Attached is a file with four PIDs for the bank 2 DME. The Torque app developer added the capability to capture responses from the 2nd DME using custom PID numbers of the form 0xFExxxx. This link discusses the details. I haven't tried to get AFR for bank 2 yet, but I can see there might be an issue since I believe the custom 0xFExxxx PID equations only return 1 byte, but the O2 sensor data is four bytes (first two are the AF ratio). Also, I don't think knock is available as a standard OBD PID.
Many tuners have tried to get a 10 second pass on the N63 platform since its release. Most have given up on the platform altogether...
Last summer.... HEATSYNC PERFORMANCE EURO did it with the heavy RWD 650 grand coupe using stock turbos, intakes and downpipes!
I was already with my 3rd tuner at the time... but after seeing that... I felt like I had no other choice but to get tuned by them, because I’ll I’ve ever wanted since buying this car in 2016, was to hit 10 seconds. And if I knew all I needed was intakes and downpipes with the right tuner.... I wouldn’t be broke today lol..... mods: pure stage 1 turbos, intakes, downpipes, exhaust, dinan intercoolers, stock tmap sensors and the very much needed.... Spool Performance ethanol analyzer- I honestly would’ve never made it to 10s without that little device... I do not have a transmission flash as yet , no port injection and I am not currently running meth..... and fueling and log information is something I am not really willing to share at the moment. But.... I will be hitting up AJAY when I’m ready to really spice things up lol!
PS
I let off before 1/4
Last summer.... HEATSYNC PERFORMANCE EURO did it with the heavy RWD 650 grand coupe using stock turbos, intakes and downpipes!
I was already with my 3rd tuner at the time... but after seeing that... I felt like I had no other choice but to get tuned by them, because I’ll I’ve ever wanted since buying this car in 2016, was to hit 10 seconds. And if I knew all I needed was intakes and downpipes with the right tuner.... I wouldn’t be broke today lol..... mods: pure stage 1 turbos, intakes, downpipes, exhaust, dinan intercoolers, stock tmap sensors and the very much needed.... Spool Performance ethanol analyzer- I honestly would’ve never made it to 10s without that little device... I do not have a transmission flash as yet , no port injection and I am not currently running meth..... and fueling and log information is something I am not really willing to share at the moment. But.... I will be hitting up AJAY when I’m ready to really spice things up lol!
PS
I let off before 1/4
Attachments
Great write up markspeed.
I just bought a 2014 550ix m sport and I too am looking for some more performance. I'd like to try to get into the 11s without changing anything, except, maybe, intake to get cooler air.
Anyway, it has been a little while since you wrote this. What advice do you have for a tuning novice? Do you have a recommendation for piggyback or ecu or something else? There are so many choices. ESS, BMS, Mission, BM3 and on and on. Thanks. John
I just bought a 2014 550ix m sport and I too am looking for some more performance. I'd like to try to get into the 11s without changing anything, except, maybe, intake to get cooler air.
Anyway, it has been a little while since you wrote this. What advice do you have for a tuning novice? Do you have a recommendation for piggyback or ecu or something else? There are so many choices. ESS, BMS, Mission, BM3 and on and on. Thanks. John
I know you asked john but im consistently 11.3 to 11.5 and hit 11.19 with just a dp . I think the biggest thing is trans tune and then I'd go bm3 or sergei or heatsync from what I've seen. I have mission and it's a good tune but cust service is awful and god forbid you have a issue with the tune example being I kept saying trans didnt feel tuned and month and half went by of me swearing it's not done and them saying it is. So finally I said whatever just fix the trans nut showing the gear on dash and he logged in remotely to do it and saw that trans was ru ni g backup flash. If I had kept my mouth shut I would have never gotten my trans flashed. I'm most likely going to be going heatsync or bm3 with v8bait tuning me cause he tubes my other car and is amazing.
Edited since I mistook your badging for a N63TU2 but I'm guessing you put that on with all your other sweet exterior mods (I should have known from the taillights...)
