Review Details

Performance Engine Software - BMW E9x M3 - 2007-2013

Product Review (submitted on October 20, 2014):

So I have had the BPMSport tune and code done about a month ago. I wanted to live with the tune for a little on both the daily drive and the track before I posted a review. I know there have been many reviews, but I still thought I should share my impressions. I will also share my views on Euro vs US MDM. So here goes:

As many have said, the customer service is really good. I only have an iMac at home and no garage (I know, a car buff without a garage ), so I had to do a funky setup with a coffee table and the 21” iMac installed beside the car. I got all sorts of funny stares from many passersby . The coding and tune took less than one hour and it was a pleasure dealing with Mike .

The coding I got mostly for the Euro-MDM. The other features Mike did for me were simply an added bonus; but in the end, they still make the car more enjoyable .

Daily drive
The car feels much better with the tune . The engine sounds deeper and much more refined when cruising, almost quieter. But when you open the throttles it sounds more aggressive and sharper than before, “angry” seems to be the most appropriate term. The revised throttle mapping, both in normal and sport, also feels more natural compared to the stock setup. I just realized I never tried Sport+ since the tune, however I don’t think I will really need it. The engine just feels more responsive and is more enjoyable driving around. From the seat of the pants, the car definitely feels torquier in the mid range. I am talking WOT acceleration here, so it is not a throttle mapping thing. I have always found my wife’s V8 S4 to have more mid-range torque when just accelerating from top gear compared to my M3. Driving her car the other day, I had the opposite feeling, where now the M3 seems to pull harder in the mid range. I know, it is all very subjective, but the car does feel better and to me that is worth the money . Euro-MDM is really a blast on the street. It allows just enough slip to better enjoy the car while still keeping a decent safety net for that unforeseen moment. It will allow the tail to step out slightly, but you still cannot properly kick the tail out or do a “drift” since it will intervene to bring the tail back in. So for real tail out fun, you still need to turn DSC off . For quick accelerations, Euro-MDM seems much better calibrated and allows just enough wheel spin for a good launch . To paraphrase Tiff, it now really is the "Goldilocks" setting. Experiencing Euro MDM makes you realize how much we are getting short changed regarding MDM in North-America.

At the track
The car performed flawlessly with the tune. No noticeable increases in temperature and no faults. Again here, the car sounds more aggressive than before. I have the MPE, and it sounded very bassy at low revs and sang a very sweet music in the upper revs . The improved sound alone could be worth the tune. The Sport throttle mapping, which I use at the track, also felt very linear, precise and predictable. The increased redline to 8600RPM is probably the feature I enjoyed the most . It proved very useful to fully enjoy the entire power band of the engine. With the stock redline, I had to shift around 8200RPM to avoid hitting the limiter (I shift mostly by ear). Now I can aim for 8400RPM without the limiter cutting-in and the engine seems happy to be able to stretch its legs. It is not obvious to assess or feel if there is additional power at the track since there are so many other things to pay attention to. The car feels strong pulling out of corners and data logging shows that I was averaging 2-4mph faster at the end of the back straight (130-135mph range). But I also installed an underdrive pulley, so it not obvious to figure how much is coming from the pulley or the tune (or the cool weather). On that weekend, we had a mix of weather conditions, so I was able to experiment with street tires (PSS) and R-comps (NT01) on both wet and dry tracks. I run a square setup for my track tires, so I was curious to see how Euro MDM would react to them. Euro MDM was great on the wet track with both the street tires and R comps. It would allow more slip than the standard MDM while maintaining the peace of mind of a safety net. I had an incident on a wet track a few years ago; so I am now too chicken to run with the nannies off when there is water accumulation on the track. Euro MDM was very welcome for the wet track. However, on the dry track, I still found it way too intrusive with either tire to fully appreciate the limits of the car. If you want to trail brake, throttle steer and slide the car into position, DSC off is still the way to go. Further, after a few laps with MDM on the dry track, I could feel my brakes getting weaker. IMO, an indication that they were applied more than what I expected (I did not see the DSC light flash that much in the cluster). Turning DSC off brought back the brakes.

So overall I am very satisfied with the tune and code and would definitely recommend it. As many have said, it is the way the car should have come from the factory. Now reading all those cool reviews about the BPM DCT tune, it seems I will have to spend more money .

Thanks Mike and BPMSport .