BMW Remap - Hidden ECU logging changes ??

[Tea Pot One]

A question for anyone 'in the know' .... BMW allegedly can 'see' when your car has been remapped or put back to standard.

Now, I know handheld devices like Bluefin leave error codes on the various ECU's in the car showing a temporary loss of communication with the main ECU when the car is reflashed by the Bluefin device + not all of these error codes are removed by the Bluefin (or the like).

With the newer ECU's which are mapped direct to the main ECU board is there a log kept in one of the other ECU's of this interference that BMW are looking at ? Fiat have a body control unit which logs this sort of stuff - is this what BMW are doing to detect remaps ?? I am not talking a flash counter - more a hidden log which they are accessing on the newer cars to see changes in parameters such as torque and boost / fuelling ...

Just a thought !

Any comments welcome.

[helix402]

On older BMWs which were remapped via a chip change a fault would often be stored in the engine ecu, this would be "checksum fault". This is because the new values stored in the ecu did not match with the original ones.
I have remapped some newer BMWs by reprogramming the existing ecu, this did not bring up any faults in any ecu memory. Re engine remapping storing faults in non engine ecu fault memories, I have not seen this on a BMW.
I expect it's possible that some remaps may store a fault in the memory.

[Tea Pot One]

Thanks - I am intrigued as to how they are finding out. My car has just been mapped by DMS but is out of warranty anyway ... but the whole thing interests me - sad I know

[jonboy21t]

I have a '58 plate 320d msport tourer that's been mapped by KarTechnic (Poole) - best thing that's happend to my beemer.....loads more torque & a raised rev limiter....goes like stink & the top end has been increased somewhat as well.....(as i found out in Germany this year....)

I didn't have it done until it was out of warrenty & KarTechnic now look after her at a fraction of the main dealer charges.....

I will say though that i do abuse the car & have had to replace both the turbo & gearbox recently......could be coincedence or could be the way i drive & it probably would've happended regardless of the map....

[Chrisinleeds]

I currently have a Golf R but want something with performance and economy. Thinking 335d with a remap. Any recommendations in the West Yorkshire area and things I need to look out for?

First time with a remap and unsure if I should he doing something other than plugging in a laptop. Are there other parts to alter/upgrade to avoid the car blowing up.

Cheers

[helix402]

Why age of 335d are you looking at? I know the E90s can be remapped via obd but not sure if the F30s can yet. Re other parts needing changing to go with the map it’s not normally necessary, though if I’d just bought any older BMW like an E90 I’d change all the vacuum hoses anyway.

[Mr Whippy]

Chrisinleeds said:

I currently have a Golf R but want something with performance and economy. Thinking 335d with a remap. Any recommendations in the West Yorkshire area and things I need to look out for?

First time with a remap and unsure if I should he doing something other than plugging in a laptop. Are there other parts to alter/upgrade to avoid the car blowing up.

Cheers

335d has no more performance and being big and heavy has not that much more economy unless you cruise steadily on roads all day long.

Plus it’s not all that exciting.

Very competent and no real downsides, a perfect car for someone who just needs to drive.
Not so interesting for someone who just wants to drive for fun.

Edited by Mr Whippy on Sunday 15th April 20:17

[Mr Whippy]

Tea Pot One said:

A question for anyone 'in the know' .... BMW allegedly can 'see' when your car has been remapped or put back to standard.

Now, I know handheld devices like Bluefin leave error codes on the various ECU's in the car showing a temporary loss of communication with the main ECU when the car is reflashed by the Bluefin device + not all of these error codes are removed by the Bluefin (or the like).

With the newer ECU's which are mapped direct to the main ECU board is there a log kept in one of the other ECU's of this interference that BMW are looking at ? Fiat have a body control unit which logs this sort of stuff - is this what BMW are doing to detect remaps ?? I am not talking a flash counter - more a hidden log which they are accessing on the newer cars to see changes in parameters such as torque and boost / fuelling ...

Just a thought !

Any comments welcome.

There could be myriad ways to check.

For all we know the gearbox ECU might log torques vs speeds and that’s all you’d need.

Or injection size logs. Duty cycle logs.

Too many things could lead to knowing it’s remapped or had been remapped.

Even with a tuning box I’d argue that the gearbox might have torque sensing calculations, most likely on the ZF8 and autos.


If BMW want to find out they can. It’s as simple as that really.

[Chrisinleeds]

Chrisinleeds said:

I currently have a Golf R but want something with performance and economy. Thinking 335d with a remap. Any recommendations in the West Yorkshire area and things I need to look out for?

First time with a remap and unsure if I should he doing something other than plugging in a laptop. Are there other parts to alter/upgrade to avoid the car blowing up.

Cheers

[Chrisinleeds]

Cheers for the advice, I was thinking of a 15plate.

I need some economy and need a balance of performance. It will used for work but I want to have some fun when I get the chance. My first thought was an m140i.

[tjlees]

You don't Really need a re-map on a 335d, given the real life 0-60 is around 4.6s.

Some of the re-maps can cause smoking and go over 700nm which is beyond the design of ZF gearbox.

[helix402]

I’d go for the 335d. I’m sure the Golf R is great but I think the 335d sounds a lot better. I heard my friends Golf R the other day and it reminded me of my grandma’s 1983 Toyota Corolla automatic. (The Golf was being driven slowly hence doing lots of gearchanges to the highest possible gear in the name of efficiency/passing tests).

Just realised I was a tad off topic. Answer again to the ops question:

Some DME/DDE ecus will show signs of a remap if looked into with BMW software, some won’t.

It depends both on the remap and the ecu fitted to the car.

I’ve never seen a gearbox ecu show any record of a remap.

BMW dealers don’t routinely look into faulty cars for remaps. Though when I worked at one we once had a Cooper S with a blown up gearbox come in. The BBR stickers (220 maybe) adorning it were a little giveaway. Mummy’s darling son had borrowed it for day and had her warranty claim declined.

Edited by helix402 on Monday 16th April 20:29

Edited by helix402 on Monday 16th April 20:30

[moffat]

tjlees said:

You don't Really need a re-map on a 335d, given the real life 0-60 is around 4.6s.

Some of the re-maps can cause smoking and go over 700nm which is beyond the design of ZF gearbox.

I found the 40d (same as 35d) engine in my 640 a bit flat until I chipped it and it came alive! The torque in my car was around 720nm and I had no issues, many run way beyond 800nm.

Personally I would look for a remap to around 375bhp and 700nm torque for longevity.

[5678]

I ran a piggy back unit on an M135i, not sure exactly how it worked but from what I understand it fooled the car into seeing lower readings than it should and then the car compensated resulting in more power. It was great.

It did use to throw several fault codes though as it saw the sensor as being faulty.

[tjlees]

moffat said:

I found the 40d (same as 35d) engine in my 640 a bit flat until I chipped it and it came alive! The torque in my car was around 720nm and I had no issues, many run way beyond 800nm.

Personally I would look for a remap to around 375bhp and 700nm torque for longevity.

If you want it to be less flat, actually an ecotune sorts that problem by giving more low down torque with the bonus of getting in 600+ from a tank on the motorway (50+mpg), avoiding smoking and keeping below 700nm.

Running beyond 800nm is asking for trouble if intend to use it on a regular basis - I stripped fifth on track by going beyond the gearbox design. Helix cut gears can’t take that sustained level of abuse.