Broken spark plug :(

I think that tuning might be a hard nut to crack now, thanks to the TMS of this world.

You would probably have to do other stuff to be self sufficient until a reputation was gained.
 
Twofold really, I’ve done work on them in the past and i find them quite easy to work on / with and fall quite inline with fixing various VAG's, plus around my area we have a very limited amount of BMW independents.
 
but tuning is different now in the computer controled/ecu + internet todays world.

experience obviously helps, but ecu fault codes dont even tell half the story and neither do forums. i work on a fair few people's cars, diagnosing takes time and road miles to log and monitor stuff. then you tell people the list of probable causes and theyll go for the cheapest first, every time, so customer's can make a rod for their own back.

and my god do they moan. i had to put a lambda on a car, replacing a lambda goes one of two ways, a doddle of a REAL ****** MARE. i set the price accordingly. it could be simple or it coudl take a whole load of disassembly. it goes right for once and your questioned about why it cost how much it did. this will be the same customer you spent all saturday noon installing gauges and senders into a car, making it look completely OE so you cant even tell anything was altered under the bonnet, you do it for barely more than the cost of the parts because he caught you on the fly and you made a decission in a rush (badly) and agreed to do it for a silly amount.

the customers do moan, even when youre doing it for extremely fair prices. some are just moaners no matter how it turns out
 
Matt82 said:
but tuning is different now in the computer controled/ecu + internet todays world.

experience obviously helps, but ecu fault codes dont even tell half the story and neither do forums. i work on a fair few people's cars, diagnosing takes time and road miles to log and monitor stuff. then you tell people the list of probable causes and theyll go for the cheapest first, every time, so customer's can make a rod for their own back.

and my god do they moan. i had to put a lambda on a car, replacing a lambda goes one of two ways, a doddle of a REAL ****** MARE. i set the price accordingly. it could be simple or it coudl take a whole load of disassembly. it goes right for once and your questioned about why it cost how much it did. this will be the same customer you spent all saturday noon installing gauges and senders into a car, making it look completely OE so you cant even tell anything was altered under the bonnet, you do it for barely more than the cost of the parts because he caught you on the fly and you made a decission in a rush (badly) and agreed to do it for a silly amount.

the customers do moan, even when youre doing it for extremely fair prices. some are just moaners no matter how it turns out
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I hate the public in general, necessary evil though.
 
Firestar_3x said:
Twofold really, I’ve done work on them in the past and i find them quite easy to work on / with and fall quite inline with fixing various VAG's, plus around my area we have a very limited amount of BMW independents.
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you sound a bit like the northwich version of me, been pulling apart vag stuff for ages! as for bms though, ive only dabbled in them a little bit so ill leave those to you.

lets set up a garage!!
 
If only it was that easy, i'd love to own and spanner in my own independent garage, problem is without backing it's too much of a risky venture, i've got it far too sweet in my current job to risk it without some financial backing.
 
ive got a sweet life too, i do it for some fun on the side, neither of my own cars break so i need something to throw spanners at :P
 
i think his had a courtney map, iirc, but the clutch ended up getting lunched, but that would be open to debate whether it was software related (ie killer torque delivery) or down to the user. not sure he had any TMS did he?

i remember him posting about a plug gap episode he knew of where everything was replaced and it was simply down to plug gaps (which i think was diagnosed by another tuner) .... MR LOL, get in here as im rambling
 
Matt82 said:
i think his had a courtney map, iirc, but the clutch ended up getting lunched, but that would be open to debate whether it was software related (ie killer torque delivery) or down to the user. not sure he had any TMS did he?

i remember him posting about a plug gap episode he knew of where everything was replaced and it was simply down to plug gaps (which i think was diagnosed by another tuner) .... MR LOL, get in here as im rambling
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I just cant help thinking the whole tuning thing is maybe a bad idea unless the base car is bomb proof to start off with.
 
Just to point out these plugs aren't OE they were recommended and fitted by TMS due to the cooler running when mapped. Anyway TMS are going to have the car in the be inspected.
 
Princey said:
Just to point out these plugs aren't OE they were recommended and fitted by TMS due to the cooler running when mapped. Anyway TMS are going to have the car in the be inspected.
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They are the same heat range as standard plugs though, so they won't run any cooler. If that's what he told you it's just another tick on the evidence list of TMS incompetence.
 
i think a bit of blame can be placed on tiny little turbos that spool very fast leading to a sharp torque delivery.

next id put a bit of blame on tuners that exploit this to an extent. its not a good feature as the sudden arrival of a few hundred lbft torque is good for nothing. mechanical parts dont like it and its doesnt make a car fast either, a heavy delivery like that leads to wheel spin etc as the tyres are overwhelmed.

the third problems tied up with the above, and its the customer. theyre not all 100% mechanically minded, so a steep power delivery like that makes the car feel "nippy" due to the way it picks up. everyone has an "inner chav" that goes "WOW!" because of the wheelspin

exibit 1. torque almost like a diesel. straight up then down
IMG_1926.JPG


i did research into remaps before i got the S4. scarily it was typical for the remap to spike the torque to c.380lbft(!!) only for that to tail off after 4k making it feel lame

picture.php


something like that, vs standard

312_nm.gif
 
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