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      12-19-2016, 02:58 PM   #1
Mwin
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Velos versus BMS Stage 1 Review

This is a review of the Velos tune I received and also comparing it to the BMS Stage 1 tune for anybody trying to decide between the two

This past week I jumped on the Holiday promotion for the Velos tune after reading many stellar reviews of it and I wanted to offer my insight moving from the BMS Stage 1 to the Velos tune. I’ve had the BMS Stage 1 installed in my X5M for roughly 2 years and prior to that I had the BMS stage 2 installed in my 550i for 2 years. I loved the power it provided at WOT and how you could take about 15 mins to pull it out before taking the car in for service.

First thing I want to say is the customer service is TOP notch, big shout out to Stephen for helping me so much. These past few months have been crazy for me and I would be emailing him anytime from 8-10 pm central time, Stephen would consistently reply within an hour or so despite the fact he’s on the East Coast. He walked me through everything and answered every question I had and emailed me to make sure everything was alright. Do not hesitate to contact these guys if you have any questions about anything.

INSTALLATION

I am personally not a very techy person, which was why I loved the BMS tune. Unplug two plugs, plug them into the tune and back in, easy as pie and I've never had a single warning/error message with it installed. For the Velos tune, reading and writing the ecu was intimidating at first but after installing the software and updating everything It couldn't be easier. Plug handheld into car > read ecu > email velos > download tune > write ecu. It does take longer to install/remove the tune because of the inherit complexity of it however you don’t run the risk of breaking tabs or pinching wires like with the BMS stage 1 tune. I did freak out a little when error messages started popping up on my dash during the install, however that is completely normal and after turning the car on and off about 4 times it cleared all the codes.

*** The instructions call for "Battery Stabilizer" I used a Deltran Battery Tender and it worked perfectly

https://www.amazon.com/Deltran-Batte.../dp/B00068XCQU



PERFORMANCE

After the 5-10 minutes of driving to allow the transmission to adjust, I could feel the power that the Velos tune provided. Granted, all this info is coming from my finely calibrated butt dyno but there is a significant difference in the feel of the vehicle after installing the tune. With the BMS Stage 1 you wouldn't really know it's there until you mash the pedal and watch the rpms climb. With the Velos, even in normal driving mode there's gobs and gobs of torque at low rpm and barely any turbo lag anymore. The Velos tune felt like it made a lot more power throughout the entire rpm range versus just at the top end with the BMS Stage 1. 1st and 2nd gear pulls are scary fast, transmission shifts are very crisp and the 7000 rpm limit is fantastic. All the other reviews weren't kidding when they said that the tune really wakes the car up and makes it feel lighter.

OVERALL

Comparing the BMS Stage 1 and Velos tune is like comparing apples to oranges in a way. The BMS Stage 1 is a piggyback module while the Velos is a comprehensive tune. The BMS Stage 1 is also much more inexpensive compared to Velos. However the common denominator in the comparison is the relative performance to dollar ratio aka value. If you want a little more horsepower without breaking the bank then BMS Stage 1 is the way to go, however if you have the money then the Velos tune is well worth every penny and more.

Last edited by Mwin; 12-20-2016 at 09:10 AM..
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      12-20-2016, 06:31 AM   #2
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Nice write up. I'll add on as my situation is almost exactly opposite. I've had the Velos stage two for two years and love it. I decided to install the JB4 for what should be a faster car than the Velos gave me. I bought the entire package with BCM and bluetooth. My car is stock other than downpipes. The info on this forum for the install was needed as it's officially a Beta version and instructions a bit informal. Once I labeled all the wires, found where everything is it went pretty smooth. I'm also not savvy or experienced with this type of operation. You are supposed to use a low powered mode at first and send readings (maps) to the JB4 guys for some tweeks. I didn't quite get that message and went through all the modes. The app is great, no wires to fish through the car and you can instantly log and send maps to the JB4 guys.
Bear in mind that I only had one day with this install as the next day my original battery died so I pulled the JB4 (took 15min) and got the car to the dealer. While there I decided to move on to another car so I didn't reinstall the JB4. However, for me, I felt the JB4 positively provided more power than the Velos as I was expecting. In mode 4 it had more power at every point in the RPM range according to my but dyno.
Like Mwin said, they are apples in oranges to compare. For me, I would have to go with the JB4 over the Velos not so much for price but for the control over power modes done on the fly from your steering wheel buttons and getting more boost (I think that's where the extra power is coming from). Looks like our reviews will leave everyone puzzled now.

