Quote:
Originally Posted by xacoffeemx
Quote:
Originally Posted by Patgilm
Can you help me understand the process. I'm on east coast and I am curious how it all works remotely. With the discount it's hard not to take advantage of this. Also, I am looking at stage 1 (tune only, nothing else), do I need new plugs just for that on 93 octane?
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Sure thing. Although I live very close to Alex's shop, it was all done remotely. By remotely I mean all the communication was done through email at this point and I simply followed the instructions on the email.
It's a two step process: 1) Initial Readout, 2) Flashing your vehicle
What you will need: - eNet OBDII cable
- Laptop* or PC running Windows with ability to establish connection with eNet cable AND active internet connection. (hotspot** works too, which is what I used)
- 20 minutes of your time (10 minutes for each step)
*My laptop does not have an ethernet port and I had to use USB-to-Ethernet adapter which did the job for me to establish a connection with the eNet cable.
**Hotspot using Wifi connection
Step1 - Initial Readout
After your purchase of the Tune, Alex will follow-up with you with instructions on an initial readout of your vehicle. He will ask you to download a program and connect an enet cable to your vehicle to get a readout of your car and send it to his server. When this is completed, you let him know it's been done and you just wait. For me, the readout took only 5-10 minutes and the break in between step 1 and 2 was about 2 hours.
Step 2 - Flashing
The instruction set you are given will be very similar to Step 1, but make sure to follow each of the very specific instructions to get a successful flash. He recommends that you park your vehicle in such way where you do not block and driveway/road in case of a failed flash. The whole flashing process takes about 10 minutes again, but overall feels like it's much longer than the initial readout.
The two step process is very simple and as long as you follow instructions and have common sense, there's really no margin of error.
About the spark plugs question, it's highly recommended to properly gap the spark plugs and switching them out to NGK as it will avoid plug cracking and killing the motor. There have been cases where engines have failed due to this issue and it's probably better to be safe side. 
-edit-
Oh, and I forgot to mention I still haven't gapped nor changed the plugs yet. I haven't had the time to do this and will be getting that done sometime next month. The tune still runs great on the stock plugs :fingers crossed: |
You mentioned that you should park in a cleared spot (I presume so you could be towed) in case it's a failed flash. So hypothetically, if someone bricked his car due to a failed flash, who would pick up the tab on reprogramming the DME? Wouldn't that be a drastic and expensive mistake that the dealership would have to correct? If I'm a novice who presses a wrong button when flashing this thing, why would I take that risk? Or am I looking at this wrong?
Also, does the guy from Mission Performance literally talk you through step by step on the phone? Or, is it more of a set of directions you read and attempt to follow?
Finally....what if you need warranty work done on your m340i and the dealership updates your car's DME without giving you warning? Is it easy to flash or right back to stage 1 (or 2)? Or, could an updated operating system update require an update from Mission Performance too?