• What my ultimate goal for this vehicle, whish will be my daily driver for work commute and errands (~300-400 miles a week) is the following:
  - Mid to Low 3-second 0–60 range
  - Strong highway pulls (60–120 performance is important)
  - Quick, confident acceleration when getting in and out of gaps or corners
  - Deep, aggressive V8 sound: something you feel, not just hear. Something that will make people turn their heads and hear the sound
  - Noticeable pops and burbles on downshift / lift-off (aggressive but still controlled, not constant or excessive)

• Not going full flash at the moment because the engine is still fairly new and the full flash is rather very expensive, over $6k since there are 2 ECU that need to be tunned. So their recommendation was to wait longer until full flash becomes more publicly available and price goes down and instead go piggyback direction with JB4.

• They also recommended going secondary catless downpipe to avoid emissions issues and keep the primary as is, stock. However my fear is that this route won't really give me that deep V8 with pops and burbles I'm looking for.

lstupar87 wrote

Hey guys,

I recently picked up a 2026 BMW X5 M60i and I’m currently going through the break-in period (just over 300 miles at the moment). After 1,200 miles I’m was planning to move forward with a performance upgrades.

I’ve done quite a bit of research going through posts here and other forums, but I wanted to ask straightforward for communities opinion on my planned route and so far what I've been told and recommended by tuners locally (I'm in SoCal, OC)
Option 1 what I’m leaning toward just because of compliance and regulation
- dÄHLer Stage 2 valved exhaust
- Femto unlock + full ECU flash (custom tune)
- xHP transmission tune
- Colder spark plugs
Option 2 what I really want
- Everything above, plus:
- High-flow / catless downpipes (Stage 3 configuration from dÄHLer)
Now the obvious, I understand that full ECU flash will void warranty and that catless downpipe will cause emission issues and display `check engine light`

• What my ultimate goal for this vehicle, whish will be my daily driver for work commute and errands (~300-400 miles a week) is the following:
  - Mid to Low 3-second 0–60 range
  - Strong highway pulls (60–120 performance is important)
  - Quick, confident acceleration when getting in and out of gaps or corners
  - Deep, aggressive V8 sound: something you feel, not just hear. Something that will make people turn their heads and hear the sound
  - Noticeable pops and burbles on downshift / lift-off (aggressive but still controlled, not constant or excessive)

After talking to local reputable tuner (who the community recommended based on few threads) they recommended

• Not going full flash at the moment because the engine is still fairly new and the full flash is rather very expensive, over $6k since there are 2 ECU that need to be tunned. So their recommendation was to wait longer until full flash becomes more publicly available and price goes down and instead go piggyback direction with JB4.

• They also recommended going secondary catless downpipe to avoid emissions issues and keep the primary as is, stock. However my fear is that this route won't really give me that deep V8 with pops and burbles I'm looking for.

With all the above being said, I'm curious on your guys opinion. This is my first BMW owned and I went M60i route vs MC because of my long highway commute for work and didn't want to deal with stiff suspension, drive, etc. However, I do want the performance and sound that MC can produce so I went into this project knowing that I will be tunning the M60i.

Thanks all!

K9-44 wrote

I live in Southern California. I've done the Valvetronic exhaust and RedStar catless secondary downpipes. I also run the JB4 and I'm having the Eventuri intake installed next week. I also added the DäHLer ATTC which adjusts the way the throttle responds.

The Valvetronic exhaust alone won't cause your car to not pass smog. The catless secondary downpipes may or may not. No testing station is going to look that hard. The JB4 can simply be unplugged when you take it to get smogged.

In California you don't smog your new car for 8 years. So you could install the Eventuri now and just remove it in 8 years for the test. Or you can wait for the Dinan cold air intake to get CARB certification.

I've been really happy with this setup so far.

lstupar87 wrote

Hey guys,

I recently picked up a 2026 BMW X5 M60i and I’m currently going through the break-in period (just over 300 miles at the moment). After 1,200 miles I’m was planning to move forward with a performance upgrades.

