The first time I drove my car, I hated how it shifted. I got xhp, I hated how it shifted.
I couldn't figure out why this car, seemingly built well and having the ability to be tuned so much, would have such piss poor feeling transmission shifts.
I couldn't understand why when I drove my car it felt like it was being shifted by someone learning the drive a manual, with long pauses in between gears, whether partial throttle or full but way worse WOT.
I thought for sure someone out there had a solution to fix how poorly this thing went through the gears. Nope, engine tuners just tune around it and its accepted that you just accelerate while pausing for each shift. I couldn't understand it. Every turbo car I've ever driven has been complimented by an automatic box because it flows power through the shift, its one of the biggest benefits to having an automatic turbo car. But no, not us, cut all that power off at the knees every time it clicks up. I hate it.
I finally found someone who is big into the 335/X5 diesel market, Rod Sutphin @ www.sutphintuning.com or you can contact him on facebook through the Suphin Tuning page. He claims he can make the ZF 6 speed auto perform how I want. But he only tuned diesels and apparently, the gas cars are completely different. Lots of diesel guys say his tune transforms their car, I want in.
I begged the guy, I asked him a few times this year if he would consider working with me to try and get the tune ironed out for these cars. He finally caved and said he would give it a shot. He sent me a base file and here we are after countless revisions later with something thats damn near perfect and ready for consumption. He wasn't wrong, its a completely different tuning process from the diesel cars. We went through a lot getting this thing right. Believe me when i say, if you aren't happy with something, he will work with you to make it right. It is not a 'canned' tune, he will customize it to your liking and to your specific vehicle setup.
He even found some never before touched tables in the engine tune that helps cohesively blend the trans tune and engine tune even further. But if you're using a locked tune like MHD OTS or similar, unfortunately he can't taylor it perfectly for you, but he can get you damn close. Luckily my RFP OTS and my new RFP custom file are unlocked so he was able to tweak it a little bit to make it do what he wants, so between that and his absolutely fantastic transmission tune, it is damn near perfect, basically exactly what I wanted this car to do the first time I drove it, what I expected it to do, it now does.
Instead of it pulling sometimes -25 degrees(!!!!!!) every shift up, it pulls nothing, it just flows into the next gear with no hint of lost power and the shifts click of firmly without complaint or any jerkiness. Its just smooth constant power, like youd expect in a turbo auto car(just not the platform, until now).
Example of normal shift timing loss with mhd ots and xhp stage 3:
https://datazap.me/u/typedrew/v5-e40-random?log=0&data=3-22-27
Notice over 20 degrees between gears is the norm.
Now, with my custom transmission tune, most current revision. Which still pulls a minor amount of timing 4-5, but nothing on every other gear; 1-2-3-4. We are working on 5th gear at the moment, but it is a complete world of difference compared to before.
https://datazap.me/u/typedrew/14-mile-rfp-e50-v7-rev36?log=0&data=3-22-26
It drops down to the appropriate timing for the given rpm in the next gear, but does not pull timing(or power in any other way) between shifts. You'll notice the largest dip is when it clicks 5th, which looks large but its only -2 degrees. A major improvement over before and thats after most people 1/4 mile run anyway, so its not a huge deal. But we will be working to eliminate it altogether over time.
This isn't even saying how much better it is driving every day, the partial throttle might be even better than WOT. If you don't have open intake or loud exhaust, you won't even notice it shifting. Heavy pedal but not wot almost feels like a cvt, smooth and rolling through the power.
Video of my car running through the gears(for folks with good ears, you can actually hear the distinct difference between every other gear and the 4-5 where a minor amount of timing is pulled instead of carried, again, he is working on that);
He has been tuning my car and a dozen others during this time with one of them making almost 750whp, no complaints only praise. Even if you don't mind the way these cars shift, i still think once you experience this, you won't want to go back. If anyone wants a ride, i'm in SE Michigan and willing to let you try it.
All this being said, his tune, just like XHP will bring out any maintenance or worn parts you may need to service or replace. My car has 170k miles almost with no known service history and has tolerated this process and this tune perfectly, but that doesn't mean it will be the same for anybody. Mods and tunes are not a replacement for proper maintenance or service, so make sure the car is up to the task or at the very least, be ready for if it isn't and you need to do some work to get it right. Most cars could do with a fluid, filter and solenoid change given their age at this point even stock, so just keep that in mind for in the future.
