[Jaronbwall]

Hello Everyone,
I test drove a 2009 335i with the 6-speed. Looking to purchase the car because it's basically flawless! The only issue I noticed was a slight lack of power down low in the RPMs. My previous 2008 335i felt much faster and had no performance mods.
Question: Is it possible to tell if the car has the upgraded software?? or in other words the crap BMW's fix to stop WG rattle etc?

[335NJ]

When did the 09' have a walnut blast done last?

[Jaronbwall]

Originally Posted by 335NJ

When did the 09' have a walnut blast done last?

Not sure! It's a 3 owner car and the carfax looked good with nothing changed other than spark plugs at 40k miles and tires. Maybe its super clogged?

[ThatRWD]

If your buying from the stealer it probably has, try and look at service history. Or you can take it to a stealer and they can tell you.

I think if you hold the DSC button if a picture of a car losing traction comes up on the odometer area that means it's been updated. Not positive though.

[335NJ]

Originally Posted by Jarronbwall

Not sure! It's a 3 owner car and the carfax looked good with nothing changed other than spark plugs at 40k miles and tires. Maybe its super clogged?

Well depending on the current mileage, it could be past due for plugs/walnut blast, etc. a good tune-up of that nature could free up some lost power.

[Alex09_335]

Was you 08 a manual trans. When I first started driving my 09 335 6 speed I thought I felt a little slow down low but after a few months I figure my rpms were just too low for speedy accelerations.

[nikitino25]

I'm not sure if my car ever had the BMW software "upgrade" but i'm now running a cobb tune so does that totally cancel out any bmw software changes so I'm not affected by it anymore if it was done to my car?

[Jaronbwall]

Originally Posted by Alex09_335

Was you 08 a manual trans. When I first started driving my 09 335 6 speed I thought I felt a little slow down low but after a few months I figure my rpms were just too low for speedy accelerations.

Yeah my last car was the 6-speed. I'm thinking plugs and wires as well. Does a tuner cancel that BMW software shit or over ride it? I don't have the money for a tuner, walnut blast, and plugs yet. I was quoted $700 for the intake cleaning alone in Indianapolis

[Sgop335]

Originally Posted by Jarronbwall

Hello Everyone,
I test drove a 2009 335i with the 6-speed. Looking to purchase the car because it's basically flawless! The only issue I noticed was a slight lack of power down low in the RPMs. My previous 2008 335i felt much faster and had no performance mods.
Question: Is it possible to tell if the car has the upgraded software?? or in other words the crap BMW's fix to stop WG rattle etc?

My2009, assuming build later than 5/08 has no software upgrades for wg rattle.

So must be fine!

I just got back from the dealer this morning upgraded to latest software and they specifically did the wastegate valve conversion. so ask me!

[Jaronbwall]

Originally Posted by Sgop335

My2009, assuming build later than 5/08 has no software upgrades for wg rattle.

So must be fine!

I just got back from the dealer this morning upgraded to latest software and they specifically did the wastegate valve conversion. so ask me!

Did you go into the dealership for WG rattle issues? How does the car drive now since you got it back?

[Sgop335]

Originally Posted by Jarronbwall

Did you go into the dealership for WG rattle issues? How does the car drive now since you got it back?

I went for turbo lag not wg rattle. Earlier this week, I measured vacuum after the solenoid at idling and found to be about 1 in Hg. This means wg is open at idle due to the infamous software fix for rattle (my software must have been updated at some point). This introduces lag about 0.5s. There is an excellent wiki article on this and the service bulletin to fix it.

The bmw tech was great, updated the software and did the waste gate conversion, as they call it. This brings the wg vacuum levels to values before the rattle fix. They now measure 18in Hg after 1min of idle. This is great, the lag is gone and very responsive.

Again, 2009 model year this is not applicable.

[Jaronbwall]

Originally Posted by Sgop335

I went for turbo lag not wg rattle. Earlier this week, I measured vacuum after the solenoid at idling and found to be about 1 in Hg. This means wg is open at idle due to the infamous software fix for rattle (my software must have been updated at some point). This introduces lag about 0.5s. There is an excellent wiki article on this and the service bulletin to fix it.

The bmw tech was great, updated the software and did the waste gate conversion, as they call it. This brings the wg vacuum levels to values before the rattle fix. They now measure 18in Hg after 1min of idle. This is great, the lag is gone and very responsive.

Again, 2009 model year this is not applicable.

That's great news man! Hopefully I can get financing this week and check out the vacuum lines in more detail once I pick it up. At this point it's a waiting game.

[ThatRWD]

Originally Posted by Sgop335

I went for turbo lag not wg rattle. Earlier this week, I measured vacuum after the solenoid at idling and found to be about 1 in Hg. This means wg is open at idle due to the infamous software fix for rattle (my software must have been updated at some point). This introduces lag about 0.5s. There is an excellent wiki article on this and the service bulletin to fix it.

The bmw tech was great, updated the software and did the waste gate conversion, as they call it. This brings the wg vacuum levels to values before the rattle fix. They now measure 18in Hg after 1min of idle. This is great, the lag is gone and very responsive.

Again, 2009 model year this is not applicable.

Which dealer did you go to ? They did charge me $140 but said that all the newer firmwaves have this done by default. I think the wiki article also mentions this.