Awesome times (and trap speeds) Jaxx-Hightimez! 10.9 sec @ probably 130 mph (if you didn't let off) is smokin' quick. Of course, negative DA's like that are to die for... (I made several runs today at 7600 ft DA...
). It would be awesome if you could share a log or at least how much boost you're running.Yeah, I don't know why there's not much love for this platform. The original N63s had lots of issues, but my N63TU has been bulletproof and your car shows how fast they can be, especially the newer TU2's.
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Thanks John. An easy way to get started is with a piggyback tuner device like the BMS Stage 1 (used to be called the JB+) and a method for logging such as the Torque Pro app and a Bluetooth OBD adapter. BMS has a great reputation and online forum (n54tech.com - excellent reading even if you don't use their products). You may need to mix in some ethanol if you don't have 93 octane and want to maximize performance. I'm not sure you'd get into the 11s, but you should be close. The next step up (in cost and level of effort) is a DME flash tune, which is relatively easy with BM3 and gives you lots of additional capabilities, including full logging. I wouldn't bother with intakes, downpipes, trans flash, or the like unless you're really pushing it. A simple tune (piggyback or DME) goes a long way on these cars. -Mark
Continuing the journey…
I installed Pure Stage 2 turbos, DPs, XHP trans flash, 3.5bar intercooler (pre-throttle) pressure sensors, and various maintenance items over the last few months. My original plan was to test the performance benefit of each upgrade, but I didn’t have the time to tune and test each one individually.
Anyway, let’s get to the turbo install. Here are the stock turbos ready to come out. They had developed a loud whine on spin-down, so they needed replacement anyway (at least that’s what I told my wife…).
And here’s a pic with them removed. They can be removed without removing the downpipes or exhaust. I hadn’t really planned on replacing downpipes but as I started tuning the DME after the turbo install I figured I might as well replace them to avoid having to spend the time tuning twice. I should have just done them during the turbo install, but hey, it gave me a reason to spend more time in the garage…
New parts laid out and ready for install. I replaced the accessory and AC belts, accessory belt tensioner, transmission fluid and filter, a few remaining press-fit WMI connections (with compression fittings), and some other maintenance items while I had things apart.
Old parts, some waiting to go back on the car:
Install in progress:
The turbo install itself was a day and a half job, but replacing the oil feed line to the turbos was another day and a half. It required removal of the alternator, exhaust manifolds, and other parts in the V of the block. I’m not sure it actually was necessary (I haven’t checked to see if the old fee line was clogged), but Pure requires it to warranty their turbos so I figured it must be a common issue and should be done. Here’s a pic with exhaust manifolds and other parts removed and the new oil feed line in place:
New turbos installed:
A few lessons learned I’d recommend to anyone replacing their turbos:
Ok, let’s get to the point of the turbo upgrade - performance. As expected, I quickly found out the tuning I’d been using with the stock turbos wasn’t good at all with the PS2 turbos - boost pressure all over the place, lots of throttle closures, WGDC up and down. Here’s a sample (this was prior to DP replacement):
Well, since I’m a DIY type of guy, I decided to invest the time to learn the ins-and-outs of the N63TU DME (MEVD172H) boost and load control tables. After 80+ DME flashes and test runs, 6+ tanks of gas, and my wife wondering why I’m out on random drives at all hours of the day, I learned enough about the DME’s tables and functioning to pull off a decent tune. Here are a few plots from my base tune with boost pressure roughly equivalent to what I had with the stock turbos:
These plots show that at the same boost pressure, airflow through the engine (and therefore power...) with the PS2 turbos and DPs increased about 5% over stock.
Here are the performance numbers for this initial base tune with PS2 turbos and DPs (78 degF, 7200 ft DA):
A nice little bump in performance for the same boost pressure just due to the higher airflow with the turbos and DPs.
Now that a baseline has been established, it’s time to turn up the boost to take full advantage of the bigger turbos. That work is in progress and results will be posted soon.
