BMW M135i XHP Stage 3 Vbox Test & Review: Is it Worth The Money?

BMW M135i XHP Stage 3 Vbox Test & Review: Is it Worth The Money?
The MHD tuned M135i we tested a few weeks ago has just had the transmission upgraded with a XHP stage 3 flash tune. We wanted to get it straight back to test in exactly the same conditions to compare the 0-100 times with the new tune.
The launch mode was left in the default settings, which could have been adjusted to exact even some more improvements out of.
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[@SuperHbkforever]

When I was stock the fastest time I got was 5.7 seconds to 100. Now I'm running stage 2+ e30 tune with supporting mods. I have yet to test the times in the dry, but in the wet my car got 5.17 to 100. So the same as in this video pretty much. The xhp flash has definitely helped with these times, the shifts feel crisp and powerful. I'm equipped with the ZF 6speed. The only thing I've noticed is that my 4-5 shift is disgustingly sluggish. But I noticed that before I flashed the TCU. I'm pretty sure after watching the video you guys posted about the shift solenoids that this might be the cause of my issue. The xhp flash is awesome. I recommend it any day

[@ZeroTo60Tube]

We both think the XHP makes a bigger difference to the ZF6, well it definitely makes the ZF6 much more exciting to drive, where the ZF8 is pretty good in standard form. We were surprised with how XHP did consistently help get this car faster 0-100 times. There is definitely more in it, with some fine tuning and getting only one person in car, but for a like for like comparison, XHP just works.

[@2jznat]

Don’t know why KZbin was hiding you’ll for me, but glade I found you again. Hello from Florida!

[@ZeroTo60Tube]

Hello Florida man!

[@friguy4444]

How you guys aren't hosting a show funded by the big money folks baffles me. Or even big sponsors. But maybe that's something you are wanting to steer clear of in some ways. Anyway I dig your channel so much it's the first and only channel I actually joined. Cheers gentlemen from Canada!!

[@ZeroTo60Tube]

haha, thanks man. Honestly we would love the big sponsors, need more money for more cars asap haha

[@steambao]

Love the enthusiastic intro :)

[@ZeroTo60Tube]

Guess who had pre work out before filming it....... :| haha

[@ncnhomegrown]

Well I decided to spend a little money on my 2016 m135i and go for the XHP stage 3/4 flash for the 8 speed. Straight off the bat the logic in regular drive mode was different and improved, I found it didn't gear hang like it used to. When in DSC off or Sports+, it feels quicker to engage and disengage the gear. So much so that I found my car would light up the rears shifting second to third gear easier. Keeping in mind it is slightly wet and coolish around Brisbane today and I am running MHD stage 2+ 91. Better than the outright performance is the way it feels, I had a friend drive it and he said that it felt way closer to the DSG in the Golf R. It also fixed a weird tuning issue I have had since going MHD. Shifting gears at wide open throttle previously would sometimes see a single cylinder have a timing correction of -6, or sometimes all of them would drop -3, and continue gain timing back to where it should be all the way to redline. This would previously happen in stage 1, 2, 91 or 93, and intake temps had next to no effect on this behaviour. If I did logging from 2500 to 7000 in 3rd or 4th without changing gear it would 8/10 times have no timing corrections, and if it did correct it would usually drop -3 around 6k on a cylinder or two.

[@JoeAchilles1]

Another great video guys, I hadn't ever heard about the MHD gearbox tune, very interesting! Hopefully see you soon x

[@ZeroTo60Tube]

Hopefully soon. When we hit 50k subs we will be back to the UK to celebrate. Thanks for checking the video out. It’s XHP on the transmission and MHD on the engine, haha just to be extra confusing. But this thing with very minimal mods is a bloody rocket. 🚀

[@incubusiyrix]

Has this got the option to do downshift throttle blips?

[@emilpetersson8379]

you can increase the torqe reduction. I also drive with xhp3 on my f11 535D. in the ap it says slider plus "can pruduse faster and crisper shifts" (more torqe during shifts) And the slider minus can puduce turbo lag after shift

[@THEZEST1357]

After seeing your videos on the E92 335i xHP tune I decided to pull the trigger on my E92 320d (6 speed ZF). It's just a daily but I always felt it suffered from a "rubber band" effect in first and second and my theory was due to the car being diesel BMW did not want to TC lock too early to avoid driveline vibration. After the flash it bites a lot harder off the line even under normal driving conditions and by god it shifts faster in manual and sport mode. I also took the liberty of changing the shift points to utilise the diesels low down torque better. All round it now feels like a much more refined and zippy car. There was also about a 10% decrease in fuel consumption in CBD traffic conditions. If you ahve a 6 speed ZF I could not reccomend the flash any more.

