Best N54 Tuner

typedRew

Sergeant
Feb 25, 2019
412
221
0
Ride
2009 335i xDrive
So whats this list look like now?

I'll be wanting a custom tune here in the next month or two and am curious who is keeping up with the platform that is still willing to tune customers

I was leaning towards @Twisted Tuning as I plan on getting his meth flow DME setup and flex fuel, but names like @V8bait , @BQTuning and @trebila stick out to me but don't seem super active much anymore.

So i'd like to hear it from those who are actively tuning or their customers. Who do you like and who is still willing to deal with 10 year old N54 issues and new owners...

My setup will be stock turbos, flex fuel, meth and fbo + inlets outlets(not currently, just future plans)
 

Twisted Tuning

Lieutenant
Platinum Vendor
Oct 25, 2016
974
903
0
New York
www.twistedtuning.com
Ride
N54 and N55 Cars
So whats this list look like now?

I'll be wanting a custom tune here in the next month or two and am curious who is keeping up with the platform that is still willing to tune customers

I was leaning towards @Twisted Tuning as I plan on getting his meth flow DME setup and flex fuel, but names like @V8bait , @BQTuning and @trebila stick out to me but don't seem super active much anymore.

So i'd like to hear it from those who are actively tuning or their customers. Who do you like and who is still willing to deal with 10 year old N54 issues and new owners...

My setup will be stock turbos, flex fuel, meth and fbo + inlets outlets(not currently, just future plans)

still of course actively tuning as always.
 

DCook

Sergeant
May 25, 2018
274
135
0
Ride
08 BMW e92
Still sticking with ken/wedge. Hes very responsive on returning emails, and reviewing logs, and revisions. Very knowledgeable. Hes there at the drop of the hat.

V8bait is very smart and knowledgeable as well. Either two are great options.
 

typedRew

Sergeant
Feb 25, 2019
412
221
0
Ride
2009 335i xDrive
still of course actively tuning as always.

Thanks for chiming in, whats your preferred way of getting things started if I end up leaning your way? Just buy it off the website or contact you first?
Still sticking with ken/wedge. Hes very responsive on returning emails, and reviewing logs, and revisions. Very knowledgeable. Hes there at the drop of the hat.

V8bait is very smart and knowledgeable as well. Either two are great options.

Thanks for the reviews.
This is an either / or setup, as they use the same DME input wire and backing logic.

Now see, this I appreciate.

I had asked in his post regarding the flow sensor and for some reason I thought his response was that yes I could do both but I may as very well misunderstood him. If thats not the case then i guess i'll just be doing flex fuel with a small amount of meth for intake temp cooling(all i really wanted it for anyway).
 

martymil

Major General
Sep 6, 2017
3,331
1,906
0
Down Under
Ride
S65 1m
@trebila doesn't do standalone tunes but only jb4 back end flashes but if you want to use a jb4 he is one of the best.

@V8bait for stand alone but sometimes he can be slow to respond but the best in my books especially when tuning double barrels kits.
 

typedRew

Sergeant
Feb 25, 2019
412
221
0
Ride
2009 335i xDrive
@trebila doesn't do standalone tunes but only jb4 back end flashes but if you want to use a jb4 he is one of the best.

@V8bait for stand alone but sometimes he can be slow to respond but the best in my books especially when tuning double barrels kits.

Good to know, I wasn't aware of that. I won't be using a JB4 so i guess that counts him out.

Whats the best way to get a hold of V8bait? I know this isnt his day job, so i'd rather make sure i'm not bothering him until i'm ready to tune.
 

bantam

Corporal
Nov 20, 2017
127
102
0
Ride
2009 335i
How much time do you have to spend waiting in between tunes? Is it race season or you grudge on the weekends

I am using v8bait, I am happy with my tune, but his response times are very slow. My other concern with him would be that his tunes are locked. I am worried that once he finishes his medical residency and is able to work ER shifts at $200/hr, he will be even less available.

Average wait time for a tune or email response is ~2 weeks
 
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langsbr

Captain
Apr 5, 2017
1,266
771
0
Ride
07 335i 6MT e90
I am using v8bait, I am happy with my tune, but his response times are very slow. My other concern with him would be that his tunes are locked. I am worried that once he finishes his medical residency and is able to work ER shifts at $200/hr, he will be even less available.

Average wait time for a tune or email response is ~2 weeks
That's about par for response times for remote tuners from what I've seen. Unless you have a setup that is different, or trying to #sendit and the tuner can get some rep built, response times are at least a week, sometimes 3 from what I've experienced.

Also, I can only name one tuner that doesn't lock their mhd based tunes and that is Dean at RFP, but around here people lump him in with AJ. The fact is, the only people that know what happened between he and Ken is the 2 of them. Dean is also one of the only tuners willing to share as much info as he does.

I do find it interesting that the same people that shit on Doug at frankenturbo for only using Facebook and not the forums have no issue with Ken, who hasn't made hardly a forum post in years. He's going where the money is and that's social media.
 
