[Alan l.]

One word...

SMOOTH!!!

I have a 2009 MT and the JB3 since the beginning and recently removed it since i had to bring the car in for service. I had about 6K miles with the JB3 and has never given me any issues or throw any tuner codes etc.. Great tune for the money and the power over stock is amazing. Any time i had any questions Terry would email me back within minutes no matter what time of day and even on weekends. Like everyone says...BMS's customer service is second to none.

So why the change?

I've always felt that the car wasn't as smooth as it was stock with the JB3. Its like the car had split personality with the JB3. Drive it with minimal throttle and it feels almost like stock. In fact after I removed the tune for the first time and drove it back home i couldn't really tell the difference until i really step on it. So light throttle driving the car doesn't feel any different with or without the JB3 but when you give it half throttle or more the car switches over to the other personality and becomes a beast. The transition its pretty drastic and instantly throws you into your seat if you aren't ready. Some people like this feel, some don't and its a matter of preference. After reading numerous JB3 to Procede converts threads it sparked my interest because everyone said how much smoother the Procede is. Then Shiv came out with the in dash boost gauge which really shows the possibilities of having CAN integration really is endless so that pretty much sealed the deal for me. Took advantage of the current trade up program and paid $745 ($200 credit for proof of JB3/Jb+ ownership) and sold my JB3 to my buddy (which loves it!).

Had it installed at my buddy Cn555ic's house (Thanks again for the help!) and everything went smoothly. The install is exactly like the JB3 plus one extra power wire which takes another 30 seconds to do. Everything is still contained within the ECU box so its nice and clean. Once I pulled the car out of the driveway I immediately felt a difference which was very surprising considering i wasn't even boosting yet. The car had more torque pretty much from idle speed on and flat out drove smoother than ever before. I don't know how Shiv did it but somehow the car makes more power even off boost! On the drive home i did a few pulls and the way the Procede delivers power is exactly what everyone says it does. Just like stock but WAY more powerful. I'd even say its a little smoother than stock. It feels like a completely different car now! The in dash boost gauge and AFR meter is very cool. Map switching with the dtc button with the Tach as the indicator is perfect. I love how i now have confirmation of what map I am on which wasn't possible with my old tune. I've only been able to put a mile or two on the drive home but I was already blown away at how the car felt. I think under WOT situations both tunes would be similarly quick but under any other condition the Procede takes the cake. It just seems to make more power all the times compared to the JB3 except WOT which is where both tunes are very similar.

One thing i did notice about the car was that if i blip the throttle quickly while the revs are at idle or close to it while in neutral to rev match etc.... it doesn't seem to react as quickly as before. Usually if i stab the throttle quickly at idle the rpms would shoot up fast while with the procede its def. alittle slower. I don't notice it while in gear driving but will keep an eye out on it. Is this normal for those more familiar with the Procede?

Also, what map is better for my car? map 1 or map 2?

Currently the only performance mods is the Injen DCI and full RPI catback exhaust.

I'll update this thread once i get more time behind the wheel with my new procede equipped Msport

Thanks,
Alan

[Bimmer This]

enjoy it!

[timtech]

Originally Posted by Alan l.

One word...
Also, what map is better for my car? map 1 or map 2?

Currently the only performance mods is the Injen DCI and full RPI catback exhaust.

Thanks,
Alan

Map 1. and you can check the auto tune ignition and boost to get an idea on how happy it is.

[2 3pair]

I was on map 1 for a couple of days, but I just switched to 2. It's noticeable faster, but I feel like maybe map 1 is smoother at lower RPMs. Maybe it's just me?

[Alan l.]

I've been running map 2 so far and it feels amazing. I'll give map 1 a try.

When we looked at the settings the only real difference between the two is one is maxed out at 15psi an the other at 16psi. Everything else was pretty much set the same as far as I remember.

Alan

[fisherbln]

Map 2 starts out slightly more aggressive and a higher max boost setting than Map 1, but with autotuning Map 1 and 2 would eventually become equal anyway. That is unless you have the supporting mods to make autotuning take you to above 15 psi.

[2 3pair]

Originally Posted by fisherbln

Map 2 starts out slightly more aggressive and a higher max boost setting than Map 1, but with autotuning Map 1 and 2 would eventually become equal anyway. That is unless you have the supporting mods to make autotuning take you to above 15 psi.

My map 1 max boost is 12 and my Map 2 max boost is 14.5, so they shouldn't become equal, right?

[2 3pair]

Originally Posted by Alan l.

I've been running map 2 so far and it feels amazing. I'll give map 1 a try.

When we looked at the settings the only real difference between the two is one is maxed out at 15psi an the other at 16psi. Everything else was pretty much set the same as far as I remember.

Alan

Mine are set at 12 and 14.5 max boost. Should I turn them up? My only other mod is a DCI. Is having the exhaust what allows you to run up to 16 psi?