[@ZeroTo60Tube]

Well said. xhp on the zf6 boxes is a no brainer. Really brings them up to modern feeling gearbox

[@gixeris]

I have xHP stage3 (MHD stage2+ as well, f30 335i N55) and I like D and S with all the driving modes (Eco Pro, Comfort, Sport, Sport+), but I don't really like the Manual gear response speed time with Sport mode. The Stock map gives gear shift speed level 3 with all the modes on Manual (Comfort, Sport, and Sport+), while with xHP they are (Manual) something like: Comfort - 1 speed level; Sport - 2 speed level; Sport+ 3+ speed level. I used OEM Sport mode with Manual (paddle) option most of the time when cruising, but with xHP Sport mode I feel laggy shifts, so I have to use Sport+. But it's not so comfortable to use Sport+ when cruising in order just to have a faster paddle response - because in Sport+ the engine setup is more aggressive, plus some other options disappear (i.e. cruise control not available). Now xHP manual response time comparing to Stock is Slower(comfort), Slower(sport), Faster(sport+) but why it just can be Slower(comfort), the Same(sport), Faster(sport+)? It still would be 3 different modes with xHP, but programmed in a different way, not Slower, Slower, Faster but Slower, Same, Faster. From my point of view, if you like Manual shifting, xHP isn't the best option for you.

[@motorenthusiast3609]

This is really interesting. I was thinking of stage 3 xhp but after reading your post I'm thinking again as i like to use Sport mode rather than sport + given that i can keep traction on. How are the downshifts? Are they blipping better?

[@jamespetersen8954]

I noticed this too. Before xHP it would shift in the fastest setting in any driving mode as long as the gear selector was in S. Now the sport mode is not quite as fast and sport + and dsc off is the only way to get the fastest shifts. I quite liked being in traffic and being able to simply knock the gear lever to the left to get really responsive shifts. That being said I still think it's worth it for those quicker shifts over stock and you can increase the down shift blips massively

[@johnwang6118]

can you return the xHP for refund?

[@Abercrombemonkey]

@@johnwang6118 doubt it.

[@neil4089]

Hi Guys great video. I have exactly the same M135i and setup. MHD Stage 1 / XHP Stage 3 As I understand it, sports plus is a stand alone mode and get the fastest up and downshifts doesn’t for performance this is the best option to go for when timing. When in DSC off or any other traction mode you won’t get the fastest shifts it can make which is probably what you were feeling and commenting on when in launch control. I think you guys are probably suffering with the heat over there as I have got 4.42 0-60mph and 9.79 100-200kph here in the UK on my dragy. Wonder if there is anywhere near you suitable to test the 100-200 as that is a much more meaningful display of performance 👍

[@ZeroTo60Tube]

Our heat definitely wouldn't help. Out of curiosity how many people did you have in the car when you did the 4.42? That is an awesome time. You'd probably take most F430s and Gallardos from a set of lights.... or any rwd car with a single clutch gearbox for that matter. haha

[@neil4089]

Zero To 60 Just me in the car for that time and from memory so about 10 degrees cooler than it was when you guys filmed. That plus having an LSD may have limited the wheel spin but there was minimal spin when you got your best times. Dropping to just the driver should have a noticeable improvement on the times👍 Have you thought about testing with the car when reverted totally back to stock - which is easy to do as you know 👍 - then with the MHD / XHP all remapped ? Would show what they are capable of with just simple DIY tuning.

[@ZeroTo60Tube]

@@neil4089 Going from full stock up to this setup would make a brilliant video. hmmmm, might have to see if we can make it happen. How much did you LSD set you back? They are quite exxy down here in Aus.

[@AH-jv5zt]

@@ZeroTo60Tube £2k pounds

[@marcwang8390]

I just got myself a Dragy gps timer and went out for a run ! Same car n55 EWG m135i. Managed 4.8s 0-100kph, BM3 Stage 1 91 Octane on 98 Ron Fuel. Stock GB tune. I'm getting much much less wheel spin on Michelin PS4. Launched it without launch control, but with the GB loaded up to 1.5k rpm. I suspect you could be getting into the 4.6~4.7s with better tyres.

