[olivojoe]

I purchased a pro-tune from these guys a few weeks back, and I have always heard from people here on the forum that a pro-tune can go a long way when compared to a COBB OTS map, and I have to admit, I was a bit skeptical as to how much better they could make it.

It was without question, the best return for the money I have done to my car yet. The power increase with the pro-tune is ridiculous! On top of that, my car has had an elusive "stumble" issue from day 1 that caused hesitation issues at idle and under light throttle loads at cruising speeds, which had the techs at the dealership scratching their heads in confusion. The problem is now completely fixed, and the engine seems to be running MUCH smoother. On top of the power gains, there were other differences as well. On the stock tune, as well as the COBB OTS maps, the throttle always seemed glitchy and the power response was never smooth under casual driving conditions. Now the throttle is unbelievably smooth in all driving situations. With the pro-tune, I can even tell a difference in the sound on a cold start, it sounds like the engine labors less to crank and get running.

All of this did not come with any hiccups either. The first two iterations of the tune had issues where I would build too much boost and the car would "blow up", for lack of a better phrase, and go into limp mode. This was resolved with clear concern for mine and the vehicle's safety in a very timely manner. The only reason I bring this up is to share my experience with PTF from a customer service point of view. Over the course of my tuning experience, Dzenno and I exchanged 38 emails. None of the response times were over 24 hours, many of them were in as little as 1-2 hours. Needless to say the issue was resolved and the car runs like a beast now.

I cannot say enough about them, and I highly recommend using them if you have an AP. It would be absolutely STUPID to spend $900 on a COBB AP and run the OTS maps, and not make the extra investment in these guys to take full advantage of the tuning capabilities that come with it.

[belcom]

Never mind. Read your garage mod list. Question answered.

[mike5809]

+1 for PTF and Dzenno

[335m]

I have the same mods as you assuming you haven't upgraded since.

Were you running the Stage 2 before the PTF? Did you do any dyno's beforehand? Do you have the Alpina B3 tune?

[olivojoe]

Originally Posted by 335m

I have the same mods as you assuming you haven't upgraded since.

Were you running the Stage 2 before the PTF? Did you do any dyno's beforehand? Do you have the Alpina B3 tune?

Yes, my mods are up to date on my garage listing.

I was running COBB's stage 2 Aggressive. I have not done any dyno's but I intend to in the future, maybe after I get my FMIC and go FBO.

I don't mean to diss any of the stuff COBB provides with their OTS maps, but the best way I can put it is this. It's the same difference as either going and getting a suit off the rack at a department store, or going and seeing a professional tailor.

I asked Dzenno about the Alpina flash and he recommended against it. Their tune actually seemed to clean up the gear shifts a lot, but obviously they did not modify any shift points per say. He told me that most people that get the Alpina with the pro-tunes end up reverting back to the stock transmission tune anyways. Besides, the car pulls so damn hard now in DS mode that I doubt I would be able to tell a huge difference in what the tranny is doing, my head is plastered against my headrest and I'm to busy with my shit eating grin when I pass douche bags in cars that they think are fast.

[jonluc88]

Great review man! So tempting now

[335m]

Originally Posted by olivojoe

Yes, my mods are up to date on my garage listing.

I was running COBB's stage 2 Aggressive. I have not done any dyno's but I intend to in the future, maybe after I get my FMIC and go FBO.

I don't mean to diss any of the stuff COBB provides with their OTS maps, but the best way I can put it is this. It's the same difference as either going and getting a suit off the rack at a department store, or going and seeing a professional tailor.

I asked Dzenno about the Alpina flash and he recommended against it. Their tune actually seemed to clean up the gear shifts a lot, but obviously they did not modify any shift points per say. He told me that most people that get the Alpina with the pro-tunes end up reverting back to the stock transmission tune anyways. Besides, the car pulls so damn hard now in DS mode that I doubt I would be able to tell a huge difference in what the tranny is doing, my head is plastered against my headrest and I'm to busy with my shit eating grin when I pass douche bags in cars that they think are fast.

Very interesting, the only reason I enjoy my B3 flash right now is the throttle response in Sport mode. I don't really like the fact I shift into 6th gear before 40mph in Drive mode but I guess it improves gas mileage.

I might have to get a PTF soon, haven't heard anything bad and they will retune if I end up getting an FMIC so why not.

[mike@x-ph.com]

Thank you for the review

[jayzF30]

Awesome! Thanks for sharing. They really do go the extra mile for every single car which is so rare to find in the automotive aftermarket business at least in my experience of 17 years so far dealing with shops out there.

[924er]

Would it be worth it to tune my 91 octane crap? How will it compare to the 93 oct Cobb ots maps in terms of power?


I'm tired of these drive maps and my car still have timing corrections. Drive maps boosts so hard for no reason.

[CantCatchMe]

Originally Posted by 335m

Very interesting, the only reason I enjoy my B3 flash right now is the throttle response in Sport mode. I don't really like the fact I shift into 6th gear before 40mph in Drive mode but I guess it improves gas mileage.

