Thursday 22nd August 2019

RaceChip'd Z4 M40i gets 400hp+ | Time for Tea

German tuner is at it again with the new BMW Z4 - and happy to showcase its labours on the autobahn

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Last time we checked in with RaceChip, the firm was merrily wringing an additional 53hp out of the Alpine A110. This week, its man bun-obsessed workforce is clearly delighted to have been working on a BMW engine - specifically the latest B58 six-pot powering the Z4 M40i. A dyno test of the standard car reveals 351hp and 380lb ft of torque (slightly more than is claimed by BMW); post tune, it delivers 403hp and 456lb ft.

Clearly the brand is already familiar with the B58 - describing it as 'a perfect engine to tune' even in its new, emission satisfying guise. The result, highlighted on film with a slightly less than scientific blitz up the autobahn, produces a 62mph to 124mph time of 9.64 seconds - a 2.2 second advantage over stock, and according to RaceChip's own top ten, just barely slower than a modified Porsche Panamera 4S Diesel.

Given that car's accelerative abilities out of the box, the Z4's newfound outside lane prowess is clearly impressive. It would obviously be nice to see a more a rounded comparison of performance figures, but we'll forgive the Germans their obsession with indicator-on overtaking manoeuvres. As with the Alpine, the new M40i maps are already available in the UK, with the most expensive GTS Black pack currently priced at a discounted £499.

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Search for a BMW Z4 here

 

[GTiWILL]

I’ve heard a few bad things about this company along with a few bad reviews here.

https://uk.trustpilot.com/review/www.racechip.de

[soad]

Video’s too long for me to watch.

[Ikemi]

I’m pretty sure this company supplies chips for F-Types too. Although looking into this in more detail, it seems all the chip does is increase boost to create the additional power. Might as well head to a professional tuning outfit ... ?

[GhellopeSir]

Go anywhere in Europe for indicator-on overtakes. Lots of us here do it to.

Just not sure what the point of that comment was....along with the obscure modified diesel panamera 4s reference I mean honestly how helpful is that.

The more of these I see on the roads (from the front in particular) the less I like them.

Shouldn't have read this article haha

[ogrodz]

"Man Bun" - the perfect demographic descriptor for a Z4 customer...

[talksthetorque]

RE: RaceChip'd Z4 M40i gets 400hp | Time for Tea an advertorial.

[Vee12V]

All the horsepowers of the world won't help this turd.

[talksthetorque]

soad said:

Video’s too long for me to watch.

Need a bigger mug

[Limpet]

Aren't these RaceChips just another variant of those horrible plug in box bodge jobs that fudge the signals between the ECU and the various engine components?

The B58 can be properly, and safely remapped to 435 bhp+ by a proper outfit like Litchfield or their ilk. That would be my choice, even if it costs a bit more.

[Gameface]

Painfully obvious this is a paid for advert.

Just happen to have 2 articles about the same tuner in a week...? bks.

[J4CKO]

Limpet said:

Aren't these RaceChips just another variant of those horrible plug in box bodge jobs that fudge the signals between the ECU and the various engine components?

The B58 can be properly, and safely remapped to 435 bhp+ by a proper outfit like Litchfield or their ilk. That would be my choice, even if it costs a bit more.

Have had remaps in the past on many cars, got a "horrible bodge job" BlueSpark box on my M135i, fitted over a year ago and it has been flawless and gave the car a noticeable bump in power, no check engine lights, no weird power delivery or glitches.

It cost £175 and BlueSpark seem to bend over backwards to provide support, their representative Ed is very active on forums and FB groups.

A remap alters signals at source, a tuning box intercepts and alters them, end result is pretty similar.

But of course, unless you have a bespoke map done on a rolling road it can never be any good....

[moffat]

Ahhh the old piggy back v remap debate incoming

I've had both and happy running a JB4 with the B58 which is infinitely better than the RaceChip which I've also ran. The JB4 has many methods to bespoke the tune too.

[Nigel_O]

400bhp from three litres with forced induction is hardly anything to rave about is it? My 62k-124k is about 8 seconds with a home-modded car, with a twenty year old engine with only two litres and "wrong" wheel drive. That said, mine was subjected to rather a lot more than just a plug-in tuning box....

As an earlier poster mentions, surely something close to 500bhp should have been possible and would have been more news-worthy.

Edited by Nigel_O on Friday 23 August 14:15

[untakenname]

It's a box for people to plug into their lease cars and then take off when it gets serviced or gets handed back, to get 500hp you would likely need new turbos and then supporting mods like intercooler, downpipe etc... so would need a bespoke map on a rolling road so the cost goes from a few hundred pounds to a few thousand.

[Epiphany]

ogrodz said:

"Man Bun" - the perfect demographic descriptor for a Z4 customer...

Being a Z4 owner, knowing multiple Z4 owners and having met many more at meets I can't say I've seen a single one with a man bun....

[CraigyMc]

Epiphany said:

I can't say I've seen a single one with a man bun....

That's because they are all going out with each other.