[@ZeroTo60Tube]

What was your ambient air temp out curiosity. Our weather kills the power..... well it’s like the dme pulls timing when IATs hit a certain point

[@marcwang8390]

@@ZeroTo60Tube I'm out here in Singapore. Intake temps are around 50-55 degrees celsius. Ambient temp between 25-33 degress celcius. Data log for BM3 91 Octane Tune on 98 RON www.bootmod3.net/log?id=5f6dfeb0d10b4340e404889d same tune on 95 RON fuel - (timing is not good, but drives well imho). www.bootmod3.net/log?id=5f6b49e7d10b430fc4da9cf2

[@vladislavssamovs1156]

Stock Exhaust ?

[@dukenudes9123]

Is, xHP installed first? or MHD? because you should install xHP first.. otherwise mhd will overwrite some settings exept you choose "8ZF xHP tuned" in the process of mhd flashing. sorry for my bad english lol.

[@Saif0412]

I think your right about removing torque limiters. Stage 1 tune without xhp would be bogged down a bit by the factory torque limiters. Fantastic car/gearbox. 👌 Mine is on XHP stage 3,with custom module, I've ramped up the Shift speed to the highest and increased torque reduction to the max, as well as throttle blip setting, I like to feel the gear change, its rapid too. E90 335i Stage 1 at the moment. 😬

[@ZeroTo60Tube]

Thats awesome that you went with the custom module. Did you notice much of a difference with setting over stage 3 default?

[@richierich9761]

Nice video , I think I will push the button on the xhp, I was concerned the car would be awful to drive in comfort and wasnt willing to trade off.

[@phantom2k10]

I'm also pushing the button this weekend mate.240i is currently stage 1,going stage 2 in feb

[@richierich9761]

@@phantom2k10 I did the xhp remap , the car is actually nicer to drive in comfort than when stock, in fact by 42mph its in 8th gear now and does actually seem to be a little better on fuel as a result, in fact you could say the 'box is dulled down in comfort compared to stock but the opposite is true in sport , the shifts are faster and the car is more composed on full throttle as a result. Its a win-win I feel and well worth the money

[@mkvB58KING]

@@richierich9761 Comfort is wild with xhp stage 3. Sport + with shifter in sport is insane, the blips between the shifts are super aggressive I love it.

[@n54power21]

Very nice Time for 2 Person and 29 Grad plus 👍XHP its very nice Coding

[@ZeroTo60Tube]

Considering how hot it was, it was very impressive. There is definitely more to get out of it with some tuning on the launch too.

[@n54power21]

@@ZeroTo60Tube In Germany it is cold now, have Stage 2 MHD, it takes a long time until the engine is warm with Intercooler, but then you drive great times when tires have grip ... I also do service for ZF Automatic and XHP Stage 3.

[@n54power21]

@@ZeroTo60Tube Methanol is a very good thing, the engine stays clean and the octane number increases by 16 octane, so you can drive 50 HP more 😁 In Germany, 102 octane is gasoline plus methanol, better than kerosene😁👌

[@ZeroTo60Tube]

@@n54power21Is E85 available over there at all?

[@johnherbert5919]

I am thinking about XHP on my 335i will you guys install XHP to a ZF6?

[@Saif0412]

I believe Andrew's already got stage 3 XHP tune on his 335i,check out the last video, its really fast.

[@ZeroTo60Tube]

Hi John, I actually installed in on my car back abour 5 months ago. However it still wasn't shifting right, i ended up needing to do my gearbox solenoids. This vid shows what XHP is like on my ZF6, kzbin.info/www/bejne/pWTaiJuci6tsaKc

[@christopherjz]

what's with the jazz hands fellas?

[@ZeroTo60Tube]

Uhhhh so we get millions of views, obviously….. for real tho, I don’t have a Fkn clue.

[@christopherjz]

😂 I've subscribed, great vid.

[@ceddy1031]

Flashed it an hour ago. The whole progress went smooth. But when it is done. I started the engine and got Chassis Stabilization Malfunction error. Now I can't use sport and sport + mode. I tried flash it stage 1 and 2. Same error when start the engine.

[@isaacpureco128]

have you figured out the problem?

