New tuning options
 

So I've been continuing to do what I can to my car to prep for NASA timetrials next year. A free mod in TT is tuning. Since my car has a good amount of work done to let the engine breath better, I know that my Conforti tune is not aggressive enough. So I've been researching different options.

1) MarkD 93 octane tune. I've emailed Mark a few times asking about doing a 93/aggressive tune and never got a response back from him that he can work with the 282 ECU. However, I see that he did a group buy on m42club and the 282 ECU was listed as an option. So I think that this tune is available if you can get a hold of Mark.

2) Midnight tuning. I emailed this newer tuner and he got back to me that he can do a really aggressive 94 octane tune. The price for this tune was a bit more than some of his standard tunes so I'm looking to get some more info on this outfit before making a final decision. One good thing is that when I searched here on 318ti for different tuning work, I see that Johnboy has worked with this group and had good results. That bumps them way up in my opinion. If I could have this tune as a starting point, and then get additional tuning done when I have AFR data, I might end up going this route. Johnboy, if I get his NA 94octane tune, would you be able to help me get some data on the tune? I'd tow the car over to you.

3) Miller W.A.R. Chip. This looks like a really neat solution. I haven't seen it discussed here, so this was my main reason for starting this thread. Miller is the group that was going to do an M42 MAF conversion and had issues with the setup. It looks like they are instead going with a generic plug in chip that you then have to tune yourself. A neat idea, but I'm not sure that I need this level of flexibility with tuning.

Hi mohaughn, I have sent you a email with further details

all the best

1. Mark D typical. I worked with him for 1.5 years and never finished a tune so that is why I looked for a new tuner. My last email to Mark was answered 1.5 months later. I understand he is busy. I found out when I started working with Barrie at Midnight that my 60# tune from Mark was no different from my 42.8#. My 42.8# had CEL errors that I didn't mind. Also I found some other stuff out that I won't post. Mark D did not charge me any money for my tunes so I'm in no way complaining about his service.

2. If you want to bring your car here for a tune from Barrie I'm good with that but it is up to Barrie @ Midnight to confirm he will be willing to supply the tunes with me logging and doing all flash work from here. I'm game and willing to help. My car runs so much better with his tune and I would recomend him to anyone that wants a tune.

3. WAR Chip. Very interesting and I would like to get some feedback on these. I have no experience with them but I'm interested and would like to know how they work. The product sounds good since you can make changes on your own. I don't know how much programming knowledge you need but it looks like it is pretty simple. That is my opinion

Best, John Smith

Midnight custom 93 octane tune it is. With a few other custom items to help with rough idle(caused by really stiff motor mounts) and a slight bump of max RPM over conforti chip.

I'm hoping this really wakes the car up as I've always heard good things about the MarkD 93octane tune, and if this is even a bit more aggressive than that, the gains should be noticeable.

I have the stiff mount shake. It is way better to have then a stock mount let go and have the engine cock sideways and jam the accelerator wide open. It is always better to get a custom tune. The tunes you get that are for multiple cars need to be conservative so they work on cars that have issues and cars that could get stale gas.

You should be very happy with the custom tune we got the good gas here in Florida

Do you know of any places that have somewhat affordable 0% ethanol gas? Every where around me other than going to marine places over on the east coast have 10% ethanol. If I could find a local supply of that, it might work out to be cheaper than trying to run a full blown race fuel.


I was planning on buying an LM1 datalogger, but found out how expensive the AMB timing transponders are. So hoping to be able to get a group together here in Orlando with another BMW club to do a dyno day. If I can get three pulls I have two different mafs I want to test with the 93 octane tune, as well as I might do a comparison of the turner chip to the 93 octane tune.

Spec miata guys will try different ecu's, different sensors, anything they can easily change to find which parts make that extra .5 to 1 horsepower..

Nope I don't on the 10% ethenol. I run the LM-2 logger and it has every logging function you would ever need. Logs it on a SD card so it's real easy to use too. Our local dyno does 3 pulls for $75 whenever you want

yeah barrie is the man, he did the NA tune for my car, 7300rpms and a more agressive tune than DINAN. is gonna be awesome, just waiting for my new cable cuz mine is not working :(

Are there any members in the Central Florida area with a 95 that still has the stock motor? Looking to test a chip on a 282 DME m42.

New tuning options
 

I live in Palm Bay, my 95 motor is still 100% stock. The only thing is my tranny is an auto. :smile: If you're willing to test an auto, I'd be game to give my ti a boost.

It's my daily driver and deserves some TLC after 13 years of loyal service. Especially after some joker tried to put an end to our partnership on I-95 on Tuesday evening.

Courtney

Will not work in the auto /\

One of the downsides to having an auto. :smile:

With the right timing you should make better power on E10 than non alky fuel. Its effective resistance to ping is higher than straight 92. You will burn 8 to 12% more fuel when running it...

I keep wanting to try E85 in a turbo, should pull an easy 80 more HP than street Premium... But its gonna get way worse mileage if its like the flex fuel trucks I've rented....

Dave

Keep dreaming! e85 will not increase your hp unless you increase timing to go with the E85 and even then you will be lucky to get 30 extra whp on a turbo setup even if you tune it correctly

add 8-10% to your current whp as a rule of thumb for a correctly tuned e85 motor

I was assuming a decent tuning job, The HP should come from more timing, more pressure and the cooling affect of the alcohol should allow a very aggressive tune... E100 would probably be the fun one...

:)

Dave