M3_Power

Very smart people have now developed OBD tools that can do basically what a BDM can do now on the MSS54 DME, but I am still partial to BDM because of its ability to recover and the speed it reads and writes. There are various BDM solutions out there, but in my opinion the cheapest and most reliable tool out there is the clone Galletto system at the moment. I figured I would do a write up for those that want to do this on their own, so I quickly threw something together (hence the carpet!! Don't do this!!!) and show how you can bench/carpet flash via BDM. Once you have installed everything correctly and the software runs, hook your system up like so (one power supply source to power the DME and Galletto is sufficient, in this case a switchable power supply pack that's on 12V 2.5A output was stable for this DME). Software screen should show you the voltage, select 5V for BDM flashing. Galletto provides a connector board between the Galletto main unit and the BDM connector plug line - this basically just switches the pins around. I didn't like the board itself as it made everything too short and the contacts were not insulated so you could accidentally ground or short on the DME, so ended up making my own conversion harness (easily enough to do, just follow the printed track on the connector board) - Self made harness top, supplied board bottom. The siemens BDM connector Alternatively you can use spring loaded BDM probes on a siemens board that you can buy on the net - handy if you don't want to solder header pins. From main software screen select driver and select as per screenshot for the MSS54/HP Ok, then click Connect Once connected it will show the chipset in box on top left. In this case FLASH AMD 29F200BB Now to read, click Read Ext Flash, screen pops up, just type in name of the file you want to call it and the location you want to save it to Save and it'll start reading Done. To write, the process is the same, except you select Write Ext Flash. A screen will pop up for you to select the .bin file, then it'll ask if you want checksum corrected. Rest is self explanatory. :thumbsup2:

I'll just leave this here

Now in possession of some pretty cool tooling and ability to work on multiple types of DMEs I suppose (although I've only tested it on MSS54s so far) ... including: FGtech Galletto 4 with BDM and JTAG functions BDM100 tooling Spring loaded BDM connectors for Siemens, Bosch, Marelli and Delphi DMEs (no more soldering needed) Chip burner and various types of sockets - still testing some of these (have tested 29FX00 chipsets and M35080 and it seems to work okay) On board Motorolla M35080 connector (no more removing chips from clusters : P hehe) BDM frame for BDM spring loaded connectors. Also in other news ... now in possession of a highly tuned Evolve MSS54 DME file : ) Supposedly 385hp+ so I am told. Next project ... Velocity Stack modification : ) Anyone want to be guinea Pig? Apparently makes more power than the CSL airbox : )

If only I owned an E39 M5 ... I'd be waving cash in your face LOL!! Martin I have rolls and rolls of Alcantara sitting in study and a full spare headliner and pillars for the E46 M3 ... I just haven't had time to actually do a retrim yet : P

Strongly disagree!! haha!!! Although I do kind of agree the whole Alcantara thing is getting a little out of hand - you can now order Porsches with Alcantara on just about any surface you desire !

RRP$599 http://www.spark.co.nz/shop/mobile/phones/huawei-ascend-p7.html#techdetails Asking $500 Brand new phone from Spark - surplus to requirements. Still in box with factory Huawei case. Technical details from Spark website Battery (estimated) 14 h talk time 17 d standby 2500 mAh capacity Size & weight 139.8 mm Width 68.8 mm Height 6.1 mm Depth 124 g Weight Screen 1920 px screen width 1080 px screen height 5 " Display size In-cell display display type Memory 16 GB Storage Entertainment DLNA support Games Headphone socket Music player Video player Camera/Video 13MP Auto Focus Camera Camera flash 8MP Fixed Focus Front facing camera / MP4 Video recording Features Connectivity 4 Bluetooth NFC yes b/n/g Wi-Fi Wi-Fi hotspot Calling Speakerphone Video Calling Voice dialing Interface Android 4.4 Operating System Has touchScreen Messaging POP3/IMAP/Microsoft Exchange Email Instant messenger Predictive text Network 3G- 5.76Mbps upto 42Mbps, 4G - Upto 150Mbps Data download speed Flight mode Micro SIM card size

When I first saw this I actually thought .. sh*t that's cheap. Especially when you consider other sellers are asking $15-16K for one with triple the km and far less tidy condition. I don't know maybe I just don't know E36 M3s that well.

