Bootmod3 Impression vs Racechip

[rblynn78]

Hi all,
Just wanted to share my experience here. I have a 2018 X5M. It has a Dinan exhaust, aFe Intake and had a Racechip GTS. Although I could certainly see the difference on the Racechip (turning it off, vs map 3, 5, 7), I did find it inconsistent. Meaning, I felt sometimes when you floored it the power was all there. Wow impression, there is the extra power. And then some other times I felt like you would floor it and was wondering if it was on. I felt this many times over owning it for 6 months. I have no data to back this up, was just my impression. I decided to go for a tune. I was looking at Carbahn, VF, Bootmod3 and Noelle.

- Carbahn - loved the idea... Dinan, yes. VERY tough to find an installer in my area and not something I can install. I probably would have gone this route if the install was local and easy.

- VF - Had this on my M4, loved it, no issues. Couldn't find anyone out there with this tune on X5M, so passed

- Noelle - local shop SWEARS by them and I really like this shop and their staff. heavily considered. My research found people didn't see the power they expected, no bad reviews per say, but no rave reviews either. I did not like their "you can't dyno this tune" philosophy and their tune is almost $3k.

- Bootmod3 - went with this one. I will say when I started this was my last choice only cause I knew the least about them. After researching a good bit, a ton of people seem very happy and I really couldn't find any horror stories. I am always nervous of tuning myself with tunes that you can "alter". I was always scared I would screw something up on the car by accident. I learned that was pretty stupid on my part. installing this tune was incredibly easy and user friendly. The options you can alter are very clear, easy to understand and easy to not install if you dont want to. The entire process took me 30 mins from start to finish

My impression is there is more power with a smoother and longer delivery curve than the piggyback FOR SURE. It seems to eliminate the "not always there feeling". Some small burbles, which are nice and not obnoxious. The car is FAST. I can tell you it feels substantially faster than the piggyback all around. In Sport Plus, it was a holy shit experience. I did the Stage 1 93 octane tune.

I would love some feedback from any that did Stage 2 with downpipes.. how loud and how smelly is it?

Anyway, hope this helps someone. I was on the fence and now wondered why I waited this long. Great support from Bootmod3, very easy to follow, UI is great, install was SUPER easy and the power and delivery seems amazing thus far.

[Braydenx]

Thank you for sharing your experience with Bootmod3, I also have a 17 x5m with Dinan exhaust and was debating whether should go with Bootmod, u just helped me made up my mind!!

[Braydenx]

BTW did u have to change the spark plug before bootmod3?

[rblynn78]

Negative. I didn't change a thing nor do I believe they recommend to.

[Sophisticated Redneck]

The one thing all tunes share in common is a bump in timing and boost, especially in the low to midrange rpm. This puts any engine at higher risk for LSPI (Low Speed Pre-Ignition) . IMHO anyone here who is running a tune, jb4, or racechip to do three things to ensure the longevity of their engine:

1 - Change your oil every 5k miles & use 2 cans Liqui Moly Mos2 additive (pre-mix the additive in one of the 5 liter oil bottles after you have poured in a few liters). IMHO this additive is the main reason my engine is still going despite being 10 years old and over 182k miles and still pushing 600hp, not to mention it is the original infamous n63 and is subjected to heavy right foot abuse on a daily basis. Mos2 both reduces the chances of LSPI and offers an extra layer of protection for the bearings should pre-ignition events occur.

2 - Run an E20 or E30 mix. In general this bumps your aki (octane) rating to around 94-95ish. Tuned engines need more then 93 IMHO as 93 should be considered the bare minimum in optimal conditions only. Look online for calculators on the the proper mix (Usually 4-5 gallons of E85 and the rest 91 depending on E85 quality on a standard F15/F85 fillup). You should notice your a tenth or two quicker with E85 also so the hp & torque boost is worth it alone. Be careful not to go to much over E30 mix or it can start to run lean and trigger engine codes as the stock fuel system can only compensate so much.

3 - Carry around a spare bottle of octane booster (boostane, lucas, VP, Royal purple all make excellent octane boosters) to use in times when you don't have access to E85 gas. I don't recommend continuous use however as it will foul your plugs after 5000+ miles using every fill up as I have learned the hard way. However using it once it a while does no harm.

