC reading but doing it manually showed me 27.5 mpg for that same tank. I wonder if there is calibration that can be done?

Either way it doesnt bother me all that much, i always do manual calculations.

I've only calculated a few tanks but it's within 1 mpg and I've kept track of the miles and gallons of every tank, I just haven't calculated them all. Seems to depend on what type of driving I'm doing. Or maybe this is the M5? I get the experiences mixed up some time. Point is I have years of data that I'll be able to compare once I get some miles on this tune.

With as much a difference Stage 1 made, the other stages must be crazy.