MHD + xHP Review

dakotap80 · 06-14-2018, 10:16 PM

Hi all! Just wanted to post a review of both my xHP and MHD experiences with my 2011 335i xDrive.

A little background info about my car first, just bought it in March with 90,000 miles, now has 95,000. Aside from the LED halo bulbs and Pilot Super Sport tires in place of the awful RFT's the car was bone stock. I got an oil change, changed spark plugs, replaced the HPFP (thought this wouldn't be a big issue with the N55 but whatever

), and did a drain and fill of trans fluid to get the car ready for the tunes.
Only things that stood out to me before the flashes: the 3-4 shift was pretty rough, especially when the car wasn't warmed up, and my oil gauge consistently showed temps from 250-260 once warmed up (I know these cars run hot but I see most people reporting 245 degrees max, though even when pushing it pretty hard I've never gone into limp mode, knock on wood)

xHP: I chose to flash stage 2 rather than stage 3 just because I was worried it would be too harsh for everyday driving and also don't want to stress my old trans too much. The flash itself took about 40 min and it made a massive difference. Shifts were a lot crisper in M and S, and D was actually extremely smooth. The 3-4 shift issue was totally solved as well. The upshift from 2-3 at WOT can be a tiny bit harsh but it doesn't bother me too much. Overall well worth it.

MHD: The MHD flash also took about 35 minutes. I initially just flashed stage 1 on 91 octane, and maybe something didn't work properly during the flash, but on the initial test drive I really did not feel much of a difference. Granted, I did have my brother and cousin in the car and the AC on but it truly did not feel different. I went ahead and flashed stage 1+ to see if it made a difference, and WOW, it was night and day. The next day my brother and I went on a drive up in the mountains around Salt Lake and even at 10,000+ feet in elevation the car was pulling like a train. The top end felt moderately stronger for sure but it was from about 2400-4500 RPM that it was a different animal. Upon getting back to MT I noticed that there would be some hiccups when pulling hard from 2-3k RPM, so I flashed back to stage 1+ on ACN91 and it now pulls silky smooth. I honestly didn't hear the exhaust burbles but did feel a hitch in the deceleration with them on so I turned them off. Overall MHD is worth the hype, I'd strongly recommend it. Now I just need to get my FMIC ordered

turo · 06-15-2018, 09:53 AM

Thanks for the review! I'm looking to do xHP very soon. Can you adjust the shift points in D? I want to make sure that the car keeps some decent gas mileage when my wife drives it.

dakotap80 · 06-15-2018, 11:56 AM

You can to a degree, you can adjust the automated shift points under WOT in each of the three modes. D mode is still very mild, I'm in 6th gear by 40-42 MPH just driving around town. Hasn't affected mileage at all for me.

Sweeney921 · 01-15-2019, 08:23 AM

Sorry to revive an old thread, but does xHP adjust the cruising RPM in D mode? My car upshifts until it gets the RPM down to around 1000, which means that there's always a brief period of engine lug at the beginning of uphill sections or whenever I need to accelerate.

I reckon that cruising one or two gears lower would fix the problem, which I hope that xHP takes care of. Any feedback on your experience 7 months later?

LGCubana · 01-15-2019, 08:09 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sweeney921

Sorry to revive an old thread, but does xHP adjust the cruising RPM in D mode? My car upshifts until it gets the RPM down to around 1000, which means that there's always a brief period of engine lug at the beginning of uphill sections or whenever I need to accelerate.

I reckon that cruising one or two gears lower would fix the problem, which I hope that xHP takes care of. Any feedback on your experience 7 months later?

Wouldn’t it be easier for you to just downshift when you need to ?

Sweeney921 · 01-15-2019, 09:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by LGCubana

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sweeney921

Sorry to revive an old thread, but does xHP adjust the cruising RPM in D mode? My car upshifts until it gets the RPM down to around 1000, which means that there's always a brief period of engine lug at the beginning of uphill sections or whenever I need to accelerate.

I reckon that cruising one or two gears lower would fix the problem, which I hope that xHP takes care of. Any feedback on your experience 7 months later?

Wouldn't it be easier for you to just downshift when you need to ?

That's what I wind up doing, but I expect better programming out of a car this expensive. My hope is that with xHP the transmission doesn't lug the engine.

dakotap80 · 01-16-2019, 11:40 AM

I switched to stage 1 about a month or two ago just to check it out, I pretty quickly noticed that stage one does result in a bit more lugging situations. Stage 2 was definitely more quick to downshift and I don't recall myself catching the engine out of the power band like I sometimes do now. Long story short Stage 2 sounds like the way to go for you, Stage 1 doesn't offer much improvement over stock in terms of keeping your RPM's up in D mode.

I notice you have an F30 with the 8 speed though so your experience may be totally different than mine.

