Quote:
Originally Posted by Carbonless
I was about to get a Noelle tune on my M5 after reading the articles about it and, importantly, that it maintains warranty coverage since this is my daily driver (I have a Ferrari to do my toying around). I generally mod most of my vehicles since I track my vehicles and I'm a long-time street motorcycle racer and overall speed fan. However, this is the first car I've ever leased - due mostly to the fact that I do a lot of traveling for work driving clients around and need a nice sedan and can write off a Lease on my business much easier than a purchase.
However, after seeing this post (among others) I'm reluctant to move forward with my appointment to get the Noelle tune done. I've read recently that BMW is now checking to see whether ECU has been flashed as well as whether data has exceeded max limits set on stock ECU. This looks to open up a pandora's box by violating terms of my lease and voiding warranty.
Does anyone have a straight answer about whether I am SOL if I tune my M5 with Noelle (or any of the other options JB4/etc.). I'm in California and doing any downpipes is out of the question due to emissions regs. If I can't tune then it seems like my only option is to do cat-back exhaust and the HP increase seems minimal while creating a less-desirable everyday-driving sound. I don't mind a loud exhaust when I'm hauling ass tooling in the twisties or at the track, but I don't want an obnoxious exhaust note when cruising long distances.
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If you tune it--ECU or piggyback--and BMW detect it, any related warranty claim will likely end up with you... or with your tuning company but I've no real experience trying to make that work. Both types of tune can be detected.
Note also that these warranty claims don't preserve your BMW warranty, they accept liability for related damages--that's soooooo not the same thing.
Unrelated warranty claims are typically a non-issue (I only say
typically because I don't represent the entire BMW customer base but I know of no drivetrain-unrelated warranty concerns resulting from tuning).
Easy tune: JB4 == lots of power gain; lost of customization but it won't do anything to make your car louder. ECU tunes can.
Try a CF intake to amplify turbo whoosh.
Don't get the Noelle tune--there's little to no supporting conclusive data out there that I've seen but lots of opposing evidence.