[AlexGT]

Hello fellow M235 owners.

I know that some of you may remember the RaceChip Ultimate thread I started a year ago.

Oh well, this one is focused on my enormous concern about an awful reaction I finally got on my car after 11 months of using the RaceChip Ultimate box. I'm not here to talk trash about this product nor to suggest to go with another brand as I'm not willing to put any other piggy back on my car no more, I'm just sharing my experience so you guys take it into consideration. The RaceChip might be a nice performance solution for some of you, it was for me for a while, not anymore.

Two months ago, I started the car in the morning, went out my garage and like 30 seconds later of cruising driving (not hard btw), my screen showed an error (a screen shot attached) that in English means: Propulsion, Drive moderately, cannot deliver full power. Schedule service check. And at the same time, the engine started to hesitate and literally there was no power when stepping on the gas pedal.

The same happened for like 3 other times (within 2 weeks / I don't daily drive this car), then it didn't appear anymore. But 3 weeks ago, I met with a friend to do a short road trip (he has an F80 LCI M3), at that time I really drove hard as you all can imagine. While driving, no error nor loss of power happened, but at that same day in the afternoon, I got the same error and loss of power while cruising at 40-50kms/h. From that day, I got that problem every single time I drove the car, regardless if I was driving hard or just cruising and it got worse, if in traffic, when I stopped, the transmission changed automatically to Neutral position and the car turned off.

So, this Friday I drove again, got the error and loss of power (again), returned to my house, opened the hood, took off the RaceChip and went for a test drive. I drove the car very very hard, not a single error, no loss of power, then I cruised and no problems either. The whole weekend I used the car in traffic, open road, with automatic and manual configuration, no problems at all.

I found this article last night, I guess I'm not the only one that have experienced this specific problem when using a RaceChip box, I'm glad that no one here has experienced that (I searched and found nothing here in 2addicts).

http://sjuut.dk/?RaceChip

Again, this is FYI for all you RaceChip owners. BTW, I tried to get comments from RaceChip guys, no response at all.

I'm back to "stock", so to speak, I'm now just enjoying the smooth acceleration of my ride with the Wagner Performance IC, ER catted downpipe, Dinan carbon intake and MPE.

Cheers

[Luminous]

Originally Posted by AlexGT

Hello fellow M235 owners.

I know that some of you may remember the RaceChip Ultimate thread I started a year ago.

Oh well, this one is focused on my enormous concern about an awful reaction I finally got on my car after 11 months of using the RaceChip Ultimate box. I'm not here to talk trash about this product nor to suggest to go with another brand as I'm not willing to put any other piggy back on my car no more, I'm just sharing my experience so you guys take it into consideration. The RaceChip might be a nice performance solution for some of you, it was for me for a while, not anymore.

Two months ago, I started the car in the morning, went out my garage and like 30 seconds later of cruising driving (not hard btw), my screen showed an error (a screen shot attached) that in English means: Propulsion, Drive moderately, cannot deliver full power. Schedule service check. And at the same time, the engine started to hesitate and literally there was no power when stepping on the gas pedal.

The same happened for like 3 other times (within 2 weeks / I don't daily drive this car), then it didn't appear anymore. But 3 weeks ago, I met with a friend to do a short road trip (he has an F80 LCI M3), at that time I really drove hard as you all can imagine. While driving, no error nor loss of power happened, but at that same day in the afternoon, I got the same error and loss of power while cruising at 40-50kms/h. From that day, I got that problem every single time I drove the car, regardless if I was driving hard or just cruising and it got worse, if in traffic, when I stopped, the transmission changed automatically to Neutral position and the car turned off.

So, this Friday I drove again, got the error and loss of power (again), returned to my house, opened the hood, took off the RaceChip and went for a test drive. I drove the car very very hard, not a single error, no loss of power, then I cruised and no problems either. The whole weekend I used the car in traffic, open road, with automatic and manual configuration, no problems at all.

