[Jake@MOTIV]

Originally Posted by foghat

So you only need 3rd gear pulls? Not 4th gear pulls?

For the most part. 3rd gear loads the car up rather well. Asking people to do 4th gear pulls on the street is just a bit much. That does not mean 3rd gear is all that matters though

[Black Gold]

So after all this....I'm still torn lol

[foghat]

Originally Posted by Jake@PTF

For the most part. 3rd gear loads the car up rather well. Asking people to do 4th gear pulls on the street is just a bit much. That does not mean 3rd gear is all that matters though

This is the reason I kind of shelved the idea of an etune. There was no way I was going to do a 4th gear pull to 6000+ rpm on the street.

But now based on what you are saying, I am starting to rethink.

When you say 'for the most part', what do you mean?

I mean, straight up: what exactly do you need (pull wise) to get a safe, good etune? Can you get the logging you need without 6000rpm 4th gear pulls?

Thanks.

[Black Gold]

Originally Posted by foghat

This is the reason I kind of shelved the idea of an etune. There was no way I was going to do a 4th gear pull to 6000+ rpm on the street.

But now based on what you are saying, I am starting to rethink.

When you say 'for the most part', what do you mean?

I mean, straight up: what exactly do you need (pull wise) to get a safe, good etune? Can you get the logging you need without 6000rpm 4th gear pulls?

Thanks.

X2, please be specific

[zeenon53]

I just finished up an e-tune with Dzenno@PTF. Great experience all around! I would imagine getting your car tuned by Cobb themselves would be better than an e-tune. But, your tune is only going to be as good as the person tuning it. I would venture to say that there are more e-tunes out there than pro-tunes and that PTF has probably tuned more BMW's than Cobb has now. Who's going to tune your car at Cobb and how many 335's have they tuned? It's a tough choice and i'm sure either way you go your going to be happy.

[zeel]

3rd gear pull from ~2.5k - ~6k should be fine. You could wind it out to redline but you all seem scared of a quick trip to mexico

[michael1284]

Originally Posted by shockin330i

There's a cobb in austin....

The COBB in Austin does not offer pro tunes. They're mainly R&D.

Originally Posted by Jake@PTF

For the most part. 3rd gear loads the car up rather well. Asking people to do 4th gear pulls on the street is just a bit much. That does not mean 3rd gear is all that matters though

You guys need to set up a tuning session with COBB Austin or Plano. COBB guys in Plano may be able to learn something from you guys since they were hesitant to even Pro Tune for ethanol when I first asked.

[Jake@MOTIV]

Originally Posted by foghat

This is the reason I kind of shelved the idea of an etune. There was no way I was going to do a 4th gear pull to 6000+ rpm on the street.

But now based on what you are saying, I am starting to rethink.

When you say 'for the most part', what do you mean?

I mean, straight up: what exactly do you need (pull wise) to get a safe, good etune? Can you get the logging you need without 6000rpm 4th gear pulls?

Thanks.

Originally Posted by KennyPowers

X2, please be specific

We've done a quick write up for you guys in the how-to page of our website on our etuning process for those interested:

http://www.protuningfreaks.com/e-tune-howto/

Any customer buying an e-tune from us also gets a Word document with a similar set of instructions that kicks off our remote tuning process. We've done a LARGE number of N54 pro tunes at this point, many with multiple maps on different levels of octane with a large majority being e-tunes.

A couple quick notes on our etuning. Its a very convenient way to tune an N54 for the customer as its done on your free time and there is absolutely no rush in getting it finalized on our end and its entirely up to the customers. It can be done as quickly as 2-3 hours given we arrange a time for it, or, a number of weeks all depending on your schedules. The purchase does not have an expiry date and if you buy an etune today we can get to actual tuning 3 months from now.

The price on both the pro etunes and local pro tunes is set extremely competitively to the extent that many shops we work with were absolutely shocked given typical pro tune pricing out there in the $600-$800 range and the amount of work we put in.

We've always been enthusiasts first and we can certainly appreciate a great deal on a quality tune or modification out there. We don't end our communication with any of the customers after any tune is done with us. If at any given time there are questions or issues come up or modifications change we're here to assist as best as we can through email or forums or in person for those local to us.

We've also got an FAQ section on our website for any other questions you may have about us as well as a blog which we try to update regularly with anything relevant to the platforms we work with, mostly being the N54 at the moment and N55 soon.

FAQ: http://www.protuningfreaks.com/faqs/
BLOG: http://blog.protuningfreaks.com

And finally, as some of our customers have already mentioned, we seriously won't stop until its butter or your money back. We want our customers to truly enjoy their FI BMWs as much as we do outside of any standard injector/plugs/coils/pump headaches many of us face from time to time

[Jeff@TopGearSolutions]

If you dont feel comfortable running 3rd gear pulls on the highway for E tuning, which involves you doing the logs on the street then a pro tune on a dyno will be the best choice in that regards. Although dyno's are a great tuning option, a good tuner will clean up the tune on the street anyway, so dont think their is a disadvantage power wise cause it was done on the street with an E tune. Good luck!

On my last car going out to tune my car on the street was actually fun, but it's important to keep safety in mind, make sure you find a nice flat road, and preferably with no traffic. Also be sure to look out for the local . I usually do an observation lap before doing my actual tune pull to make sure the roads are clear.