06-14-2018, 10:16 PM	#1
dakotap80 Private 27 Rep 72 Posts Drives: 2011 E90 335i xDrive Join Date: May 2017 Location: Montana iTrader: (0)	MHD + xHP Review Hi all! Just wanted to post a review of both my xHP and MHD experiences with my 2011 335i xDrive. A little background info about my car first, just bought it in March with 90,000 miles, now has 95,000. Aside from the LED halo bulbs and Pilot Super Sport tires in place of the awful RFT's the car was bone stock. I got an oil change, changed spark plugs, replaced the HPFP (thought this wouldn't be a big issue with the N55 but whatever ), and did a drain and fill of trans fluid to get the car ready for the tunes. Only things that stood out to me before the flashes: the 3-4 shift was pretty rough, especially when the car wasn't warmed up, and my oil gauge consistently showed temps from 250-260 once warmed up (I know these cars run hot but I see most people reporting 245 degrees max, though even when pushing it pretty hard I've never gone into limp mode, knock on wood) xHP: I chose to flash stage 2 rather than stage 3 just because I was worried it would be too harsh for everyday driving and also don't want to stress my old trans too much. The flash itself took about 40 min and it made a massive difference. Shifts were a lot crisper in M and S, and D was actually extremely smooth. The 3-4 shift issue was totally solved as well. The upshift from 2-3 at WOT can be a tiny bit harsh but it doesn't bother me too much. Overall well worth it. MHD: The MHD flash also took about 35 minutes. I initially just flashed stage 1 on 91 octane, and maybe something didn't work properly during the flash, but on the initial test drive I really did not feel much of a difference. Granted, I did have my brother and cousin in the car and the AC on but it truly did not feel different. I went ahead and flashed stage 1+ to see if it made a difference, and WOW, it was night and day. The next day my brother and I went on a drive up in the mountains around Salt Lake and even at 10,000+ feet in elevation the car was pulling like a train. The top end felt moderately stronger for sure but it was from about 2400-4500 RPM that it was a different animal. Upon getting back to MT I noticed that there would be some hiccups when pulling hard from 2-3k RPM, so I flashed back to stage 1+ on ACN91 and it now pulls silky smooth. I honestly didn't hear the exhaust burbles but did feel a hitch in the deceleration with them on so I turned them off. Overall MHD is worth the hype, I'd strongly recommend it. Now I just need to get my FMIC ordered
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06-15-2018, 09:53 AM	#2
turo Lieutenant 163 Rep 468 Posts Drives: Yes Join Date: Jul 2011 Location: North VA iTrader: (2) Garage List 2011 BMW 335i [8.40] 2024 BMW M2 [9.00] 2018 BMW 340i XDrive [10.00]	Thanks for the review! I'm looking to do xHP very soon. Can you adjust the shift points in D? I want to make sure that the car keeps some decent gas mileage when my wife drives it.
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06-15-2018, 11:56 AM	#3
dakotap80 Private 27 Rep 72 Posts Drives: 2011 E90 335i xDrive Join Date: May 2017 Location: Montana iTrader: (0)	You can to a degree, you can adjust the automated shift points under WOT in each of the three modes. D mode is still very mild, I'm in 6th gear by 40-42 MPH just driving around town. Hasn't affected mileage at all for me.
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01-15-2019, 08:23 AM	#4
Sweeney921 Second Lieutenant 98 Rep 227 Posts Drives: 2000 BMW E39 M5 Join Date: Dec 2016 Location: USA iTrader: (0) Garage List 2017 BMW 330i Touring [0.00]	Sorry to revive an old thread, but does xHP adjust the cruising RPM in D mode? My car upshifts until it gets the RPM down to around 1000, which means that there's always a brief period of engine lug at the beginning of uphill sections or whenever I need to accelerate. I reckon that cruising one or two gears lower would fix the problem, which I hope that xHP takes care of. Any feedback on your experience 7 months later? __________________ 2017 BMW 330i Sport Wagon - M-sport, EBII, THP, DHP Supersprint cat-back exhaust (resonated, dual outlet) - H&R rear sway bar - ER charge pipe Waiting for: Bootmod3 - xHP Flashtool - xDelete
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01-16-2019, 11:40 AM	#7
dakotap80 Private 27 Rep 72 Posts Drives: 2011 E90 335i xDrive Join Date: May 2017 Location: Montana iTrader: (0)	I switched to stage 1 about a month or two ago just to check it out, I pretty quickly noticed that stage one does result in a bit more lugging situations. Stage 2 was definitely more quick to downshift and I don't recall myself catching the engine out of the power band like I sometimes do now. Long story short Stage 2 sounds like the way to go for you, Stage 1 doesn't offer much improvement over stock in terms of keeping your RPM's up in D mode. I notice you have an F30 with the 8 speed though so your experience may be totally different than mine.
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