I found this article last night, I guess I'm not the only one that have experienced this specific problem when using a RaceChip box, I'm glad that no one here has experienced that (I searched and found nothing here in 2addicts).

http://sjuut.dk/?RaceChip

Again, this is FYI for all you RaceChip owners. BTW, I tried to get comments from RaceChip guys, no response at all.

I'm back to "stock", so to speak, I'm now just enjoying the smooth acceleration of my ride with the Wagner Performance IC, ER catted downpipe, Dinan carbon intake and MPE.

Cheers

Did you read the cel codes? Was the racechip on its stock setting or had you turned it up? What gas were you using?

Thanks for sharing, looks like you need an ecu tune!

[AlexGT]

Originally Posted by Luminous

Did you read the cel codes? Was the racechip on its stock setting or had you turned it up? What gas were you using?

Thanks for sharing, looks like you need an ecu tune!

Yeah, I need an ECU tune, thing is, I don't live in the US and sending my ECU is not an option to me hopefully some other ECU tuning options will be available in the future.

Nope, I couldn't read the cel codes, just that warning screen. I use 91 octane, default setting on the RaceChip.

[mike@x-ph.com]

You are saying many are having the same issue with the RC, so maybe it is just an RC thing .. .So why lose hope on all tunes ?

[AlexGT]

Originally Posted by mike@x-ph.com

You are saying many are having the same issue with the RC, so maybe it is just an RC thing .. .So why lose hope on all tunes ?

That's because I also know that some folks had problems with Dinan, JB4, etc.. No more spending money on that for me. I love my car so much to be playing with piggy backs, I'll wait for a good a reliable ECU tune.

I also have an E90 LCI 320d (yes a diesel) and that thing was ECU tuned, it is a beast and no problems at all (I have the car since 2011).

[mike@x-ph.com]

Originally Posted by AlexGT

That's because I also know that some folks had problems with Dinan, JB4, etc.. No more spending money on that for me. I love my car so much to be playing with piggy backs, I'll wait for a good a reliable ECU tune.

I also have an E90 LCI 320d (yes a diesel) and that thing was ECU tuned, it is a beast and no problems at all (I have the car since 2011).

At the end of the day it is your choice and your car. As long as you are happy with it that's what matters.

Keep in mind that thousands of these tunes are being sold every year, it is very normal to have a small number of unhappy customers / issues ( compared to the thousands of happy customers)

We had one instance only of a bad board being sent out, that issue was fixed the same day and we overnight-ed a new tune

All other tuning issues turned out to be failing components in the car and had nothing to do with the actual tune, except the tune exposed them early.

As i said at the beginning of the thread, if you are happy with the car stock no reason to change that. Good luck and keep us updated

[AlexGT]

Originally Posted by mike@x-ph.com

At the end of the day it is your choice and your car. As long as you are happy with it that's what matters.

Keep in mind that thousands of these tunes are being sold every year, it is very normal to have a small number of unhappy customers / issues ( compared to the thousands of happy customers)

We had one instance only of a bad board being sent out, that issue was fixed the same day and we overnight-ed a new tune

All other tuning issues turned out to be failing components in the car and had nothing to do with the actual tune, except the tune exposed them early.

As i said at the beginning of the thread, if you are happy with the car stock no reason to change that. Good luck and keep us updated

Thanks mike! I'm still happy with the ER catted downpipe I purchased from you, that's for sure! hehe

[ronanz]

Originally Posted by AlexGT

Yeah, I need an ECU tune, thing is, I don't live in the US and sending my ECU is not an option to me hopefully some other ECU tuning options will be available in the future.

Nope, I couldn't read the cel codes, just that warning screen. I use 91 octane, default setting on the RaceChip.

ACF Brazil will come to you if there's enough interest...just need a shop with a Dyno and either higher octane (93/95) or e30/e35/e85 fuel


.

[AlexGT]

Originally Posted by ronanz

ACF Brazil will come to you if there's enough interest...just need a shop with a Dyno and either higher octane (93/95) or e30/e35/e85 fuel


.

