Ecu Tuning for E60?

[Liverpudlian]

Has any bro actually chip up a e60 523 before?

Since it is a detune 525, i assume it is possible but will void the warranty?

Cheers and Happy CNY!

 

[TheNew7]

Re: Ecu Tuning for E60?

This is an age old question that has been asked since people found out the 523 is a de-tuned 2.5l engine.... the next would be whether the new LCI 525 could be bumped up to 530 levels as the new 525 is a de-tuned 3.0l engine....

Anyway, there are fundemental differences between the 523 and 525 that give the 525 the extra oomph (besides the ECU)..... I'm not an expert in this so I can't tell you the differences (one of which the 523 rev counter ends at 7k rpm whilst the 525 has an extra 500).... BUT..... as far as 'upping' the power via the ECU, there are two main kinds that I know of, the HIOP and DMS.... I'm sure there are more out there....

 

[TripleM]

Re: Ecu Tuning for E60?

Dont waste your moolah, u will probably be more disappointed than satisfied with the dollar spent.

 

[oomph]

Re: Ecu Tuning for E60?

i've owned the 523 before and did extensive internet-based research from my desk for countless hours and come up with zip.

except for someone who actually put a 525 chip into a 523 to find out that it didn't work, there is strangely very little information about the differences between the two. BMW also provides very little data between the two.

my guess is that they are closer to each other than we think, but we haven't found that out yet. at this stage, my conclusion is that it is still a mystery - but there's going to be more than just the chip (not like vw 1.8t's - if you know what i mean).

my personal experience is that the sprintbooster willl be very helpful if you want some oomph from the 523, otherwise don't bother because the only differences I find is an an inital delayed pickup and a limited top end in the 523. I doubt that in the most used range of driving torque there is any substantial difference.

Think about it this way - a 523 with uprated front/rear sway bars (and no activesteering) handles like an M5 in Singapore traffic !

funny to think that i switched to an odyssey due to logistical reasons, and lo and behold, I find the exact same situation between the parallel imported vs the local odyssey absolute.
same 2.4L engine, but one providing a hefty 40 PSIs more (but needs better grade petrol minimum).

 

[shaaz]

Re: Ecu Tuning for E60?

i've owned the 523 before and did extensive internet-based research from my desk for countless hours and come up with zip.

except for someone who actually put a 525 chip into a 523 to find out that it didn't work, there is strangely very little information about the differences between the two. BMW also provides very little data between the two.

my guess is that they are closer to each other than we think, but we haven't found that out yet. at this stage, my conclusion is that it is still a mystery - but there's going to be more than just the chip (not like vw 1.8t's - if you know what i mean).

my personal experience is that the sprintbooster willl be very helpful if you want some oomph from the 523, otherwise don't bother because the only differences I find is an an inital delayed pickup and a limited top end in the 523. I doubt that in the most used range of driving torque there is any substantial difference.

Think about it this way - a 523 with uprated front/rear sway bars (and no activesteering) handles like an M5 in Singapore traffic !

funny to think that i switched to an odyssey due to logistical reasons, and lo and behold, I find the exact same situation between the parallel imported vs the local odyssey absolute.
same 2.4L engine, but one providing a hefty 40 PSIs more (but needs better grade petrol minimum).

Firstly, the sprintbooster does not give any gains whatsoever and only makes pedal travel sensitive and shorter, meaning u step less to get more.

The 523 is VERY far away frm the 525. cams,maf, Engine Managment System and list goes on and on. Final drive if im not wrong too... compression ratio??...

a 523 with uprated sway bars will never handle like a M5 even tho the handling of the 523 is now better. It's like saying the 997 turbo handles as well as the 997 GT3, which of course does not. you've got other things there, positive/negative camber, caster settings toe in/toe out settings.

Alot of forummers here mod and go pretty hard on them, adding SC's to the engines and what not, some may be faster than a M3 but at the end of the day it's nothing near a M3, the M is still a M... same thing here.. the 523 is a 523... not a 525 or near one at least.

