I left out blowers because they usually require a pulley or some other mechanical way of increasing boost pressure - unless I am overlooking something?

But yea they are equally easy to get power out of, usually just requires that $100 pulley and a tune to get gobs of power from one - especially strong bottom-end cars like an 03-04 Mustang Cobra etc

After my post above I happened to read an advertisment by DMS automotive, a very well respected ecu tuning company based in England uk.

They claim 400hp for the e70 4.8 with just simple flash.

I have read enough about them to know that these are not idle claims. Also I have a dms tuned 135 and have dyno results to back up their claims.

So, to the op: 390hp can be very realistic.

Back in the day of your M5, you could gain a lot of horse power with a chip on N/A engines. Those sort of gains just aren't as big these days on newer models. Generally speaking anyway. I agree with others that it seems very optimistic and find it hard to believe that BMW left that much on the table with the original electronics. Forced induction is another story of course.

Their web site lists ECU flashes for only the M models, and turbocharged models. Maybe it is just out of date.

Your 135 has twin turbos, which makes that particular engine very easy to tune. There are multiple tuners getting 400 hp out of it. Not exactly an apples to apples comparison with a naturally aspirated e70 4.8.

Maybe all what u guys said is true.
Been driving the car for a year and I know its soul, but the car is flying now.

Will try dyno and post a vid of the acceleration to vmax next week.
THE CAR IS MORE POWERFUL!

I agree that the twin turbo is a lot easier to tune.

I am not making a direct comparison between TT and NA 4.8. I think you misunderstood.

The point I am making is that DMS are a very good and respected company. They claim 400hp for the NA 4.8i engine in the E70 X5. Their claims are to be believed is what I am saying, and as part of the evidence they claimed 270kw for the 135 and when I did the dyno that is exactly what I got, supporting their claims here as well as adding credibility.

They have vast R+D and have dynos/rolling roads to test their products. They deal with porsches, BMW, ferrari, Audi, and mercedes both NA and turbos.

I think the link you are referring to is quite old. I have their most recent advertisment from a UK car magazine and it lists all the above makes as well as NA and turbo cars within each make.

So the point I am making is that the OPs 390hp may actually be kosher (real) because if DMS are able to make 400hp then 390hp may well be attainable by another company.

Here is the advertisment I saw with current tunes available (I correct myself in a previous post, this is actually an Australian advert not a UK one but tunes all originate from the UK).

Remember the outputs quoted are in kw and to get an approx bhp reading to times by 1.36

Attachment 40710

I understood your point, that your experience made them credible. I pointed out that your single example of experience with DMS was with a turbocharged engine. Perhaps you can forgive the confusion, as it sure looks like a direct comparison.

I used DMS's corporate website in the UK. The advertisement you posted shows an AU website for the same company. There are no power claims on the UK website (which has the same format as the AU site). I find it interesting that a UK company isn't claiming power increases in their home country, just in another country. Is that perhaps because modifications in the UK are being frowned upon (emissions legislation)? Or perhaps there are different rules about advertising in the UK, I don't know. Maybe I am just a natural skeptic.

I would be interesting in seeing before and after dyno tests from an independent party for the DMS product for the X5. I am not saying they can't get more horsepower out of a naturally-aspirated engine, just that significant gains aren't likely without doing more than flashing the ECU.

To resurrect this thread; Has anyone done the DMS ECU Upgrade? I'm going to try it, link here for the info.

BMW ECU Tuning, remapping, upgrades

Saying 392 HP, 406TQ. Looks worth a shot!

Input?

Highly unlikely you'd get that much improvement.


Call Mark at VCM Auto on Government St in Victoria. VCM Auto | Sales and Service

He is an Active Autowerke dealer and he can flash your ECU with a custom map. In fact, he should have a file ready to go as I wasn't able to get my E70 flashed before I had to head back up North.