I installed Pure Stage 2 turbos, DPs, XHP trans flash, 3.5bar intercooler (pre-throttle) pressure sensors, and various maintenance items over the last few months. My original plan was to test the performance benefit of each upgrade, but I didn’t have the time to tune and test each one individually.
Anyway, let’s get to the turbo install. Here are the stock turbos ready to come out. They had developed a loud whine on spin-down, so they needed replacement anyway (at least that’s what I told my wife…).
And here’s a pic with them removed. They can be removed without removing the downpipes or exhaust. I hadn’t really planned on replacing downpipes but as I started tuning the DME after the turbo install I figured I might as well replace them to avoid having to spend the time tuning twice. I should have just done them during the turbo install, but hey, it gave me a reason to spend more time in the garage…
New parts laid out and ready for install. I replaced the accessory and AC belts, accessory belt tensioner, transmission fluid and filter, a few remaining press-fit WMI connections (with compression fittings), and some other maintenance items while I had things apart.
Old parts, some waiting to go back on the car:
Install in progress:
The turbo install itself was a day and a half job, but replacing the oil feed line to the turbos was another day and a half. It required removal of the alternator, exhaust manifolds, and other parts in the V of the block. I’m not sure it actually was necessary (I haven’t checked to see if the old fee line was clogged), but Pure requires it to warranty their turbos so I figured it must be a common issue and should be done. Here’s a pic with exhaust manifolds and other parts removed and the new oil feed line in place:
New turbos installed:
A few lessons learned I’d recommend to anyone replacing their turbos:
- If you remove the exhaust manifolds (to replace the turbo oil feed line), check the exhaust manifold nuts at the back of the block after a few weeks. I had two come loose even though I had replaced them with new ones and torqued them to spec.
- Loosen the coolant plug bolts that come with the turbos and center the copper washers better. Mine had two issues – the copper washers weren’t centered very well due to the design of the bolt and the bolts weren’t very tight. They leaked a bit of coolant for a few weeks until I replaced, and better centered, the copper washers.
- Have an endoscope (camera on a wire) on hand (I bought one off Amazon for $50 that works with my smart phone) – it, plus a magnet, makes finding and retrieving dropped nuts and bolts from all the damn nooks and crannies in the engine compartment much easier.
Ok, let’s get to the point of the turbo upgrade - performance. As expected, I quickly found out the tuning I’d been using with the stock turbos wasn’t good at all with the PS2 turbos - boost pressure all over the place, lots of throttle closures, WGDC up and down. Here’s a sample (this was prior to DP replacement):
Well, since I’m a DIY type of guy, I decided to invest the time to learn the ins-and-outs of the N63TU DME (MEVD172H) boost and load control tables. After 80+ DME flashes and test runs, 6+ tanks of gas, and my wife wondering why I’m out on random drives at all hours of the day, I learned enough about the DME’s tables and functioning to pull off a decent tune. Here are a few plots from my base tune with boost pressure roughly equivalent to what I had with the stock turbos:
These plots show that at the same boost pressure, airflow through the engine (and therefore power...) with the PS2 turbos and DPs increased about 5% over stock.
Here are the performance numbers for this initial base tune with PS2 turbos and DPs (78 degF, 7200 ft DA):
- 0-60mph: 3.79, 3.85 sec
- 1/4 mile: [email protected], [email protected]
- 1/2 mile: 149.3, 146.1 mph
A nice little bump in performance for the same boost pressure just due to the higher airflow with the turbos and DPs.
Now that a baseline has been established, it’s time to turn up the boost to take full advantage of the bigger turbos. That work is in progress and results will be posted soon.
any updates. I am about to start turning up boost and flash xhp xause I think my mission trans tune may not be doing anything
I'm up to 28 lbs of boost (40 psia absolute pressure at my elevation) and will post some results soon. I have a failing fuel pump control module (it overheats and shuts off after a while, even with "regular" driving) that I'm in the process of replacing (has to be programmed) and a misfire issue I'm working through. Once I have those worked out I should be able to make some clean runs and post results.