 

[TheNew7]

Re: Ecu Tuning for E60?

Firstly, the sprintbooster does not give any gains whatsoever and only makes pedal travel sensitive and shorter, meaning u step less to get more.

The 523 is VERY far away frm the 525. cams,maf, Engine Managment System and list goes on and on. Final drive if im not wrong too... compression ratio??...

a 523 with uprated sway bars will never handle like a M5 even tho the handling of the 523 is now better. It's like saying the 997 turbo handles as well as the 997 GT3, which of course does not. you've got other things there, positive/negative camber, caster settings toe in/toe out settings.

Alot of forummers here mod and go pretty hard on them, adding SC's to the engines and what not, some may be faster than a M3 but at the end of the day it's nothing near a M3, the M is still a M... same thing here.. the 523 is a 523... not a 525 or near one at least.

Well said.... unfortunately, many think its an easy process.... but I don't feel so......

 

[mkhheng]

Re: Ecu Tuning for E60?

What I was using in my old E39 520 was the superchip which gave about 10hp more. The results are quite acceptable. No complaints and does not affect PML warranty. Superchip have one for current 523 and 525 each claiming a 12hp boost. Maybe more like 8 to 10hp. You can check their website at http://www.superchips.co.uk/superchips.php. The local agent here is Racetech at Sim Min. I understand superchip exploit the ECU programming by BMW in that the fuel quality is different from country to country and they usually pull it down by about 10 - 12 Hp to compensate for variations in fuel quality. In S'pore and Malalysia, the the fuel quality is quite stable so you can do without this 10hp compenstation and reprogram the ECU to take full advantage of the better fuel quality found here. The down side is that you must now stick to 98 fuel. If you fill in with 95 and 92 fuel, you will feel a drop in performance. Alternatively, if you fill in with top grade 100 octane (last time was Shell V-power or Caltex 100) then you experience even more power output but your fuel consumption goes up beacuse you become accel pedal happy just to feel the extra surge.

Superchip has been around since the 80's and they are still going strong adding more models to their product line. If their product was not effective, many people would have spamed their website or talk bad about them in forums. They are still around today.

My old E39 car cost me $600 to 'superchip' the ECU. The guy at Racetech (gregory?) used to say that some of his customers took their new BMs straight to him for superchip immmediately after driving off from PML.

Rgds

John

 

[oomph]

Re: Ecu Tuning for E60?

Firstly, the sprintbooster does not give any gains whatsoever and only makes pedal travel sensitive and shorter, meaning u step less to get more.

The 523 is VERY far away frm the 525. cams,maf, Engine Managment System and list goes on and on. Final drive if im not wrong too... compression ratio??...

a 523 with uprated sway bars will never handle like a M5 even tho the handling of the 523 is now better. It's like saying the 997 turbo handles as well as the 997 GT3, which of course does not. you've got other things there, positive/negative camber, caster settings toe in/toe out settings.

Alot of forummers here mod and go pretty hard on them, adding SC's to the engines and what not, some may be faster than a M3 but at the end of the day it's nothing near a M3, the M is still a M... same thing here.. the 523 is a 523... not a 525 or near one at least.

points appreciuated and i never did say that they are alike. and i understand and appreciate the technical differences.

put the 525 beside the M5 and you''ll see that that the 523/525 isn't so far away but a huge gap to the venerable M5 ... why buy a 525 as the 530/545 is much better.

i'm alluding to the fact that there is a cost and experience difference and to some extent this gap can be closed - particularly on singapore street driving. of course it all depends on your budget, value of money and your desired driving experience.

to me the big difference in the range of the 5 series is the power. the 523 is a great entry level car with the same handling characteristics as its larger more powerful sibilings.

look at it this way, its not how fast you drive, but how you drive fast (even if its within speed limits).

power is not everything to everyone.