[myculito]

Wanted to get the 335D member's opinions on these two units. Any thoughts on which one to go with?

Carly BT dongle, plus app = $117

schawben Scan tool = $199


Thoughts, especially from those that have perhaps used both?

[Dazza335iC]

Sub'd, curious also

[Thecastle]

I own Carly, but find it extremely buggy and it's more expensive than you think if you want all the features. Personally I think I'm going to buy the schwaben tool as I own a BMW duh and a mini, and it seems to work well for both.

[RDA3440]

Carly is quite buggy, and can be dangerous. A number of people have bricked FRM modules during coding operations.

It is FAR more expensive that other solutions.

[Persian Whisperjet]

Originally Posted by RDA3440

Carly is quite buggy, and can be dangerous. A number of people have bricked FRM modules during coding operations.

It is FAR more expensive that other solutions.

RDA that is pretty serious -- can you point to a board member who has bricked their FRM? I have Carly and while I pout up with the bugs I won't put up with it potentially trashing my car. Thanks.

[RDA3440]

I have my bricked FRM on my workbench, and if you google it, you'll see others. My colleague also had the same problem and both of us have the official BMWhat / Carly OBD dongle and legitimately purchased app, and non-rooted devices.

In my instance, I have TWO android devices. I used one to perform the initial coding (enable simultaneous fogs + high beams, and remote mirrors). Months later, I attempted to make a further adjustment with my second device, only to brick the FRM.

My colleague replicated the issue (to his dismay) and we were both stuck with non operational windows/lights, etc.

Carly seems to be OK for non-coding items, but for coding it does seem to be hit or miss. I'll stick with my hardwired INPA setup for coding as that is reliable (so far).

Google "bmw carly FRM". I still have my bricked FRM which I'll look into repairing on the bench when I can free up some time.

[Persian Whisperjet]

That's terrible.

[TrAcK TRaP]

No to Carly..

[RollingCoal]

Does the Schwaben tool give the specific BMW codes? Prime Pump? Force Regen? Register Battery? Etc.

If so, it might be a good purchase

[Andrew@FixMyVW]

From what I can tell, Schwaben is a brand name that ECS Tuning made up to make their (usually) Chinese tools sound like they are of German origin. This scanner appears to be a rebranded Foxwell NT510 available for much less than what is sold through ECS. I saw it on Amazon for $170

[RollingCoal]

Originally Posted by Andrew@FixMyVW

From what I can tell, Schwaben is a brand name that ECS Tuning made up to make their (usually) Chinese tools sound like they are of German origin. This scanner appears to be a rebranded Foxwell NT510 available for much less than what is sold through ECS. I saw it on Amazon for $170

I saw the same thing, and limited info on what it can actually do.......

[BudgetBimmer]

So far so good.

http://www.e90post.com/forums/showth...light=schwaben

[ATH_M2]

I own the Schawben and it works great.

[Hoooper]

Depends on what you're planning to do. Coding and serious diagnostics should always be done over a wire in my opinion. If you want something you can just leave plugged in and read codes or just log if you feel like it, it would seem Carly is the way to go.

[808AWD325xi]

Originally Posted by RDA3440

Carly is quite buggy, and can be dangerous. A number of people have bricked FRM modules during coding operations.

It is FAR more expensive that other solutions.

Originally Posted by Persian Whisperjet

RDA that is pretty serious -- can you point to a board member who has bricked their FRM? I have Carly and while I pout up with the bugs I won't put up with it potentially trashing my car. Thanks.

One example:
BMWhat Carly Killed Lighting System

In my opinion, the best tool to use is BMW Standard Tools 2.12; INPA for diagnostics, NCS-Expert for coding, etc.

Again INPA for 335d

You just need a good cable. I highly recommend the K+DCAN cable from one-stop-electronics.com. It's plug and play as described in my BMW Standard Tools 2.12 DIY. Just plug it in and Windows Update will install the latest drivers for you:
http://www.one-stop-electronics.com/...&product_id=16

If you want something less expensive, the cable from bimmer software will work. However, it's not plug and play. You will have to download the drivers from FTDI and manually install them, which can be a PITA:
http://bmwsw.com/cables

[ECSTuning]

Both are great tools, depends upon what you're looking for. Personally for coding, I use INPA/NCS. For quick reference I have the dongle in my car and my phone is always in my pocket, for more detailed scanning I like the Schwaben scan tool over app based tools.

