ESS S55 E-Tronic Tuner Review

[GOLFFRR]

I wanted to put together a little review for those of you who are interested in the ESS S55 E-Tronic Tuner or any tune for that matter.

Why Tune: These car stock are already more then enough power out of the box as we all know. I have previously had a few ESS SC'd M3s and basically was addicted to the power. when I picked up my M4 it was fast but still felt like it was lacking just a smidgen in the power, CRAZY I KNOW lol. So I decided to get a tune and see how that felt. Simple as that.

Why ESS: I have always gone with ESS products in the past and have never had 1 issue whatsoever with their products or their service. They always answer all my questions and are always very prompt to do so which I like. Also I like that ESS is always putting safety as a priority in their products. Yes ESS can make products that can put out more power but with that it puts a lot more stress on various parts of the car which really worries me. ESS always puts out products that put out a ton of power but at a safe level if that makes sense?

Piggy back tune: I have never ran a piggy back tune before and really was curious to how it worked. I was able to speak with Roman@ESS at length and was confident after talking to him that I would be happy with the results.

install: I will be completely honest with everyone. After looking at the piggy module and connectors there was NO WAY IN HELL I would have been able to install that myself lol. Then again I could not install my grills either so I left it to the pros and called up Tom@EAS to get it installed. His techs were able to install it in a matter of 10 min. Was super impressed. I talked to the tech a little about the install and he had stated to me that the ESS piggy was super easy to install but then again he installs 100's of these things a year

Power (butt dyno): For me this is the most important part. I wanted to be able to feel the power increase and it be night and day over stock. I can tell you I was def impressed. The car pulls like a freight train! It has a ton more power and where the stock would fall off around 5500 rpm this set up seems to keep climbing. I was very impressed and pleased with my purchase.

Power dyno: I know these tunes take about 50-100 miles to adapt but I can say the first run we did on the dyno I went from 413 stock to 455 I believe.(EAS has Dyno numbers) Since that day I can def feel the car getting more and more powerful. Very impressed.

conclusion: I was a little worried about the whole piggy process but after getting the set up I am very happy, the product met all my expectations and then some. The car was a beast before and now its just beast on steroids! Also I will note a very cool feature it comes with a plug that you can plug in your cars computer ECU connection that will dumb down the car back to stock power. so if you are letting your wife, husband, or valet drive your car it wont be a missile Very nice feature to have.

If anyone has any question feel free to ask and I will try my best to answer them

**Mod at your own risk

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[dmk08]

Very nice review GOLFFRR and IMO great results from the tune.

[jackkk]

Nice rewiev. So is it a regular tune or linear?
Do you have dps?

[GOLFFRR]

Originally Posted by dmk08

Very nice review GOLFFRR and IMO great results from the tune.

thanks buddy, hope you are having a great time with your new ride!

Originally Posted by jackkk

Nice rewiev. So is it a regular tune or linear?
Do you have dps?

I went with the regular tune, that was the one ESS recommended to me. I do not have DP's yet I am however considering them. Just a little worried about the cold start sound the DPs make. I heard it in person and it was a lot LOUDER. So a little hesitant at this time. But with DP you would make a lot more power

[jackkk]

Originally Posted by GOLFFRR

thanks buddy, hope you are having a great time with your new ride!



I went with the regular tune, that was the one ESS recommended to me. I do not have DP's yet I am however considering them. Just a little worried about the cold start sound the DPs make. I heard it in person and it was a lot LOUDER. So a little hesitant at this time. But with DP you would make a lot more power

I likу the deep sound with dps, that I had on my 1m, so thinking in going this way this time too. But the ESS doesn't solve the CEL problem, that why I'm hesitating. I had jb4 on my 335i and don't want to get it anymore.
Did you drive the caar with the exhaust and without the ESS tune? Does the car feel more power?

[GOLFFRR]

Originally Posted by jackkk

I likу the deep sound with dps, that I had on my 1m, so thinking in going this way this time too. But the ESS doesn't solve the CEL problem, that why I'm hesitating. I had jb4 on my 335i and don't want to get it anymore.
Did you drive the caar with the exhaust and without the ESS tune? Does the car feel more power?