[Jeff@TopGearSolutions]

Welcome to the darker side? LOL

[cn555ic]

WOW Alan great write-up about the difference in feel of the tunes...Thats exactly what I felt when I drove a car that had almost similar mods as mine but with a JB tune..I am glad your enjoying it...Like others have stated, after driving around for a while map 1 and map 2 will be autotuned in which it will be in between map 1 and map 2 as for the agressiveness...Let the car tune itself basically but remember this only happens on WOT from 3rd gear and up....Enjoy my friend...BTW your clean is clean as hell!!

[Alan l.]

^^ not as clean as yours. Your car can be placed back on the bmw showroom floor and be sold as a new car lol

Alan

[fisherbln]

Originally Posted by 2 3pair

Mine are set at 12 and 14.5 max boost. Should I turn them up? My only other mod is a DCI. Is having the exhaust what allows you to run up to 16 psi?

Sorry, wasn't sure what the default settings are. I'm not qualified enough to suggest what you max boost should be. However, my understanding from Shiv's explanations, is that if the max boost were set the same on both maps, auto-tuning would eventually cause both maps to become equal. This is because auto-tuning is constantly adjusting all the settings to give maximum power for the given conditions.

I may be totally wrong, so please correct me if I am.

[alextremo]

Max boost is the limit you set that you don't want autotuning to exceed, and is static. This is based on your supporting mods and risk appetite for working the turbos. I believe consensus is for a relatively stock car to set max boost at 14 or 15.

Autotuning is variable and will change your actual boost and timing offset up or down based on conditions.

Safest bet is to start with a lower map and if your conditions are good enough, let autotune get more aggressive.

[alextremo]

and nice review!

[OpenFlash]

Wow... Thanks for the review. Always nice to see that first thing in the am when I get to work

In all seriousness, what your feeling is the difference between a simple boost controller and an actual tune. Boost controllers can make your car fast but there are always drivability compromises/trade-offs. Whereas an actual tune makes the car fast, with no real tradeoff and while actually fixing little drivability issues you never knew you had before. Even with the stock tune.

As for map1 vs map2, the only difference is a slightly different starting point for boost. 13.5psi vs 14.5psi. That's it... No other difference. With autotuning, they will eventually converge on the same value. Since you get 93oct, the tune will probably get more aggressive after a few more runs. So if you have only driven a couple of miles so far, you'll be happy with what happens next.

Not sure what causes the difference you feel at idle when you blip the engine. That is one condition where the Procede is basically in pass-through mode. But I'll look into it and see what I can do

And big thanks to cn555ic for helping out!

[DoPedUpM3]

Thanks for the write-up!

Now majorly considering purchasing the Procede for my 335i.

[Jonny550]

So you went for the Procede just because it feels better when your not WOT? or becuase of the power delivery when wot?

[Alan l.]

^^ at WOT both tunes feel very similar to me but I'm not driving at WOT 99% of the time which is why I prefer the Procede more for daily driving. The power from the procede ramps up more gradually throughout the rev band where as with the JB it feels like more like a on/off switch.

It makes driving the car around town so much more enjoyable because it has more power than stock all the time regardless of throttle input.

[Jeff@TopGearSolutions]

Originally Posted by Jon335iFL

So you went for the Procede just because it feels better when your not WOT? or becuase of the power delivery when wot?

I'm not sure if 7/4 updates have fixed this on the Jb3;

But the biggest thing for me was trying to rev out 1st and 2nd gear without hitting boost.

I mean really rev it out to 5000 RPM, low throttle input, Jb3 had a hard time doing it without bucking and throwing a ton of boost out of nowhere. Thus my terminology of on/off switch. Some people like it that way though.

I know 7/4 updates have worked on this issue as it was something I mentioned to Terry previous to that.

[Mike@N54Tuning.com]

Originally Posted by JPSlick

I'm not sure if 7/4 updates have fixed this on the Jb3;

But the biggest thing for me was trying to rev out 1st and 2nd gear without hitting boost.

I mean really rev it out to 5000 RPM, low throttle input, Jb3 had a hard time doing it without bucking and throwing a ton of boost out of nowhere. Thus my terminology of on/off switch. Some people like it that way though.

I know 7/4 updates have worked on this issue as it was something I mentioned to Terry previous to that.

The new 7/4 firmware is pretty good with it. Let's the user adjust the pedal feeling as well which has been extremely well received given the diversity of driving experiences customers want.

Mike

[Bobby_LeMans]

great write up!
Darkside is better...

[FirstBMWLA]

Originally Posted by Mike@N54Tuning.com

The new 7/4 firmware is pretty good with it. Let's the user adjust the pedal feeling as well which has been extremely well received given the diversity of driving experiences customers want.

I can vouch for that. I've played with the settings a good bit and you pretty much go from mild to wild. It seems to me not only does the pedal target affect this feel but also the lagfix setting. I had some combination of the two at one point that would cause very noticeable jerking at light throttle inputs in 1st gear. I've since adjusted it and for now it seems much smoother.