Hey man, thanks for you reply, what do you mean by ACF Brazil will come to you? Would they manage to tune my ECU without the need of sending it? Or do you mean they will come to my country to establish a business/

Please let me know! Thank you.

[ronanz]

Originally Posted by AlexGT

Hey man, thanks for you reply, what do you mean by ACF Brazil will come to you? Would they manage to tune my ECU without the need of sending it? Or do you mean they will come to my country to establish a business/

Please let me know! Thank you.

They'll come to your country if there's enough people wanting a flash (they're from Brazil). They come to the U.S to tune quite often (they're actually coming back to tune a few cars very soon!). Maybe either try contacting them via their IG acct (@acfperformance) or shoot cryptocar a PM, he might have a direct contact (he's one of the guys getting his car tuned by them very soon! )

.

[AlexGT]

Originally Posted by ronanz

They'll come to your country if there's enough people wanting a flash (they're from Brazil). They come to the U.S to tune quite often (they're actually coming back to tune a few cars very soon!). Maybe either try contacting them via their IG acct (@acfperformance) or shoot cryptocar a PM, he might have a direct contact (he's one of the guys getting his car tuned by them very soon! )

.

Oh, OK, I understand. I'll see if I can get other FXX owners to be interested on this and I'll drop ACF Performance a line.

Thanks!

[FSociety]

cryptocar added thanks ronanz

[cryptocar]

Originally Posted by AlexGT

Oh, OK, I understand. I'll see if I can get other FXX owners to be interested on this and I'll drop ACF Performance a line.

Thanks!

Contact Daniel Torres at Performance Design Unlimited. He is ACF performance's liason in the US. ACF is coming out to me in Chicago next week!

[crbalch]

Originally Posted by cryptocar

Contact Daniel Torres at Performance Design Unlimited. He is ACF performance's liason in the US. ACF is coming out to me in Chicago next week!

Wait! I'm in Chicago as well, what exactly are they coming for? Can you PM me more details?

[cryptocar]

Originally Posted by crbalch

Wait! I'm in Chicago as well, what exactly are they coming for? Can you PM me more details?

He's coming out to do an install of the PDU PI kit for me then tune my JB4, his flash, and the PI controller over 3 days with dyno tuning and road testing.
At the moment these trips are individual custom tuning sessions and I am his next customer. (Unless he's tuning someone this week)

[ronanz]

Originally Posted by cryptocar

He's coming out to do an install of the PDU PI kit for me then tune my JB4, his flash, and the PI controller over 3 days with dyno tuning and road testing.
At the moment these trips are individual custom tuning sessions and I am his next customer. (Unless he's tuning someone this week)

Every line of this statement is cool as shit!!! ..


.

[PDU]

At this exact moment ACF is off installing & tuning some PI Kits I shipped off last week for STG 3 N55 turbo applications. 600+whp on the horizon?!? (Can't name the turbo company, sorry guys!). From there its directly to Chicago for cryptocar F30, which we are very excited about!

After Alex's F30 in Chicago its a flight here to SoCal to finish up my car (i'm on the v.1 ECU flash from August) and then were off to the 1/2 mile Shift Sector race on the 28th. We have high expectations for this race both on the tuning(ACF)/hardware (PI w/new hi flow fuel line set up) side of things.

Alex's F30, Nate's F30 and my F22 (will get some dyno #s / logs before Shift Sector) should give everyone an example of what the most up to date fueling/tuning is for those of us running upgraded PURE STG 2 turbos.

If anyone wants any details shoot me a PM or if you want a quote for custom one on one tuning session/interested in PI just shoot me an email: sales@performancedesignunlimited.com

Always a discount to be had for forum members!