I’ve done quite a bit of research going through posts here and other forums, but I wanted to ask straightforward for communities opinion on my planned route and so far what I've been told and recommended by tuners locally (I'm in SoCal, OC)
Option 1 what I’m leaning toward just because of compliance and regulation
- dÄHLer Stage 2 valved exhaust
- Femto unlock + full ECU flash (custom tune)
- xHP transmission tune
- Colder spark plugs
Option 2 what I really want
- Everything above, plus:
- High-flow / catless downpipes (Stage 3 configuration from dÄHLer)
Now the obvious, I understand that full ECU flash will void warranty and that catless downpipe will cause emission issues and display `check engine light`

• What my ultimate goal for this vehicle, whish will be my daily driver for work commute and errands (~300-400 miles a week) is the following:
  - Mid to Low 3-second 0–60 range
  - Strong highway pulls (60–120 performance is important)
  - Quick, confident acceleration when getting in and out of gaps or corners
  - Deep, aggressive V8 sound: something you feel, not just hear. Something that will make people turn their heads and hear the sound
  - Noticeable pops and burbles on downshift / lift-off (aggressive but still controlled, not constant or excessive)

After talking to local reputable tuner (who the community recommended based on few threads) they recommended

• Not going full flash at the moment because the engine is still fairly new and the full flash is rather very expensive, over $6k since there are 2 ECU that need to be tunned. So their recommendation was to wait longer until full flash becomes more publicly available and price goes down and instead go piggyback direction with JB4.

• They also recommended going secondary catless downpipe to avoid emissions issues and keep the primary as is, stock. However my fear is that this route won't really give me that deep V8 with pops and burbles I'm looking for.

With all the above being said, I'm curious on your guys opinion. This is my first BMW owned and I went M60i route vs MC because of my long highway commute for work and didn't want to deal with stiff suspension, drive, etc. However, I do want the performance and sound that MC can produce so I went into this project knowing that I will be tunning the M60i.

Thanks all!

pizzamoney wrote

Sounds great Man. Which JB4 map do you normally run?

lstupar87 wrote

Thanks guys, definitely some great feedback I'll wait for the BM3 flash and graduate to it eventually, once becomes more publicly available and doesn't cost an arm and a leg paint94979 thanks for the great info, I didn't realize it was over $9k. The shop mentioned probably around $8k is their ballpark estimate

But in the meantime, based on everything you mentioned and from my own research, I think I'll do the following set-up for the time being and see how it works.

- dÄHLer Stage 2 valved exhaust
- xHP transmission tune
- Colder spark plugs (Gap: ~0.022”–0.024” is what I was able to find to be the sweet spot)
- RedStar Primary Downpipes – Competition (catless) w/ heatshield and tunable O2 spacer (it's only $50 so worth a try) hellcat2m4 I didn't know about clearing CEL every 40-50 miles with JB4, nothing came up in my research about it.
- JB4 piggyback tune
- I'll probably use Map 1 for the time being and eventually transition to Map 3 for E3-0 (mix of 91 + E85) K9-44 how do you know how much of E85 to mix, especially since you might not be getting E85 actually but E80 sometimes. I think M60i has 21.9 gallons tank so it should be around 5.8 gallons of E85 and 16.1 gallons of 91.

lstupar87 wrote

Thanks guys, definitely some great feedback I'll wait for the BM3 flash and graduate to it eventually, once becomes more publicly available and doesn't cost an arm and a leg paint94979 thanks for the great info, I didn't realize it was over $9k. The shop mentioned probably around $8k is their ballpark estimate

But in the meantime, based on everything you mentioned and from my own research, I think I'll do the following set-up for the time being and see how it works.

- dÄHLer Stage 2 valved exhaust
- xHP transmission tune
- Colder spark plugs (Gap: ~0.022”–0.024” is what I was able to find to be the sweet spot)
- RedStar Primary Downpipes – Competition (catless) w/ heatshield and tunable O2 spacer (it's only $50 so worth a try) hellcat2m4 I didn't know about clearing CEL every 40-50 miles with JB4, nothing came up in my research about it.
- JB4 piggyback tune
- I'll probably use Map 1 for the time being and eventually transition to Map 3 for E3-0 (mix of 91 + E85) K9-44 how do you know how much of E85 to mix, especially since you might not be getting E85 actually but E80 sometimes. I think M60i has 21.9 gallons tank so it should be around 5.8 gallons of E85 and 16.1 gallons of 91.

lstupar87 wrote

Thanks guys, definitely some great feedback I'll wait for the BM3 flash and graduate to it eventually, once becomes more publicly available and doesn't cost an arm and a leg paint94979 thanks for the great info, I didn't realize it was over $9k. The shop mentioned probably around $8k is their ballpark estimate

But in the meantime, based on everything you mentioned and from my own research, I think I'll do the following set-up for the time being and see how it works.