I might have to get a PTF soon, haven't heard anything bad and they will retune if I end up getting an FMIC so why not.

My understanding is that they will update your map for free when you upgrade your FMIC, DP, CP, and so on. Sounds like pretty awesomeness if that's indeed the case.

[Ghoste90]

Originally Posted by 335m

Very interesting, the only reason I enjoy my B3 flash right now is the throttle response in Sport mode. I don't really like the fact I shift into 6th gear before 40mph in Drive mode but I guess it improves gas mileage.

I might have to get a PTF soon, haven't heard anything bad and they will retune if I end up getting an FMIC so why not.

I am currently Fbo with a tune by ptf. I will cosign all above comments . I do have the alpina flash and I'll say this. .the one and only time I've thrown codes or had issues while pro tuned is when driving in normal d mode and accelerated too quickly. I assume it has to do with how quickly it goes through the gears while in normal. Sport and manual is always lovely.

[snaimpally]

Thanks for the review. It reminded me that I purchased a tune on sale late last year and need to do a few pulls and send them data.

[data_cruncher]

Originally Posted by olivojoe

All of this did not come with any hiccups either. The first two iterations of the tune had issues where I would build too much boost and the car would "blow up", for lack of a better phrase, and go into limp mode. This was resolved with clear concern for mine and the vehicle's safety in a very timely manner. The only reason I bring this up is to share my experience with PTF from a customer service point of view. Over the course of my tuning experience, Dzenno and I exchanged 38 emails. None of the response times were over 24 hours, many of them were in as little as 1-2 hours. Needless to say the issue was resolved and the car runs like a beast now.

Can you describe what you mean by "blow up"?

[proTUNING Freaks]

Really appreciate the kind words guys, thank you. Our maps are a far departure from OTS maps across the board. It has taken us a long while to get to where we are today with the N55. DME software is significantly more temperamental than what we deal with on the N54 to say the least!

[tke344]

Temperamental is a good way to describe it, it really does take a lot of work to get these cars running well. I also have mixed feeling about the alpina trans flash, DS is great but D sometimes leaves you cruising around at such low RPMs that the car can feel sluggish. I almost always end up in DS unless my wife is in the car.

[Ghoste90]

Originally Posted by proTUNING Freaks

Really appreciate the kind words guys, thank you. Our maps are a far departure from OTS maps across the board. It has taken us a long while to get to where we are today with the N55. DME software is significantly more temperamental than what we deal with on the N54 to say the least!

What's your take on your tunes and the alpine flash..specifically in normal drive ?

[Ghoste90]

Originally Posted by 335m

Very interesting, the only reason I enjoy my B3 flash right now is the throttle response in Sport mode. I don't really like the fact I shift into 6th gear before 40mph in Drive mode but I guess it improves gas mileage.

I might have to get a PTF soon, haven't heard anything bad and they will retune if I end up getting an FMIC so why not.

I see you are in Austin....I'm right down 35 in San Antonio..

[olivojoe]

Originally Posted by data_cruncher

Can you describe what you mean by "blow up"?

The way Dzenno explained it, I had issues with my load/logic tables, which was causing errors in my requested boost load I guess. What would happen is when I would begin to accelerate with a decent amount of throttle load (~30%-40%), the car would shake violently and I would hear a pretty loud pop or explosion, similar to a tire blow out. From what he told me, this is just a fail safe BMW has on these cars that shuts it down and puts it into safe mode when it produces too much boost. What I was hearing was the engine "dumping" all of the boost as I went into safe mode. As I said though, no harm was done to the car, it runs fine now, and no codes.... I've been checking daily even though I don't have a CEL light up just to be sure.

[tke344]

Originally Posted by olivojoe

The way Dzenno explained it, I had issues with my load/logic tables, which was causing errors in my requested boost load I guess. What would happen is when I would begin to accelerate with a decent amount of throttle load (~30%-40%), the car would shake violently and I would hear a pretty loud pop or explosion, similar to a tire blow out. From what he told me, this is just a fail safe BMW has on these cars that shuts it down and puts it into safe mode when it produces too much boost. What I was hearing was the engine "dumping" all of the boost as I went into safe mode. As I said though, no harm was done to the car, it runs fine now, and no codes.... I've been checking daily even though I don't have a CEL light up just to be sure.

I ran into the exact same problem when a started tuning myself. Relatively easy fix actually once you know what to change but for a while I thought I had a hardware issue. It's pretty scary the first time.

[olivojoe]

Originally Posted by tke344

I ran into the exact same problem when a started tuning myself. Relatively easy fix actually once you know what to change but for a while I thought I had a hardware issue. It's pretty scary the first time.

No doubt, first time it happened I almost had a panic attack because I thought I blew my engine. The first time it popped, there was so much pressure that it disconnected my COBB chargepipe from the plastic hose that comes up from the FMIC.

[sy2767]

I have a AP and my car is stock with the exception of a ER cp and a K&N drop in filter, do you think it's worth my while to get this done? That will be my only mods because of warranty.