[Alan l.]

First off this "review" is based solely on the installation and my observation of the car immediately after installing the COBB AP literally 45mins ago. I did not get a chance to drive my car all after the flash.

My car is a 2009.5 (July Build) LCI 335i Msport 6MT with 9K miles. I got the latest fuel pump and updated software from BMW around August last year.

The installation went exactly like how cobb said it would. Lucky for me the AP read my ROM file and started the flash process right away. 10mins to download my existing data and another 10mins to flash the new Stage 1 map to my car. Simple and all done within the cars cabin which is nice for a change.

The instructions say to turn off the car and back on to complete the flash. This is when things start to get interesting...

When i turned off the car the dash and the Idrive screen had a symbol of the car on a lift and it had a "Fuel Pump" malfunction and continuing to drive the car could be dangerous message. I figure this is part of the process because the car had warning during the flash update.

Afterwards i turned the car back on and everything seems normal. That is until i plugged in the BT Scanner to my lap top to check if there are any codes from installing the AP flash. I got all of the following codes AFTER installing the AP:


2FA3 - CODING MISSING
CED4 - EXTERNER FEHLER: CAN ID 0XAA(TORQUE_3) FEHLT(E)
E717 - CAN MESSAGE: DATES OF ENGINE
E71A - CAN MESSAGE: TORQUE 3
E71B - CAN MESSAGE: HEAT FLOW MOTOR
E72O - CAN MESSAGE: POWER MANAGEMENT
E59A
E59C
E594
9CAB - A TERMINAL 15 MISSING
A8C5
E1CC
E1E0
E1CC
E1E0
A3AD - CAN ID 1D0 ERROR: ENGINE DATA
A3AE - CAN ID 0AA ERROR: IDLE ENGINE SPEED
D13E - CAN TELEGRAM TIMEOUT AT RECEPTION

Now keep in mind that prior to installing the AP I had to uninstall the Procede which could cause some of the codes but certainly not all of them. I've done my fare share of installing and uninstalling JB3 and V4 so I know everything was done right. The car also started up with no dash lights after i went back to stock and BEFORE i installed the AP.

Another thing worth nothing is that when i plugged in the Accessport the only code that it was able to pull up was the 2FA3 Even after the AP said it cleared the code it is still there. Cobb - Does the AP not read/clear ALL codes? This should be explained in more detail especially for those who don't have a BT scanner and rely on the AP to read and clear ALL codes.

I used the BT Tool to clear all of the codes and it came right back after i turned the car on and back off. I then looked into each module and cleared each of them seperately. Not sure if this worked as my laptop was low on battery but I will scan the car again later after driving it around.

One code that is def NOT clearing is the "2AF3 - Code Missing" either with the AP or the BT tool no matter how many times I tried. This is not a good in my opinion since I do not want to drive around with codes stored in my ecu due to this flash. I've never had code issues with either piggyback in the past.

Now I am worried that even if I flash back to stock there are still some changes in the software that could potentially trigger codes in the ecu.

I will report more later after I drive the car around and rescan it with the BT tool to see which codes comes back (if any)

Cobb - can you please comment?

Thanks
Alan

*****UPDATE 1***** - Drove the car only maybe 20 miles or so, combination of highway and local driving. Got home and hooked up the car to the BT Scanner and all of the codes are gone except 2FA3 - CODING MISSING.

[Clap135]

Aside from vendor/dealer experiences is there any positive feedback on this thing?

[cstmx_ryder]

IMO, you should have BT'd your car after the uninstalling of Procede. This should be a common practice:

Install tune
Check for codes
Clear them

Uninstall tune
Check for codes (using BT)
Clear them

Because by doing so, you can isolate the cause of the codes before and after the install. And not have a bunch of codes pop up in the end like in your case, and now you don't know which tune triggered what, you know?

At least this has been my method, and it had worked flawlessly............

[dzenno]

Hmmmm sounds like cobb still requires some bug fixing..

[Alan l.]

^^ I guess i've installed and un-installed so many piggies in the past and never had issues...i skipped that step this time around. It is possible that i woke the ecu during the uninstall process codes from that should not come back after clearing it with the BT tool unless something is wrong. I don't mess with pinout crap so the chances of botching the process is next to none.

I will know for sure by tonight once I take the car out for a spin, then rescan for codes.

Alan

[Mike@N54Tuning.com]

Those don't look like Piggy related codes to me....

Mike

[BzzzBom]

Stick with GIAC until the bugs are worked out. I would be very concerned to flash my car without an external power sourse.

[COBB Tuning]

Originally Posted by Alan l.

^^ I guess i've installed and un-installed so many piggies in the past and never had issues...i skipped that step this time around. It is possible that i woke the ecu during the uninstall process codes from that should not come back after clearing it with the BT tool unless something is wrong. I don't mess with pinout crap so the chances of botching the process is next to none.

I will know for sure by tonight once I take the car out for a spin, then rescan for codes.

Alan

Alan,

I have informed Rob about the details of your install. He's traveling today, so he may not be able to respond immediately.

We'll make sure everything is working as it should.

