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      01-04-2016, 11:04 AM   #1
eugenelt
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Why are there engine tunes?

Might be a silly question.
There is quite a few engine tuning options for under $500, and it looks its not that hard to squeeze an extra 40 or so hp out of N20. Why doesn't BMW do it? Is it likely to decrease reliability? Marketing reasons? To give enthusiasts some room to tune the car and feel proud?
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      01-04-2016, 11:27 AM   #2
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I would suspect that BMW is trying to balance power, reliability and gas mileage (the latter being one of the primary reasons for the N20).

It's certainly not like an N20 based X1 is underpowered
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      01-04-2016, 12:41 PM   #3
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Warranty claims as well.
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      01-04-2016, 04:19 PM   #4
eugenelt
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Quote:
Originally Posted by bucketfoot View Post
I would suspect that BMW is trying to balance power, reliability and gas mileage (the latter being one of the primary reasons for the N20).
Tune makers claim that mileage will not be affected in normal driving. E.g. Burgertuning: "Fuel economy during normal driving is unchanged"
I wonder if reliability suffers, would be nice to see some sort of statistics.
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      01-04-2016, 04:31 PM   #5
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Quote:
Originally Posted by eugenelt View Post
Tune makers claim that mileage will not be affected in normal driving. E.g. Burgertuning: "Fuel economy during normal driving is unchanged"
I wonder if reliability suffers, would be nice to see some sort of statistics.
Yea, well they can claim that all they want, but does anyone who does this truly drive in a manner where gas mileage is unchanged
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      01-04-2016, 04:40 PM   #6
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Quote:
Originally Posted by bucketfoot View Post
Yea, well they can claim that all they want, but does anyone who does this truly drive in a manner where gas mileage is unchanged
+1

I figure it's a balance between reliability and being competitive in the market. They can squeeze more power out of an engine, which would increase the number of warranty claims, and if that's not offset by higher purchase numbers (for example if it won't be a significant increase over competitors) then it doesn't make financial sense.

Last edited by vstolpner; 01-04-2016 at 10:35 PM..
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      01-04-2016, 04:43 PM   #7
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Also a question of what might be loosely called "driveability." Some tunes just kick in at wide open throttle and have little effect elsewhere, some change the tune during normal operation, and it's sometimes tough to maintain smooth shifting, etc.
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      01-05-2016, 02:52 PM   #8
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Tuners squeez out the most they can from the car, thus increasing more hp and torques like they claim. This pushes the engine and its compartments to its limit. That is why if you get ecu tuned, your oem plastic chargepipe blows because it cannot handle the high pressure etc. Increased hp and torque to your car will wear your car internally even faster; which would explain increased number in warranty claims. There is a good reason why BMW will likely deny your warranty for tuning.
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      01-05-2016, 07:38 PM   #9
paradoxical3
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Things have changed a bit in recent years. It used to be that manufacturers developed specific engines for specific cars than they do now, and those engines tended to be pushed closer to the limits than current engines are. Thus, tunes were a bit of a riskier proposition.

Nowadays the situation is completely different. BMW produces over 20 car models, yet those 20 cars share three basic engines. If you look at the N55, it was sold in variants of 300, 320, and 360 horsepower (335, 135is, M2) not to mention the factory tune sold separately in the MPPK.

BMW can't have one car for $60,000 with the same horsepower output as a $38,000 X1 35i, so they artificially restrict engine output for marketing reasons. It's significantly cheaper to restrict power via software tweaks as opposed to making different engines for every car. Restricting engine output allows BMW to save hundreds of millions of dollars via sharing components.

If you're willing to lose your warranty, there is nothing stopping you from getting back some power. A flash tune is best, as there is no external hardware or additional failure points added. A piggyback is also good, but comes with additional points of failure (wiring harness, water in the electronics, etc). If you keep it within the power levels that BMW has previously sold your engine with, than there is extremely minimal risk. Once you go significantly past that, you can make a lot more power but your risk of something going wrong increases as well.

For what is worth, I have the 3.0L N55 engine in the X1 35i. I now have 74,000 miles on it with a JB4 tune pushing over 400whp. I have used e85 since day one as well. I have had several things fail on the car (thermostat, corrosion of wiring harness, oil filter housing gasket, etc), but the engine itself is still in excellent shape.
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      01-05-2016, 09:10 PM   #10
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I mean, the 360+ bhp "N55" is a bad example. That isn't an "N55" in anything other than name alone. Different block, crank, pistons, etc.

But anyway, to the point OP, is that OEMs design to a factor of safety, some larger than others. BMW, in particular, builds stronger engines.

Supercharged engines (both turbo and other types of "super" chargers) make it relatively easy/cheap to add power, as they have a built-in mechanism to push more air.

Combine that with the fact that BMW builds very stout engines, and the aftermarket has a big window to offer products which increase power over stock, while still not running the risk of developing a bad reputation for adversely affecting reliability.

It is literally, very, very hard to blow up an N54 or an N55. BMW built them right. So tuners can use that to offer products which significantly increase output, without much risk.
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      01-06-2016, 01:45 PM   #11
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Agreed, just like BMW's claim that my stock N20 gets a combined fuel consumption of 8-9 L/100 Kms , too... possible, I supppose... if I were going downhill, with a strong wind behind me, and my foot completely away from the accelerator pedal. Manufacturers of aftermarket gizmos will also make claims that could be true in theory, with a combination of perfect conditions in place.



Quote:
Originally Posted by bucketfoot View Post
Yea, well they can claim that all they want, but does anyone who does this truly drive in a manner where gas mileage is unchanged

Last edited by blackhole; 01-06-2016 at 01:51 PM..
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