I had to take care of some things on the way to higher boost. First, I started getting misfires under load so I reduced the gap on my NGK spark plugs from 0.028” to 0.020”. That helped a bit, but didn’t solve the problem. Using ISTA+ to view misfire counts per cylinder and swapping ignition coils between cylinders, it became apparent a few of the coils weren’t performing up to snuff. The coils were still the factory originals and had 78k miles on them, so I bought 8 new ones (Bosch) and swapped them out. This eliminated the misfires.
The other issue that started all of a sudden was overheating of the fuel pump control module (EKPM3). Fuel pressure would drop to nothing a minute or so after a hard run and the car would then stall. If I let the module cool off for 10 minutes, the car would start up and run fine (until it overheated again). The module is located in the trunk and very close to my WMI pump, so I thought maybe the pump was contributing to the overheating, but when it overheated the module was too hot to touch while the WMI pump was fairly cool. Well, I bought a new one, installed it, programmed it with ESYS, and cleared the module’s transport/initialization mode using ISTA+ (which is apparently a safeguard to prevent the fuel pump from turning on at the factory with an empty tank). The new module works great gets nowhere near as hot to the touch as the old one. Overheating/failure of this module appears to be fairly common, so I think this was a failure mostly unrelated to my other mods.
The other issue that started all of a sudden was overheating of the fuel pump control module (EKPM3). Fuel pressure would drop to nothing a minute or so after a hard run and the car would then stall. If I let the module cool off for 10 minutes, the car would start up and run fine (until it overheated again). The module is located in the trunk and very close to my WMI pump, so I thought maybe the pump was contributing to the overheating, but when it overheated the module was too hot to touch while the WMI pump was fairly cool. Well, I bought a new one, installed it, programmed it with ESYS, and cleared the module’s transport/initialization mode using ISTA+ (which is apparently a safeguard to prevent the fuel pump from turning on at the factory with an empty tank). The new module works great gets nowhere near as hot to the touch as the old one. Overheating/failure of this module appears to be fairly common, so I think this was a failure mostly unrelated to my other mods.
I've been busy tuning the car (and repairing front-end damage from hitting a racoon at 85 mph...). I'll be posting some more info and logs, but here's a preview of performance so far with the PS2 turbos (at 5200 ft DA):
Thanks! Once I modified the DME tables for the PS2 turbos, boost was where I wanted it (and seems to be well controlled). The other part was getting a good launch, since the turbos don't spool the quickest at this elevation. I ended up fine-tuning the tables to build boost better at the line which cut amost a tenth off my 0-60 (I've had 0-60 times at low as 2.91 secs (w/ 1ft rollout)). Lately I've been slowly turning up the boost (currently at 29psi) but am running into misfire issues, so I just ordered some Precision Raceworks coils to see if they help.
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they make a kit or just buying bunch individual and do you know the dwell tables ? Would you want to tune my car i would love to pay you . Also i am trying to decide if i should get pure stg 1 or 2s or if anyting else is good i do not want any lag i don't care about spool but no lag like time to torque once spooled
I just bought two of their N55 kits and am making my own brackets. BM3 hasn't exposed the dwell tables yet. PR said I may not need to modify them - we'll see (I bought a current sensor for my recording oscilloscope to measure the signals).
Regarding PS1 vs PS2, I only have experience with the PS2s. I notice more lag than with stock turbos, but that is amplified by the thinner air at my elevation. I've implemented a sort of launch control in my tune to build more boost at the line, which overcomes the lag at launch (my best 60ft to date is 1.66 sec and the 0-60mph is shown below). The PS2s should allow more top end boost than the PS1s, which is what I'm concerned about (for 1/4 mile and 1/2 drag racing). If your goals are more for minimal lag at the expense of top-end power, I'd say go with the PS1s.
Regarding tuning, I’ll PM you.
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I have a a bunch of new info to post (effect of PR coils, intakes, dual IC radiators, hard launch tuning, etc.) but haven't had time lately. In the meantime, here are latest performance numbers (the cold winter air is helping, of course...). These were at 4700 ft elevation, 23 degF, 3700 ft DA.