Originally Posted by RollingCoal

Does the Schwaben tool give the specific BMW codes? Prime Pump? Force Regen? Register Battery? Etc.

If so, it might be a good purchase

specific BMW codes - yes
Prime Pump - yes
Force Regen - I don't have a deisel on hand to confirm but per Foxwel yes it does.
Register Battery - registartion yes, battery type chages not with the current software update. Battry type changing is a feature we've requested to be added to the tool, Foxwell is currently looking into adding this code line option.

Originally Posted by Andrew@FixMyVW

From what I can tell, Schwaben is a brand name that ECS Tuning made up to make their (usually) Chinese tools sound like they are of German origin. This scanner appears to be a rebranded Foxwell NT510 available for much less than what is sold through ECS. I saw it on Amazon for $170

Schwaben is our house brand of tools, we don't hide this. If you'd like to know origin info please feel free to shoot me a PM on the specific tool this isn't something we hide. But yes this particular unit (all Schwbaen by Foxwell scan tools) are produced in China, this happens to be where a majority of your high end scan tools are produced.

Our scan tool is based on the Foxwell NT510 correct, you can get the unit cheaper, but watch out for software packages. Per Foxwell there are no other versions of this tool sold which carry all our packages out of the box. Good bit of info in the link BudgetBimmer posted as too what the tool can do, what's being unlocked as we speak, what's included vs the other tools, etc.

-James

[RollingCoal]

Originally Posted by ECSTuning

Both are great tools, depends upon what you're looking for. Personally for coding, I use INPA/NCS. For quick reference I have the dongle in my car and my phone is always in my pocket, for more detailed scanning I like the Schwaben scan tool over app based tools.



specific BMW codes - yes
Prime Pump - yes
Force Regen - I don't have a deisel on hand to confirm but per Foxwel yes it does.
Register Battery - registartion yes, battery type chages not with the current software update. Battry type changing is a feature we've requested to be added to the tool, Foxwell is currently looking into adding this code line option.



Schwaben is our house brand of tools, we don't hide this. If you'd like to know origin info please feel free to shoot me a PM on the specific tool this isn't something we hide. But yes this particular unit (all Schwbaen by Foxwell scan tools) are produced in China, this happens to be where a majority of your high end scan tools are produced.

Our scan tool is based on the Foxwell NT510 correct, you can get the unit cheaper, but watch out for software packages. Per Foxwell there are no other versions of this tool sold which carry all our packages out of the box. Good bit of info in the link BudgetBimmer posted as too what the tool can do, what's being unlocked as we speak, what's included vs the other tools, etc.

-James

Thanks for the info James. Perhaps a limited group buy to a few diesel owners would get some reviews going....would be interesting for a test group as well. I know I would be interested. Regardless, thanks again for the information.

[ECSTuning]

Originally Posted by RollingCoal

Thanks for the info James. Perhaps a limited group buy to a few diesel owners would get some reviews going....would be interesting for a test group as well. I know I would be interested. Regardless, thanks again for the information.

With the tool just coming off sale a few months ago I'm not able to do any pricing deals for a bit sadly. That being said if any of the diesel guys are local to me (we're in Wadsworth Ohio) I have one of the tool in my desk and another at my house, I'm not opposed to meeting and testing out a few features.

-James

[Dazza335iC]

I'm eagerly awaiting the added coding ability, I'll be first in line to buy one once that's available.

[RollingCoal]

Originally Posted by ECSTuning

With the tool just coming off sale a few months ago I'm not able to do any pricing deals for a bit sadly. That being said if any of the diesel guys are local to me (we're in Wadsworth Ohio) I have one of the tool in my desk and another at my house, I'm not opposed to meeting and testing out a few features.

-James

Honestly, just not enough info out there for how it performs at this point. Maybe once a few more are out there some good hands on reviews will start showing up. A solid 15 minute video showing capabilities and features would either make it or break it. The lack of any real world feedback, causes me to hesitate to drop two bills on it at this point.