[M3DCTBT]

Cobb Tuning by nature requests you lease / own a dyno for the PROTuner license to use their software and modify cars. They actually ask you to provide pictures when you want to buy ATP. This is due to the R&D and providing complete calibrations to their customer base. They may have become lax on this requirement recently.

There is nothing better then having a car live in person to spot areas / noises or issues of concernw hile seeing it respond to changes or not. Thorough road tuning will get you close but never truly in and out and the diagnostic help like a full dyno protune can and quickly in one session. All dyno tunes should be followed up with a road test.

[Black Gold]

thanks guys. i just installed the cobb stage 1 aggressive (since i have 93 octane) and have my wagner FMIC to install on thursday evening after work.

even with only the stage 1 tune, the car pulls really really hard, so i definitely dont think i will need to go past stage 1+.

i will probably go with an etune because the cost / time involved in going all the way up to plano isnt worth it. i do find it ridiculous there is no protuner in a city as big as houston.....

[Jeff@TopGearSolutions]

Originally Posted by KennyPowers

thanks guys. i just installed the cobb stage 1 aggressive (since i have 93 octane) and have my wagner FMIC to install on thursday evening after work.

even with only the stage 1 tune, the car pulls really really hard, so i definitely dont think i will need to go past stage 1+.

i will probably go with an etune because the cost / time involved in going all the way up to plano isnt worth it. i do find it ridiculous there is no protuner in a city as big as houston.....

That's what they ALL say....

[Black Gold]

Originally Posted by Jeff@TopGearSolutions

That's what they ALL say....

haha, yea im more used to it now than i was at first

can i blame it on the fact that the 1M has a lot of grip?

[RoundelM3]

Originally Posted by KennyPowers

thanks guys. i just installed the cobb stage 1 aggressive (since i have 93 octane) and have my wagner FMIC to install on thursday evening after work.

even with only the stage 1 tune, the car pulls really really hard, so i definitely dont think i will need to go past stage 1+.

i will probably go with an etune because the cost / time involved in going all the way up to plano isnt worth it. i do find it ridiculous there is no protuner in a city as big as houston.....

Kenny - are you aware that Cobb has an Austin location? Much closer to you than Plano.

[Black Gold]

Originally Posted by roundel335

Kenny - are you aware that Cobb has an Austin location? Much closer to you than Plano.

i am, but apparently it is an R&D center and they dont actually perform any tuning or work on cars there.

i installed my FMIC yesterday evening and now am running stage 1+. car is a beast, cant wait for a pro tune to get the car running as smooth and safe as possible

Mods

-catless midpipe
-wagner FMIC (fitment 7.5/10, not impressed)
-cobb stage 1+ tune

Upcoming

P3 gauge
BMS drop in filter
protune

[RoundelM3]

Originally Posted by KennyPowers

i am, but apparently it is an R&D center and they dont actually perform any tuning or work on cars there.

That's interesting; one of my fellow BMW CCA club members has been having his 1M coupe tuned there, including installation of downpipes and other components. They have a monthly "1st Thursday at Cobb" meetings there, so you might want to call them - unless something has changed in the past 3 months.

[missapei]

Dzenan is tuning my car for me atm, he provides very useful and experienced opinions, so I can understand more what I want, currently just waiting for my Map to come back ,these guys are great to deal with and very very very very professional

[BQTuning]

Originally Posted by missapei

Dzenan is tuning my car for me atm, he provides very useful and experienced opinions, so I can understand more what I want, currently just waiting for my Map to come back ,these guys are great to deal with and very very very very professional

Yup, he tuned my car also, your in good hand with any of them actually. I got lucky and got the one whom I tried to drian for knowledge every blog and post he made in the past

[oby_1]

Originally Posted by KennyPowers

thanks guys. i just installed the cobb stage 1 aggressive (since i have 93 octane) and have my wagner FMIC to install on thursday evening after work.

even with only the stage 1 tune, the car pulls really really hard, so i definitely dont think i will need to go past stage 1+.

i will probably go with an etune because the cost / time involved in going all the way up to plano isnt worth it. i do find it ridiculous there is no protuner in a city as big as houston.....

Contact D3 Performance in Houston if you're still assessing different tuning options.

I went to high school with the owner and have been keeping up with his shop and noticed he has achieved quite a positive reputation.

I don't see any mentions of Cobb AP tuning on the website but I do remember seeing a Facebook special and Cobb AP was a selection.

I don't have any firsthand experience with his shop and I'm not sure how familiar he is with the N54 in particular. However, seeing some of his recent projects and successes, I'd imagine they are fully capable.

Anyways, if you want, get in contact with them and see if they can help you out. The owner I am referring to is Evan and he should be a knowledgable point of contact for questions.

http://d3performanceengineering.com

[Give_Em_The_DD]

Been working with jake/PTF on my tune(s) since October. I too at one point said "I only want 93 oct and stage1+" now...7 months later I'm FBO and were just starting to work on an e30 map lol. The power is addicting, and I have actually learned a lot during the logging process. The problem you having (Cobb protune vs PTF) is actually a good one to have, can't go wrong either way. I can't speak to a protune, but my experience with Jake and PTF has been excellent and I would recommend jake and PTF to anyone

[missapei]

e30 does it need a fuel system upgrade?

[Allen@MOTIV]

Originally Posted by missapei

e30 does it need a fuel system upgrade?

Unless there is a pre-existing issue with a factory pump then E30 on a stock fuel system is not a problem.