[b16jsy]

Hi all,

So I had my car remapped on Saturday, after a lot of research I decided to go to Big Fish Tuning in Stokesley (I live in County Durham, so not too far from my place).

They seem to get consistent good reviews across the board, and the fact that my mate got his 640d mapped by them a year or so ago helped make my mind up.

The whole process took around four hours, they take an awful lot of care over your car and spend the time to get it right, no rushing involved and they explain everything to you in a logical manner.

So my F31 330d should be 258bhp standard, a lot of people on this forum have the opinion this engine I usually a bit higher than that figure in standard form, the ‘before’ figure on the dyno seems to back this up, mine made 269.6 bhp and 568 Nm Torque.

The ‘after’ figures ended up being 325.6 bhp and 641 Nm Torque - I don’t claim to be an expert but the graph looks like a smooth strong progression.

I’m also aware some people are of the impression that the standard turbo etc will only ever get to around 320bhp including dpf delete etc – so that figure might be took with a pinch of salt! However, ignoring the figures the car is much better to drive and pulls much stronger and harder and is a definite noticeable improvement over stock, so all in all a definite worthy upgrade.

If anyone is in the North East area I would definitely recommend Big Fish Tuning, I couldn’t fault them at all.

Cheers
Joe

[Joshd63]

Originally Posted by b16jsy

Hi all,

So I had my car remapped on Saturday, after a lot of research I decided to go to Big Fish Tuning in Stokesley (I live in County Durham, so not too far from my place).

They seem to get consistent good reviews across the board, and the fact that my mate got his 640d mapped by them a year or so ago helped make my mind up.

The whole process took around four hours, they take an awful lot of care over your car and spend the time to get it right, no rushing involved and they explain everything to you in a logical manner.

So my F31 330d should be 258bhp standard, a lot of people on this forum have the opinion this engine I usually a bit higher than that figure in standard form, the ‘before’ figure on the dyno seems to back this up, mine made 269.6 bhp and 568 Nm Torque.

The ‘after’ figures ended up being 325.6 bhp and 641 Nm Torque - I don’t claim to be an expert but the graph looks like a smooth strong progression.

I’m also aware some people are of the impression that the standard turbo etc will only ever get to around 320bhp including dpf delete etc – so that figure might be took with a pinch of salt! However, ignoring the figures the car is much better to drive and pulls much stronger and harder and is a definite noticeable improvement over stock, so all in all a definite worthy upgrade.

If anyone is in the North East area I would definitely recommend Big Fish Tuning, I couldn’t fault them at all.

Cheers
Joe

It's interesting you've made this review as I am in the north east also and I took my 430d to big fish tuning. Before results showed 268 also and after the map this was pushed up to 329.

Very happy with the results and also the service I received. I was a bit apprehensive at first but they treat your car as if it's their own - very impressed couldn't recommend them enough

[b16jsy]

That's good to know, I've come across plenty of companies in the past who just want you in and out of the door as quickly as possible - thankfully these guys seem to care about doing it properly!

[OneExtra]

Why did it take so long?

Did they take out the ECU.

[geordiepaul]

How much was the remap if you don't mind me asking?

[b16jsy]

Originally Posted by OneExtra

Why did it take so long?

Did they take out the ECU.

I'm not certain if they took it out or not to be honest with you, but I don't mind waiting a bit longer if the job is done properly.

[b16jsy]

Originally Posted by geordiepaul

How much was the remap if you don't mind me asking?

I think it was £295.00 on a weekday or £345.00 if a Saturday morning is required.

I think that is a great price considering it includes rolling road dyno etc.

Like i mentioned earlier, my mates 640d was done over a year ago and is still perfectly fine no issues, and the fact that they are relatively local to me helped sway the decision!

[OneExtra]

Originally Posted by b16jsy

I'm not certain if they took it out or not to be honest with you, but I don't mind waiting a bit longer if the job is done properly.

Your results are pretty much inline with any other 30d

The reason I asked about the ECU coming out is because that's old technology and it shouldnt need to be removed, it's also a lot safer and less obvious to BMW that it's been changed.

If it was done through the OBD it would probably take about an hour and a half max, most remaps are generic to the engine and for the price you paid that looks to be the case.

If anyone else gets a remap you must make sure it's through the OBD and not by opening the ECU and adding a patch.

[b16jsy]

Originally Posted by OneExtra

Your results are pretty much inline with any other 30d

The reason I asked about the ECU coming out is because that's old technology and it shouldnt need to be removed, it's also a lot safer and less obvious to BMW that it's been changed.

If it was done through the OBD it would probably take about an hour and a half max, most remaps are generic to the engine and for the price you paid that looks to be the case.

