Quick Summary: Wow, Feck, its great
Full Review (bit of a lengthy one this...sorry
)
Why Evolve?
I ended up with my 330d after shopping for a bargain 330i,d or 35d last Dec. I got the car for a price I just couldn’t refuse, so decided a remap was essential to give me similar power to a 330i or 335d. I also cover 15-20k miles a year so a remap that preserves economy was important as well.
After quite a bit of research and thread reading I decided that Evolve looked ideal. But the fact they were Luton based concerned me, if I had any problems or needed the map reloading it would have been a long drive. I considered DMS, but couldn’t get past the price, although they would come to you to reload the map. I then looked at the DIY options - such as the Bluefin or Chiiped UK, but the Evolve map gets better gains and has an amazing (faultless?) reputation on this forum.
So I decided to wait for the Evolve Switch to be released and jumped on the group buy
. Info on the Evolve switch can be found here:
http://www.e90post.com/forums/showth...14#post4953614
In terms of the preparing the Switch it’s pretty easy as long as you are pc savvy – (info
http://www.e90post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=261727). . The switch only takes a couple of minutes to upload the map and (as proved by the Dyno) puts back the original just as quickly with no problems.
Performance
So 2 months on and 3500 miles covered I am still stunned with the uplift in performance. The engine also revs better at the red-line so auto gear changes at full throttle feel smoother and even quicker (bit of a gripe of mine pre-map).
This car is now a bit of a brute – that old school, one turbo shove is harder and more intense yet the standard 330d driveability remains. It is tricky to get a perfect start in the dry, but get it right and the car feels as fast as my old Scooby (I would say 0-60 in high 5’s now). The remap real comes into its own from 50 when you can get all those torques down (although DSC does flash a little) which makes overtaking a breeze and does leave pre-map comparable cars comfortably behind.
In the wet, this car needs to be treated with a light right foot and change up as soon as possible. Even in 4th I have had the back end waggle and DSC light up when the turbo kicked in.
Economy
I am not convinced the Evolve Remap improves economy by 1-2mpg, but it hasn’t made it worse either – so that’s a result. On the motorway, I have managed just over 50mpg with cruise set to 70! Generally though, I have cruise set a bit higher and get around 45-48mpg – that’s simply amazing for an auto car this quick.
One strange thing – my mpg computer used to read 1mpg under compared to brim to brim, after the map its now spot on
Dyno
Popped into see Imran and Sultan last week (really cool guys – thanks again) and they Dyno’d standard/remap– proof that the Evolve Switch does what it says
As you can see – impressive gains - 238 stock to 290 bhp after remap. Torque little lower than expected at 480 lbft (Imran had a little trouble getting an accurate reading and had to do a second run) At time of dyno, car has done 10,500 miles.
Summary
This may surprise, but I actually don’t use the extra Remap power all that often – I tend to chill out when driving and enjoy the journey. However when I do want to drive quickly or I get to my favourite B road – this remap is simply awesome and turns the 330d into a real wolf in sheep’s clothing.
I now have my perfect allround roadcar
