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Adding 60 hp to my 535xi

16K views 96 replies 17 participants last post by  PeterC4 
#1 · (Edited)
I had a Burger Motorsports N55 Stage 1 Tune added to my car today. Mike from N54 Tuning.com did the install for me. A very nice guy. Here are my observations.

1. I watched the install and it took about 20 minutes with a little testing. Very clean, all of the wires look like OEM connections, no splicing or cutting. If you know what you are looking for, its very easy and ultimately its pretty much concealed from view. I have a USB connection to the chip for updates.

2. There are no noticeable effects from the install. There is no real change in idle speed, no sound differences, no warning lights, no differences at very modest driving speeds except for a feeling of more torque, (see 3).

3. There is a very noticeable difference in torque and the responsiveness from even a very modest blip of the throttle. The car pulls noticeably stronger. My car was not plagued with any significant lag, but I can tell you, if this has the same impact on a 2011 car, I would expect that the lag issues would go away.

4. You notice two things at highway speeds. To get decent reaction, you don't have to push the pedal down as far and you can use a higher gear for acceleration without having to really make the car downshift aggressively. It feels very good.

5. I stepped on it once, on the highway, and you feel the difference in acceleration. It is noticeable. I haven't really tested it from a stop, but the car is definitely more responsive.

Well worth it from what I can tell. And in every day driving, you'll step on the gas less to get the same result. I'll see whether it uses more gas, but I suspect it won't. I would say that it feels like the engine handled the adjustments very well and it feels like it was designed to work this way.

Note: The 60 hp is as advertised. I don't know if that is accurate as I have not formerlly tested it. But overall it's a noticable difference.
 
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#2 ·
Thanks for the post. 60HP is about a 20% gain and you should definitely feel it. I will be very interested to hear what it feels like when you really start stepping on it.:D
 
#3 ·
Thank you for the awesome review! I am happy to hear a review from a 2011 F10er, as I am in the same boat. I was hoping to wait until after my next service (2k more miles) before getting the Stage 1; however, you are REALLY tempting me :)!

Yeah, I believe the tune should be even more noticeable after the tune adjusts and settles in more. Looking forward for a 1 month follow-up.

In regards to the USB for upgrades, I wonder if BMS will ever put one out. They have yet to put out a single update since the Stage 1 release. Did you get the BUS tool that prevents the dealership from seeing any tamper codes??
 
#4 ·
I have a 2012. To put it this way, it is a relatively inexpensive tune and not extreme. You could always try it on your 2011 and if it doesn't do the trick, you could set it to zero or potentially do a resale. I haven't tested it on dyno to see what the real hp add is, but it is a noticeable difference, but not a screeching monster.
 
#5 ·
They do have software which I am getting sent to me. Yes, apparently you can improve on the standard install and add a little more boost or...turn it off. I don't have the BUS tool. I have a different OBDII reader that may clear visual codes but that's it. From another forum member who's been using it a while, he has had no problems whatsoever - he uses the standard tune. I will update over the next few days.
 
#7 ·
Sorry to play Debbie Downer here, but your post reads 60HP gain. If you did not dyno before and after how do you really know? The mind can have a huge part in the perception of car speeds and torque.
 
#11 ·
You're right, I do not know the real hp, just going by the advertising. I don't really care about the advertising. What I can tell you driving to work this cold morning is this.

1) Starting the car, and driving it normally in traffic, all you notice is more torque and a less of a requirement to push the throttle.

2) It has a very nice effect on the car's performance. From a gentle start, there is just more torque, no hint whatsover of lag, no rough idle, everything seems normal.

3) Driving on the highway, acceleration is accomplished with far less effort or drama.

For the average driver, this will seem like a very nice improvement, it will not seem as an aggressive tune at all...because I don't think it is and frankly it seems very natural.

So far, I'm quite happy with it, and I achieved what I wanted. Well worth it.
 
#8 ·
I had a Burger Motorsports N55 Stage 1 Tune added to my car today. Mike from N54 Tuning.com did the install for me. A very nice guy. Here are my observations.

1. I watched the install and it took about 20 minutes with a little testing. Very clean, all of the wires look like OEM connections, no splicing or cutting. If you know what you are looking for, its very easy and ultimately its pretty much concealed from view. I have a USB connection to the chip for updates.

