Life and Car Happenings

"TysMagic" (twjeffery) 11/12/2019 at 17:00 • Filed to: miata, bmw, life happenings

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Hello again Oppo!
It feels like it’s been forever since I’ve been on, but in reality it looks like maybe it was just a few weeks. Lots of things have happened; I started my new job, celebrated the completion of my MBA with the official pomp and circumstance walking across the stage ceremony, and I traded in the Miata for a new something.

The MBA was completed in July so this was really just a celebration thing. It did make the whole experience feel complete though, so I am very glad I got to walk. The new job is going swimmingly, however I can’t oppo like I did in my old job – at least not yet. The role is totally new to my skill set. I’ve transitioned out of banking and in to cyber security. Long and short, I come in to help clean up after data is stolen/shared accidentally/etc. My role particularly is more a face to the process and there is a team behind me that does all the hard work.

The new job has a commute though. I actually have to get on the interstate and occasionally I sit in stop and go traffic on the way home. This is dramatically different than the 12 minute commute I had at my old spot. I quickly realized the Miata was great, but not for what I was doing in traffic. I love a smol boi as much as the next guy, don’t get me wrong. People however don’t see you on the road and there were definitely times that I just wasn’t comfortable sitting in the car for so long. I predicted this would come so I shopped around mid-size sedans during the funemployment period.

I test drove the following: Cadillac CTS-V, Volvo S60 R-design, Audi S3, BMW M240i, and a Jaguar XE R-Sport.
You can probably see the rough theme there; sporty, fun, sedan like cars. I prior checked out an Alfa and almost bought one, however the paperwork didn’t feel right. I let that pass and found the perfect predictable German Camry – the BMW 3 series.

For those who like to inspect the specs:

So far I absolutely love it! It’s a 2016 340i xDrive with 40k miles on the b58. It shifts through the 8 speeds automatically so I can have a free hand to text and drive. I have a 2 year full coverage warranty. The AWD wasn’t on the need list, but it checked all the other boxes I wanted so xDrive it is. Particularly happy to have the M-sport! I’m a little mixed on the new tires that are on it. I appreciate that they are brand new, but they are massively off brand cheapos. They seem to grip well as day one it was pouring rain and I couldn’t get it to break loose. However I’m not sure how great they’ll be long term.

I know this motor responds well to mods. I suspect it will stay stock for a bit then I might consider a few small additions. This is my second 3 series and by far one of the nicer newer cars I’ve owned. It’s much more car than I’ve had in a long time, but I know at the end of the day it’s also rather boring – which I’m pretty okay with.

So concludes this TysMagic update! I’ll probably spam some f30 pictures once I’ve gotten a chance to clean and detail the car some.

davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com > TysMagic 11/12/2019 at 10:15

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It shifts through the 8 speeds automatically so I can have a free hand to text and drive.

LOL

I honked at a guy for staring at his phone on the freeway this morning. Doubt if he realized it was for him...

Milky > TysMagic 11/12/2019 at 10:28

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Ohh man, you seemed hard into the Miata life too. You about to do a lot of mods on the 3?

Aren’t you in the clinical depression and Mazda Miata group too?

TysMagic > davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com 11/12/2019 at 10:39

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I’m glad this was taken as the sarcasm it was intended to be. 

TysMagic > Milky 11/12/2019 at 10:40

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I enjoy the communities to the fullest. I was deep in the Fiat/Abarth world as well. I still embrace it and have fun it. Not sure on mods for the 3 yet, I’ll probably enjoy it for a bit before I tinker performance wise. There are some comfort features I would like to add sooner rather than later though.

I am in that group for kicks and giggles. It seems like when it’s needed, it’s surprisingly supportive. They did not appreciate my new fat boy BMW

Milky > TysMagic 11/12/2019 at 11:13

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They just dont understand you can be sa d in other cars.

davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com > TysMagic 11/12/2019 at 11:16

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You know, you were supposed to sell your RF... TO ME!

TysMagic > davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com 11/12/2019 at 11:20

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Today is my last day to turn the BMW back in if I change my mind, so the RF will be available soon to the next potential lover. If you buy it, I’ll give you all the LED stuff and the back up cam for it

TysMagic > Milky 11/12/2019 at 11:20

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so it seems 

davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com > TysMagic 11/12/2019 at 11:24

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Haha - I wish. Need a few more years, and one of my kids to start driving.

Manwich - now Keto-Friendly > TysMagic 11/12/2019 at 13:28

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Congrats on the MBA and the job.  How much did you end up paying for your BMW?

Jordan and the Slowrunner, Boomer Intensifies > TysMagic 11/12/2019 at 14:39

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JB4, undetectable tune. 

TysMagic > Jordan and the Slowrunner, Boomer Intensifies 11/12/2019 at 14:58

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really undetectable? I was looking at the JB+ plug and play. Cheap for the power improvement, but not as smooth as a full tune from what I’ve read.

TysMagic > Manwich - now Keto-Friendly 11/12/2019 at 14:59

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thank you! It feels really good. The MBA did what it was supposed to do so that’s pretty cool.

