Z4 Chip - is it worth doing?
Discussion
Hi there,
Only you can decide if it's worth doing !
However to help you, take a read though some of the reviews and perhaps other forums where owners have already done something similar. Re-maps to normally aspirated petrol cars only gives a small increase in power and a better power delivery curve which translates into the removal of any flat spots and generally increases the 'feel' and driveability of the car. If the engine is known to be relatively free flowing and rev happy with good power delivery across the rev range, then yes, maybe give it a miss. However if you are looking for something in particular or want a little more mid range urgency or slightly better fuel economy etc, then indeed look to have it re-mapped.
Depends what you want really..
I'd strongly urge you to take the car to those specialists who know how to do things, rather than one of the more 'oh we do remaps as well' type places.
For BMW's, and these guys can be independantly checked up by you in the various BMW magazines, look to A-L Tuning who are a part of CA automotive, Advanced Auto Technik who are sister companies to A-L Tuning, also places like Paramount Performance, DMS Automotive. These types of places do performance tuning only and as such are featured in plenty of magazines and have many satisified customers. In this game, reputation counts for alot, firstly as there's so many 'me toos' out there and also for good backup and personal tweaks that may be required - it's that level of detail an dproduct knowledge which means you should search out the very best. Great thing is, they're only like £50 or so more than the 'me too' type places who really don't know half as much as the speclialists.
Hope this helps - Cheers, Dennis! West London & Slough UK!
Only you can decide if it's worth doing !
However to help you, take a read though some of the reviews and perhaps other forums where owners have already done something similar. Re-maps to normally aspirated petrol cars only gives a small increase in power and a better power delivery curve which translates into the removal of any flat spots and generally increases the 'feel' and driveability of the car. If the engine is known to be relatively free flowing and rev happy with good power delivery across the rev range, then yes, maybe give it a miss. However if you are looking for something in particular or want a little more mid range urgency or slightly better fuel economy etc, then indeed look to have it re-mapped.
Depends what you want really..
I'd strongly urge you to take the car to those specialists who know how to do things, rather than one of the more 'oh we do remaps as well' type places.
For BMW's, and these guys can be independantly checked up by you in the various BMW magazines, look to A-L Tuning who are a part of CA automotive, Advanced Auto Technik who are sister companies to A-L Tuning, also places like Paramount Performance, DMS Automotive. These types of places do performance tuning only and as such are featured in plenty of magazines and have many satisified customers. In this game, reputation counts for alot, firstly as there's so many 'me toos' out there and also for good backup and personal tweaks that may be required - it's that level of detail an dproduct knowledge which means you should search out the very best. Great thing is, they're only like £50 or so more than the 'me too' type places who really don't know half as much as the speclialists.
Hope this helps - Cheers, Dennis! West London & Slough UK!
I had my Z4 3.0i mapped, and would be 50/50 if I had to decide whether to do it again.
I used CNL who have done a couple of BMWs previously with good 'seat of the pants' results (an E36 323 and E46 320d). I seem to recall that the quoted hp increase was 18hp, which in the real world will make little difference to outright performance figures on a 1400kg car.
Economy went up by about 2mpg (worthwhile for me as I do about 25,000 mpa),idle dropped by 200rpm and is smoother, throttle response is more immediate in both normal and sport modes, the car seems to pick up lower down the rev range and pulls a bit harder towards the red line.
The rev limiter is a higher than before (about 200 revs) and the speed limiter has been removed (I have my doubts that the car would do much more than 155 though).
I don't think that it would be worth spending the money on a custom rolling road map on what is a pretty well optimised car from the factory. The big names in BMW mapping in the UK on the whole use the same map files so should you choose to go ahead with it don't pay over the odds with the more expensive companies to get the same map that a smaller specialist can supply a much lower price.
I used CNL who have done a couple of BMWs previously with good 'seat of the pants' results (an E36 323 and E46 320d). I seem to recall that the quoted hp increase was 18hp, which in the real world will make little difference to outright performance figures on a 1400kg car.
Economy went up by about 2mpg (worthwhile for me as I do about 25,000 mpa),idle dropped by 200rpm and is smoother, throttle response is more immediate in both normal and sport modes, the car seems to pick up lower down the rev range and pulls a bit harder towards the red line.
The rev limiter is a higher than before (about 200 revs) and the speed limiter has been removed (I have my doubts that the car would do much more than 155 though).
I don't think that it would be worth spending the money on a custom rolling road map on what is a pretty well optimised car from the factory. The big names in BMW mapping in the UK on the whole use the same map files so should you choose to go ahead with it don't pay over the odds with the more expensive companies to get the same map that a smaller specialist can supply a much lower price.
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