Everybody wants
more power, right? At least, all the healthy ones not
driving around in "coffins for the soul". What
do most people want? More power without spending a lot
of money or performing extensive and permanent modifications
to their car.
So what fills the bill? A software
upgrade! Just plug it in and voila... instant
ponies, just add throttle.
Jim Conforti is renowned as the premiere electronic tuner for
BMWs, plus he's a personal friend and a heck of a nice
guy. Luckily for me, Jim had done a chip for the 3.8l M5
belonging to another Euro M5 owner here in the USA, so I got
the second chip he ever burned for these cars.
The
results were interesting. I installed the chip at Boston
Performance Group so I could use their dynamometer and get
some accurate readings on what the chip would do. The
results were interesting to say the least because they also
revealed what happens when later BMW DMEs "learn" a
driving style. Since late '88 with Motronic 1.1, the DME
in any BMW will adapt to driving style, which means it can
actually gain or lose power depending on whether the driver is
pretending to be Fangio or is simply driving Miss Daisy to the
Piggly Wiggly every day. So there are basically two
sorts of readings one can get; how the car has adapted, or how
the car acts with the DME reset by disconnecting the battery.
These are the four ways that I tested my car:
(note that all readings are wheel horsepower, not crank
horsepower which is 17%-20% higher in BMWs.)
1) Stock chip, as driven in: average of 303hp.
2) Disconnect battery to reset DME, stock chip: average of
299hp.
3) Disconnect battery again, install JimC chip: average of
299hp.
4) Run a few times to let the DME "learn" the chip.
Sudden jump, consistent
for 4 runs: average of 316hp, high of 318hp.
I noticed an immediately smoother idle and smoother power
delivery. Now when my wagon hauls, it has a few more
ponies to cart around!
© 2001 RL
