[chaddy74]

Well folks the wait is finally over http://www.tuningwerk.de/ have finally unlocked the unlock-able encrypted M235i and M135i ECU !! Tuningwerks is the only company in the world at present to my knowledge that can actually flash tune the M135i and M235i and it only costs 1500 euro's to around 360 HP.... but be warned peeps fuel pump upgrades are needed to reach this power level as well as a few other cooling bits potentially!! Several parameters in the factory ECU's calibration are optimised to my understanding and the Vmax is also removed as well .

After consulting Peter the owner and founder who I found extremely helpful and "pleasant" to deal with offers two tuning options for these models :

1. ECU is flashed via the OBD2 port at his facility
2. You can send in your ECU and he can bench flash

TuningWerks also offer a same day turn around on tunes or ECU's sent to there factory in Munich which is amazing service .....!

So folks the long wait is finally over the ECU has been cracked by Peter and his team at Tuningwerks !!

Call them today or email Peter Reith @ preith@tuningwerk.de

Everyone should get on this !!

[andrew@southernBM]

Bench flash is still hard to swallow from Aus. If your car is flashed by BMW for an issue you lose the tune and you'd have to send the ECU away for the tune to be put it at your cost. Plus the down time of your car off the road and the costs associated with removing and installing your ECU. The chance of it getting lost in freight is real, just not worth it in the big picture, i can't see this is a viable option.

[chaddy74]

All valid points Andrew !! Altho not viable to most , the point was that tuningwerks have and can flash this model car NOW !! Based on our discussions earlier this week it appears there is and could be a solution one day. Im actually traveling to Germany next week so i might just remove my ECU and take it with me :-) !! Waiting for confirmation from Peter.

Originally Posted by andrew@southernBM

Bench flash is still hard to swallow from Aus. If your car is flashed by BMW for an issue you lose the tune and you'd have to send the ECU away for the tune to be put it at your cost. Plus the down time of your car off the road and the costs associated with removing and installing your ECU. The chance of it getting lost in freight is real, just not worth it in the big picture, i can't see this is a viable option.

[harkes]

OBD2 dongle - check!
Smartphone - check!
TuningWerk App (like ESS) - .................

If they could only offer this - oh boy oh boy

[harkes]

Chaddy
Maybe you can ask, on behalf of the community, how they will deal with the issues Andrew describe?

[ttimbo]

I'm very interested in an OBD flash tune, but this is simply not viable for me in Australia, for all the reasons above. A++ for effort though, but no cigar

[GeoBem007]

A belgian company called BR Performance also has the ability to tune ALL BMW F-series ECU.

They use some kind of supercomputer to generate the actual password from the ECU so they can access the data. The ECU thinks BMW is messing about, so it will have a valid BMW signature and no 'hacked entry'. When your car goes in for maintenance or whatever, it should be untracable.

I just checked their website and currently only available for diesels. Don't know why they don't have anything on the petrol engines yet.

[PeterPure]

Originally Posted by GeoBem007

A belgian company called BR Performance also has the ability to tune ALL BMW F-series ECU.

They use some kind of supercomputer to generate the actual password from the ECU so they can access the data. The ECU thinks BMW is messing about, so it will have a valid BMW signature and no 'hacked entry'. When your car goes in for maintenance or whatever, it should be untracable.

I just checked their website and currently only available for diesels. Don't know why they don't have anything on the petrol engines yet.

Indeed BR-Performance can only do F series diesel cars for now. The petrol cars have different ECU. Last time I heard they were waiting for equipment to arrive to develop something for the petrol cars.

[andrew@southernBM]

Originally Posted by GeoBem007

A belgian company called BR Performance also has the ability to tune ALL BMW F-series ECU.

They use some kind of supercomputer to generate the actual password from the ECU so they can access the data. The ECU thinks BMW is messing about, so it will have a valid BMW signature and no 'hacked entry'. When your car goes in for maintenance or whatever, it should be untracable.

I just checked their website and currently only available for diesels. Don't know why they don't have anything on the petrol engines yet.

Everything is traceable, even your oil temp, and how many kilometers you drive while hot

[andrew@southernBM]

Originally Posted by chaddy74

All valid points Andrew !! Altho not viable to most , the point was that tuningwerks have and can flash this model car NOW !! Based on our discussions earlier this week it appears there is and could be a solution one day. Im actually traveling to Germany next week so i might just remove my ECU and take it with me :-) !! Wanting for confirmation from Peter.

