[Lotus99]

Originally Posted by Tranzporter

So if I read correctly, this almost sounds similar to a Cobb AccessPORT reflash for an STi. You plug in a gameboy-like device into the OBDII port, load the map to the ecu and you're done? And all of this for only $300?! What about attaining different maps for different mod setups? Will we be able to download them online via usb cable?

Sorry if this was already mentioned - I don't feel like reading 33 pages and if this is infact a new way for tuning the 335i, I'm game. Makes piggybacks seem obsolete.

If you set the "Number of Posts to Show Per Page" to 40, it's only 18 pages to read! At least search for the user lndshrk in this thread (or something like that), he's the person who designed it.

[ZJP]

Originally Posted by Lotus99

If you set the "Number of Posts to Show Per Page" to 40, it's only 18 pages to read!

Same difference...

[Lotus99]

Psychologically, it's easier looking forward to the end, even though it's still 700 posts... but seriously, do a search under the username I suggested for the OP and he's answered many questions.

[Xiaofeng]

Originally Posted by Dallas_335_Coupe

Jim,

Two questions:
1. At one time in this massive thread, I thought I remember you (or someone quoting you) stating that you had planned to offer a Shark Injector with a solid mid range program for those of us interested in a robust, well designed, reliable tune.
2. Would BMW upgrade the many of existing MSD80 cars to MSD81, or will they simply get a revised Progman (2.92)? I quess I do not completely understand why the MSD81 exists, other than some kind of revision system linked to a year of a car. Any help here would be appreciated for those of us concerned about the next time we take the car into the dealership for an oil change, minor issue, or other warrentee work.

Thanks,

Russ

Maybe I can help answer some of these questions.

1) This isn't a question. But yes, Jim will be offering a Shark Injector, which is essentially a stand-alone ECU flasher about the size of your fist. It will plug into the OBD port and work in about 15 minutes. No set ETA as of now, but it seems like he will work on it after he releases his Shark Edit software.

2) The MSD81 unit is a new piece of hardware that BMW developed to aid in the tracking of modifications from piggyback and plug-in units. Because it is a physical device, the chances of BMW replacing MSD80 units with the MSD81 are probably about as likely as winning the lottery and being struck by lightning at the same time.

However, what BMW will do is update your MSD80 unit with progman 29.2, which is a new update that came with all MSD81 units. Progman 29.2 will include some of the security checks that track for aftermarket modifications. The program is designed to trigger a flag that indicates that your car has been modified, thus voiding your warranty on your drivetrain.


Hope that makes some sense.

[tryangles]

Bumping this thread - any new updates?

[stressdoc]

I'm thinking 4th of July... Or maybe the 16th of July.

[smdandb2]

Jim had to fly out to Boston for over a week to take care of some urgent family business, so he is a bit behind.

Not sure how this will affect the OBD II release, but he is expecting the OBD I stuff to be about 12-15 days late now. He had the 2 releases staggered for his own sanity, so OBD II stuff may be on time, but I don't know for sure.

He has stopped getting on forums and answering emails until its all done. So if you guys don't get a response from him, you now know why.

Its crunch time baby!

[sflgator]

Originally Posted by smdandb2

Jim had to fly out to Boston for over a week to take care of some urgent family business, so he is a bit behind.

Not sure how this will affect the OBD II release, but he is expecting the OBD I stuff to be about 12-15 days late now. He had the 2 releases staggered for his own sanity, so OBD II stuff may be on time, but I don't know for sure.

He has stopped getting on forums and answering emails until its all done. So if you guys don't get a response from him, you now know why.

Its crunch time baby!

I suspect a lot of ppl won't really be interested in his product until there's an actual s/w map available for download; either from J.C. himself and/or from Shiv, Terry, etc. So, I guess what I'm saying is that many ppl will hold off until the actual Shark Injector (not just the Tuner's SharkEdit s/w) with available tuning s/w maps are available...any idea on what the timeframe for that might be?

[PushingTin]

If you flash your ECU using this kit, is there any trace of it if you return it back to 'stock' before your dealer gets their hands on the car? I.E. Does the ECU time/date stamp any changes that occur to it or does 'reinstalling' the shall we say 29.2 update return the date stamp back to when the 29.2 was originally installed on an MSD80 ECU?

I hope that made some sense...

Thanks

PT

[sflgator]

Originally Posted by PushingTin

If you flash your ECU using this kit, is there any trace of it if you return it back to 'stock' before your dealer gets their hands on the car? I.E. Does the ECU time/date stamp any changes that occur to it or does 'reinstalling' the shall we say 29.2 update return the date stamp back to when the 29.2 was originally installed on an MSD80 ECU?

