Wpg550

The car is in the shop and scheduled to get back to me today. Given that we had everything else working (heated wheel, etc.), the programming was accepted in our last go-round and the specific issue we were encountering was exactly what was listed in the SIB (and we know the previous wiring run was the incorrect 2-wire run), we're 99% confident it will all work.

Oh cr*p! (looks for wood to knock on...) I forgot the cardinal rule!! Never count on a mod to work until its done...
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2008 550i M-sport
2006 X3 2.5i

BW535xiT

My fingers are crossed for you buddy. Here's to the intestinal fortitude of pioneers such as yourself!

Wpg550

SUCCESS!!

Well... as a fitting end to this fantastic thread I just drove home from the dealer with fully functioning paddle-shifters and SAT retrofitted into my 2008 550i. Even better (at least temporarily) is that I haven't had to pay the bill yet - we're going to work that out tomorrow when I pick up my X3 after servicing.

Once I have the final bill in hand I will post the final part #'s and a short write-up on what needs to be done from a dealer/programming perspective to get this retrofit done. At the end of the day, I have a fantastic SA to thank -- as even the SIB wiring posted earlier in this thread wasn't quite correct. He figured out the final wiring need to get the paddles working based on a combination of the SIB and older wiring diagrams (and a healthy dose of electronics 101 common sense), and will e-mail me the details to me to share with the forum.

NavarroOne - the SA also explained that the paddle-shifters and SAT are separate options on the vehicle order, so all you likely needed to do was to get a VO with the SAT but without the paddle shifters -- then your setup would have worked.

Thanks to everyone who contributed to this thread, and huge thanks to the crew at Birchwood BMW here in Winnipeg for seeing this retrofit through to a successful conclusion!! As far as I know, this is the first-ever retrofit of SAT with paddles...
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2008 550i M-sport - now with SAT and paddles!
2006 X3 2.5i

poot1873

Congrats m8, i'd love paddles on my 525i, but dont fancy my local garage doing the job.

rolly888

great job ....now iam thinking paddles paddles mmmmmm yummy padddles

NavarroOne

Warm congratulations mate, very glad to hear it has all worked out. Thanks for your meticulous sharing on this forum, very valuable.

My mechanic is ill so my appointment has been changed to next monday. Any way your super mechanic might actually work out which VO is needed without the paddles?

Brgds

alex_r

Could you just clarify this would work on any E60 BMW post-CLI? e.g a 520d or 525d? obviously with automatic transmission anyway?

could you also clarify whether this could replace the automatic transmission in a car without SAT?

Congratulations on a great mod, and a great series of write-ups.

Wpg550

Well, I don't think I'm qualified to confirm it would work on any LCI E60 - but I can confirm it worked on mine, and my '08 550i was a very early LCI build (March 2007 - even before you could order the SAT option from the factory). Based on this, I believe it would work on any LCI E60 (ie. any E60 with the electronic "remote control" gear selector switch.)

Not exactly sure of the question, but will have a go at an answer in any case... you are not replacing the mechanical auto transmission in the vehicle - it's the same 6-speed auto transmission you had before. The mod only replaces the electronic control unit for gear selection and transmitting info to the transmission control unit, which adds a couple of additional software controlled "modes" to the operate the transmission -- specifically the "sport" modes which have faster shifting and rev-matching on downshifts. The mod also allows the addition/use of paddle shifters to control the "manual" mode of shifting on the auto trans.

I'm still waiting on the final parts list and write-up of the correct wiring for the paddles to make everything work, and will post everything up once I have the information in hand.
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2008 550i M-sport (now with SAT+paddles!)
2006 X3 2.5i

alex_r

thanks for quick response. I am interested in buying a 520/525d, and my dad has a 09 plate which has the SAT and for me this is a feature I definitely want, but want to make sure I can have this if I were to buy an older model with the "standard" automatic transmission. hope that clarifies the question a bit better?

Wpg550

Two things... it has to be an LCI model with the electronic gear selector (looks like a remote control), and you will need to make sure you have a dealer that will work with you on the retrofit. One of the biggest hurdles in the mod is that BMW does not consider this a "retrofit" - meaning there is no menu option on the dealer's computer that can automatically make the changes required to correctly program the vehicle after the change. Now I'm not a technical expert, but my understanding is that the dealer needs to request a new "vehicle order" which basically tells the computer what (factory) options were included in your car based on the VIN. Obviously, changes need to be made to the VO to a) remove the standard auto trans option; b) add sport auto trans; c) add paddle shifters should you make this change also; and d) add heated wheel if you add this as well. Without the modified VO, the computer will fail attempting to program the vehicle as it will encounter electronic modules that don't match the expected options for your car.

Once I get the wiring instructions and details from my SA, you can take that with you to a dealer to discuss. You might even discuss the changes as part of the purchase transaction (if it's at a dealer) which may reduce the costs.