DIY: E60 Sport Automatic Retrofit Redux
01-30-2013, 09:10 AM
#42
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My Ride: E60 530i LCI N53
I have just fitted all the SAT hardware (gearshift & ecu & Sport button) without any programming on my UK spec LCI 530i and straight away I notice the only difference with the Sport button pressed is that the steering feel gets stiffer and that's about it. I don't get the sportier transmission characteristics like when putting into the left on D/S mode.
Does anyone know what firmware I need to flash the GKE to achieve the correct transmission functionality and display on the dash?
My vehicle code production code is ND72 with N53 engine and GA6HP19Z transmission.
Thanks
Does anyone know what firmware I need to flash the GKE to achieve the correct transmission functionality and display on the dash?
My vehicle code production code is ND72 with N53 engine and GA6HP19Z transmission.
Thanks
02-01-2013, 10:54 AM
#43
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My Ride: E60 530i LCI N53
I have decided not to flash my firmware on the EGS as I heard bad things go wrong using a D-Can, so instead I will code the VO $2TB into the KOMBI and EGS to get the correct display on the dash instead once my cable arrives.
Here is a pic of my hardware fit so far
Here is a pic of my hardware fit so far
Last edited by leew88; 02-01-2013 at 10:58 AM. Reason: Change of picture
02-03-2013, 11:01 AM
#44
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My Ride: 2007 530xi: Sport, NAV, PDC, HUD, Cold Wthr, CA, Logic 7, HD Radio, SAT, Custom NCS coded options 2008 535xi: Sport, Night Vision, NAV, PDC, HUD, Cold Wthr, CA, Logic 7, SAT, Custom NCS coded options, Rear Seat Heat Retrofit, Passport 9500ci
Model Year: 2008
Engine: N54
I have decided not to flash my firmware on the EGS as I heard bad things go wrong using a D-Can, so instead I will code the VO $2TB into the KOMBI and EGS to get the correct display on the dash instead once my cable arrives.
Here is a pic of my hardware fit so far
Attachment 139923
Here is a pic of my hardware fit so far
Attachment 139923
About the firmware flash... what did you expect to hear? That nothing bad could go wrong? Of course bad things can happen when you DIY software updates on your car.
. The point is that lots of good things can happen that either would be cost prohibitive to pay a dealer or even better - not even possible to get a dealer to do it! You know the cliche's ... gotta pay to play, no risk - no reward, no pain - no gain
Last edited by NoQuarter; 02-03-2013 at 11:05 AM.
04-28-2013, 01:31 PM
#45
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My Ride: 535
Model Year: 2008
I have decided not to flash my firmware on the EGS as I heard bad things go wrong using a D-Can, so instead I will code the VO $2TB into the KOMBI and EGS to get the correct display on the dash instead once my cable arrives.
Here is a pic of my hardware fit so far
Attachment 139923
Here is a pic of my hardware fit so far
Attachment 139923
05-14-2013, 02:04 PM
#46
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My Ride: E60 530i LCI N53
Finally completed my next stage of LCI SAT retro-fit this evening, I flashed the EGS to the SAT $2TB firmware and then had to recoded it so it has no paddles fitted.
What a difference it made, I knew I should of flashed earlier but did'nt have the guts in case I screwed it up.
Now when I press the Sport button whilst in D it goes into a similar mode as DS (ie drops a gear, holds revs higher, faster shifts) as well as stiffer steering and more aggresive throttle response, it never did this before the flash upgrade, it just gave stiffer steering.
People always ask what the difference between using DS compared to Sport button, well in DS without Sport engaged its the same but without the stiffer steering. I now get the gear display showing S1 - S6 when in DS.
The best bit and the most noticable from the back to back testing tonight was when using the manual mode via the gearshift, with Sport activated the manual shifting response was MUCH faster, almost near instantaneous response, the downshift especially produced a much more pronounced rev-match (blipping) but the trade-off was that the changes were more jerky, with Sport switched off the manual shifting was very noticebly slower.
My next stage would be to upgrade to the SAT paddle shift steering wheel
What a difference it made, I knew I should of flashed earlier but did'nt have the guts in case I screwed it up.
Now when I press the Sport button whilst in D it goes into a similar mode as DS (ie drops a gear, holds revs higher, faster shifts) as well as stiffer steering and more aggresive throttle response, it never did this before the flash upgrade, it just gave stiffer steering.
People always ask what the difference between using DS compared to Sport button, well in DS without Sport engaged its the same but without the stiffer steering. I now get the gear display showing S1 - S6 when in DS.
The best bit and the most noticable from the back to back testing tonight was when using the manual mode via the gearshift, with Sport activated the manual shifting response was MUCH faster, almost near instantaneous response, the downshift especially produced a much more pronounced rev-match (blipping) but the trade-off was that the changes were more jerky, with Sport switched off the manual shifting was very noticebly slower.
My next stage would be to upgrade to the SAT paddle shift steering wheel
05-16-2013, 01:30 AM
#47
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Friends so I'd like to understand the final confirmed way of coding/flashing to do this mod after reading the whole thread I'm confused about is it necessary to still add the vo and code the kombi or should one just skip that and go straight to flashing the egs with winkfp.
What will be the outcome of these 3 scenarios
1. Installing just hardware no (vo, kombi recode and no egs flash) will the hardware still work plug and play just no sport ?
2 installing hardware and only adding the vo and recoding kombi ?
3. Installing hardware and only flashing egs no kombi or adding vo ?
What will be the outcome of these 3 scenarios
1. Installing just hardware no (vo, kombi recode and no egs flash) will the hardware still work plug and play just no sport ?
