[Ascari]

@Akshay I will do that immediately.Thanks for the quick reply!

[parulkgupta]

Hi Akshay,

One of my friends is planning to buy a 320d and the VIN given to him was WBAPP17020VM99454. Wildon said its october 2010 manufacturing date. If it is that he is not willing to take the car. Is there any other place to check the manufacturing date quickly? the showroom guys keep telling him that its 2011 manufactured.

[Akshay1234]

Originally Posted by parulkgupta

Hi Akshay,

One of my friends is planning to buy a 320d and the VIN given to him was WBAPP17020VM99454. Wildon said its october 2010 manufacturing date. If it is that he is not willing to take the car. Is there any other place to check the manufacturing date quickly? the showroom guys keep telling him that its 2011 manufactured.

Even when wildon decoded mine a 2010 date came up. It seems that is the date of production of the kit, from wherever it is imported. PM member Maverick5490 he will be able to help you with the actual date of production. My car was produced in April I think and had been in stock since then. Tell your friend not to worry.


Engine Tuning
After thinking about it for a while, the BMW tuning package does seem good, and seems to be a complete package, but at 2l+ it is a bit hefty on the pocket. And the power gains from that are a bit conservative. I've been doing my research and turns out that for the cars made after 2010, remaps cannot be done without opening the ECU totally. After the remap it would have to be resealed again.

I know remaps are supposed to be the best but I would rather not take that risk.

Here are some other options -
http://www.diesel-performance.co.uk/...-2-%28crd-t%29
This tuning box is apparently 2 channel and it controls the boost and rail pressure

http://www.steinbauer.cc/neu/index.php?car_engine=21207
This is a known brand I think and has a good reputation. But is quite pricey.

http://www.hartge.de/
Again a known brand. Though no information on the price.

http://www.superchips.co.uk/search?m...2&variant=2337
This is the remap option. There is a dealer in Bombay but like I mentioned the ECU would have to be opened. Costs 39k.

What do you guys think? Warranty problems wont be there since these are all plug and play and I can remove them before the services.

EDIT - Damn guys, 28k views in 10 days? Thanks

[parulkgupta]

Originally Posted by akshay1234

Even when wildon decoded mine a 2010 date came up. It seems that is the date of production of the kit, from wherever it is imported. PM member Maverick5490 he will be able to help you with the actual date of production. My car was produced in April I think and had been in stock since then. Tell your friend not to worry.

Thanks for the info Akshay. Some relief . I am unable to PM Maverick5490 as I am a newbie and do not have PM option yet. If possible can you help me with this info. Thanks in advance.

[brraj]

Since you are not interested taking risk in remaps you can check Petes aswell instead of trying new brands. Some of them have claimed 90nm of increase in torque by just increasing rail pressure and boost, here again you are taking risk with engine internals in long runs.

[Akshay1234]

Originally Posted by parulkgupta

Thanks for the info Akshay. Some relief . I am unable to PM Maverick5490 as I am a newbie and do not have PM option yet. If possible can you help me with this info. Thanks in advance.

Have PM'ed him for you. I will post back here once he replies.

EDIT - Production is in Jan 2011. Space grey with oyster interiors, nice.

Originally Posted by brraj

Since you are not interested taking risk in remaps you can check Petes aswell instead of trying new brands. Some of them have claimed 90nm of increase in torque by just increasing rail pressure and boost, here again you are taking risk with engine internals in long runs.

Psi doesn't seem to have a box for this car, hence petes is out. Brands like Steinbauer are quite well known and they promise a 55nm increase. But I've seen a couple of posts about people using the DTUK box and they seem quite happy with it.

[jkdas]

Originally Posted by akshay1234

Even when wildon decoded mine a 2010 date came up. It seems that is the date of production of the kit, from wherever it is imported. PM member Maverick5490 he will be able to help you with the actual date of production. My car was produced in April I think and had been in stock since then. Tell your friend not to worry.


EDIT - Damn guys, 28k views in 10 days? Thanks

Two reasons; the updates and its a Bimmer

Originally Posted by akshay1234

Have PM'ed him for you. I will post back here once he replies.

EDIT - Production is in Jan 2011. Space grey with oyster interiors, nice.



Psi doesn't seem to have a box for this car, hence petes is out. Brands like Steinbauer are quite well known and they promise a 55nm increase. But I've seen a couple of posts about people using the DTUK box and they seem quite happy with it.

Why not from RD? Dont they have one?

And wont the warranty be an issue? Yes, you can take the box off before you go for service but wont it show up somewhere?

[brraj]

Petes do have a box for latest BMW 320d as i spoke to him just now.

More info here, but the data provided is for older 320ds.
Pete's Automotive Products Pvt Limited

Any box which is promising 50-60nm increase should be fine.

[Akshay1234]

Originally Posted by jkdas

Why not from RD? Dont they have one?

