Discussion about issues encountered whilst converting to M3 Flash and GWS

[LMB335is]

I hear ya, was mostly curious if you were going to unload everything you picked up or not lol I'm not quite ready to do this yet (getting house ready to sell), but wouldn't necessarily not start picking up parts as I run across them.

I feel semi-confident the DSC swap will fix most, if not all. It's not a necessarily cheap requirement (new anyway), but wondering if the hydro units are the same on M/non-M and just the ECU/controllers are different. If that were the case, could potentially buy an M-DSC repair kit and install on the non-M DSC currently on the car. Probably still cheaper and easier to buy a complete M-DSC used, but might be a tad risky.

The FD ratio may still be a question mark, but they indicated it was working on all ratios, so maybe not. LSD may or may not be required depending what kind of power it's making. If it's tuned to not blow the tires off, not sure how much of a loss it would be. Anyone know if the e-diff does anything prior to actual traction loss?

There's probably five or six M3 ABS/DSC units for sale on Ebay right now for $200-300.

While I look forward to having to finally having LSD in my car, I think I'm more excited just to have a fairly bullet proof drivetrain. I won't use LC with my stock drivetrain but I'm confident the M3 drivetrain is up to the task.

 

[LMB335is]

Yeah I’ve been chatting with him because I want MDM but don’t want to lose my active cruise. Smart bloke. Great shop and they’re only 10 mins up the road from me. Can’t seem to find the time to get my car there.

Man, you need to get over there and work him over for info on how he pulled this off!

 

[TireDeathRacing]

I tried changing my rpm coding on the kombi back to 1 which makes it display the rpm wrong at idle but that seems to have kinda fixed the laggy shift. Can someone else try it as well to confirm.

 

[aus335iguy]

very interesting. @dyezak did say the thing shifted better before all the coding.

 

[aus335iguy]

I’m interested in driving the car with it all set up. I hope it’s someone I know.

Man, you need to get over there and work him over for info on how he pulled this off!

 

[dyezak]

We are 30min into an international phone call giving me an introduction into BMW retrofitting 101.

 

[dyezak]

OMG...this guy's experience is fucking insane

 

[aus335iguy]

Yeah look up Brintech. There’s not much they havn’t done
https://www.brintechcustoms.com.au/

 

[aus335iguy]

We are 30min into an international phone call giving me an introduction into BMW retrofitting 101.

Hope you’re on Skype lol

 

[dyezak]

Hope you’re on Skype lol

He called me...

 

[aus335iguy]

He called me...

Even better.

 

[NoQuarter]

If you don't have ISTA+ you need it. So much better than the BMW Tools. If you're having problems installing it follow this guide and everything works. He even provides links to the downloads in the description of the video if you load this in youtube.

Thanks. Gave me the motivation try again. Problem is I need to use the -p version of the tool for my E89 and it is quite different. It is a client/server kind of app.

I have checked all the port info, etc I just can't get a connection. I have a cable I have used for a long time that works for NCSExpert and I also bought a BimmerGeeks cable.

The problem seems to be some confusion on whether the connection should be DCan or ICOM.

Edit: I am wondering of the type of cable itself is the problem with -p.
Do I need to use ICOM and K+DCAN cable won't work?

 

[NoQuarter]

OMG...this guy's experience is fucking insane

So... it can be done????

 

[dyezak]

So... it can be done????

Yes...and it can be done on a 600hp N54 with a 3.85 rear diff. He has one running. I'm going to be getting him in here to talk with us.

 

[dyezak]

As an option BMW did some DSC changes in 09/08, if we can get a ZB for an M3 from before this time it might work with our DSC. Otherwise he really believes we need the DSC and associated ancillary modules (wheel speed sensors), and if you are a pre-2009 car (i.e. non LCI) you'll need an M3 YAW unit (under the passenger seat). LCI cars all have the correct yaw sensor so that's not a problem. Secondarily we touched on adjustable launch control briefly and it may be that we need the M3 clock spring (SZL) for that to work.

I will work with @doublespaces to get him invited into these discussions.

He devoted over an hour on the phone with me to education already, he is a really good guy.

 

[NoQuarter]

So the final drive ratio has to change?

Looks like the wavetrac for my Z4 is 3.08

 

[doublespaces]

3.85? We need to go the other way.... 3.15 is already too big and I'd prefer a ratio the TCU is expecting. I've already decided to continue with my 2.56 lsd and I'll have to build around it as things break. I wanted to do the rear end... The gearing just turns me off.

 

[aus335iguy]

He’s a top bloke as @dyezak said. He’s mentioned the file in ISTA that lists all of the different software versions and trying the oldest stock m3 zb. It could be GTS TCU zb specific problem. He also thinks different M3 DSC tunes may help. He’s happy to share what he knows and isn’t going to horde it.

Has anyone tried what @TireDeathRacing has suggested ? I think that shows promise.

 

[aus335iguy]

If he can make 3.85 work then maybe there’s hope for the rest of us

3.85? We need to go the other way.... 3.15 is already too big and I'd prefer a ratio the TCU is expecting. I've already decided to continue with my 2.56 lsd and I'll have to build around it as things break. I wanted to do the rear end... The gearing just turns me off.

 

[LMB335is]

3.85? We need to go the other way.... 3.15 is already too big and I'd prefer a ratio the TCU is expecting. I've already decided to continue with my 2.56 lsd and I'll have to build around it as things break. I wanted to do the rear end... The gearing just turns me off.

Exactly. N54/N55 cars are geared for their engine characteristics as much as anything. Torque down low, power flat up top, a modest redline, and 7 speeds starting a little lower and topping at 1:1. Lower FD will just exacerbate the already problematic traction issue and make it less than a usable daily driver. A M3 needs the lower ratios because of it's engine characteristics. Running anywhere from a 3.15 to 2.56 should work just fine. It's roughly the same % difference from 3.15 to 2.56 as it is from 3.15 to 3.85.