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      05-24-2014, 02:41 PM   #1
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Anyone running BMS stage 1 at altitude?

I'm thinking of adding the BMS stage 1 for the N63.

I have found nothing but positive reviews, but I'm curious if anyone has been running this at altitude.

BMS says it should be fine, but I'm just looking for some insight on what to expect when running it at 6,000+ feet.

Thanks!
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      05-24-2014, 04:23 PM   #2
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You'll generally get a little less power. There is less air density, thus less potential power. (e.g. suck, squish, bang, boom) Less to suck less to squish, meaning less boom.

How much less power, dunno. Maybe 10%-15% less than advertised. But it'll still be better than stock, which is what we all want in the first place.

The plus though, is that you don't have an NA engine. That sucks at altitude...
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      05-24-2014, 04:38 PM   #3
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Thanks - that's kind of what I figured.

I think the rule of thumb is 3% loss for every 1000 feet of elevation, but I've heard forced induction engines don't drop off quite as much.
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      05-24-2014, 07:20 PM   #4
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Just got this additional note from the man himself...interesting.

Terry @ BMS
"The boost increase and gains on the Stage1 are about the same. At high elevation there would be little point in upgrading to Stage2 though."
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      05-27-2014, 05:46 PM   #5
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Let me know how it goes if you go for it. I'm intrigued by a tune, but am a little leery of what kind of harm it may cause to the engine / powertrain.
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      05-29-2014, 09:44 AM   #6
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Quote:
Originally Posted by MileHiGolfer
Let me know how it goes if you go for it. I'm intrigued by a tune, but am a little leery of what kind of harm it may cause to the engine / powertrain.
From what I've heard stage 1 is not overly aggressive, so I'm not too concerned about reliability.

Additionally, Dinan Stage 4 will add 100+ HP while maintaining your factory warranty, so it's clear the car has the ability to handle the extra power.

If you have some time, there's a pretty long thread over on the n54tech site where it seems quite a few people have been running it without any issues. A few have even added it on top of a Dinan tune.
http://www.n54tech.com/forums/showthread.php?t=18035
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      10-08-2014, 05:18 PM   #7
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Following up on this - did you end up getting a tune?
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      10-22-2014, 06:31 PM   #8
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I moved to Fort Collins in April and have the stage 1 installed. No problems with the tune. I actually have Stage 2, but not installed it yet.
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      03-01-2015, 10:22 AM   #9
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Quote:
Originally Posted by MileHiGolfer View Post
Following up on this - did you end up getting a tune?
I've got my new BMS stage 1 here sitting in a box until I get my 50i back from the N63 service.

Will report back soon.
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      03-05-2015, 11:52 AM   #10
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Quote:
Originally Posted by jzbm3 View Post
Thanks - that's kind of what I figured.

I think the rule of thumb is 3% loss for every 1000 feet of elevation, but I've heard forced induction engines don't drop off quite as much.
It's much less than that for forced induction engines, otherwise airplanes would be flying on nearly no power when they are at cruising altitude.

For naturally aspirated engines, the formula for power loss is roughly:

(elevation x 0.03 x horsepower @ sea level)/1000

On the NA V8 engine in the E60 545 I used to have, that was about a 19% power loss at 6200 feet where I live.

For forced induction engines the answer is much more complicated and you need to factor in the boost factor, ambient barometric pressure, recirculation approach the engine uses, and a bunch of other stuff. There's a little voodoo there, but I've read that if you assume a nice 75 degree day here along the front range, a "typical" turbocharged engine is still running about 92% to 94% of the power it would make at sea level - and at the Eisenhower tunnel it's still at about 85%.

I'll see if I can dig up the article.
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      04-23-2015, 12:06 PM   #11
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Old thread, but I though I'd follow up now that I've had a chance to get my stage 1 installed.

The install was pretty simple, and took a total of about 20-30 minutes. It may have been quicker had I removed the front strut brace, but I didn't feel like doing that. I also took the time to double-check the settings via the JB4 software, just to make sure they were set to what Burger recommends for the N63 on 91 octane pump gas.

Overall the tune is fantastic! I initially installed this for the gains (obviously) but I got a very nice side effect of power that is evenly distributed, and much more linear. Instead of feeling power in spurts at WOT, it's delivered consistently which makes drivability so much better.

Stage 1 isn't overly aggressive, but it will take some time for everything to adapt to the new changes. Burger says adaptations should be resolved after 3 WOT runs. I found this to be mostly true, but I also noticed things continued to get even better over the next few days.

It's seriously probably the best money I've ever spent on a mod, and if you're on the fence I'd highly recommend pulling the trigger.
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      04-24-2015, 06:45 AM   #12
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I installed the Stage 1 for the N55 and my mpg has seemed to drop. I use to average 19 mpg, now I get like 15. lol But it is well worth the fun factor.
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