[ZeroSum]

Sup Guys,

Over the last few weeks things have been quite hectic. Of all of these hopefully the worst was completed today (DIY Water Pump and Thermo Install). I have been meaning to write up my thoughts on the AA Tune and what it was like initially with some "spirited driving" in TN/NC at Tail of the Dragon.

So as some of you know I bought my 2008 328i with N51 and auto back in May of this year and have been cobbling together some performance items. I don't have a whole lot but I started with the Charcoal Delete and K&N combo and it was a bit more responsive but nothing jaw dropping. Then I got the RM Boot, and again a bit more responsive and a bit louder but again nothing crazy. Then I thought with all the reading and research and reviews I read the next obvious step would be the AA Tune. That is when all the fun started.

I bought the Tune with the thought and hope it would be here before my trip to the Tail of the Dragon at Deals Gap in North Carolina. It was thankfully and as soon as I got it I found that the software was a bit quirky and really I think the only thing it works flawlessly with is probably Windows 7. I had to do a funky startup routine to get it to recognize the Simon Cable and it doesn't work with Mac. No biggie moving on and hopefully everything is good. Then I went to install it and again all kinds of issues from no starts to power fluctuations and issues to codes. Ok ok the car finally took and I was good to go after I found that apparently my car was already tuned. Not really sure to what extent or by whom but it was married to another brand of tuner and so after that got worked out my car started and was good to go. Well, thats when I noticed that although it may be because the car was already somewhat tuned that I really didn't notice much in the way of power increase or throttle response improvement. I mean I think it may have been a bit better mid range but I will say for me and my situation I feel as though I should have just invested in something else.

So with all of that being said its time for vacation and the Tail of the Dragon. For those that don't know Tail of the Dragon is US-129 in TN/NC and its 318 turns in 11 miles. I had never been there and didn't really know what to expect. I was thoroughly impressed with the area and highly recommend it to anyone that wants to have a great time and some fun in their car. I also did Moonshiner 28 and the Cherohala Skyway while I was up there and it was all amazing and beautiful. The car I will say for my driving and the roads I was on was a bit over matched. With it being stock on mostly everything aside from a few go fast bits the suspension, tires, and brakes were not happy with me at the end of the trip. To top it off the thermostat started acting up while I was on my trip and I just changed it and the water pump out this weekend (never want to do that again). So all in all the car was great but definitely needs some attention paid to the brakes, tires, and suspension before I do something like that again. Anyway below are some pictures of the car and the area we were at. I have a video linked as well and due to the placement of the GoPro you really cant tell how fast we were going but it was throwing us around pretty good.


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[gbm30]

The AA tune is too expensive and it doesn't give you more then other tunes.

[Taskmaster]

Awesome pictures and great review!

[Taskmaster]

Originally Posted by gbm30

The AA tune is too expensive and it doesn't give you more then other tunes.

Proof?

[Delta0311]

Originally Posted by gbm30

The AA tune is too expensive and it doesn't give you more then other tunes.

There is one other known tune for the N52 and that is the Eurocharged tune, which is in the same price bracket. You also have the PBX but that is more of a throttle remap than a tune.. But you're right if you have a 330 then the tune is a waste because your gains will be minor; its only plus side would be that it makes the auto tranny less sluggish. On the 325/328 the difference with a tune (especially combined with a 3 stage intake manifold) is night and day; believe me I know.

[Taskmaster]

Originally Posted by Delta0311

There is one other known tune for the N52 and that is the Eurocharged tune, which is in the same price bracket. You also have the PBX but that is more of a throttle remap than a tune.. But you're right if you have a 330 then the tune is a waste because your gains will be minor; its only plus side would be that it makes the auto tranny less sluggish. On the 325/328 the difference with a tune (especially combined with a 3 stage intake manifold) is night and day; believe me I know.

Define 'minor' gains for N/A.

[Bimmer-Bob]

Originally Posted by gbm30

The AA tune is too expensive and it doesn't give you more then other tunes.

What "other tunes?" Evolve give comparable gains at about twice the cost.

[Delta0311]

Originally Posted by TheAxiom

Define 'minor' gains for N/A.

