Active Autowerke vs Velos?

[XX5Monster]

Hey guys, I just bought a 2010 X5M and new to the forum. I'm looking to purchase a tune from either AA or Velos. I've read good things about both and have spoken to Albert and the one they call Omar at Velos. I can confirm that they are very helpful and always available to answer questions. I have read that AA used to offer a hand held but don't anymore and Velos does offer one. It seems like a good thing to have in the event you need to bring your car in for service unplanned. When camparing dyno charts they also seem very close to power and torque results. Im going to do something in the next day or two and looking for some advice from people that are currently using either of them or have on other cars. Any info or feedback is greatly appreciated.

Thanks

[gixxerboy63]

I have AA tune. I also have their G5 handheld.

I noticed an immediate performance difference between "stock" and "tuned" with stock The truck was smoother and quicker at the same time. The tune is HIGHLY RECOMMENDED, otherwise you are missing out on one of the greatest performance improvements that you can accomplish with your vehicle... It's how the truck should have been delivered from the factory.

DOWNPIPES? Yes, I have them too. I installed them about 4 months after I installed the "Tune". Active Autowerkes supplied stage 2 tune to be uploaded to adjust for downpipes. Surprisingly, it wasn't apparent that I gained any additional power with the downpipes. Their webpage used to indicate something like 17hp gains(?) with the addition of downpipes, but I can't find that anywhere now... (doubt that you would feel 17hp anyway, I know I didn't). With the downpipes, I have that leaky gaseous odor that fills the garage when I start it up or leave it idling for a few minutes....

All in all, I suppose I can live with the gaseous odor since the advantages are better exhaust sound, cooler engine bay temps and probably reduced wear on turbo system components....

I will be installing the new Stage II+ software that was provided to me by Active yesterday via email. Active is promising even more midrange torque with their newest tune. I will let you know what my experiences are with the new tune once I have had a chance to test it.

[XX5Monster]

G5 handheld? Is that one they used to use cause I talked to them over the phone today and said they dont use one anymore but have a Simon 3 which is just a cable that has to be used with a laptop. Thanks for the feedback and let me know how that goes for you.

[xpl0sive]

Originally Posted by gixxerboy63

I have AA tune. I also have their G5 handheld.

I noticed an immediate performance difference between "stock" and "tuned" with stock The truck was smoother and quicker at the same time. The tune is HIGHLY RECOMMENDED, otherwise you are missing out on one of the greatest performance improvements that you can accomplish with your vehicle... It's how the truck should have been delivered from the factory.

DOWNPIPES? Yes, I have them too. I installed them about 4 months after I installed the "Tune". Active Autowerkes supplied stage 2 tune to be uploaded to adjust for downpipes. Surprisingly, it wasn't apparent that I gained any additional power with the downpipes. Their webpage used to indicate something like 17hp gains(?) with the addition of downpipes, but I can't find that anywhere now... (doubt that you would feel 17hp anyway, I know I didn't). With the downpipes, I have that leaky gaseous odor that fills the garage when I start it up or leave it idling for a few minutes....

All in all, I suppose I can live with the gaseous odor since the advantages are better exhaust sound, cooler engine bay temps and probably reduced wear on turbo system components....

I will be installing the new Stage II+ software that was provided to me by Active yesterday via email. Active is promising even more midrange torque with their newest tune. I will let you know what my experiences are with the new tune once I have had a chance to test it.

I gotta get that stage 2+ tune from them too. Did they already send it to you?

[Salottox5m]

I have Velos -- and OMAR is very very helpful - i highly recommend Omar and Velos

[Cattivo]

I have the AA stage 2+ and the truck has been transformed from a beast into a roid raged screaming monster!

[sburke91]

I have the Velos, with the nGenius device to apply the tune myself. You do need access to some kind of computer as you extract the base map, send it to Velos, they make the changes, send you the map, you load it onto the tuner, then write it to the vehicle.

Omar was extremely helpful during the process, including jumping on the phone with me late at night (during a Miami Heat game even), when my car bricked, due to low battery voltage.

I gained a good 0.5-0.7 in 0-60 on my 2011 50i with the tune.

[XX5Monster]

I haven't bought it yet but was trying to decide between the two of them. When I talked to AA they were telling me that Velos doesn't make the tune they sell and steal tunes from other companies like them which I thought was a pretty big shot against Velos and a low blow to them and the product they sell. AA said that I would have problem getting something fixed if I had any issues with the tune cause they don't do stuff in house to fix it. Any thoughts on that?

[Crazy1323]

Originally Posted by XX5Monster

I haven't bought it yet but was trying to decide between the two of them. When I talked to AA they were telling me that Velos doesn't make the tune they sell and steal tunes from other companies like them which I thought was a pretty big shot against Velos and a low blow to them and the product they sell. AA said that I would have problem getting something fixed if I had any issues with the tune cause they don't do stuff in house to fix it. Any thoughts on that?