I hope that made some sense...

Thanks

PT

There was some discussion on if the BMW N54's DME counts the flashes, but I'm not sure if anyone has any definitive answer on that.

[Soni]

Originally Posted by PushingTin

If you flash your ECU using this kit, is there any trace of it if you return it back to 'stock' before your dealer gets their hands on the car? I.E. Does the ECU time/date stamp any changes that occur to it or does 'reinstalling' the shall we say 29.2 update return the date stamp back to when the 29.2 was originally installed on an MSD80 ECU?

I hope that made some sense...

Thanks

PT

intersting!! I would like to know as well!!

[smdandb2]

Search for all posts by lndshrk.

He came flat out and said what is what when it comes to BMW detecting it.

[smdandb2]

Originally Posted by sflgator

I suspect a lot of ppl won't really be interested in his product until there's an actual s/w map available for download; either from J.C. himself and/or from Shiv, Terry, etc. So, I guess what I'm saying is that many ppl will hold off until the actual Shark Injector (not just the Tuner's SharkEdit s/w) with available tuning s/w maps are available...any idea on what the timeframe for that might be?

I would assume sometime after the initial OBD II release when people who ARE interested in modifying it make the maps.

Jims first concern is getting SharkEdit finished and out to the people.

[sflgator]

Originally Posted by smdandb2

I would assume sometime after the initial OBD II release when people who ARE interested in modifying it make the maps.

Jims first concern is getting SharkEdit finished and out to the people.

I think many are interested to see if other tuners like Shiv and others can offer their respective (PROcede v3, JBX, etc.) maps adapted to the S.E./S.I.

[StarrDlux]

have you guys thought of getting a matching spare ecu and cloning the immobilizer ? thats what i did with my audi. Any problems? pop spare ecu in and go.

magnuson act requires leaves the burden of proof on the dealer.

[e90AW335i]

Originally Posted by sflgator

I think many are interested to see if other tuners like Shiv and others can offer their respective (PROcede v3, JBX, etc.) maps adapted to the S.E./S.I.

I can almost guarantee BMS (Terry) will design a map for the SE/SI.

[e90AW335i]

Originally Posted by StarrDlux

magnuson act requires leaves the burden of proof on the dealer.

Please quit mentioning this act. Not one person who mentions it understands that YOU still have to pay to fight the case.....

[Lotus99]

Originally Posted by e90AW335i

Please quit mentioning this act. Not one person who mentions it understands that YOU still have to pay to fight the case.....

Come on, be honest! That's not how it works in real life! You go into the service dept. when they deny warranty work, talk to the manager, and just mention these three words "Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act", and they'll shake in their boots and say "Yes Sir!" to whatever you say!

[e90AW335i]

Originally Posted by Lotus99

Come on, be honest! That's not how it works in real life! You go into the service dept. when they deny warranty work, talk to the manager, and just mention these three words "Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act", and they'll shake in their boots and say "Yes Sir!" to whatever you say!

Yep, just like that.....

[r10apple]

Originally Posted by e90AW335i

Please quit mentioning this act. Not one person who mentions it understands that YOU still have to pay to fight the case.....

That's not necessarily true depending on the laws of your state and the contract you have with your attorney.

In essence, failing to provide warranty service is a breach of contract that is assumed on both ends (they refuse to honor because of mods and conversely, their argument is because you modded the car). Now, the Act steps in and shifts the burden of proof to the dealer to show that the aftermarket part CAUSED the failure of the OEM part needing warranty work. That means, BMW has to hire a lawyer, get an engineer to come and testify, provide someone else to be a corporate rep, blah blah blah. It gets expensive for them to fight over something that usually costs less than $5 or $10k to repair. On top of that, in most BOC suits, the prevailing party can be awarded their costs/fees--and certainly, in Florida, that is true.

I've had the issue come up twice in my life: once with my Acura TL-S when I had a tranny failure out of town and had a bunch of Comptech parts installed by my hometown dealer and once with my current Infiniti G35 when an O2 sensor went bad and they saw my CAI and colored pullies. The first case they fought hard for two days until a Monday when my dealer emailed them all the invoices with their own sale/install/service of the Comptech parts and the second took about 30 minutes to resolve with the GM of the Infiniti Stealership after walking through the Act and the process, and letting him know that I was going to leave my car and drive my beater straight to the courthouse and file a pro se, small claims court lawsuit within an hour of me leaving--against the dealer, the service manager himself and Infiniti USA.