Not a true M car ... when it has an engine lifted straight from the Z4 it is no longer a M car

No.3 isn't even in the poster's original list so surely doesn't count (actually I am like you and I have a soft spot for the E36 M3s .... If I was to have one however, I'd have to have the AC Schnitzer CLS version ... or a clone of one) As for the SMG thing ... I've yet to have anyone come off a ride with me on the track that said "shame about the SMG" - in fact more say to me "I see why they made this car SMG". Ray can also chime in, as his converted SMG car to the CSL system has apparently been winning quite a lot of owners over and many are lining up to have the upgrade done - "night and day differences" just about describes it. Also I recall Mike Eady telling me after driving my car around the track that the system made such a difference to the way the car communicated to the driver over the standard 3 pedal (and this was right after he just did training with someone in a Seat Cup race car with paddle shift) - he promptly commented that the SMG was more racecar feel than the Seat Cup racecar system - and I am more inclined to agree with a multiple winning racecar driver on how a racecar feels over anyone else. My opinion probably doesn't matter much as it's obviously biased!! However, if imitation's the highest form of flattery and an indication of desirability, then it probably doesn't take a genius to decide purely on popularity at least which is considered by the enthusiasts to be the most cherished model. Having said that however, I do believe that the M3 GTS is often overlooked to be the ultimate BMW M3 - BMW M basically gave it what the CSL owners (back in 2003) were moaning about the CSL lacked ... proper seats, cage, harness, adjustable suspension and proper brakes and real downforce ... yet when they made one, everyone moaned again that it was "too aftermarket". It's no wonder that BMW M have finally gone and decided "screw you enthusiasts" .. we are just going to make what makes money from now on. We only have ourselves to blame for the crap M's that have been coming out in recent time.

Correct. Actually that's wrong ... the CS only got the CSL Headers if made post 03/05, front brakes, DSC module (very rare and worth a bit of money these), steering rack, steering wheel and handbrake cover and the rear wheels (the fronts were 0.5" narrower), the rest are standard M3 items. It did get the HP DME however, but the tune is identical to the rest of the range. All M3 made post 03/2005 got the CSL headers also, but not the rest of the exhaust system - only the CSL had the full system. Still not the best headers you can get for the S54 ... that belongs to the P54 motorsport item which I nearly purchased a set not long ago - rumored to be good for an additional 15hp+

About two years ago I nearly stripped it bare and shipped it off to the cage builders ... It is an option still.

Ray's one doesn't meet criteria as it has sunroof ... Plus probably too nice to turn into racecar.

MSS50 EWS delete confirmed working ... But flashing only via OBD at the moment as bench flashing this DME have been a bit perplexing for the moment.

Did the car come with CSL midpipe and muffler or did you fit them?

Long shot, but let's see what's out there. Doesn't have to be a complete car but MUST be cheap for a racecar build. But needs to be road registered. Does not need to have the following - front bumper or carrier - rear bumper cover or diffuser - bootlid - wheels or tyres - shocks or springs - interior seats, steering wheel or mid and centre console - probably dont need the door cards either but nice if it has the front ones. - airbox or MAF sensor - can be a noisy vanos but no engine damage - engine dme and ews not required but full wiring in car needed. - no sunroof - stereo system not needed. - keys not needed either. Can be smg (must be working if it is) or 6 speed, I am not bothered by either. No rust and straight body - rear chassis crack hopefully minor if any without epoxy injection repair done prior. Prefer MK60 DSC system over the old MK20. MUST be cheap!

Maybe I'll just keep them for that future racecar build lol!!!! P.s. TJ, photo above isn't a square setup ... Just spacers by the looks.

Now without Recaro seats ... $32K

New year bump

MSS54 converted to HP DME confirmed to be working correctly by Ray@HellBM - thanks Ray for donating his time and live data logging key readings to confirm everything is reporting correctly and functioning as it should.