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JMVELA

Specialist
Mar 17, 2018
67
23
0
Ride
2012 335is
Trebila has been tuning mine without any issue. Usually he respond and/or review logs within 24 hours
 
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fmorelli

Lieutenant General
Staff member
Aug 11, 2017
3,748
3,592
0
57
Virginia
Ride
E89 Z4 35i, F10 535d
Turnaround times with @BQTuning are typically inside 48 hours and 24 hours if it hits him at a good time. @langsbr is 2 weeks really common? I've been working with BQ for a while and that's been reasonably consistent. Some times different but we all deal with life - two weeks would be that one of us missed an email lol ...

Filippo
 
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typedRew

Sergeant
Feb 25, 2019
412
221
0
Ride
2009 335i xDrive
How much time do you have to spend waiting in between tunes? Is it race season or you grudge on the weekends
Just trying to have a fun daily, but yeah, if i need revisions or something isnt right i'd definitely like to know we can get it ironed out fairly quick.

This car will live its life commuting, hauling the family, doing dragy runs and going to the dragstrip.
 

typedRew

Sergeant
Feb 25, 2019
412
221
0
Ride
2009 335i xDrive
I am using v8bait, I am happy with my tune, but his response times are very slow. My other concern with him would be that his tunes are locked. I am worried that once he finishes his medical residency and is able to work ER shifts at $200/hr, he will be even less available.

Average wait time for a tune or email response is ~2 weeks
Good to know and yeah I know its not his day job, so id be curious if he will even stick around after that. He seems like a valuable asset, so i'd hope so.

Turnaround times with @BQTuning are typically inside 48 hours and 24 hours if it hits him at a good time. @langsbr is 2 weeks really common? I've been working with BQ for a while and that's been reasonably consistent. Some times different but we all deal with life - two weeks would be that one of us missed an email lol ...

Filippo

Good to know, hes on the short list for sure.
 

Twisted Tuning

Lieutenant
Platinum Vendor
Oct 25, 2016
974
903
0
New York
www.twistedtuning.com
Ride
N54 and N55 Cars
I only speak for myself here. But i advertise 1-5 business days for base map to be sent from time of purchase, and same for revisions once logs are returned. 1-5 business days doesn't include weekends, yet i still do stuff for people on weekends which is technically the only real time i have off from anything, lol. I do my best to to stick to that posted advertising on my website of 1-5 business days.

There are times when it can take longer, but i do try despite whats advertised to do same or next day when i can. But those are usually for people if they have a severe issue, which isn't common, then i slide a couple normal revision in between those and working my normal queue.

Me personally, i work from oldest to newest in terms of when the logs come in. and generally what happens is people either don't read the advertisement timeframe, and send me a new email daily or every other day and the there mail gets bumped to the bottom. There are times however where i miss emails due to the sheer amount or inquiries i receive

To put it in perspective, as the owner of the vehicle, think about all the questions you have or may have about your car, whethr its an issue, quirk, next mods you should, a funny sound you heard, what fuel is best, how much power you think you're making, what does this random code mean, can you look at this log, got my car tuned by someone else can you look at the log and see whats wrong, and the list goes on. Now multiply that time it takes to type and re-read all your questions and formulate a response by 100+ daily. Thats just emails. Thats not including text messages, phone calls, and 100s of social media messages, tags, and etc. And still doesn't include normal day to day inhouse on dyno tuning and r&d. And half of those inquiries may or may not even be paying customers. But if you ignore them, you become the asshole or a shit vendor

I average about 4-5 hours of sleep per night if im lucky. Nowadays, people want their tuner to be their mechanic, teach them how to email, diagnose a whistle from a video, walk them through everything under the sun, tune their car, and so on and so on. All for minimum ROI. 10 years ago i could charge $1000 for all that work and availability. but can't do that anymore due to all the pop up tuners charging $100 for a tune and people going to them for the price, not the knowledge. been doing this for like 20 years. So i've seen the swing to wanting a mountain for a penny as opposed to getting a mountain for a mountain.

In short, i love my customer base, and i do my absolute best to support them as fast or as much as i can, and i will continue to do so. But i don't think people really understand the amount of work some of us tuners have to do to continue supplying people with proper and great service despite waiting a few days. Then you have the dishonest people whole submit chargebacks after they get the products and service. Which makes doing this that much more frustrating at times.

But yea, 1-5 business days is what i advertise on all my tuning service product descriptions. but can sometimes take a bit longer.
 

shushikiary

Sergeant
Jun 4, 2018
304
173
0
Ride
335xi
The unlocked tune thing was huge for me. I play with my own tunes all the time, especially because I drive between altitude and sea level at least once a year.

So I wanted a tune that would be a good starting place, then to take it from there.

Dean was kind enough to save me the time of trying to come up with my own good stable base tune. And it works well. I did tweak it to get it to work well at both sea level and altitude, and changed my own coolant targets and vanos to be what I wanted them to be. So I'm glad there was one tuner who did open tunes, or else I would have had to do it all from scratch my self, which I would have, but I was happy to pay to save me that time.

Dean's turn around times were usually under a day.