[NeilinMN]

I set out about a year ago to it find the most amusing automatic equipped car I could for the money that met a certain level of practicality; eventually sending up with an X1 35i. If there is one aspect to the car that falls short of the rest, it’s probably the ZF6 transmissionn. It’s not bad, and I liked it in M mode well enough but I would say there are three main drawbacks to the stock transmission tuning:
- as far as I can tell, it defaults to 2nd gear starts
- my shift speed and harshness were inconsistent
- shifts could be quicker

I finally broke down and shelled out the $75 for a MHD WiFi connector and $260 for a flash license and map pack through XHP. I installed their stage 3 tune and I must say it’s a definitive improvement. It addresses all of my qualms above; shifts are quicker and not any harsher and even smoother in some gears so more consistent; manual mode is improved, and it’s nice that it drops to first at a complete stop. All in all, I’d say it’s a worthy upgrade for just an improved driving experience closer to a more modern transmission. It’s still not perfect but it’s very good improvement for the money.