N55 towing with XHP and MHD?

[Melbowski]

TL/DR: How's your towing experience with your tuned X5?

Hi all, was wondering if anyone does any towing with XHP, MHD, or both? I run both on my E92 and I'm quite happy with it (I know there are better tunes out there, but it's good enough for me), so I've been thinking about adding them both to my X5 (2011 8-speed N55). The rub however is that my X5 does some moderate towing occasionally throughout the year (hauling a trailer, project cars, furniture, etc) and obviously I don't want to run the risk of hurting anything. I figure the higher line pressure and faster shifts from XHP as well as the added torque from MHD can not only be enjoyable on the daily, but beneficial for towing.

I emailed both MHD and XHP asking how their tunes do with towing and whether it will play nice with the OEM towing module. Basically MHD said they have no clue what to tell me because they primarily focus on enthusiasts, not towing, while XHP said that all the stock functions (holding gears longer, anti-sway, etc.) remain intact and agreed the faster shifts and higher line pressure may reduce overall clutch/band wear.

So, anyone running their X5 tuned and hauling a trailer? How has your experience been? My plan was to go with XHP Stage 3 and MHD Stage 1+ (I've read the X5 already has a larger FMIC so 1+ is the norm?) and just monitor my intake temps/boost/knock to make sure the added boost wasn't heat-soaking the intercooler on long hills or overly hot days. I don't think it'd be an issue, but I figured I'd be good to see other's experiences before I pull the trigger. Thanks for any input.

[ryansbmw]

Originally Posted by Melbowski

TL/DR: How's your towing experience with your tuned X5?

Hi all, was wondering if anyone does any towing with XHP, MHD, or both? I run both on my E92 and I'm quite happy with it (I know there are better tunes out there, but it's good enough for me), so I've been thinking about adding them both to my X5 (2011 8-speed N55). The rub however is that my X5 does some moderate towing occasionally throughout the year (hauling a trailer, project cars, furniture, etc) and obviously I don't want to run the risk of hurting anything. I figure the higher line pressure and faster shifts from XHP as well as the added torque from MHD can not only be enjoyable on the daily, but beneficial for towing.

I emailed both MHD and XHP asking how their tunes do with towing and whether it will play nice with the OEM towing module. Basically MHD said they have no clue what to tell me because they primarily focus on enthusiasts, not towing, while XHP said that all the stock functions (holding gears longer, anti-sway, etc.) remain intact and agreed the faster shifts and higher line pressure may reduce overall clutch/band wear.

So, anyone running their X5 tuned and hauling a trailer? How has your experience been? My plan was to go with XHP Stage 3 and MHD Stage 1+ (I've read the X5 already has a larger FMIC so 1+ is the norm?) and just monitor my intake temps/boost/knock to make sure the added boost wasn't heat-soaking the intercooler on long hills or overly hot days. I don't think it'd be an issue, but I figured I'd be good to see other's experiences before I pull the trigger. Thanks for any input.

Reach out to the guys at Twisted Tuning. They built the OTS maps for MHD. At one point they were working on a towing map for us but not sure if it went anywhere.

[Melbowski]

So I took your advice and shot an email to Twisted Tuning a couple days after you posted. Unfortunately, they haven't emailed me back, so they likely don't have an answer to give me just like MHD. Unfortunate, but not a deal breaker.

Edit: Twisted Tuning got back to me and said that their off the shelf tunes leave all the stock trailer features intact with no modifications. Like MHD they don't have much of an answer for towing beyond trying them out myself. They did say they'd be happy to make me a custom tune for towing if I'd like, but I'm pretty sure their off the shelf stage 1+ will be fine. /edit

I can log with ProTool, so I'll just keep eye on my intake temps, knock, boost target, and trans temp. If anything starts to look abnormal or unsafe I'll just flash back to stock. I keep a cable in the X5 and MHD/XHP on my phone so it's not really a big hassle.

Realistically I don't think it will be an issue; at the very least XHP certainly won't. MHD likely won't be an issue under normal conditions either. My worry was that I picked up and hauled a project car through the mountains last year with no issues, but I'm thinking the additional boost on stage 1+ going uphill for miles on end may eventually heat-soak the intercooler. Obviously the computer should pull boost if intake temps get too hot, and even with a good load I shouldn't be sitting at peak boost all the time either.

I'm probably just worrying too much about it, but hearing some other's experiences couldn't hurt. Well, if they actually had any to share that is... In any case, I'll probably go through with the tunes, and if I have any issues I'll post up. Thanks for the input