640d Tune - Schnitzer or DMS

[Ares]

Tempted to get my 640d GC tweaked.

AC Schnitzer do it for c£2500 (not a remap, new ECU) and 2 yr warranty
DMS do it for c£1500 (remap) with a promise than the BMW warranty is unaffected.

Both take the car to c370bhp & 500lb/ft+ and speak of increased MPG.

Tempted by DMS to save a grand although money not a major issue - or is the BMW connection with Schnitzer worth it?

Any experience of either?

Thanks in advance etc!

Edited by Ares on Wednesday 14th January 13:40

[roboxm3]

No experience or knowledge of either but I should imagine that, if you were to sell the car, you could replace the Schnitzer ECU with the standard unit and get a decent amount back selling that separately.

Alternatively, I should imagine that a Schnitzer tuned car would bee more popular / valuable than a DMS-tuned car, come sale time.

[donaircooleone]

£1500 for a remap?

Surely the AC Schnitzer is better value if you get to keep the spare ECU?

[moffat]

The AC Schnitzer option is a piggy-back and not a replacement ECU unless this has changed recently and they have not updated their website??

http://www.ac-schnitzer.de/en/bmw-cars/products-mo...

The reason it costs so much is that they provide full warranty cover.

DMS won't provide the same level of warranty.

Only DMS and eMaps provide a remap of the actual ECU as it so encrypted and I am not sure I believe that BMW cannot detect a new map on the ECU.

You could also try Superchips, Kelleners and Hartge.

[aarondbs]

Would it not be cheaper to trade up to a petrol 6 series? If you're going to pay £2.5k for a remap of a diesel and you say money isn't really an issue then surely having a decent petrol one would be the sensible thing to do? I have a feeling that trading up in this way might even save you money?

[mikearwas]

Ares said:

Tempted to get my 640d GC tweaked.

AC Schnitzer do it for c£2500 (not a remap, new ECU) and 2 yr warranty
DMS do it for c£1500 (remap) with a promise than the BMW warranty is unaffected.

Both take the car to c370bhp & 500lb/ft+ and speak of increased MPG.

Tempted by DMS to save a grand although money not a major issue - or is the BMW connection with Schnitzer worth it?

Any experience of either?

Thanks in advance etc!

Edited by Ares on Wednesday 14th January 13:40

How much is an upgrade to an M6?

[Ares]

moffat said:

The AC Schnitzer option is a piggy-back and not a replacement ECU unless this has changed recently and they have not updated their website??

http://www.ac-schnitzer.de/en/bmw-cars/products-mo...

The reason it costs so much is that they provide full warranty cover.

DMS won't provide the same level of warranty.

Only DMS and eMaps provide a remap of the actual ECU as it so encrypted and I am not sure I believe that BMW cannot detect a new map on the ECU.

You could also try Superchips, Kelleners and Hartge.

Schnitzer is hardware, not software: http://shop.ac-schnitzer.co.uk/perfomance-upgrade-...

[Ares]

aarondbs said:

Would it not be cheaper to trade up to a petrol 6 series? If you're going to pay £2.5k for a remap of a diesel and you say money isn't really an issue then surely having a decent petrol one would be the sensible thing to do? I have a feeling that trading up in this way might even save you money?

Interesting (and better sounding) option. The 650i starts at £76k, rising to over £82k to match the spec I have (my 640d was only £75k (less discount ). It would also near halve the mpg (and thus double the fill frequency) and probably wouldn't be any quicker than a tweaked 640d.

[Ares]

roboxm3 said:

No experience or knowledge of either but I should imagine that, if you were to sell the car, you could replace the Schnitzer ECU with the standard unit and get a decent amount back selling that separately.

Alternatively, I should imagine that a Schnitzer tuned car would bee more popular / valuable than a DMS-tuned car, come sale time.

Very good point

[Ares]

mikearwas said:

Ares said:

Tempted to get my 640d GC tweaked.

AC Schnitzer do it for c£2500 (not a remap, new ECU) and 2 yr warranty
DMS do it for c£1500 (remap) with a promise than the BMW warranty is unaffected.

Both take the car to c370bhp & 500lb/ft+ and speak of increased MPG.

Tempted by DMS to save a grand although money not a major issue - or is the BMW connection with Schnitzer worth it?

Any experience of either?

Thanks in advance etc!

How much is an upgrade to an M6?

A f*ck lot. Knocking on £100k and huge running/insurance costs.

M5 would be a lot more economic sense, but still a lot worse than a 640d.

Both clearly are otherworldly faster/better/more lust-worthy however.

[J4CKO]

Sounds expensive, I always think remaps are sort of £300 to £400, most I have paid is £600.

[cerb4.5lee]

Ares said:

aarondbs said:

Would it not be cheaper to trade up to a petrol 6 series? If you're going to pay £2.5k for a remap of a diesel and you say money isn't really an issue then surely having a decent petrol one would be the sensible thing to do? I have a feeling that trading up in this way might even save you money?

