Quote:
Originally Posted by Dubbedown
plenty of reasons why manufacturers downtune their car. some don't want to cannibalize sales of other models, especially turbo cars like the a4 (2.0t at 200hp crank vs their 3.2 which is 250hp), subie legacy (which i believe has a detuned sti motor), 335 (vs m3), etc. other reasons is that it's a numbers game, while most of the most reputable chip tuners do increase performance within a reasonable safety range of the motor, there's always a chance that a few owners may experience issues (my friend's gti 2.0t blew his turbo from a stage 1 upgrade which is really unheard of).
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It makes sense for the mid and lower range models to be downtuned, but the M is at the top of the model lineup with nothing else in BMW's offering to compete. It doesn't make sense to me to downtune it purposefully, unless there's a balancing act with reliability, safety, fuel economy, or some other engine characteristic, especially when the car poised in the market to compete with an offering from Porsche.
Then again, BMW engineers could have opted for a higher ratio rear differential, lighter wheels, and better tires to improve performance to Cayman S levels without adding much to the cost of the vehicle. So, I guess it's also possible that they simply didn't commit the time or resources to really developing out this car to everything it could have been. Then again, the S54 powerplant isn't exactly new, and it was tuned to a higher power output in the M3 CSL.
And definitely, if I were going the tuning route, there's absolutely no reason you'd go with this shady CL company over something tried and true like ESS.