Stage 1 tunes? Yawn.
"In this Special Series, I document the development, unboxing, installation, performance gains and sound clips of the E60 M5 & E63 M6 sealed carbon intakes.
In this entry, I cover stage 1 tuning for the MSS65. I've always regarded stage 1 tunes on catted cars as a Sprintbooster type, placebo tune for throttle response. Let's see how it feels."
- Matt
Could a tune really do anything?
No power is cheap on a Naturally Aspirated engine, ever more so when it comes to a BMW M engine.
The S65 was visibly higher strung from the factory with an extremely well designed air intake system. While the S85 was the foundation to it, BMW M visibly left power on the table.
The M5/6 V10 sealed intakes were tested on the dyno by the manufacturer with results of up to 14whp beyond 6,00 RPM. Not bad - however dyno is inherently a comparative tool. Real world is where gains should be measured and felt.
Stage 1 tuning.
Stage 1 tuning is specifically developed for V10s with original primary catalytic converters.
BMW's S85 usually responds well to tuning with changes made to ignition, VANOS and torque maps. Power gains are felt throughout the RPM range accompanied by sharper throttle response and a smoother overall power delivery
I opted to not make any changes to the throttle sensitivity. What I would feel would be all tuning - no placebo.
My specs:
- 8,500 RPM limit
- Vmax limiter delete
- Cold start delete
- VANOS tuning
- Fuel & timing tuning
- No throttle mapping changes
I later received the tuning device: the kit includes the portable device, the USB cable and the OBD2 cable.
I received this tuning device.
The results.
I first plugged into the OBD2, extracted my OE file in +/- 45 minutes and downloaded it on my PC.
The original file was sent and, within 24 hours, I had my Stage 1 file. It was uploaded to the device and flash to the MSS65 in my M5 within 5 minutes.
Improved Fuel Consumption (!).
Our thirsty beasts will never be Priuses, yet 20 liters + to 100km has always been a completely ridiculous number.
The stage 1 tune on my S85 noticeably reduced consumption - no jokes! I am never frequently able to hit 400km on a 60 liter tank. I can live with 15 liters to a 100km!
More power [...] where it counts.
As previously stated: I dislike dynos. They're an unhealthy obsession for most use cases. I believe power needs to be felt and measured on the tarmac. Most precisely, the 100-200 kph test.
I got opportunities to drive the car with the intakes fitted, and without stage 1. Power increase were felt similar as on on the dyno graph: all above 6,000 RPM.
I got the draggy out and hit the road. I clocked a best 8.83 seconds with a slight decline.
A stock M5 V10 SMG3 will clock 100-200 in the 9.3 to 9.5 zone. At 200 kph, 1 sec is 55 meters. Half that is 28 meters. Our cars are roughly 5 meters long.
At 8.8x seconds: its 6 car lengths over a stock car.
The stage 1 tune and sealed intake is like caffeine for your V10. It doesn't make you Einstein, but it keeps you in the game.
Up next: we get the video gear out, forget the gimble at home, and shoot raw sound clips of the new intakes.
Will the sealed design rob of the induction noise?
Let's find out.