- dÄHLer Stage 2 valved exhaust
- xHP transmission tune
- Colder spark plugs (Gap: ~0.022”–0.024” is what I was able to find to be the sweet spot)
- RedStar Primary Downpipes – Competition (catless) w/ heatshield and tunable O2 spacer (it's only $50 so worth a try) hellcat2m4 I didn't know about clearing CEL every 40-50 miles with JB4, nothing came up in my research about it.
- JB4 piggyback tune
- I'll probably use Map 1 for the time being and eventually transition to Map 3 for E3-0 (mix of 91 + E85) K9-44 how do you know how much of E85 to mix, especially since you might not be getting E85 actually but E80 sometimes. I think M60i has 21.9 gallons tank so it should be around 5.8 gallons of E85 and 16.1 gallons of 91.

hellcat2m4 wrote

Fot catless primaries you will get a cel, and the JB4 as far as I know can clear it when it pops up every so often. If you are referring to secondary downpipes you wont need to clear anything as they wont trigger a cel like the primaries.

K9-44 wrote

I live in Southern California. I've done the Valvetronic exhaust and RedStar catless secondary downpipes. I also run the JB4 and I'm having the Eventuri intake installed next week. I also added the DäHLer ATTC which adjusts the way the throttle responds.

The Valvetronic exhaust alone won't cause your car to not pass smog. The catless secondary downpipes may or may not. No testing station is going to look that hard. The JB4 can simply be unplugged when you take it to get smogged.

In California you don't smog your new car for 8 years. So you could install the Eventuri now and just remove it in 8 years for the test. Or you can wait for the Dinan cold air intake to get CARB certification.

I've been really happy with this setup so far.

lstupar87 wrote

paint94979 thanks for clarification, I was confused by this because when I brough this up to tunner shop, it sounded they said the xHP can be done, but after further looking into it, it looks like you are right and the new 8HP transmission does require new TCU definitions.

Thanks K9-44 I'll def take a look at this. I have Chevron that has E85 close to my house but since I actually have no idea of how consistent they are with their E85, the Burger Motorsports Bluetooth Flex Fuel Kit seems like a great option!

I was also thinking about Eventuri intake but at $2600 it might be pushing my budget a bit. I'm already around or over over $10k with all the above parts and labor + the cosmetics I want to add like front lip, side skirts and rear diffuser, all carbon fiber. Plus I just did PPF, ceramic coating and windows tinting for $5k.

On scale of 1-10, how much do you recommend the Eventuri intake, given that you had both stock and will have Eventuri shortly. Can you share your thoughts once you install it?

hellcat2m4 yeah, I was referring to primary catless, I know secondary won't throw CEL warning. The reason I'm deciding to go with primary catless is mostly because it will open up the sounds and I heard secondary won't bring that V8 roar out that we all want.

lstupar87 wrote

paint94979 thanks for clarification, I was confused by this because when I brough this up to tunner shop, it sounded they said the xHP can be done, but after further looking into it, it looks like you are right and the new 8HP transmission does require new TCU definitions.

Thanks K9-44 I'll def take a look at this. I have Chevron that has E85 close to my house but since I actually have no idea of how consistent they are with their E85, the Burger Motorsports Bluetooth Flex Fuel Kit seems like a great option!

I was also thinking about Eventuri intake but at $2600 it might be pushing my budget a bit. I'm already around or over over $10k with all the above parts and labor + the cosmetics I want to add like front lip, side skirts and rear diffuser, all carbon fiber. Plus I just did PPF, ceramic coating and windows tinting for $5k.

On scale of 1-10, how much do you recommend the Eventuri intake, given that you had both stock and will have Eventuri shortly. Can you share your thoughts once you install it?

hellcat2m4 yeah, I was referring to primary catless, I know secondary won't throw CEL warning. The reason I'm deciding to go with primary catless is mostly because it will open up the sounds and I heard secondary won't bring that V8 roar out that we all want.

K9-44 wrote

I'll let you know what I think after It's installed and I've had a chance to drive it a bit. For your carbon fiber check out RW Carbon. You're in Orange County so they are in your neighborhood. I've gotten all my Carbon Fiber from them and have been extremely happy with their quality, customer service, and prices. I have plenty of pictures of their stuff on various posts on here.

lstupar87 wrote

Awesome, thanks man! Looking forward to that update Also, thanks for the recommendation, RW Carbon was actually on my short list, I was looking at their catalog along with some other suppliers (some were in Europe too).

K9-44 wrote

In California the highest octane at regular gas stations is 91 so if I don't mix in E85 then Map 1 is what I use. When I mix in the E85 to get E30 I run Map 3. Map 3 is a whole lot of fun. I've only run Map 4 once for a short time. It was scary fast and fun but I don't need that kind of power on a daily basis.

paint94979 wrote

Also higher octane is available in California... I live 15 minutes away from Sonoma Raceway, they have at he pump 96 and 100 octane but they're $8-$10 but it is an option.