Lost power & powerchip

[madmax]

I have been a customer with powerchip ever since I got my M5 and have used both ver1 98 gold and also ver 2.
The upgrades did make a difference in both power and refinement but something was always missing!
No one was able to offer any help or shed any light on this. Most noteable the ver 2 seemed very refined but not quite there. Dyno runs and visits to the dealer just seemed to come up blank. You can imagine my dissappointment. Powerchip was good throughtout all of this over the last 11 months.They even ogffered a full refund no questions asked.
FINALLy in desperation and armed with all the info from this board I was able to convince the service manager to replace both AFMs under warranty; even though the voltage readings were within normal limits.
WOW!!! what a difference this had made to the car. Where I thought it was fast it now is awsome
Traction is now a problem in 1st,2nd and 3rd on full throttle With all the other mods this one awsome car, the car it should have always been.
Motto: If you have the powerchip software and especially ver 2, PLEASE make sure your AFMs are up to scratch or you will be missing out on the full powerchip and beast synergy experience like I was.
Also powerchips offer of a full refund was a very generous offer that shows the calibre of who we are dealing with.
Now I really look foreward to driving my beast and can't wait fot the next mod.
A quaiffe 3.64 diff in a genuine M5 housing is on it's way !!!

[01M5]

Originally posted by madmax
Motto: If you have the powerchip software and especially ver 2, PLEASE make sure your AFMs are up to scratch or you will be missing out on the full powerchip and beast synergy experience like I was.

Madmax,

I am assuming you are referring to the mass air flow sensors. If so, how would one know to replace them if they test ok like yours did? What other arguments could one use to convince the dealer to switch them?

Thanks,

Najeeb

[madmax]

Apparently the service updates the service manager gets do mention this as a somewhat common problem and with complaining about lost power this seems to make them listen. Also the info I printed out from discussions on this board about voltage readings being normal to testing but a fault reading of over rich correction for the air flow meters under reading the amount of air entering the engine was present on my OBD software on the laptop and the service manager was very interested in this. Might have helped!

[V-10 4 Me]

It would be nice to get the dealer to replace them under warranty especially if you are loosing power.

I have had 3 or 4 sensors go out on me and am wondering if we should buy a set for this board. Then we could pass them around and if there is a difference in power, that person would simply buy the new AFM's and send the trial set to the next member.

Is it just unscrew and unplug/plug in the new ones?

My specific issue is when I blip my throttle, I get an intermittent valve knock. Never under throttle, just blipping. When I took it to BMW and Had the Area Specialist look at it, he said, "It is the Vanos catching up to the engine" and even though another M5 complained about the problem there was no service order on the subject, and nothing he could do. I do notice in the mornings that it doesn't knock. So, I guess I will have to reley on trial and error on things or sensors that sound like maybe they could help.

[DavidS]

Ocean-Side,
Great idea, but the MAFs cost 247 Euros + VAT each. There are two in the engine. Replacement is probably very easy, as thise are simply snapped inline with the intake air tubing with metal clips.

BMW should equip their repair shops with air-flow test equipment, so the MAFs could be bench-tested.

Madmax, you don´t happen to run aftermarket air filters, by any chance?

David

[Teutonaddict]

Originally posted by DavidS
Madmax, you don´t happen to run aftermarket air filters, by any chance?

David-

According to Madmax's sig, it looks like he does use an aftermarket air filter. "BMC Carbon Dynamic Air Box System with Ram CAI." BMC is such a manufacturer. While I'm not initmately familar with their product, I believe it is another "wet" type filter with oil-treated foam.

When I investigated my own hesitation/stalling issues, I found one other MAFS-fouled boardmember that used BMC's. It was FAST4DR, and he went through two warranty-replaced cats and some O2 sensors (just like me) before they discovered the root cause--fouled MAFS one one bank. Oh well, $4500 worth of needless warranty work later....

Fortunately, Madmax has a dealer that was willing to listen to his suggestions. I, too, took a printout from this board (HadE55's "Found My Lost Horsepower" thread), but they dismissed it as worthless internet trash.

Also nice to hear how PowerChips was willing to offer the full refund well after the fact! Thanks for posting, Madmax.

-Dave

[Lupo///M5]

Originally posted by madmax
A quaiffe 3.64 diff in a genuine M5 housing is on it's way !!!

Madmax, Why a 3:64? What are the benefits?

I was thinking of going back to Dinan's 3:45, but there's been so much talk on Quaiffe diff's... are they really that good? Has anyone got a link for these guys?

[madmax]

I wanted a quaiffe diff for the torque sensing and thus a nice way to cut down on understeer on cornering.
Chose the 3.64 ratio as it is 16% more than standard so gear changes should not be a problem. Same ratio as in the E46 M3 as standard.
I must admitt I chose the ratio before I had the AFMs replaced and was down on power. Oh, well now will have even better accerleration than I had planned.

The quaiffe also comes with a good warranty that includes even tracking the car.

Yes, I had KN filters from new in the car and ? that may have contributed to the AFM becoming malfunctioning.
I probably never knew what the real power of the car was as I continued the mods!
At least now I am enjoying all of them

[MIB]

Hey MadMax,

That was very cool of you to post your findings and clear this up.

I notice some very nice Mods appearing on your Beast.

BeastPower Brackets
UF Sensor (How did you like this one).
Rogue brackets
Stoptech Stainless lines. All very cool Mods.

I just got some new pads. They are called Bendix Ultimates.

Much better than the Pagid blues, and they are made in Ballarat.

These are rebranded and sold to the guys in the states as AXIS Ultimates.

[madmax]

Hey, Mark.

Always like to get to the bottom of things even if it takes 11 months!
The car is awsome with the new mafs and ver2 powerchip etc

Your car is certaionly become one of the most interesting especially with that new clutch coming

The ultimates certainly have excellent write ups and are apparently the closest thing to a race pad but still work hard when cold.

Cheers,

[Apples]

Mad Max..What are the tell tail signs of the MAF's going bad....Is it just "feel" of the car.
Is it a faulty product from BMW's end, or is it caused by poor filter selection or that the after market oil coated filters are causing oil to be transfered on the sensors
MIB...They make those pads in Ballarat thats 1 hour from my home town...how bout that.
l'm getting the N500 tuned by 1 of our head CA tech.
The A/F was off in the 14.5+ :1 ratio and now shes at 12.5:1 to 12.8:1. I'm goint to get Jesse to try and change the trottle settings to super quick, to see how it go's when in sport mode.
We've got 2x 996tt to do... 1x SL55 (new version) 1x E55 (new version) 1x M3 (1998) US spec 1x M5 (V1 upgrade to V2) 1x X5is
All of these cars will be in the drive way today/tomorrow.....will take pics.
BTW..I've got the new temp sensor located in the ram ducting...will post pics soon.
APPLES

[atomic80]

Won't cleaning out the MAF's as louv suggested in another thread solve the problems? I would imagine that could be an easier/cheaper solution for those of you experiencing stuttering/power loss issues.