Thanks,

Gary

[cn555ic]

Wow Alan I can't believe you went with Cobb flash so soon...You didnt even give it a chance to see more feedback before you treaded forward..Anyhow its done, so lets hope you can iron out the problem...Keep us posted

[GeorgeSmooth]

Originally Posted by Alan l.

One code that is def NOT clearing is the "2AF3 - Code Missing" either with the AP or the BT tool no matter how many times I tried. This is not a good in my opinion since I do not want to drive around with codes stored in my ecu due to this flash. I've never had code issues with either piggyback in the past.


Thanks
Alan

That code is caused by the new flash being a generic tune that does not match your stock software. Flash your car back to stock and the code will be gone. There is no way to clear it unless you either use the right software or go back to stock.

[Shellacked135i]

I foresee plenty more of these threads...this car is quite the b*tch to work with.

[Alan l.]

On the road with the car now.

Quick observation...

1) low end torque is improved even over the procede

2) power feels smooth.

No Issues with the car so far. I'll scan the car with the BT Tool when I get home.

Alan

*****UPDATE 1***** - Drove the car only maybe 20 miles or so, combination of highway and local driving. Got home and hooked up the car to the BT Scanner and all of the codes are gone except 2FA3 - CODING MISSING.

[Nutballa]

How is the performance?

[**335i**]

still waiting to see videos with cobbs tune versus other tunes

[Bagelfast]

Time to race Alan vs my JB4 haha.. Good luck figuring out the codes... As Steve said im a bit surprised you jumped on it so fast aswell.

[**335i**]

Originally Posted by 1LUMI335

Time to race Alan vs my JB4 haha.. Good luck figuring out the codes... As Steve said im a bit surprised you jumped on it so fast aswell.

post videos

[cn555ic]

Originally Posted by 1LUMI335

Time to race Alan vs my JB4 haha.. Good luck figuring out the codes... As Steve said im a bit surprised you jumped on it so fast aswell.

Alan did have some experience with Cobb with his other cars so I guess thats where the confidence would come into play as to getting it so early, but IMO this BMW ECU is by far one of the MOST complicated to date that I am aware of...

Alan...whats the good word, and be honest...is it better than the piggy so far from your testing?

[Alan l.]

lol just let me know when. This is my 3rd tune for this car that is barely 1.5 years old

I plan on getting my car dynoed with both the Procede and Cobb AP once my HPF intercooler gets here.

So far i'm really liking the nice bump in low end torque. I took the car to almost redline and my snow tires were struggling for traction. I felt the ass of the car squirming around under full boost. These results are expected judging by the dyno that cobb posted up along with the amount of boost they are running. I was only running maybe 13.5-14psi max while on the procede where Cobb is touching 15psi.

I need to go for a longer drive tomorrow to get a better feel of the car.

Alan

[Shellacked135i]

Autotune is very conservative, you should probably compare boost to boost if you decide to go on the dyno. Otherwise, people will just start bickering your not comparing apples to apples. My .02.

[cn555ic]

Originally Posted by Alan l.

lol just let me know when. This is my 3rd tune for this car that is barely 1.5 years old

I plan on getting my car dynoed with both the Procede and Cobb AP once my HPF intercooler gets here.

So far i'm really liking the nice bump in low end torque. I took the car to almost redline and my snow tires were struggling for traction. I felt the ass of the squirming around under full boost. These results are expected judging by the dyno that cobb posted up along with the amount of boost they are running. I was only running maybe 13.5-14psi max while on the procede where Cobb is touching 15psi.

I need to go for a longer drive tomorrow to get a better feel of the car.

Alan

Wow...HPF intercooler...Damn son your going to town with this car and you said you were not going crazy!

[Alan l.]

Originally Posted by cn555ic

Alan did have some experience with Cobb with his other cars so I guess thats where the confidence would come into play as to getting it so early, but IMO this BMW ECU is by far one of the MOST complicated to date that I am aware of...

Alan...whats the good word, and be honest...is it better than the piggy so far from your testing?

Yes - I was very familiar with Cobb from my previous cars and the idea of never having to go into the ecu area was too much to resist for me. Today was a perfect example of that because i was freezing my ass off removing my procede in the back of my condo outside in the freezing cold. I couldn't feel my hands since i couldn't do the ecu work with gloves on!

As of now i can't say which is better. They feel very different in terms of how they deliver power. When i had the JB3 the power was like a on/off switch. All or nothing power delivery. With the Procede that was significantly improved where power was much linear and part throttle driving was tons better. Power delivery from the AP is even better from what i can tell so far. Its super smooth and you never feel the car jerk forward if you give the car too much throttle like you do with the piggies. The best way to describe it is that with piggies i find the throttle very sensitive and could be jerky a times where as now with the AP it feels more like stock but with a lot more power. In fairness its too early to really judge which is better but i plan on keeping my Procede for awhile longer while i put the AP to the test

Alan

[Mikey_Bo0sts]

Originally Posted by 1LUMI335

Time to race Alan vs my JB4 haha.. Good luck figuring out the codes... As Steve said im a bit surprised you jumped on it so fast aswell.

RACE RACE RACE RACE RACE lololol