TRF Performance X5 35D Stage 1 flash tune

[bawareca]

Finally after more than a year development our stage 1 tune for 335D and X5 35D is close to official release. As I may have mentioned before I have been taking care of the logistics and development and Raymond from TRF Performance-Norway has been taking care of the of the re-mapping of the DDE. With the modern tuning software probably the first grader can do it, but it takes experience and some desire for perfection to do it right. The development has been going for more than a year and we have met more than a few well masked barriers in the EDC17 (DDE in our X5 diesels). It is very easy to mask some stuff here and there, disable the trouble codes and call it a day, but we spent more time to get to the bottom of every problem. In it's distilled form now stage 1 only consists of a different fueling strategy which leads to slightly increased boost and more than slight bump in the power output. Most factory limiters are untouched, and so is the transmission torque limiter. Boost maps are untouched too and the increase comes from the better efficiency of the engine because of the optimized fueling strategy. Many tuners also play with the advance in a relatively stock engines leading to emission problems.
We are not ready yet with the pricing, there are special discounts planned for the fellow X5D members on Xoutpost.
We spent around 6 hours on the dyno trying to get the best out of the X5. With this transmission it is impossible to load the car properly especially at low RPM. We've been doing 4th and 5th gear pulls on deserted freeways and if you roll on the gas for more than 40% under 3000 RPM it will downshift immediately. We had cases when it downshifted from 4th to 3rd at full load at almost 3700 RPM which is absolutely illogical. So there is no way we can load it under 2500 RPM and the real torque curve is shifted massively to the right. The correct numbers would be higher and at lower RPM. However the graph gives a good idea how much the tune has changed the character of this engine. It pulls hard and to the redline (the transmission shifts at around 4600 RPM, so there is a lot of power lost there too) and feels much more like gas engine.





Of course you have to take this graph with a grain of salt as the baseline dyno is missing. Yesterday we got the news from the dyno operator that the files were lost and all i have is a printout of the best run. The car is already converted to Stage 2 so there is no going back. The Mustang dynos are pretty accurate, but it is what it is. Stock it pulled out something in the vicinity of 220whp/360wtq. 18-20 % are a good guess for the drivetrain and tire friction loss.
Stage 2 is up to the point of 400hp/550tq + without substantial smoke or uncivilized behavior. More to come soon

[josiahg52]

Very, very nice! This is the tune I'm going with and that's not just based on this post but prior discussions, too. I like the philosophy, method and the endpoint reached by this group.

I think, if I can get my Tahoe back on the road next week when I get back home, I'll get my DDE out and sent off. In any case, I'll be in touch.

[Ozer]

So since you said the DDE will be tuned by your friend in Norway.. does that mean it will need to be shipped to Norway or to your location? (not sure where you are)

[bawareca]

Originally Posted by josiahg52

Very, very nice! This is the tune I'm going with and that's not just based on this post but prior discussions, too. I like the philosophy, method and the endpoint reached by this group.

I think, if I can get my Tahoe back on the road next week when I get back home, I'll get my DDE out and sent off. In any case, I'll be in touch.

You are more than welcome.

Originally Posted by Ozer

So since you said the DDE will be tuned by your friend in Norway.. does that mean it will need to be shipped to Norway or to your location? (not sure where you are)

Nowadays the world is a global village and it doesnt matter much where you are located But seriously, I am in Los Angeles and the DDE must be shipped to me. I have the proper equipment to read the DDE contents and sent it to Raymond in Norway. It takes a few hours for him to re-map it and send it back to me. After that I write the modified data back in the DDE. As part of the process, the DDE will be flashed with the newest software from BMW before it is tuned.

[Ozer]

Sounds good, easier to ship to CA versus Norway and less time.

Are you able to delete any SCR/DEF codes? You know that whole issue we are having with the temp sensor :p

[bawareca]

We can remove any codes as per customers request. We dont advise to do that because it only masks the problem, but it is everyone's choice after all.

[ZetaTre]

Many tuners also play with the advance in a relatively stock engines leading to emission problems.

Good to hear: this is one of the things that worries me the most on diesel tunes and that's why I'm keeping the Cummins stock. I just have no faith whatshoever in the tuner changes to advance. The result, other than the emissions which would be sort of ok, is the potential of increase in peak combustion pressure which can results in lift heads and blown head gaskets, unless you replace head studs. Changing advance is one of the "easy" way to improve mileage too.

On another topic: without going into details, could you tell me if you do any changes to max rail pressure?

What about the torque management logics?

Do our DDE has defueling strategies when certain EGT are reached? I'm tempted to think there is because when I towed I've never seen EGT go above 700C (1300F). If there are are you keeping those fail-safe intact?

Since you're "nearby", I may at some point pay you a visit. Thanks!!!

[bawareca]

Originally Posted by ZetaTre

Many tuners also play with the advance in a relatively stock engines leading to emission problems.

Good to hear: this is one of the things that worries me the most on diesel tunes and that's why I'm keeping the Cummins stock. I just have no faith whatshoever in the tuner changes to advance. The result, other than the emissions which would be sort of ok, is the potential of increase in peak combustion pressure which can results in lift heads and blown head gaskets, unless you replace head studs. Changing advance is one of the "easy" way to improve mileage too.

On another topic: without going into details, could you tell me if you do any changes to max rail pressure?

What about the torque management logics?

Do our DDE has defueling strategies when certain EGT are reached? I'm tempted to think there is because when I towed I've never seen EGT go above 700C (1300F). If there are are you keeping those fail-safe intact?

Since you're "nearby", I may at some point pay you a visit. Thanks!!!

More advance in the low and mid-load areas is good for the efficiency without ill effects for the engine. It may create slightly more NOX, nothing worst than TDI
The rail pressure was not increased for Stage 1, not real need for that. Everything in this engine is well sized with high limits.
Some of the limiters have been increased, but the tables were not recalibrated. All the fail safes in the EDC17 have been left intact, including the EGT defuelling. One of the strong sides of this DDE is the many fail safes and it would be pity to cancel any of them.
Despite the aluminum block this engine looks pretty heavy duty. Raymond says that he has never seen one destroyed(like you can see gasoline engine) and they have been running EGT as high as 950C for prolonged periods of time.
Anyone is welcome to stop by and test drive my X5, but it may be very addictive as it sits now close to 400hp

[ZetaTre]

I don't mean to sidetrack, but am I right in thinking that the pegging of the EGT at 700C is due to defueling or was it a simple coincidence?

Keep us posted on development, pricing and availability.

[Deftronix]

Look forward to seeing the release / final offerings, keep up the good work!