EDIT: this combination went 11.61 @ 117.5 last night on somewhat wet cold roads. (intercooler, e50 tune, sutphin trans tune, CP and fuel pump)
I couldn't figure out why this car, seemingly built well and having the ability to be tuned so much, would have such piss poor feeling transmission shifts.
I couldn't understand why when I drove my car it felt like it was being shifted by someone learning the drive a manual, with long pauses in between gears, whether partial throttle or full but way worse WOT.
I thought for sure someone out there had a solution to fix how poorly this thing went through the gears. Nope, engine tuners just tune around it and its accepted that you just accelerate while pausing for each shift. I couldn't understand it. Every turbo car I've ever driven has been complimented by an automatic box because it flows power through the shift, its one of the biggest benefits to having an automatic turbo car. But no, not us, cut all that power off at the knees every time it clicks up. I hate it.
I finally found someone who is big into the 335/X5 diesel market, Rod Sutphin @ www.sutphintuning.com or you can contact him on facebook through the Suphin Tuning page. He claims he can make the ZF 6 speed auto perform how I want. But he only tuned diesels and apparently, the gas cars are completely different. Lots of diesel guys say his tune transforms their car, I want in.
I begged the guy, I asked him a few times this year if he would consider working with me to try and get the tune ironed out for these cars. He finally caved and said he would give it a shot. He sent me a base file and here we are after countless revisions later with something thats damn near perfect and ready for consumption. He wasn't wrong, its a completely different tuning process from the diesel cars. We went through a lot getting this thing right. Believe me when i say, if you aren't happy with something, he will work with you to make it right. It is not a 'canned' tune, he will customize it to your liking and to your specific vehicle setup.
He even found some never before touched tables in the engine tune that helps cohesively blend the trans tune and engine tune even further. But if you're using a locked tune like MHD OTS or similar, unfortunately he can't taylor it perfectly for you, but he can get you damn close. Luckily my RFP OTS and my new RFP custom file are unlocked so he was able to tweak it a little bit to make it do what he wants, so between that and his absolutely fantastic transmission tune, it is damn near perfect, basically exactly what I wanted this car to do the first time I drove it, what I expected it to do, it now does.
Instead of it pulling sometimes -25 degrees(!!!!!!) every shift up, it pulls nothing, it just flows into the next gear with no hint of lost power and the shifts click of firmly without complaint or any jerkiness. Its just smooth constant power, like youd expect in a turbo auto car(just not the platform, until now).
Example of normal shift timing loss with mhd ots and xhp stage 3:
https://datazap.me/u/typedrew/v5-e40-random?log=0&data=3-22-27
Notice over 20 degrees between gears is the norm.
Now, with my custom transmission tune, most current revision. Which still pulls a minor amount of timing 4-5, but nothing on every other gear; 1-2-3-4. We are working on 5th gear at the moment, but it is a complete world of difference compared to before.
https://datazap.me/u/typedrew/14-mile-rfp-e50-v7-rev36?log=0&data=3-22-26
It drops down to the appropriate timing for the given rpm in the next gear, but does not pull timing(or power in any other way) between shifts. You'll notice the largest dip is when it clicks 5th, which looks large but its only -2 degrees. A major improvement over before and thats after most people 1/4 mile run anyway, so its not a huge deal. But we will be working to eliminate it altogether over time.
This isn't even saying how much better it is driving every day, the partial throttle might be even better than WOT. If you don't have open intake or loud exhaust, you won't even notice it shifting. Heavy pedal but not wot almost feels like a cvt, smooth and rolling through the power.
Video of my car running through the gears(for folks with good ears, you can actually hear the distinct difference between every other gear and the 4-5 where a minor amount of timing is pulled instead of carried, again, he is working on that);
He has been tuning my car and a dozen others during this time with one of them making almost 750whp, no complaints only praise. Even if you don't mind the way these cars shift, i still think once you experience this, you won't want to go back. If anyone wants a ride, i'm in SE Michigan and willing to let you try it.
All this being said, his tune, just like XHP will bring out any maintenance or worn parts you may need to service or replace. My car has 170k miles almost with no known service history and has tolerated this process and this tune perfectly, but that doesn't mean it will be the same for anybody. Mods and tunes are not a replacement for proper maintenance or service, so make sure the car is up to the task or at the very least, be ready for if it isn't and you need to do some work to get it right. Most cars could do with a fluid, filter and solenoid change given their age at this point even stock, so just keep that in mind for in the future.
EDIT: this combination went 11.61 @ 117.5 last night on somewhat wet cold roads. (intercooler, e50 tune, sutphin trans tune, CP and fuel pump)
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