Last edited by Tailwinds; 12-20-2016 at 06:38 AM..
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      12-20-2016, 07:04 AM   #3
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This review is slightly misleading because the BMS Stage 1 tune IS NOT the same as the JB4 tune. As Tailwinds pointed out, the JB4 tune is still in beta and wasn't available two years ago.

A more accurate review would be an actual JB4 tune vs the Velos tune, but at the end of the day, it's still apples to oranges....
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      12-20-2016, 09:02 AM   #4
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Quote:
Originally Posted by mirob View Post
This review is slightly misleading because the BMS Stage 1 tune IS NOT the same as the JB4 tune. As Tailwinds pointed out, the JB4 tune is still in beta and wasn't available two years ago.

A more accurate review would be an actual JB4 tune vs the Velos tune, but at the end of the day, it's still apples to oranges....
My mistake, I was under the assumption that they were the same. I fixed the original post
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      12-20-2016, 09:33 AM   #5
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Quote:
Originally Posted by mirob View Post
This review is slightly misleading because the BMS Stage 1 tune IS NOT the same as the JB4 tune. As Tailwinds pointed out, the JB4 tune is still in beta and wasn't available two years ago.

A more accurate review would be an actual JB4 tune vs the Velos tune, but at the end of the day, it's still apples to oranges....
I think both of us who posted are comparing the actual JB4 with the Velos tune and haven't mentioned the older BMS stage 1.
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      12-20-2016, 09:36 AM   #6
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Mwin View Post
My mistake, I was under the assumption that they were the same. I fixed the original post
No worries. Just wanted to make sure we clear this up for people considering these two products. Thank you for taking the time to fix it.

I have the BMS Stage 1 myself. Apparently the JB4 is a hell of a product but I can't get myself to get the unfinished version. May bite the bullet once it's out of beta, if I still have the truck then...
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      12-20-2016, 09:36 AM   #7
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Tailwinds View Post
I think both of us who posted are comparing the actual JB4 with the Velos tune and haven't mentioned the older BMS stage 1.
He fixed the OP.
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      12-20-2016, 01:10 PM   #8
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I don't think Velos sells the Stage 1 tune anymore so this would be the BMS Stage 1 vs the Velos Stage 2 which should be a huge difference. Like mirob mentioned the real comparison would be between the JB4 and the Velos Stage 2. The BMS guys said the S63 JB4 is no longer BETA but like earlier posi tap systems it's not exactly an easy plug and play. They haven't developed the newer style plugs straight to the harness and OBDII, but are instead a complicated replacement of individual wires in the DME harness. I did a similar install with their NA tuner on my wife's 3.0si and like Tailwinds said it wasn't terrible. Full JB4 setup with Boost Control Module, and Bluetooth plus the app is around $1200 which gets you a whole lot of options. Velos starts at $1800 plus the promotion dropped it. I'm interested to hear from people running both. I know there are some threads on here about it...somewhere
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      12-20-2016, 09:00 PM   #9
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Quote:
Originally Posted by jandref321 View Post
I don't think Velos sells the Stage 1 tune anymore so this would be the BMS Stage 1 vs the Velos Stage 2 which should be a huge difference. Like mirob mentioned the real comparison would be between the JB4 and the Velos Stage 2. The BMS guys said the S63 JB4 is no longer BETA but like earlier posi tap systems it's not exactly an easy plug and play. They haven't developed the newer style plugs straight to the harness and OBDII, but are instead a complicated replacement of individual wires in the DME harness. I did a similar install with their NA tuner on my wife's 3.0si and like Tailwinds said it wasn't terrible. Full JB4 setup with Boost Control Module, and Bluetooth plus the app is around $1200 which gets you a whole lot of options. Velos starts at $1800 plus the promotion dropped it. I'm interested to hear from people running both. I know there are some threads on here about it...somewhere
I'm considering the JB4 over the velos kit right now. I see that the Velos kit comes with the hand held programmer which I'm sure is a good part of the cost but I also like the idea of the user functionality and scalability of the JB4