Okay, first off ... HIGHLY ILLEGAL to be tampering with your guage clusters and km. So this is NOT a guide on how to do that. This is more an information post for those that do engine swaps and want to swap in the donor cluster but have no way of changing the VIN number on it or match the actual odometer reading to their LCM and EWS (which I know can be frustrating). Everyone knows with PA Soft you can change the odometer readings and VIN on certain clusters (mostly pre 2000), but NOT ones equipped with the M30580 chipset. I became a little obsessed with this for pure entertainment purposes, so I starting doing a bit of reading. There's basically bugger all information out there and most of the posts you come across says the only way to reuse an used cluster is to solder off the M30580 chipset and put a virgin one on and recode the cluster with the factory tool. This however required removal of the cluster face, needles ect. Well it turns out you don't and there are tools out there that are capable of erasing the odometer readings so you can recode the VIN number on a M30580 chipped cluster - once the odometer is set back to 0km you can re-write the vin and then copy the vehicle order across from your LCM. Here's the proof on an used E46 M3 cluster I had sitting around that I decided to test this on. The original had nearly 200k km on the odometer and when you used the write FGSTNR function with PA Soft it was blanked out. Once this was wiped back to 0km it became possible. Special note - this does not work on every single cluster as they have different brands of mainboards. On this particular one I had it worked.

FYI ... just in case some were wondering. These cloned keys can be read by the official dealership network machines and the data on them are correct. I just did my airbag recall on a cloned key and it worked exactly like a real thing when read through the dealership key readers.

Oh don't get me wrong Jon, I agree wholeheartedly that safety is paramount when you are going at speeds. However I do think there's a difference in terms of the level of danger in a full grid race where every Tom, Dick and Harry wants to win and overtake at every corner, straight or braking point versus a lone guy or gal out on track doing their best at keeping to the perfect race line and braking points. I think as a minimum, helmets should be mandatory in any track driving, so too cotton overalls - I would even go so far as to mandate neck brace (although there's debate about how effective those are), but not everyone can afford a Hans device let along a helmet that can take one - so the best of two evils again. I too have done the daily thing in a fully caged car, half caged car ... a car with a full on race seat ... I must be way less hardened than you are because I absolutely hated it haha!!! And to be honest I actually think it's pretty dangerous to be driving a fully caged car on the streets - the visibility out of a bucket seat just isn't right for the public roads. But hey, great mature discussions so far about this ... and some good ideas being thrown up ... all food for thoughts!

Henry's days are more an exception than the rule I have to say ... that and the demographics it attracts But yes you are right, those days you are more likely to see a first timer thinking they are Lewis Hamilton and out brake themselves down the first corner. I've seen brand new X5Ms written off that way plus a few other 'exotics' - actually I have a nice photo collage of those incidents (strange how people just seem to email me images of them LOL!!!). Having said that I've been to properly run track days by reputable outfits where I've seen nearly half of the racecars either towed back with a front or both ends gone or a just built racecar out testing only to slam nose first off turn 1 at Hampton on it's outlap on cold brakes. I've also seen some fairly dangerous incidents involving guys in caged cars (which in my opinion happen more often than your regular road racer in their daily drive) - not to mention the fact that I was once cut off turn 1 by a certain Porsche Cup racer despite the fact I was on the racing line and on turn in, only for him to spin me into the barrier in my Honda (you'll probably say, thank goodness it was only a Honda - and the Porsche driver will most definitely say, good riddance!! LOL). So yes, both groups have idiots, racecar or otherwise. Perhaps bimmersport can do a track day at Pukekohe for those that can't be bothered travelling to Taupo : )

Whilst I agree with the above statement in general I do think there is a reason that sometimes young people consider motorsport to be prohibitively expensive the moment you start looking at cages ect ... You are talking about people that may only have the means to have one car and just want to have a go (but not in a shitter like the 2KCup cars (sorry 2KCup : P) The counter argument to that of course is would you rather those that are interested in motorsport and upping their skills join private track days and crash (or worse race on the roads to try and prove they are better than the next person) or would you rather they be under a controlled environment with properly run and organised days - but without the prohibitive costs of running a full time track car. In my opinion it's the best of two evils really. There's a reason that not all events under MANZ require a full schedule A car and it is also why there are events such as bent sprints, time trials ect that only require clubman licence. People still die in well built racecars doing stupid things, if anything I see more racecars crash at track days than road cars simply because many of those behind the wheels of one feel they are invincible because of it. At the end of the day it's about respecting your capabilities and respecting the activity you are carrying out - and I am a believer that the only way to build that mentality isn't through a simple response of "get a roll cage" or "join a race series". I am sure no one would tell their kids that want to learn to swim to "go join the Olympic team" ... it's a stupid argument if I may respectfully say so with a tinge of cheekiness. LOL Dan ... I dare you to post that on the Honda Cup forum ... I've LOL'd a couple of times knowing the BMW guys lift off just so they don't go under the 1:10 mark at Hampton ... Never really understood the logic behind that rule to be honest.