For a $200 02 sim, he installed it and I went on my merry way with a 20% off coupon for my next service visit, to boot...

And I'm not looking for flames or anything, and sorry for the thread hijack, but we all know when we blow up a car because of mods or a horrible tune or stupid things like driving your car with a CAI under 5ft of water as opposed to driving a car, like you should be able to, with mods done right, and some silly part fails and a stingy dealer tells you to fly a kite for something that just isn't right.

[smdandb2]

Originally Posted by r10apple

That's not necessarily true depending on the laws of your state and the contract you have with your attorney.

In essence, failing to provide warranty service is a breach of contract that is assumed on both ends (they refuse to honor because of mods and conversely, their argument is because you modded the car). Now, the Act steps in and shifts the burden of proof to the dealer to show that the aftermarket part CAUSED the failure of the OEM part needing warranty work. That means, BMW has to hire a lawyer, get an engineer to come and testify, provide someone else to be a corporate rep, blah blah blah. It gets expensive for them to fight over something that usually costs less than $5 or $10k to repair. On top of that, in most BOC suits, the prevailing party can be awarded their costs/fees--and certainly, in Florida, that is true.

I've had the issue come up twice in my life: once with my Acura TL-S when I had a tranny failure out of town and had a bunch of Comptech parts installed by my hometown dealer and once with my current Infiniti G35 when an O2 sensor went bad and they saw my CAI and colored pullies. The first case they fought hard for two days until a Monday when my dealer emailed them all the invoices with their own sale/install/service of the Comptech parts and the second took about 30 minutes to resolve with the GM of the Infiniti Stealership after walking through the Act and the process, and letting him know that I was going to leave my car and drive my beater straight to the courthouse and file a pro se, small claims court lawsuit within an hour of me leaving--against the dealer, the service manager himself and Infiniti USA.

For a $200 02 sim, he installed it and I went on my merry way with a 20% off coupon for my next service visit, to boot...

And I'm not looking for flames or anything, and sorry for the thread hijack, but we all know when we blow up a car because of mods or a horrible tune or stupid things like driving your car with a CAI under 5ft of water as opposed to driving a car, like you should be able to, with mods done right, and some silly part fails and a stingy dealer tells you to fly a kite for something that just isn't right.

Do you even have an E9X?

You realize how EASY it would be for BMW to get an engineer to say a tune caused a HPFP failure? Its not like an intake. There arent threads on here about intakes and pulleys voiding warranties. We are talking about devices that are providing 20-30% more HP over stock.

Mentioning the MM act means you have to get a lawyer too. Those same costs you were talking about BMW having, you get to have too. If a lawyer takes on your case against BMW over a HPFP problem or a blown motor and you have a piggyback or any other detectable ecu modification... he won't be around long.

[r10apple]

Originally Posted by smdandb2

Do you even have an E9X?

You realize how EASY it would be for BMW to get an engineer to say a tune caused a HPFP failure? Its not like an intake. There arent threads on here about intakes and pulleys voiding warranties. We are talking about devices that are providing 20-30% more HP over stock.

Mentioning the MM act means you have to get a lawyer too. Those same costs you were talking about BMW having, you get to have too. If a lawyer takes on your case against BMW over a HPFP problem or a blown motor and you have a piggyback or any other detectable ecu modification... he won't be around long.

What difference would it make what I drive if the post is relevant to the topic? That said, no, I do not currently own a BMW. However, I am thinking of getting a 135i for a track car--and modding it, though I would LOVE the TT in the 3series wagon as my daily driver ( )...This site has A LOT of very good information and A LOT of knowledgable people (O'cha, scalbert, Shiv), so there is nothing like sitting back and absorbing.

My Acura had a Comptech S/C and every bolt-on imaginable...I know what horsepower mods are and how they may react with a car.

Any good lawyer will take a case if winning a breach of contract action allows collection of his fees ON TOP OF whatever the disputed amount was (welcome to Florida). Further, from what I have been reading, BMWNA is snopping hard for mods and certain dealers are ratcheting down on warranty work and we all know certain dealers will take things too far all too regularly.

The point was, and still is, a legal avenue to pursue, in a congenial manner, that sways a lot of dealers taking an overtly hard line with proper modifications and warranty work with something that really didn't cause the issue.

Case in point: wastegate issues and your aformentioned fuel pumps are seemingly have MANY issues on non-modded cars. So, if you had mods and had a failure for either device, why would you expect anything less that an honoring of the factory warranty if you ever had a problem???