Hi mate, they need your ecu to open it up and put it into a mode then they can obd flash, unfortunately there is not obd straight flash available to the mass market that we could realistically do here in Aus without it costing an unrealistic amount. If it were available and it was cracked companies like cmd would have it done, then everyone would have access. I would appreciate you sharing any information you gain from them. I respect them and made contact before I bought the M235i

[chaddy74]

Of course Andrew !! You have helped me out here is Australia with some wonderful advise and Parts for my BMW !! If anything comes of this I will give you a call and talk you through what I have learnt !!

Originally Posted by andrew@southernBM

Hi mate, they need your ecu to open it up and put it into a mode then they can obd flash, unfortunately there is not obd straight flash available to the mass market that we could realistically do here in Aus without it costing an unrealistic amount. If it were available and it was cracked companies like cmd would have it done, then everyone would have access. I would appreciate you sharing any information you gain from them. I respect them and made contact before I bought the M235i

[RS200]

Originally Posted by Darkhold

Indeed BR-Performance can only do F series diesel cars for now. The petrol cars have different ECU. Last time I heard they were waiting for equipment to arrive to develop something for the petrol cars.

That's interesting news! I just bookmarked their site. Would be great if they would come up with a solution for the petrol engines.

[PeterPure]

Originally Posted by RS200

That's interesting news! I just bookmarked their site. Would be great if they would come up with a solution for the petrol engines.

They are working on it.

[chaddy74]

well my ecu will be on its way to Germany this week .... going to give it a go !

Originally Posted by Darkhold

They are working on it.

[oldmancoyote]

Missed this... chaddy74 - did you get the ECU back from Peter? I'm strongly considering it too, and feedback on whether a full mapping is significantly better than a piggyback would be VERY welcome! TIA.

[PeterPure]

Originally Posted by oldmancoyote

Missed this... chaddy74 - did you get the ECU back from Peter? I'm strongly considering it too, and feedback on whether a full mapping is significantly better than a piggyback would be VERY welcome! TIA.

As far as i am aware Chaddy did not go this route

[oldmancoyote]

OK, so perhaps I'll be the guinea pig... Got quoted a significantly lower price too, and no requirement to upgrade fuel pump, apparently.

[PeterPure]

Originally Posted by oldmancoyote

OK, so perhaps I'll be the guinea pig... Got quoted a significantly lower price too, and no requirement to upgrade fuel pump, apparently.

For the 380 hp map there is no fuel pump upgrade needed. Not even for my car and specs. I just did that in preparation for stage2 turbo.

Anyways let us know your progress with this!

[SteveC]

Wow, you guys are amazingly trusting. For all you know this could be the electronic equivalent of a rag up the wastegate. Getting more HP from a turbo engine is relatively straightforward. Getting more power while preserving reliability, economy and driveability is a little tougher.

I have a very hard time believing you can simply liberate an extra 40 or 60 horses without doing a lot more than a flash tune. BMW adds 20hp and requires a whole lot more cooling for example.

For me at least, driving a car with a flash tune would feel like driving without insurance.....pleased in a small way to be saving money but perpetually scared to death that something bad happens.....

[ovekvam]

I am surprised about how popular subject this is, to make the M135i more powerful. Is it really too slow as it comes from the factory with more than 300 hp? I drive a 136 hp 116i, and I rarely miss more power. The car is also used on track days.

Are you trying to gain more free time in the afternoon by fast acceleration home from work, or is it an urge to turn the tyres into smoke?

[Bee Pee]

Try pedalling a stock m135i against an A45 or a golf R, then you will know why so many of us have added more grunt.

Stock miid range is good in isolation but against the above you can feel underwhelmed. Trust me JB4 stg2 fixes any shortfalls and some !!!

[sootyvrs]

Originally Posted by ovekvam

I am surprised about how popular subject this is, to make the M135i more powerful. Is it really too slow as it comes from the factory with more than 300 hp? I drive a 136 hp 116i, and I rarely miss more power. The car is also used on track days.

Are you trying to gain more free time in the afternoon by fast acceleration home from work, or is it an urge to turn the tyres into smoke?

All to do with "wants" and not "needs"

Similar to why you got the 116i when you could have had the 114i... you "wanted" the bigger engine