I could be completely wrong but I think Omar used to work at AA. There might be some hostile feelings. I have the Velos tune and think it is great. Omar was very pleasant to work with.

[UglyBuzzard]

Originally Posted by XX5Monster

I haven't bought it yet but was trying to decide between the two of them. When I talked to AA they were telling me that Velos doesn't make the tune they sell and steal tunes from other companies like them which I thought was a pretty big shot against Velos and a low blow to them and the product they sell. AA said that I would have problem getting something fixed if I had any issues with the tune cause they don't do stuff in house to fix it. Any thoughts on that?

Don't have an opinion either way yet. However, red flag for me when a company puts down the other product so harshly. Would rather hear how good they are and keep the process positive. Just my 2c.

[XX5Monster]

Yeah I agree and thought it was pretty unnecessary to say the things they did. I will let you know how it goes.

[gixxerboy63]

Originally Posted by xpl0sive

I gotta get that stage 2+ tune from them too. Did they already send it to you?

Yes and it has been installed... but it has been raining here for days, so I haven't gotten the chance to try it out.

[xpl0sive]

Originally Posted by gixxerboy63

Yes and it has been installed... but it has been raining here for days, so I haven't gotten the chance to try it out.

ah, I'm still waiting for mine... I also asked them to bypass the cold-start procedure

[XX5Monster]

What's the cold start bypass?

[theaudir8fan]

^ it basically delete the first 15sec of high rpm phase during the cold start, the idea is that this would reduce the noise when cold starting. However I was told by velos that deleting the cold start is not a good idea since the car would not get that first bit of warm up and cycle

[XX5Monster]

Well I just purchased the stage 2 from Velos and looking forward to installing it and more importantly driving the new and improved machine. Albert and Omar have been great to work with and always available if needed to answer questions.

[xpl0sive]

Originally Posted by theaudir8fan

^ it basically delete the first 15sec of high rpm phase during the cold start, the idea is that this would reduce the noise when cold starting. However I was told by velos that deleting the cold start is not a good idea since the car would not get that first bit of warm up and cycle

the warm up cycle is only needed to get the cats up to temperature as fast as possible for emissions purposes. Since I have downpipes, there's nothing to warm up anymore

[empwrd]

Got my AA stage 2+ with AR catless downpipes in along with my Akra exhaust. Sounds beastly as hell!!!! Showing a consistent 22-23 lbs of boost across the board with 548hp and 605lb off my awron gauges!!!! Stock was showing 17lbs at 514hp/530lb.

Active does great work over there. I've been a loyal customer of theirs for over 15 years. Never had a bad experience... Ever. I say AA, but im pretty sure you will be happy either way Velos or AA. But bang for the buck AA>velos.

[xpl0sive]

Originally Posted by empwrd

Got my AA stage 2+ with AR catless downpipes in along with my Akra exhaust. Sounds beastly as hell!!!! Showing a consistent 22-23 lbs of boost across the board with 548hp and 605lb off my awron gauges!!!! Stock was showing 17lbs at 514hp/530lb.

Active does great work over there. I've been a loyal customer of theirs for over 15 years. Never had a bad experience... Ever. I say AA, but im pretty sure you will be happy either way Velos or AA. But bang for the buck AA>velos.

Almost the same set up as mine, but I have Meisterschaft exhaust.

[theaudir8fan]

Originally Posted by xpl0sive

the warm up cycle is only needed to get the cats up to temperature as fast as possible for emissions purposes. Since I have downpipes, there's nothing to warm up anymore

I'm fully aware of the cat warm up is the main purpose, but i do believe that there are other parts of the engine that would benefit from the warm up cycle, such as spin up the water pump, oil pump, fuel pump, injectors, and much more. It's no different than letting the car warm up before driving, so all the fluids gets to cycle a bit. It is possible that removing the warm up cycle won't do any harm, but I don't see the point in risking it either, however if it does harm the car, it won't be an immediate catastrophic failure, but more slow wear and tare

[protecon]

Originally Posted by empwrd

Got my AA stage 2+ with AR catless downpipes in along with my Akra exhaust. Sounds beastly as hell!!!! Showing a consistent 22-23 lbs of boost across the board with 548hp and 605lb off my awron gauges!!!! Stock was showing 17lbs at 514hp/530lb.

How much did a 34hp increase at the flywheel set you back?

[xpl0sive]

Originally Posted by theaudir8fan

I'm fully aware of the cat warm up is the main purpose, but i do believe that there are other parts of the engine that would benefit from the warm up cycle, such as spin up the water pump, oil pump, fuel pump, injectors, and much more. It's no different than letting the car warm up before driving, so all the fluids gets to cycle a bit. It is possible that removing the warm up cycle won't do any harm, but I don't see the point in risking it either, however if it does harm the car, it won't be an immediate catastrophic failure, but more slow wear and tare

exactly, it's no different than letting the car warm up before driving. I would rather let the car idle normally at 700-800RPM for a few minutes, than having it idle at 1,500RPM for 90 seconds waking up the whole neighbourhood.