Had my car tuned at VAC in Philly last week. First off, hats off to Mike for the great customer service and the tour of their facilities. It is night a day what they do compared to other shops. Full machine shop, 20+ employees, track-ready shop cars, full inventory of parts they sell/use/make,etc.
First impressions - didn't feel shit lol. On my 120 mile drive home (110 highway), I think the car didn't have a chance to really adapt to the new tune because it honestly felt like stock and I was at a constant speed for the most part. I had removed my BMS PBX the day before and there was a huge difference between stock feel and map 3 of the BMS. At this point I was asking myself was it really worth it? The good news is that the dyno does show some true gains even before adaptation.
Day 2 - about 30 miles of mixed city and highway driving. Felt slightly improved throttle response but nothing crazy and still unmatched to the BMS PBX. First gear still feels rather sluggish but between 2500-3500 rpm in second and third gear I feel there is a slight pull.
Day 3 - another 30 miles mixed. Tune still seems to be adapting which kinda sucks because its hard to do a true evaluation and know when it's "fully" adapted (if ever). Doesn't really feel much different than day 2 (maybe slightly but minimal).
Day 4 and beyond - I will continue to update as it progresses. After a month or so I plan on getting another dyno to see what final results are. At this point I can't really see the difference between this and the PBX but will give it some more time before my final verdict.
Car: 328xi
Motor: N51 (3 stage intake manifold), Steptronic
Mods: magnaflow exhaust, k&n drop in w/charcoal delete
Dyno: Mustang dyno (11-13% less than dynojet)
Baseline: 177 HP, 167 lbs torque (about 198 HP and 187 lb on Dynojet)
W/AA tune: 183 HP, 178 lbs torque (about 205 HP and 200 lb on Dynojet)
Gains*: 6 HP, 11 lbs torque (about 7 HP and 13 lb on Dynojet)
*Keep in mind I have xdrive and Automatic so there is a huge drivetrain loss. Also the dyno was done immediately after the tune was installed without letting it adapt yet.
Here's a cool pic of their showroom eye candy