[r33_RGSport]

@AlexGT , my takes on this is the same as Mike@xph. The piggy tune is pretty much a signal amplifier. So if your TMAP and MAP sensors are failing, the tunes will let you know early.
I have had a few customers and my previous F10 528 with that issues while using BMS tunes (both Stage 1 and JB4 Stage 2) and after a dealer visit and warranty work to replace the sensors, the limp mode never happened again.
The funny thing is, they just replace those sensors with no question asked or testing.
But when I complaint about the faulty PDC sensor in my F15 X5, they came back with "we couldn't replicate the issue".
So, I hope you understand that the problem is not on the piggy back tune itself, it is BMW for having failing parts.

[AlexGT]

Originally Posted by r33_RGSport

@AlexGT , my takes on this is the same as Mike@xph. The piggy tune is pretty much a signal amplifier. So if your TMAP and MAP sensors are failing, the tunes will let you know early.
I have had a few customers and my previous F10 528 with that issues while using BMS tunes (both Stage 1 and JB4 Stage 2) and after a dealer visit and warranty work to replace the sensors, the limp mode never happened again.
The funny thing is, they just replace those sensors with no question asked or testing.
But when I complaint about the faulty PDC sensor in my F15 X5, they came back with "we couldn't replicate the issue".
So, I hope you understand that the problem is not on the piggy back tune itself, it is BMW for having failing parts.

I respect your point of view based on your experience with other BMW's. But is very hard for me to believe that the RaceChip box became a "fault detector" and that there's something wrong with my car.

My car is just 9,000 kms, I don't "push it" constantly nor drive it on harsh conditions. It's even harder for me to understand that the racechip made the ECU to detected errors, because since I disconnected the box, I've been driving the car for like 200kms (and this time, very hard, on heavy traffic, etc.) and no problems at all. If there was actually something wrong, why is not happening now? Why do I feel that the car even accelerates smoother than with the racechip?

Maybe the "cheating" was finally rejected by my ECU, I don't know...... I would for sure think that something might be wrong with the car if the errors, hesitation and the other problems I mentioned were still appearing, but they're completely gone.

[r33_RGSport]

Originally Posted by AlexGT

I respect your point of view based on your experience with other BMW's. But is very hard for me to believe that the RaceChip box became a "fault detector" and that there's something wrong with my car.

My car is just 9,000 kms, I don't "push it" constantly nor drive it on harsh conditions. It's even harder for me to understand that the racechip made the ECU to detected errors, because since I disconnected the box, I've been driving the car for like 200kms (and this time, very hard, on heavy traffic, etc.) and no problems at all. If there was actually something wrong, why is not happening now? Why do I feel that the car even accelerates smoother than with the racechip?

Maybe the "cheating" was finally rejected by my ECU, I don't know...... I would for sure think that something might be wrong with the car if the errors, hesitation and the other problems I mentioned were still appearing, but they're completely gone.

I didn't say that it is a fault detector. And I am saying that it is not only happening with you running RaceChip. It is also happening with other car that is running BMS tunes.
But regardless, if you are happy without it, no one can't blame you. BMW engineers put so much effort in building the engine.

[kdog26372]

Are these tunes really signal amplifiers? I thought they were simply information changers, essentially tricking the car to run more boost? I doubt these tune boxes are blowing sensors through added amplification.

I guess a very easy method to tell if it's the RC box or not is toss on a stage 1 JB tune and if it acts up again you do in fact have a bad sensor, if it drives great then it would seem it's the tune box as they are using the same 2 sensors and making nearly identical changes.

[pikcachu]

Originally Posted by kdog26372

Are these tunes really signal amplifiers? I thought they were simply information changers, essentially tricking the car to run more boost? I doubt these tune boxes are blowing sensors through added amplification.

I guess a very easy method to tell if it's the RC box or not is toss on a stage 1 JB tune and if it acts up again you do in fact have a bad sensor, if it drives great then it would seem it's the tune box as they are using the same 2 sensors and making nearly identical changes.

they change the information by amplifying the signal...

basically if the signal range is like 0-10 V... and stock sends a signal of 4V then the box might send 5V back to the ECU

if the sensor is defective, it will fail regardless if there is tune or not