[rblynn78]

All good advice

Do you feel the same if 93 is readily available in your area?

Originally Posted by Sophisticated Redneck

The one thing all tunes share in common is a bump in timing and boost, especially in the low to midrange rpm. This puts any engine at higher risk for LSPI (Low Speed Pre-Ignition) . IMHO anyone here who is running a tune, jb4, or racechip to do three things to ensure the longevity of their engine:

1 - Change your oil every 5k miles & use 2 cans Liqui Moly Mos2 additive (pre-mix the additive in one of the 5 liter oil bottles after you have poured in a few liters). IMHO this additive is the main reason my engine is still going despite being 10 years old and over 182k miles and still pushing 600hp, not to mention it is the original infamous n63 and is subjected to heavy right foot abuse on a daily basis. Mos2 both reduces the chances of LSPI and offers an extra layer of protection for the bearings should pre-ignition events occur.

2 - Run an E20 or E30 mix. In general this bumps your aki (octane) rating to around 94-95ish. Tuned engines need more then 93 IMHO as 93 should be considered the bare minimum in optimal conditions only. Look online for calculators on the the proper mix (Usually 4-5 gallons of E85 and the rest 91 depending on E85 quality on a standard F15/F85 fillup). You should notice your a tenth or two quicker with E85 also so the hp & torque boost is worth it alone. Be careful not to go to much over E30 mix or it can start to run lean and trigger engine codes as the stock fuel system can only compensate so much.

3 - Carry around a spare bottle of octane booster (boostane, lucas, VP, Royal purple all make excellent octane boosters) to use in times when you don't have access to E85 gas. I don't recommend continuous use however as it will foul your plugs after 5000+ miles using every fill up as I have learned the hard way. However using it once it a while does no harm.

[Sophisticated Redneck]

Originally Posted by rblynn78

All good advice

Do you feel the same if 93 is readily available in your area?

I am a "Luck favors the prepared" type of person so I still highly recommend 95ish aki being the sweet spot for tuned engines, especially tuned BMW twin turbo v8's pushing 5300+ pounds. It gives you a buffer, 93 as the absolute minimum IMHO plus you will see and feel a difference in performance as the engine will run more timing. It's not a huge difference but it is noticable in both the butt Dyno and draggy/drag strip.

I recommend staring with e20 and slowly increase each fill up to e30, allowing your fuel trims to adjust. Picking up a wireless ob2 elm32 scanner and running a app like torque to monitor air fuel ratio is handy too find the sweet spot as e85 quality can vary.

[Braydenx]

sounds like 93 is not enough for bm3 93? So maybe only tune bm3 to 91 and fill 93 gas if I don't wanna deal with the hassle of getting/mixing higher grade gas?

[Sophisticated Redneck]

Originally Posted by Braydenx

sounds like 93 is not enough for bm3 93? So maybe only tune bm3 to 91 and fill 93 gas if I don't wanna deal with the hassle of getting/mixing higher grade gas?

I think it's the right octane as long as conditions are optimal but make one mistake, like accidentally leaving the transmission in manual mode and in a high gear and low rpm, then stepping on it so full boost is applied but it doesn't kick down, and we'll you have a recipe for a potential pre-ignition event.

If you parse the forums, you will find a link between tunes and bearing failure yet there are still plenty of people running tunes who don't have any issues. It is my theory that tunes + driver error (anyone can make a mistake like listed above) induce LSPI events that smash through the oil film and start wearing on the bearing surfaces. Keep in mind once a rod or crank bearings surface is sufficiently damaged, it can no longer hold an oil film properly and catastrophic engine failure and your wallet going on a 20-30grand diet is inevitable.

The higher octane plus mos2 gives you protection on both fronts. If I were you I would change oil, toss in the mos2 additive, and log your timing data, look for any abrupt decreases in timing of 3 degrees or more during full throttle pulls (timing going to near zero during shifts is normal). From there you can decide what tune to stick with as random engine specific factors like carbon buildup can effect your engines tolerance for pre ignition/knock so each engine is a little different.