[Jaronbwall]

Originally Posted by Sgop335

I went for turbo lag not wg rattle. Earlier this week, I measured vacuum after the solenoid at idling and found to be about 1 in Hg. This means wg is open at idle due to the infamous software fix for rattle (my software must have been updated at some point). This introduces lag about 0.5s. There is an excellent wiki article on this and the service bulletin to fix it.

The bmw tech was great, updated the software and did the waste gate conversion, as they call it. This brings the wg vacuum levels to values before the rattle fix. They now measure 18in Hg after 1min of idle. This is great, the lag is gone and very responsive.

Again, 2009 model year this is not applicable.

Also, what exactly is a waste gate converstion?? I thought the WG is internal so it's fixed with the turbo.

[Sgop335]

Originally Posted by ThatRWD

Which dealer did you go to ? They did charge me $140 but said that all the newer firmwaves have this done by default. I think the wiki article also mentions this.

bmw of catonsville.

All software updates have the laggy waste gate setting by default. The tech has to specifically open a dialog box and check waste gate conversion. This will result in the higher vacuum setting at idle and deceleration (i.e. not wide open waste gate). To measure the vacuum is the best way to find. I have before and after numbers.

Good news once the waste gate conversion is done, future updates will not erase it (because its a separate setting).

[Sgop335]

Originally Posted by Jarronbwall

Also, what exactly is a waste gate converstion?? I thought the WG is internal so it's fixed with the turbo.

waste gate conversion is the software term for the dme to send high vacuum numbers at idle and deceleration. Its not hardware related. As you may know, in order to build boost, the wg has to close. This is controlled by the boost solenoids (2 for n54) that sends vacuum to the wg to close it. Higher vacuum closes the wg and more boost.

In the laggy setting the vacuum is almost 0 at idle/deceleration and the vacuum increases only around 3k rpm. This is quite a lag. With waste gate conversion there is 18in hg at idle/deceleration (means wg is semi closed ready for instant action).

[Jaronbwall]

Originally Posted by Sgop335

waste gate conversion is the software term for the dme to send high vacuum numbers at idle and deceleration. Its not hardware related. As you may know, in order to build boost, the wg has to close. This is controlled by the boost solenoids (2 for n54) that sends vacuum to the wg to close it. Higher vacuum closes the wg and more boost.

In the laggy setting the vacuum is almost 0 at idle/deceleration and the vacuum increases only around 3k rpm. This is quite a lag. With waste gate conversion there is 18in hg at idle/deceleration (means wg is semi closed ready for instant action).

Ohh okay I understand now! That's some good information man. Is it bad to be reading the thread on single turbo converstions? The N54 is seriously incredible..

[ThatRWD]

By any chance would you know what software you were on before and what software you are on now? BMW introduced new software which had that option enabled by default, and it was also removed from ISTA/P programing menus... I should know, I downloaded 60GB of it at 500KB/s only to find the option wasn't there.

But if I can reduce my lag further, fuck it I will go to BMW of Catonsville.

[Sgop335]

Originally Posted by ThatRWD

By any chance would you know what software you were on before and what software you are on now? BMW introduced new software which had that option enabled by default, and it was also removed from ISTA/P programing menus... I should know, I downloaded 60GB of it at 500KB/s only to find the option wasn't there.

But if I can reduce my lag further, fuck it I will go to BMW of Catonsville.

Here you go, (odometer in km), last line WGAK is waste gate valve conversion. SA Jamie, tech was Ken.

[BMWM.D.]

Originally Posted by ThatRWD

By any chance would you know what software you were on before and what software you are on now? BMW introduced new software which had that option enabled by default, and it was also removed from ISTA/P programing menus... I should know, I downloaded 60GB of it at 500KB/s only to find the option wasn't there.

But if I can reduce my lag further, fuck it I will go to BMW of Catonsville.

What is the production date of your car? If it's 3/08+, then none of this applies to you. BMW's current software only has the anti-rattle logic for cars with the early style wastegate actuator -- that's cars build before 9/07. There was a time period when dealerships were flashing 9/07-3/08 cars with this programming as well, but that was a long time ago. Most cars have been programmed since then (recalls, etc.), and that would restore the original wastegate logic if it was changed in the past.

If you have a pre-9/07 car, then the "wastegate valve conversion" is for you. And just as an FYI.... aftermarket flash tuners like Cobb don't overwrite this logic. I did this procedure on my own car (1/07 build) since my turbos were in great shape and I wanted to get rid of the added lag that BMW gave the previous owner. I uninstalled the AP, programmed the car with ISTA/P (including the wastegate valve conversion), then re-installed the AP.

[Jaronbwall]

Originally Posted by BMWM.D.

What is the production date of your car? If it's 3/08+, then none of this applies to you. BMW's current software only has the anti-rattle logic for cars with the early style wastegate actuator -- that's cars build before 9/07. There was a time period when dealerships were flashing 9/07-3/08 cars with this programming as well, but that was a long time ago. Most cars have been programmed since then (recalls, etc.), and that would restore the original wastegate logic if it was changed in the past.

If you have a pre-9/07 car, then the "wastegate valve conversion" is for you. And just as an FYI.... aftermarket flash tuners like Cobb don't overwrite this logic. I did this procedure on my own car (1/07 build) since my turbos were in great shape and I wanted to get rid of the added lag that BMW gave the previous owner. I uninstalled the AP, programmed the car with ISTA/P (including the wastegate valve conversion), then re-installed the AP.

Nice man! Thanks for the information. The car I'm trying to buy is an 09 so it should be okay. Hopefully it doesn't sell before I get financed.