If anyone else gets a remap you must make sure it's through the OBD and not by opening the ECU and adding a patch.

Thanks for that info, although I don't know which method they used, my car is now out of warranty anyway so that is less of a concern to me.

It looks like Big Fish do indeed write their own maps, taken from their website:

'With our own custom written maps, which are unique to your car, we provide a bespoke and individual service that suits your needs and no car leaves our workshop unless we’re entirely happy with it. We run the latest versions at all times of EVCs WinOLS with all the required checksums as needed for your car.
We do not use generic or off-the- shelf maps, the map in your car will be unique and customised to your own car and (if they are fitted) the supporting modifications.'

[Joshd63]

Originally Posted by OneExtra

Your results are pretty much inline with any other 30d

The reason I asked about the ECU coming out is because that's old technology and it shouldnt need to be removed, it's also a lot safer and less obvious to BMW that it's been changed.

If it was done through the OBD it would probably take about an hour and a half max, most remaps are generic to the engine and for the price you paid that looks to be the case.

If anyone else gets a remap you must make sure it's through the OBD and not by opening the ECU and adding a patch.

I can confirm that when I had mine done about 3 weeks ago that they did not remove the ecu it was all done through the obd and they have been doing it that way for a couple of years now

They are custom maps as well wrote in house

[muffking]

Looks like that's where I'll be taking my 330d then as I'm often in Teesside.

[OneExtra]

Originally Posted by Joshd63

I can confirm that when I had mine done about 3 weeks ago that they did not remove the ecu it was all done through the obd and they have been doing it that way for a couple of years now

They are custom maps as well wrote in house

That's really good especially for custom maps. Its only been about 5 months since remapping through the OBD is possible on F Series cars.

On the earlier E90/E92s it been 10 years +

[movietub]

Wow, I logged on for the first time in years to ask for some remapping advice for my 430d and the first thread I saw was this one, that pretty much contains all the info I needed lol!

I'm going to have to find somewhere more local for my car, but knowing to check they go via OBD and write their own map, rather than generic is very useful.

I will add that the only reason I'm so keen to have this done however, is that a friend just had his 330d chipped (tune-it I think) and although I knew an engine specific remap was better, I have to say I was amazed at the results. I wonder if it's the case that a generic map is actually good enough on a very modern engine built to such high tolerances? My thought process being that... The engines may in fact be so similar these days, that there is now less to be gained from a custom map?

His car hasn't been on the RR since, but I drove a 330d for years myself, I know the difference and would frankly be astounded if he wasn't safely into 300+hp. I think he paid £350, and it took 15 minutes to fit. So clearly no customization at all.

[Elliott19864]

Will keep this in mind for my 320i as I am also in County Durham.

£295 is a good price, I paid £500 for a custom map last time I had one done and travelled to Peterborough back in 2011.

[muffking]

Their Twitter and FB pages are quoting £50 off during August too, so £245 for a weekday remap and rolling road session.

[Hooded]

Originally Posted by OneExtra

Your results are pretty much inline with any other 30d

The reason I asked about the ECU coming out is because that's old technology and it shouldnt need to be removed, it's also a lot safer and less obvious to BMW that it's been changed.

If it was done through the OBD it would probably take about an hour and a half max, most remaps are generic to the engine and for the price you paid that looks to be the case.

If anyone else gets a remap you must make sure it's through the OBD and not by opening the ECU and adding a patch.

Simon from Emaps did mine through the OBD, it took just over 2 hours.. but he spent nearly 90 minutes modifying the map from my car on his laptop before uploading it.

I agree there's no point going somewhere that opens up the ECU, as most the top tuners can do these cars through the OBD now.

[330XDave]

Originally Posted by muffking

Their Twitter and FB pages are quoting £50 off during August too, so £245 for a weekday remap and rolling road session.

That's a bargain, wish I lived a bit closer.

[geordiepaul]

Originally Posted by muffking

Their Twitter and FB pages are quoting £50 off during August too, so £245 for a weekday remap and rolling road session.

I just called in and they quoted £395 including VAT.

[330XDave]

Originally Posted by geordiepaul

I just called in and they quoted £395 including VAT.

Maybe you could point them in the direction of this thread?

[muffking]

Originally Posted by geordiepaul

I just called in and they quoted £395 including VAT.

I've messaged them to confirm the price and potentially book in.

[Joshd63]

Originally Posted by muffking

I've messaged them to confirm the price and potentially book in.

I paid 250 for a weekday but that was with a £50 off voucher as they had an offer on at the time

[muffking]

I got a response back confirming £245 for a week day during Aug. My 330D is now booked in for 2 weeks time. I'll let you know how I get on