Don't Use 7601494 Trans Flash

[mfish]

I'm one of those guys that can't stand Alpina D mode so I tried literally all the alternative trans flashes suggested on the forums. Looks like we'll have some custom flashing options in early 2017 but until then.....

I had been running 7601494 for probably over a year and I thought I found the best compromise of them all. But it seems that was all the placebo affect. Personally I'm back on the 7601492 OEM flash.

But I just wanted to let everyone know that on my 2009 E90 AT xdrive the 7601494 flash would slip in certain circumstances and was probably sending back funky values to the DME making it very hard to tune. I thought it had to do with the load to torque tables all along but it was really because I was running this flash on my trans. It also exacerbated my 5th gear torque limiter.

I just figured I'd share so no one else makes the same mistake I did. Log of what I'm talking about is below:

http://www.datazap.me/u/mfish123/won...a=3-7-15-23-28

[Optigrab]

thanks for sharing. I initially wanted the alpina flash but heard about the D mode and abandoned the idea.

How did you put all the pieces togethor and figure it out?

[mfish]

At the bottom is the list floating around with the different options. I have workikng copy of Winkfp and was willing to take the risk of trying them all. So I pretty much flashed each one and drove around for a while to see what I thought.

Nowadays there are beter throttle mapping tables for the engine tunes to help with Alpina upshifting at higher RPM's and being more eager to downshift in D mode. However at around 40 mph it will put you in 6th gear so if you're already cruising in 6th at a lowish speed and then want a burst of acceleration the car has to downshift first to get decent acceleration and not lug the engine. So the throttle mapping should make it more eager to downshift but doesn't change the fact that you'd still have to downshift in that situation. Without a dowshift you end up with high boost with sub 2,000 RPMs. Whereas in the same situation on the stock map you'd already be in 5th gear. And its the same situation at lower speeds where if you're curising you're pretty much guaranteed to be in a higher gear than you'd need to be, given the speed, to get decent acceleration.



UPDATE November 2015:

here is a good summary, found on another forum:

ZB 7603527 (BMW 2011 Flash)
- No gear indicator
- D shift rpm raised slightly ~1800-2000
- Downshift rev match not like Alpina but better then others
- 6800rpm shift point


ZB 7615835 (Original Alpina B3 Flash)
- Gear indicator (D1, S1)
- D shift rpm relatively low ~1500-1800
- S mode shift rpm 2800-3000
- Great rev match downshifting
- 7000rpm shift


ZB 7603537 (New Alpina B3 Flash)
- Same as 7615835 except:
- Smoother
- Slightly higher RPM S mode upshifts ~3300-3500


ZB 7603541 (Euro Sport Flash)
- No gear indicator in Drive, M/S still have it i.e. S1...S6 / M1...M6
- D drives just like the stock
- S a bit more aggressive than stock


ZB 7601494 (US Sport Flash)
- No gear indicator in Drive, M/S still have it i.e. S1...S6 / M1...M6
- D feels stock
- S stays in gear longer than the B3, Shifts at ~3300-3500
-M is more impressive than the B3 at shifts

[Kish2604]

Thanks for the summary, I am sure a lot of people will be able to reference the different versions better now..

[mfish]

Thanks for the summary, I am sure a lot of people will be able
to reference the different versions better now..

I'm just passing the different versions along and don't want to take any credit for the descriptions. Here is the original source: http://www.n54tech.com/forums/showthread.php?t=22180

[ferocity02]

How was 7601494 in M mode?

I hate the Alpina flash (7615835) also, but the M mode shifts are really nice on mine, so much so that I choose to deal with the D mode. D mode is worst for me on the 2-3-4 upshifts. It shifts so damn early and you need a LOT of pedal input to get a downshift. And the converter is slipping so much there is little RPM drop on shifts, 3-4 is the worst in this regard.

[bradsm87]

How was 7601494 in M mode?

I hate the Alpina flash (7615835) also, but the M mode shifts are really nice on mine, so much so that I choose to deal with the D mode. D mode is worst for me on the 2-3-4 upshifts. It shifts so damn early and you need a LOT of pedal input to get a downshift. And the converter is slipping so much there is little RPM drop on shifts, 3-4 is the worst in this regard.

7601494 should not be used IMO. It's an N52 flash.

[trebila]

things will be fixed in february, when xHP trans flasher will be released.
I'll start as soon as released, to correctly tune the TCU flash, starting from the alpina ZB 7603537 (the best for me), to get firmer upshifts in D mode, changing shift points in both D and S mode, lowering the slipping rate when trans oil is cold...

the alpina ZB 7603537 is just perfect only in M mode.

[bradsm87]

things will be fixed in february, when xHP trans flasher will be released.
I'll start as soon as released, to correctly tune the TCU flash, starting from the alpina ZB 7603537 (the best for me), to get firmer upshifts in D mode, changing shift points in both D and S mode, lowering the slipping rate when trans oil is cold...

the alpina ZB 7603537 is just perfect only in M mode.

Hopefully they release an XDF for us to self-tune. I'm a little confused by the idea of some users on the xhp thread that stock and Alpina are so different in terms of table locations. I've seen myself that there is very little difference between the two in WinOLS and most of the patterns that look like tables are in the exact same places (but slightly different values). I can't see why the same XDF wouldn't apply to both.

[trebila]

pretty sure the xdf will remain the same.

[ferocity02]

7601494 should not be used IMO. It's an N52 flash.

Hmm... I wonder why someone even suggested using this one.

things will be fixed in february, when xHP trans flasher will be released.
I'll start as soon as released, to correctly tune the TCU flash, starting from the alpina ZB 7603537 (the best for me), to get firmer upshifts in D mode, changing shift points in both D and S mode, lowering the slipping rate when trans oil is cold...

the alpina ZB 7603537 is just perfect only in M mode.

Is there anymore info on this? This is the first I've heard of it. Will the flasher come with maps or is it just the software/interface to read/write the TCU?

[Optigrab]

has anyone heard anything from Nizpro or VTT? i think vtt was going to get a test tranny

[ferocity02]

has anyone heard anything from Nizpro or VTT? i think vtt was going to get a test tranny

I haven't heard much from Nizpro. I've heard more from Propulsion Dynamics.

[Optigrab]

i only mentioned nizpro because they were supposed to be offering a flash for the stock trans along with the other goodies

[mfish]

How was 7601494 in M mode?

I hate the Alpina flash (7615835) also, but the M mode shifts are really nice on mine, so much so that I choose to deal with the D mode. D mode is worst for me on the 2-3-4 upshifts. It shifts so damn early and you need a LOT of pedal input to get a downshift. And the converter is slipping so much there is little RPM drop on shifts, 3-4 is the worst in this regard.

I did like M mode on this one and it is sporty. Honestly don't remember how it compares to Alpina M mode

[mfish]

7601494 should not be used IMO. It's an N52 flash.

I agree. That's probably why it made my trans slip. Many months after I flashed it I did come across the same thing you did indicating it's for the N52.