IMPORTANT!
Please remember that these figures are at the flywheel on a braked dyno in the UK. Do not compare them to American WHP figures. American figures are significantly higher due to not using braked dynos and dyno runs lasting only 4 or 5 seconds!
Unicorn Motor Developments have vast experience in reliably tuning the 313PS N57 twin turbo engine commonly found in the BMW 335D/435/535D as well as X5 X6 and X3 models.
Prices:
Engine Software
Stage 1: £499 inc vat
Stage 1+ £549 inc vat.
Stage 2: £599 inc vat
Stage 3 : from £799 inc vat.
Gearbox Software:
Unicorn TCU software £249 inc vat.
The vast majority of stock cars will measure between 305 and 315bhp on our 4wd dyno.
All software versions come with recalibrated Sports Displays and increased speed limiters.
We recommend a new clean air filter, either stock or K&N which can be cleaned and reused. We can supply and fit the K&N if required.
Stage 1 software is for a completely stock car and will produce between 360 and 370bhp with 750Nm/550lbft of torque.
Stage 1+ software is for cars with uprated intercoolers. We strongly recommend Wagner intercoolers which can be supplied and fitted by ourselves. Wagner are extremely high quality light weight intercoolers with excellent cooling and importantly excellent flow characteristics with low pressure drop across the core. Our software with a Wagner intercooler typically makes 390-400bhp and 800Nm/590lbft of torque. Please do not get hung up on the 400bhp figure – not all cars will do it, particularly as they age and you will not feel the difference between 390 and 400bhp. Other intercoolers can be tuned for, and we have tuned many chinese sourced intercoolers with good results. However, the consistency and quality control varies, even from the same brand and so we as a company cannot recommend them.
Stage 2 software is for cars that have had the DPF removed. Please note that this is an MOT failure and the car may no longer be legal to use on the public road. The EGR may be removed along with the DPF. The EGR should not be removed unless the DPF is removed as the DPF life will be reduced due to lower exhaust gas temperature not allowing it to regen. Running without a DPF will typically gain 10-15bhp over a stage 1 car – with power around 380/385bhp. On a stage 1+ car you may see up to 420bhp.
This comes with the drawback of visible smoke under load, wth dirty tailpipes and dirty rear end. Economy will however increase.
Stage 3 software is for use with hybrid turbos. The design of the turbo is what dictates the power output, not the software. We can correctly calibrate to the amount of air available from the turbo and the car will then produce a given output. Please do not ask us what the power output will be on a certain turbo as it is impossible to know.
Turbo companies often rate their turbos at a given power – e.g. 460bhp. This is normally the maximum amount of air the turbo can flow on the compressor side. It’s usually the case that the exhaust/turbine side of the turbo is a restriction before the compressor side. Even if the entire turbo is capable of flowing 460bhp, you will not necessarily make that figure as the entire system – intake – engine – exhaust has to be able to flow that figure. We would recommend speaking to Turbo Technics if you are looking at an upgraded turbo/s. Note that the fuel pump generally flows to about 450bhp after which it needs upgrading. We do not supply or fit uprated fuel pumps.
Tuning Methodology
The purpose of our software is to provide reliable power and not to extract every last horsepower. The difference in 20bhp between a car that is tuned to its limit and one that is tuned reliably can seldom be felt on the road. The BMW diesel is most often used as a dependable mode of transit, rather than a dedicated track or drag car only to be used on weekends. We want our customers to continue doing the school run whilst being able to enjoy the car on a spirited drive when the opportunity arises.
We have tuned hundreds of examples using this method and have an excellent reliability record. So while it is technically possible to squeeze 380+ bhp from a stock car, it is not something we would ever recommend. When tuning, we use our dyno’s own air/fuel ratio monitoring system which fits into your tailpipe. This gives us a very important source of data, and is a very good indication of how much soot is being produced and how hot the exhaust gases are getting. The DPF masks soot, so it’s often the case a car is tuned, it makes impressive power and torque, but down the line the DPF quickly becomes blocked. We want to reduce the likelihood of this happening as much as possible. From the experience of the literally 1000’s of x35D’s we have tuned, we can say that this method works well.
Unicorn Motor Developments do not provide or imply any kind of warranty or guarantee of physical components. Whilst reliability is generally excellent, it is impossible to determine if our software caused any failure and tuning is undertaken entirely at the owners risk.
Gearbox/TCU software
We have developed our own TCU software. Whilst it is not adjustable via an app like the likes of XHP, we have done the hard work already and ensure that it provides the best match for your engine software. The dashboard gear indicator is enabled in all modes, not just manual. Torque management is changed in order that the gearbox can correctly manage the extra torque, which leads to smooth shifts which increase in speed and aggression as the drive mode setting is increased from eco pro to Sports Plus.