I am talking abou the 330. It will only gain 5 to 7hp from the tune.

[Taskmaster]

Originally Posted by Delta0311

I am talking abou the 330. It will only gain 5 to 7hp from the tune.

Or 12. And a good amount of torque, and more throttle response, etc etc

[Delta0311]

Originally Posted by TheAxiom

Or 12. And a good amount of torque, and more throttle response, etc etc

Roughly 10lb of torque, yeah that will throw you back in your seat.

Like I said the more responsive throttle and and smoother in an auto tranny are the only selling points for the aa tune on a 330. And the gains AA list on their site are at the crank. Yes it's a good tune but is it worth the money to do it on a 330, personally I don't think so. Like I said it is a different story on a 325/328.

Also I haven't seen any dyno numbers for a baseline 330/tuned 330.

[Taskmaster]

Originally Posted by Delta0311

Roughly 10lb of torque, yeah that will throw you back in your seat.

Like I said the more responsive throttle and and smoother in an auto tranny are the only selling points for the aa tune on a 330. And the gains AA list on their site are at the crank. Yes it's a good tune but is it worth the money to do it on a 330, personally I don't think so. Like I said it is a different story on a 325/328.

Also I haven't seen any dyno numbers for a baseline 330/tuned 330.

How much power is reasonable to expect for a N/A tune? You're sounding a bit ridiculous, especially considering a AA tune on a non 3 stage car gains about the same power. Derp.

[Taskmaster]

http://www.e90post.com/forums/showth...916863&page=10

[chris82]

Beautiful view, it's a shame the tune didn't give you that much over what you already had

[ZeroSum]

Originally Posted by chris82

Beautiful view, it's a shame the tune didn't give you that much over what you already had

I dont know maybe I was expecting too much. But it did help with the throttle response. Still seems lazy though. But yes the views were awesome.

[1QuikWS6]

Originally Posted by Delta0311

There is one other known tune for the N52 and that is the Eurocharged tune, which is in the same price bracket. You also have the PBX but that is more of a throttle remap than a tune.. But you're right if you have a 330 then the tune is a waste because your gains will be minor; its only plus side would be that it makes the auto tranny less sluggish. On the 325/328 the difference with a tune (especially combined with a 3 stage intake manifold) is night and day; believe me I know.

There is also the Vishnu Tune OFT with tablet like the Simon3 for N51/N52 - which is what I have. It is less expensive...

[Taskmaster]

Originally Posted by 1QuikWS6

There is also the Vishnu Tune OFT with tablet like the Simon3 for N51/N52 - which is what I have. It is less expensive...

And less gains too...I was so happy for that, and they all but dropped support for it.

[1QuikWS6]

Back when the OFT came out I posted a dyno comparison, with the charts coming straight from AA and Vishnu, the difference in gains at that time was negligible

For a person to actually notice a difference during driving the gains would have to have quite a difference, and I find that amount of difference hard to believe.

At any rate, I was looking for a custom canned tune, not a program that I could personally tweak (even though the OFT was originally touted as such). The gains/driveability the Vishnu tune gave me for a DD NA 328i is fine by me, its never gonna be a quick car no matter how many addons I have...

I didn't buy my BMW to be fast, I have enough other toys that are

[1QuikWS6]

I would agree that if a customer was to add headers and remove primary and secondary cats - the comparable AA tune for those mods would yield much higher noticeable gains over the Vishnu

In my case I'm not about to do that on my DD with yearly emissions testing, just not interested in the hassle.

So what I'm saying is that if you compare both tunes built for my N51 with 3 stage and PE, the difference shown by the vendor supplied charts ranged around 4hp if I remember, never notice that under daily driving conditions

So yes, based on how far you want to go with mods the AA tune would come out on top

[Taskmaster]

Are you sure it was just 4whp for AA...

[1QuikWS6]

OK, I found the charts that were supplied to me at the time (2013) -

AA Tune - Mustang Dyno




Vishnu Tune - Mustang Dyno




Vishnu Tune - Dynojet

[gunnerxq]

Nice ride. Is it sport package or not?

[Taskmaster]

You realize one car is a N52 with a single stage manifold and the other is a N51...on 91 octane.