2. There are no noticeable effects from the install. There is no real change in idle speed, no sound differences, no warning lights, no differences at very modest driving speeds except for a feeling of more torque, (see 3).

3. There is a very noticeable difference in torque and the responsiveness from even a very modest blip of the throttle. The car pulls noticeably stronger. My car was not plagued with any significant lag, but I can tell you, if this has the same impact on a 2011 car, I would expect that the lag issues would go away.

4. You notice two things at highway speeds. To get decent reaction, you don't have to push the pedal down as far and you can use a higher gear for acceleration without having to really make the car downshift aggressively. It feels very good.

5. I stepped on it once, on the highway, and you feel the difference in acceleration. It is noticeable. I haven't really tested it from a stop, but the car is definitely more responsive.

Well worth it from what I can tell. And in every day driving, you'll step on the gas less to get the same result. I'll see whether it uses more gas, but I suspect it won't. I would say that it feels like the engine handled the adjustments very well and it feels like it was designed to work this way.
Nice review! I agree with everything with the exception of the 60hp increase. I have installed this on my car and used the USB cable to bump it to 4.5 over stock and coming from 3 N54 powered cars and tuning them, you can actually feel a 60hp increase from a tune only, I can tell you that the stage 1 is a moderate increase of about 40hp.
I beleive there are some dynos out there that support my feelings.

Overall it's great bang for the buck.. but a 60hp increase is a stretch from this tune only (as of right now)
 
#10 ·
Are you doing before and after dyno tests?
 
#17 ·
I think I am going to brush up on the coding pieces first. Lots I want to do including stuff for the HUD, turning off some chimes, auto fold mirrors from key fob, etc. This way I can help out those in this area.

If/when I start with the performance stuff - I think I will try to bribe Ramble with some brews :thumbup:
 
#25 ·
Actually stage 2 isn't really that bad. theres two wires that you need to hardwire to your stock harness but Terry now ships the device with something called Posi-Tap which makes things much much easier.

You can basically remove the tap in seconds and it wouldn't leave any evidence besides a tiny pin hole in the oem wire. Search posi-tap online for videos.

Alan
 
#31 ·
Exactly. I can't imagine what is the reason for a three years delay to come out with a tune. Especially they already have the same engine tuned for other models(335 etc).
By the time the Dinan tune for our cars releases, the next generation of 5 series will probably be out already.
 
#34 ·
I just installed the JB4 stage 2 on my 2013 535xi and so far it feels pretty damn sweet. Right off the bat you can feel the extra power. Feels like the car shed a few hundred lbs when it accelerates now. This is at the default 3.5psi over stock setting.

Didn't get to romp on it the car much but so far just normal driving around feels alot nicer than stock.

The install was a breeze. Took me alittle while just to get familiar with the N55 motor but i can probably do the install again in less than 10mins

My problem now is finding a good spot to run the cable/jb4 so it looks more stealth.

Alan
 
#37 ·
I just installed the JB4 stage 2 on my 2013 535xi and so far it feels pretty damn sweet. Right off the bat you can feel the extra power. Feels like the car shed a few hundred lbs when it accelerates now. This is at the default 3.5psi over stock setting.

Didn't get to romp on it the car much but so far just normal driving around feels alot nicer than stock.

The install was a breeze. Took me alittle while just to get familiar with the N55 motor but i can probably do the install again in less than 10mins

My problem now is finding a good spot to run the cable/jb4 so it looks more stealth.

Alan
Alan, was Stage 2 plug and play? Any splicing or related adjustments required?
 
#36 · (Edited)
Compared to the JB4?

While I do say you get a lot of bang for your buck with the JB we aren't getting anywhere near the gains they claim on their website. From two dynos I've seen it's about 20-30whp and 50-60wtq and these were cars running catless downpipes.

Hartge's numbers appear to be at the crank so not sure how it stacks up with the JB4 since numbers are measured at the wheels.

Alan
 
#39 ·
Hi Alan,

I would not think that the 20-30 whp you quoted would support your first impressions of the default boost performance difference. I can't wait for your comments when you bump the boost and step on the pedal.
 
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