xHP stage 3 review (X5 4.8i)

[kyrix1st]

As some of you may know, GA6HP26Z is an old school HCC planetary auto with an ancient programming. In manual mode, you would have to throttle blip yourself for a downshift, which is fun for a day or two then you get annoyed that brake&blip is not really possible with the stock pedal setup.

So I decided to flash xHP to achieve better downshifts and clutch lockups, and here is my impression:

Stage 1:Initial clutch lockup is much better, no auto throttle blip
on downshifts. Sport mode is comfortable.
Stage 2: Disliked it the most. In DS mode, it would continuously shift between 5th and 6th gear when highway cruising. Manual mode also didn't seem to throttle blip on downshifts.
Stage 3: My favorite so far. Even in D mode the transmission feels fully locked with much better throttle response. In manual mode, it throttle blips. Nowhere as good as my M-DCT as it is slower and jerks, but better than stock nonetheless. Have not tried the DS mode, but I believe it will be similar to stage 2.

Stage 3 feels a tad slower than stock M240i ZF8 transmission, but that car also comes with a decent transmission oil cooler. Not sure yet if prolonged use of manual mode will overheat the transmission on these cars(likely will), so we will see.