$26k from Carvana. My fourth car from them. I’m sure that’s dealer priced, but it felt right from my shopping around. Miles are a bit higher than my standard preference, but with the 2 yr full warranty I feel good with it. 

Textured Soy Protein > Jordan and the Slowrunner, Boomer Intensifies 11/12/2019 at 17:27

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Uhhh, undetectable if you remove it before you take it to the dealer. There’s a bunch of boxes and wiring harnesses and shit that are visible under the hood when installed. 

Textured Soy Protein > TysMagic 11/12/2019 at 17:32

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No tune is truly undetectable because even if you remove a piggyback like the JB4, or use MHD Flasher (a much better solution IMO, that I have on my BMW) to flash back to stock, a dealer or other shop that wants to prove shenanigans can look in the ECU’s data logs to see things like if the peak boost levels in the stock tune have been exceeded regularly.

JB4 is an overly-complicated solution that jacks into a bunch of sensors and hacks the CAN bus vs. just flashing a different map into your stock ECU with MHD. With MHD existing, JB+ is dumb.

The only reason to go for JB4 is either there’s no readily-available flash tune for your car and JB4 is the only option, or you want to do something above and beyond what a flash tune is capable of, like running additional fuel injectors, water/meth injection, etc.

Future next gen S2000 owner > TysMagic 11/12/2019 at 17:43

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You need a 600cc sportbike. It’s the only choice.

Chariotoflove > TysMagic 11/12/2019 at 17:57

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And another Miata enters the used market.

Congrats on the job!

Jordan and the Slowrunner, Boomer Intensifies > Textured Soy Protein 11/12/2019 at 19:03

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Well, yeah.

Jordan and the Slowrunner, Boomer Intensifies > Textured Soy Protein 11/12/2019 at 19:07

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The JB4 doesn’ t tune the ECU, therefore it doesn’t flag. At least with VAG products, it's been proven to not pop a TD1.  

Textured Soy Protein > Jordan and the Slowrunner, Boomer Intensifies 11/13/2019 at 08:07

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I’m only familiar with it from the BMW world, but in general, if a dealer wants to investigate whether a car has been tuned, regardless of any flags being tripped, the boost log is a tattletale on tuning. If the data logs show the car has regularly been hitting 7 psi over the stock limit or whatever, the dealer can accuse  you of running a tune. They have to want to make that case but they have options available to make it if inclined.

TysMagic > Textured Soy Protein 11/13/2019 at 09:41

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this is interesting to know! I was unaware of even a pitch for an undetectable tune so I am not surprised there are alternative ways to see it anyway.

Appreciate the input on it though! You don’t like the JB+ just because it’s so rudimentary in how it works? 

TysMagic > Chariotoflove 11/13/2019 at 09:42

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I’ll be popping the vin in google to see where it ends up - I left a note in the owners manual for the new owner to find me on Boring.Cars. The new abarth owner’s little brother found me that way.

Thank you man! It feels great so far

Textured Soy Protein > TysMagic 11/13/2019 at 09:54

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I don’t like external gizmos that try to trick an ECU into doing stuff a certain way, when there’s a readily available option to flash a new map into the ECU itself .

In addition, JB+ is a starter tune and if you get other mods later it’s not much help.

MHD is an Android app. You pay for the app itself and then for map packages. You need a K+DCAN cable and a USB OTG cable, plus an Android device.

The off-the-shelf maps include several stages of maps depending on what supporting mods you have. If the motor is stock you can just run a stage 1 map. I have an intake, intercooler & downpipe so I run the stage 2+ map.

If you want to do custom tunes, you don’t even need a dyno, you can use MHD’s data logging to send to a remote tuner and that tuner can write a map for you to flash in with MHD.

TysMagic > Textured Soy Protein 11/13/2019 at 12:07

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very interesting, I like the convenience of that (minus me not having an android device). I will look in to it. From my quick review of their site, the gains are greater than the JB4 - however I probably wouldn’t be pushing either tune to it’s fullest as I like things to continue working as they should. Thanks man! 

Textured Soy Protein > TysMagic 11/13/2019 at 13:02

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I’m an Android phone user anyway but a lot of iPhone people get cheap Android tablets to run MHD. It doesn’t need to be particularly powerful, it just needs to support the USB OTG protocol, which is most Android devices.

One other nice thing about MHD is it can pull BMW-specific codes and provides more detailed descriptions. So instead of a basic code scanner where you get the Pxxxx number and have to google that plus BMW, it tells you the codes in BMW-ese right in the app.

TysMagic > Textured Soy Protein 11/13/2019 at 14:35

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Well that is nifty. What about bootmod3? I am seeing it’s IOS compatible and seems to be equally loved on the forums/facebook/etc.

I am set on enjoying the car stock for bit, but I know the mod bug will bite with time. On the flip side of performance, I would like to get the bigger radio screen and car play is appealing to me. Any experience in upgrades there? 

Textured Soy Protein > TysMagic 11/13/2019 at 14:59

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I’m not personally familiar with BM3 because my car is older and they don’t support it. But it appears to be the same concept as MHD so as long as the execution is good, it’s certainly an option.

As for CarPlay, here’s a rundown of options...

https://f30.bimmerpost.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1577804