2 installing hardware and only adding the vo and recoding kombi ?
3. Installing hardware and only flashing egs no kombi or adding vo ?
Last edited by spediegunz; 05-16-2013 at 03:51 AM.
05-16-2013, 08:45 AM
#48
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My Ride: E60 530i LCI N53
Friends so I'd like to understand the final confirmed way of coding/flashing to do this mod after reading the whole thread I'm confused about is it necessary to still add the vo and code the kombi or should one just skip that and go straight to flashing the egs with winkfp.
What will be the outcome of these 3 scenarios
1. Installing just hardware no (vo, kombi recode and no egs flash) will the hardware still work plug and play just no sport ?
2 installing hardware and only adding the vo and recoding kombi ?
3. Installing hardware and only flashing egs no kombi or adding vo ?
What will be the outcome of these 3 scenarios
1. Installing just hardware no (vo, kombi recode and no egs flash) will the hardware still work plug and play just no sport ?
2 installing hardware and only adding the vo and recoding kombi ?
3. Installing hardware and only flashing egs no kombi or adding vo ?
2. Same as 1. but with Sport Displayed on Kombi.
3. Don't know not tried that, but my guess it would work and get all benefits but you probably won't get Sport displayed on Kombi, but why only flash EGS and not code the rest since you have the software to do it anyway?
One thing I would like to add is that after I flashed my EGS to the SAT firmware I got a lot of errors relating to DSC, EGS, DME, initially I could'nt clear it, but once I re-coded the EGS with the VO $2TB (and remove $205), then finally re-codes it again without paddles (if you're not fitting them) I managed to clear all codes and all was good since.
05-16-2013, 05:27 PM
#49
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Wow very helpful and clear thanks so much now it's been a while since I've used winkfp, infact the only experience I have using it was to code the cgate when I upgraded to the cic controller. So I'd love all the info you can give me on the flashing process. I'm wondering is the flashing the egs process similar to flashing the cgate also how long should I expect the process to take? Lastly the car I'm going to be coding/flashing is a 2008 550i I notice in the previous pages they spoke about using the ecu family gke215 and zb#7601458 but that was for a 535, using v41 I should state that I have daten v45 installed on my computer. i want to know will I be using the same gke and zb numbers?
1. You only get heavier steering, no Sport display on Kombi and no other benefits
2. Same as 1. but with Sport Displayed on Kombi.
3. Don't know not tried that, but my guess it would work and get all benefits but you probably won't get Sport displayed on Kombi, but why only flash EGS and not code the rest since you have the software to do it anyway?
One thing I would like to add is that after I flashed my EGS to the SAT firmware I got a lot of errors relating to DSC, EGS, DME, initially I could'nt clear it, but once I re-coded the EGS with the VO $2TB (and remove $205), then finally re-codes it again without paddles (if you're not fitting them) I managed to clear all codes and all was good since.
2. Same as 1. but with Sport Displayed on Kombi.
3. Don't know not tried that, but my guess it would work and get all benefits but you probably won't get Sport displayed on Kombi, but why only flash EGS and not code the rest since you have the software to do it anyway?
One thing I would like to add is that after I flashed my EGS to the SAT firmware I got a lot of errors relating to DSC, EGS, DME, initially I could'nt clear it, but once I re-coded the EGS with the VO $2TB (and remove $205), then finally re-codes it again without paddles (if you're not fitting them) I managed to clear all codes and all was good since.
05-16-2013, 06:20 PM
#50
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My Ride: E60 530i LCI N53
I can't help you regarding which ZB firmware to use, there is'nt much mention regarding the 550i. Try asking this question on the BMW coding forum.
Using the SAT firmware for the 535i would work there are people who have used the petrol $2TB firmware on a diesel engined motor, but due to the different torque characteristics, rev-limits etc it will behave a bit differently. For example if the 535i rev-limit is 6500rpm and yours is 7000rpm, your EGS will shift up too early and therefore won't maximise the full potential of your engine revs because it think yours is a 535i. By all means give it a go, you can always flash your original ZB firmware if it's not to your liking.
The procedure to force flash the EGS is like this..
Select comfort mode, then your ECU family (could be GKE195 or GKE215), then select the ZB number for the $2TB firmware, click the VIN button and enter your 17 digit VIN and finally click program, takes between 5-10mins to complete.
Very important to make sure you have a good power supply connected with a voltage 13-14v, or instead do what I did by connecting jump leads from another car with the engine running. Also you must only program the EGS when the transmission is cold, the EGS electronics is within the transmission, if it's too hot after a hot run it may corrupt the data when you flash program it killing the module.
Using the SAT firmware for the 535i would work there are people who have used the petrol $2TB firmware on a diesel engined motor, but due to the different torque characteristics, rev-limits etc it will behave a bit differently. For example if the 535i rev-limit is 6500rpm and yours is 7000rpm, your EGS will shift up too early and therefore won't maximise the full potential of your engine revs because it think yours is a 535i. By all means give it a go, you can always flash your original ZB firmware if it's not to your liking.
The procedure to force flash the EGS is like this..
Select comfort mode, then your ECU family (could be GKE195 or GKE215), then select the ZB number for the $2TB firmware, click the VIN button and enter your 17 digit VIN and finally click program, takes between 5-10mins to complete.
Very important to make sure you have a good power supply connected with a voltage 13-14v, or instead do what I did by connecting jump leads from another car with the engine running. Also you must only program the EGS when the transmission is cold, the EGS electronics is within the transmission, if it's too hot after a hot run it may corrupt the data when you flash program it killing the module.