Last edited by BzsBimmer; 12-21-2016 at 10:07 AM..
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      01-07-2017, 03:24 PM   #10
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My JB4 now listed for sale in classifieds. John
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      01-26-2017, 02:15 AM   #11
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I'm also considering which tune is the best. Another advantage of the BMS Stage 1 or the JB4 is that you can resell the hardware since it's not VIN locked. Decisions, decisions!
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      01-26-2017, 08:19 AM   #12
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I will be posting my BMS Intake and BMS Stage 1 N55 Tune soon on the classified section if you were interested!

I've had some issues with my vehicle that were unrelated to either part, and every time I go to the dealership I take both parts off just so the dealership doesn't say anything when they see them! Its very easy to uninstall but I am always in a hurry! haha
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      01-26-2017, 10:38 AM   #13
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Velos tune is way overpriced ... they just market themselves here everyday and are quick to respond.

It has been said before almost all the flash tunes on the market are identical with their own vendor modifications and mark up.

I've been waiting a while to tune my X5M and will be getting the JB4 you literally can't even compare the JB4 features to the flash tunes available right now.
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      01-26-2017, 11:44 AM   #14
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Quote:
Originally Posted by frankenm View Post
Velos tune is way overpriced ... they just market themselves here everyday and are quick to respond.

It has been said before almost all the flash tunes on the market are identical with their own vendor modifications and mark up.

I've been waiting a while to tune my X5M and will be getting the JB4 you literally can't even compare the JB4 features to the flash tunes available right now.
Going off that, what would be a good price for a Velos tune (or any plug play tune for that matter)? Interested in hearing what other members' thoughts are as I also thought it was overpriced when initially looking into tunes for the X5m....
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      01-26-2017, 02:14 PM   #15
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I have Velos tune in my car, just want to add with the increased power, I did noticed that the temperature ran slightly closer to 100C than without the tune.
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      01-26-2017, 02:58 PM   #16
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Quote:
Originally Posted by pers785 View Post
Going off that, what would be a good price for a Velos tune (or any plug play tune for that matter)? Interested in hearing what other members' thoughts are as I also thought it was overpriced when initially looking into tunes for the X5m....
About $1k less than what they are asking BEFORE getting any "discounts".

BMS Stage 1 is only $450 ...
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      01-26-2017, 03:43 PM   #17
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Hey OP,

Thanks for the kind words and taking your time to do the review. Continue to enjoy the vehicle in good health. Anyone else with any questions or concerns please feel free to reach out to us, we typically try our best to work with this community on pricing. Thanks again and thanks for making the X5M community what it is.
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      01-27-2017, 11:20 AM   #18
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Quote:
Originally Posted by stephen@velosdesignwerks View Post
Hey OP,

Thanks for the kind words and taking your time to do the review. Continue to enjoy the vehicle in good health. Anyone else with any questions or concerns please feel free to reach out to us, we typically try our best to work with this community on pricing. Thanks again and thanks for making the X5M community what it is.
I'd be interested in getting the current price of the Velos tune.
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      01-27-2017, 01:02 PM   #19
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Quote:
Originally Posted by pers785 View Post
I'd be interested in getting the current price of the Velos tune.
PM on the way.
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