Interesting (and better sounding) option. The 650i starts at £76k, rising to over £82k to match the spec I have (my 640d was only £75k (less discount ). It would also near halve the mpg (and thus double the fill frequency) and probably wouldn't be any quicker than a tweaked 640d.

The petrol would be a far nicer engine to sit behind though but I do get what you mean, I just find the engine in our 640d to be a little unrefined at low revs and its an effective engine for sure but very boring and an unrewarding engine ultimately.

Its certainly a head over heart engine the diesel that is good for saving money but it comes with a few short comings sadly but with us doing over 30k miles a year in it I suppose it makes a bit of sense...but that's never very exciting though!

[Ares]

J4CKO said:

Sounds expensive, I always think remaps are sort of £300 to £400, most I have paid is £600.

True, but this is more than a smile 'remap' and it's from a globally reputable engineering firm with decades of experience...taking a £70k car to 130bhp per litre and 175lb/ft per litre!

I don't put budget tyres on a quality car... !

[Ares]

cerb4.5lee said:

Ares said:

aarondbs said:

Would it not be cheaper to trade up to a petrol 6 series? If you're going to pay £2.5k for a remap of a diesel and you say money isn't really an issue then surely having a decent petrol one would be the sensible thing to do? I have a feeling that trading up in this way might even save you money?

Interesting (and better sounding) option. The 650i starts at £76k, rising to over £82k to match the spec I have (my 640d was only £75k (less discount ). It would also near halve the mpg (and thus double the fill frequency) and probably wouldn't be any quicker than a tweaked 640d.

The petrol would be a far nicer engine to sit behind though but I do get what you mean, I just find the engine in our 640d to be a little unrefined at low revs and its an effective engine for sure but very boring and an unrewarding engine ultimately.

Its certainly a head over heart engine the diesel that is good for saving money but it comes with a few short comings sadly but with us doing over 30k miles a year in it I suppose it makes a bit of sense...but that's never very exciting though!

Very true. I know what you mean about low revs, but still near silent for an oil burner. I find the engine a marvel, the pace it gives a 1.8 tonne luxury car defies physics...as does 600miles per tank.

Compared to my old cater ham race car or even my old Exige - it's never going to thill, but compared to my past history of ML500/E46 M3/330d/335i/530d it's at, or damned close to the top of the pile. As a car to sit in, and live in....it cleans up.

[aeropilot]

J4CKO said:

Sounds expensive, I always think remaps are sort of £300 to £400, most I have paid is £600.

But probably on a car that doesn't have a heavily encrypted ECU like the new BMW's have

[aarondbs]

Ares said:

Interesting (and better sounding) option. The 650i starts at £76k, rising to over £82k to match the spec I have (my 640d was only £75k (less discount ). It would also near halve the mpg (and thus double the fill frequency) and probably wouldn't be any quicker than a tweaked 640d.

All good points and sorry to be 'that guy' who brings an option to the discussion that you hadn't asked for. An annoying PH habit and trap I fell into!!

[aeropilot]

Ares said:

moffat said:

The AC Schnitzer option is a piggy-back and not a replacement ECU unless this has changed recently and they have not updated their website??

http://www.ac-schnitzer.de/en/bmw-cars/products-mo...

The reason it costs so much is that they provide full warranty cover.

DMS won't provide the same level of warranty.

Only DMS and eMaps provide a remap of the actual ECU as it so encrypted and I am not sure I believe that BMW cannot detect a new map on the ECU.

You could also try Superchips, Kelleners and Hartge.

Schnitzer is hardware, not software: http://shop.ac-schnitzer.co.uk/perfomance-upgrade-...

As the poster said, AC Schnitzer is a piggy-back control unit (see your own link!)

DMS send off the ECU to be unlocked and then remap the ECU - it can be spotted by BMW if they go looking in the right place, so it can affect your warranty, and red flag the car in the BMW system.

[village idiot]

give this chap a call

http://www.pendleperformance.com/

he does some fantastic work (i had my vw t5 remapped by him and it was like a different vehicle). he has maps for the older 635d and i'm sure he would be happy to do a custom rolling road map for your 640d as he can then offer it on for other owners.

[aeropilot]

village idiot said:

give this chap a call

http://www.pendleperformance.com/

he does some fantastic work (i had my vw t5 remapped by him and it was like a different vehicle). he has maps for the older 635d and i'm sure he would be happy to do a custom rolling road map for your 640d as he can then offer it on for other owners.

Bet he can't

[Ares]

aarondbs said:

Ares said:

Interesting (and better sounding) option. The 650i starts at £76k, rising to over £82k to match the spec I have (my 640d was only £75k (less discount ). It would also near halve the mpg (and thus double the fill frequency) and probably wouldn't be any quicker than a tweaked 640d.

All good points and sorry to be 'that guy' who brings an option to the discussion that you hadn't asked for. An annoying PH habit and trap I fell into!!

No issue....you did make me double take and double check...!