And wont the warranty be an issue? Yes, you can take the box off before you go for service but wont it show up somewhere?

I've heard only good things about RD. But I'm quite sure Kartik wouldn't have had as much experience with a BMW as the European guys. That is the only reason its out.

I will take the box off before services.

Originally Posted by brraj

Petes do have a box for latest BMW 320d as i spoke to him just now.

More info here, but the data provided is for older 320ds.
Pete's Automotive Products Pvt Limited

Any box which is promising 50-60nm increase should be fine.

Will have a word with peter then. Need to figure out what makes sense.


Guys back from another brilliant drive. I repeat again 200 in this car is nothing. You really don't realise it. Also had some fun with an F10 530d and an E60 525d. More on that tomorrow.

[androdev]

Originally Posted by akshay1234

Guys back from another brilliant drive. I repeat again 200 in this car is nothing. You really don't realise it. Also had some fun with an F10 530d and an E60 525d. More on that tomorrow.

Nice!! I am very interested in this update!! Please also provide comparison details on ride-comfort, cabin-feel, equipment-level, etc. if possible.

[jkdas]

Originally Posted by akshay1234

I've heard only good things about RD. But I'm quite sure Kartik wouldn't have had as much experience with a BMW as the European guys. That is the only reason its out.

I will take the box off before services.

Will have a word with peter then. Need to figure out what makes sense.

Why I said so coz someone here had a RR Sport with a tuning box. The battery got busted sometime later and they said it was coz some device was taking too much power from the battery and they got this info from the RR.

Donno if the technicians were fooling around or so with the owner though.

[Akshay1234]

Originally Posted by jkdas

Why I said so coz someone here had a RR Sport with a tuning box. The battery got busted sometime later and they said it was coz some device was taking too much power from the battery and they got this info from the RR.

Donno if the technicians were fooling around or so with the owner though.

No I think thats a load of crap. I've never heard of this or anything similar. I mean if the RR battery can survive with a 500w Harmon Kardon music system no way a tuning box can drain it.

Originally Posted by androdev

Nice!! I am very interested in this update!! Please also provide comparison details on ride-comfort, cabin-feel, equipment-level, etc. if possible.

I think you misunderstood, I didn't drive those. Just had friendly encounters on the road if you know what I mean. The 530d is one fast car, he was tailing me for a bit and then managed to overtake. Too bad he turned off, otherwise it would have been enjoyable. Later on there was this "uncle" driving a 525d who was ripping it like no "uncle" has before. That car also is about the same as the 320d speedwise. I saw that old guy driving and I was thinking to myself I wanna be like that when I'm older. lol

But between an F10 530d and this 320d, the 5 is noticeably bigger on the inside. The leather used is the same and so is the feeling of the veneer. Even the plastics, though the ac knobs on the 5 feel a bit more upmarket and the design looks newer than the 3. The iDrive screen too is a bit bigger at 10" but its the perfect size for a 5. Auto hold is a useful feature and that electronic gearbox is something I wish I had. I don't know why there is rear seat entertainment in the 530d, because anyone in their right mind will not sit in the back seat of that car. Ride quality on the 530d is leagues ahead due to the thicker profile tyres and the adjustable suspension.

But overall the quality feeling is pretty much the same IMO. You will instantly know both are Bimmers.

[PlatzdaTurbo]

Originally Posted by akshay1234

The 530d is one fast car, he was tailing me for a bit and then managed to overtake. Too bad he turned off, otherwise it would have been enjoyable. Later on there was this "uncle" driving a 525d who was ripping it like no "uncle" has before.

Course it is. 245bhp and 540NM is serious stuff ! Its not all that heavy at 1720kg either. Anyways from your post it seems you are always up for racing people . Just be careful man.
What i am interested in knowing is , was this on the sea link ? Everyone,including you seemed to be ripping it !

[Akshay1234]

Originally Posted by PlatzdaTurbo

Course it is. 245bhp and 540NM is serious stuff ! Its not all that heavy at 1720kg either. Anyways from your post it seems you are always up for racing people . Just be careful man.
What i am interested in knowing is , was this on the sea link ? Everyone,including you seemed to be ripping it !

There was no racing buddy, just each person enjoying their own car. No reckless driving either. Also it was late at night and the roads were pretty empty. The 530d was on Peddar Road and the 525d guy was on Marine Drive.

Thanks for the concern though.

[Akshay1234]

Vkool
Got Vkool tints installed. 35%, not too dark. I have 14% tints on the Accord and as good as they look in the rains, driving when its dark is a real pain sometimes. Didn't want that issue with this car, so decided to go lighter. It cost 7.2k, and I have no clue why considering my Accord cost 5.5k. They just go by the pricelist which is there. Stupid if you ask me.

I think I might go with 3M for the front since I have that on my other car and I'm happy with it. I'd rather pay 6k for the 3M than 11k for the Vkool.

Oh yes, the car also looks more complete now.