[@ceddy1031]

@@isaacpureco128 Unfortunately no, every time I started the car, it shows the Chassis Stabilization Malfunction. Don't know what went wrong, I contacted XHP, of course they will say their software is fine lol. All I remember is my Sport and Sport + mode were fine before I flashed XHP. I tried flashed it back to stock, then flashed stage 1 to 4 using different update. Even the old update still work fix the problem.

[@louis-philipedenis9023]

Had the same problem on my 535, my car need a software update, the software was to old. You can do it at the dealership or with some app like protool

[@azpitbull]

From a mechanical perspective; which is not discussed, or probably understood from this video somehow has been conveniently left out. Causative research on your end is paramount before using this software. Let's have a look at what is going on with the internals shall we? (1) Pressure accumulator - The pressure accumulator is fitted on the bottom left of the transmission and makes sure that there is always sufficient oil pressure for a gearshift to be executed (this software adds stress to the component!). A freely moving piston subdivides the pressure accumulator into 2 chambers. One chamber is charged with nitrogen at approx 27 bar and -25C(a lifelong charge). The other chamber takes up oil from the hydraulic pump. Here, the oil exerts pressure on one side of the piston, compressing the nitrogen. The compressed oxygen maintains the oil pressure during shifting (this software creates excessive pressures for both chambers!). (2)The hydraulic pressure sensor is reprogrammed (to an unstable configuration and will prematurely fail!). (3)The hydraulic pump with electric motor builds up around 55 bar system pressure for the gearshifts(this software commands more pressure within the pump). (4) The inductive sensor measures the transmission input speed with the engine speed and computes the closing of the clutch(i,e, how fast the clutch can establish the optimal power flow between engine and transmission) this app software actually flashes and over-rides this sensor, while increasing voltage output while nullifying the self-learning cycle of the ECM. Additional components that are adversely affected over time are too numerous to mention. (5) Solenoid valves -there are 4 actually-, are affected the most as it serves as a pressure valve, actuator, and pressure relief for the entire valve body in the tranny. Recommendation: Invest in a performance drivetrain that can withstand the demands of a stage 3 package. Conclusion; This pleasure of running stage 3 software will eventually deliver a large dose of pain to your wallet -read and heed my friends! When it doubt, visit a certified BMW service center.

[@ZeroTo60Tube]

Although your points are not wrong. The ZF8 will take these tweaks on a lightly tuned N55 with no dramas at all. This is not new tech, the ZF6's have had custom software for about 5 years. If you have a tuned car often the trans will last longer with custom software on it vs standard software.The factory software was designed for factory power levels. Who in their right mind would leave one of these engines stock????

[@Addselwyn]

Sounds like you know you’re stuff , I’m thinking of putting xhp stage 2 on my zf8 bmw m140i , it’s running 450 bhp , what’s you’re thoughts on this please

[@ZeroTo60Tube]

@@Addselwyn its really worth doing, just for the custom tuning side to suit your exact setup. You can dial it in for traction, or aggressiveness or smoothness. Using it to match the gearbox tune to your engines setup is why it makes so much sense. I would start with the base settings xHP have and see how you go. This car here was running base settings as the time from memory.

[@Addselwyn]

@@ZeroTo60Tube brilliant thank you 🙏🏼

[@JerainJezza]

Automatic cars are so boring... :D

[@madrx2]

Obviously you've never owned a quick one.

[@Saif0412]

Yes if your driving a banger lol, the M135i is fun in manual and automatic.

[@ZeroTo60Tube]

Boring is probably a bit strong haha. But even the fastest most aggressive cars with only 2 pedals simply don't have the driver involvement of a manual car. It is pretty easy to nail every shift when you only have to pull a paddle, but when you are doing 150kmh, with the back end hanging out and you need to take one hand off the wheel to grab 4th at 7500rpm and change gear fast enough to keep the torque going to the rear wheels at steady enough rate as to not unbalance the slide...... Thats effing exciting..... nearly as exciting what happens 4 seconds later when you spin off the track uncontrollably in a car you can't afford to repair....... or so my friend told me..... :|

[@JerainJezza]

@@ZeroTo60Tube All the best car reviewers like Harris, Needell and Clarkson agree that driving manual is much more involving so think what you want if you never owned a fast and good manual. :D

[@Saif0412]

@@JerainJezza nobody said otherwise. The ZF Gearbox or DCT/DSG are not boring, less involving yes no doubt as stated. Unfortunately not all of us are racecar drivers nailing perfect shifts and heel toe downshifts.