Flash or piggyback???

[Drnick]

I know this will open a can of worms
Flash the ECU to tune,and possibly voiding warranty, or a piggyback tune,
Such as a titan, or whatever else is out there....what say you???

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[Axix23]

Ecutek with Marin @ Goodspeed

 

[Drnick]

That’s a flash?, if so, what about warranty?

 

[Tsar]

If the dealer/bmw digs deep enough they will be able to tell flashed car or piggy back’s one so it would be voided anyways. (Assume that’s what causes the damage).

 

[Drnick]

I’m not quite sure using a piggyback, if disconnected, would leave any history imprint on the Ecu but it’s possible.

 

[Marin@MarinTuned]

I haven't verified but if you gave them enough reason to look they could prossibly see that the fuel trims and wastegate values were higher htan normal due to the piggy back. I haven't checked if the drive recorder actually shows the max values for these or not. If you were generally concerned then i would recomend a piggy back. I personally buy my cars as something to modify as I own it. As long as I know the general majority of my car is fine i dont care. A warranty is there for oem defects, not an insurance policy. If there was say a TSB for a recalled component they would likely still cover it. But there is no gaurantee once you start modifying.

There are some people that will promise youll be fine with a back end flash but there is never a full gaurantee. I would rather be honest to people and help guilde them in the right direction.

 

[Drnick]

All true, I’ve done this to many a motorcycle,
Either flash or mostly piggyback type of units
I do a flash after the warranty expires, usually, but there is a big difference between
$56k and $15k in regards to warranty issues.i I’m sure a good “BMW” tech who knows Ecu’s can see changed fuel trims,and
Changes to boost pressure where the HP
Is actually made. Sa la Vie

 

[Marin@MarinTuned]

All true, I’ve done this to many a motorcycle,
Either flash or mostly piggyback type of units
I do a flash after the warranty expires, usually, but there is a big difference between
$56k and $15k in regards to warranty issues.i I’m sure a good “BMW” tech who knows Ecu’s can see changed fuel trims,and
Changes to boost pressure where the HP
Is actually made. Sa la Vie

These ecu's are very advanced. If you use a piggy back then the car has to adapt via wastegate adjustments and there are many internal calculations. Your fuel trims would shift, your turbine trims would shift, and other things would shift. These cars use drive recorders that record long term data about events in the ECU. Older ones just kept things like max boost, rpm, speed. But these ones may have even more and could very well report these items. But I just have no idea. BMW constantly collects data to improve their software so I wouldn't be surprised.

Your likely to be on the safer size with a piggy back but there is no gaurantee they may not notice it.

 

[Twisted Tuning]

Two words....

Acceleration Monitor.

It can be checked. Piggyback cant bypass it, so its doesn't really matter. If one is really concerned with warranty. leave the car alone and don't mod it at all.

 

[Drnick]

Twisted, u may be right!, but it could use a catback exhaust to annoy the neighbors
And a better air filter assembly,or at least a better air filter,

 

[Marin@MarinTuned]

Twisted, u may be right!, but it could use a catback exhaust to annoy the neighbors
And a better air filter assembly,or at least a better air filter,

You could probably get away with an AMS Downpipe as well. They do add a few ponies but its not a crazy jump without a tune as the car reduces its power.

 

[Marin@MarinTuned]

Two words....

Acceleration Monitor.

It can be checked. Piggyback cant bypass it, so its doesn't really matter. If one is really concerned with warranty. leave the car alone and don't mod it at all.

Thank you. People dont realize what this ECU is capable of. =/ and I hate that some tuners try to sell that false hope that modificaitons are invisible. Ive had great luck with dealers in the past but I don't use my warranty as an insurance policy. Ive gone in for actual TSB work and such.

 

[Twisted Tuning]

Thank you. People dont realize what this ECU is capable of. =/ and I hate that some tuners try to sell that false hope that modificaitons are invisible. Ive had great luck with dealers in the past but I don't use my warranty as an insurance policy. Ive gone in for actual TSB work and such.

Yea, i have a great relationship with my dealer. And agreed, warranty shouldn't be used as an insurance policy for certain things.

 

[Drnick]

Ah yes, as I was a service manager for a large Honda dealership, it all depends on your relationship with the regional rep.
If the regional rep is a hardass your usually
SOL

 

[Calderon93]

Two words....

Acceleration Monitor.

It can be checked. Piggyback cant bypass it, so its doesn't really matter. If one is really concerned with warranty. leave the car alone and don't mod it at all.

I agree. If you wanna be fast you have to pay to play. Flash if you want serious power.

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