The DPs def delivered a deeper sound. The full Akra and full Eisenmann with DP were CRAZY LOUD but sounded soooo good. You will love it.

with DP you def will get a CEL but I believe the ESS tune can take that off as well? I am not 100% sure but I would think it would since jB4 does. I did drive the car without the ESS tune right after I installed the exhaust and although I made a little power with the exhaust it was still night and day when I drove it with the tune

[teamwerx]

I think the JB4 can remove the CEL from the DP's because it taps the CAN wires. I don't think this tune does that.

[GOLFFRR]

Originally Posted by teamwerx

I think the JB4 can remove the CEL from the DP's because it taps the CAN wires. I don't think this tune does that.

Gotcha. Ill shoot Roman a buzz and see if I can get a 100% answer

I wonder if the Awron device can delete the code as well?

[jc05e46m3]

CONGRATS! Really glad you're happy with their product. ESS always makes great products, so I'm not surprised. Had the JB4 not existed, I would have gone with ESS for sure.

[tonymac1]

Nice review Jimmy! I can't install the grills either, had a hard time trying to take the grills down but failed. lol.
I may also consider the ESS tune since i had it on my e92 previously. I remembered they have the cold start removal previously on e92 but im not sure if they have it on this piggy back? if you're worried about loud start up maybe you can consider coding the cold start up cycle off?

[GOLFFRR]

Originally Posted by teamwerx

I think the JB4 can remove the CEL from the DP's because it taps the CAN wires. I don't think this tune does that.

OK I spoke wit Roman and the ESS set up can not get rid of the Cell bc you need to "cut" into the can bus wiring in order to do that and the ESS tune doesn't do any of that.

I am going to look into Awron a little today when I have time and see what sort of options that gives. I know you can control the valves of the exhaust with Awron which is pretty slick

[Boostin FD]

I'm just curious, did you even consider JB4 or you figured since you had ESS in the past, might as well stick with them?

I don't think i'll be doing anything like this any time soon, but like to get as much info as possible when the time comes and I actually decide to get more power.

Thanks.

[GOLFFRR]

Originally Posted by jc05e46m3

CONGRATS! Really glad you're happy with their product. ESS always makes great products, so I'm not surprised. Had the JB4 not existed, I would have gone with ESS for sure.

Thanks braddah. So far I am very happy with it! These cars are FAST!! Happy holidays

Originally Posted by tonymac1

Nice review Jimmy! I can't install the grills either, had a hard time trying to take the grills down but failed. lol.
I may also consider the ESS tune since i had it on my e92 previously. I remembered they have the cold start removal previously on e92 but im not sure if they have it on this piggy back? if you're worried about loud start up maybe you can consider coding the cold start up cycle off?

Thank you Tony, and yes we are not do it yourself type lol but thats ok! The piggy back does not address the cold start I wish it would that would ideal! If this was the case I would get the DPs tomorrow. The only way you can address the cold start I believe would be tapping into the ECU but I am not 100% sure on that

If you find anyone who can delete the cold start let me know!

[GOLFFRR]

Originally Posted by Boostin FD

I'm just curious, did you even consider JB4 or you figured since you had ESS in the past, might as well stick with them?

I don't think i'll be doing anything like this any time soon, but like to get as much info as possible when the time comes and I actually decide to get more power.

Thanks.

Having so many ESS products in the past and having such great success was def a huge reason for me to stick with them. I did look a little into the Jb4 but I just really like the way ESS has treated me and the safety factor which drove me not to look elsewhere. Im sure the jb4 and the others are GREAT products but for me ESS is what I am sticking with

[JNoSol]

Originally Posted by teamwerx

I think the JB4 can remove the CEL from the DP's because it taps the CAN wires. I don't think this tune does that.

Yes, JB4 setting can eliminate CEL for DP. ESS is the more conservative tune, but lacks in features and costs more. If you want a conservative tune, you can always set your JB4 to Map1. I still don't understand the full value proposition of ESS and why it's $200 more expensive compared to JB4. Please educate me and the forum folks.

I just heard the ESS service is really good (which would justify the price difference), but I also heard Terry @ BMS offer just as good of a service.

In my mind, JB4 is way more flexible for those who want to run it on a stock engine or have bolt-ons/race fuel later. You can flip between map, from mild to wild and create custom map as needed. Has anyone went from ESS to JB4 or JB4 to ESS?

[tonymac1]

Cold start delete would be ideal if you're going for DPs. How are the tires holding up after you installed the tune? Is there enough grip?
I really wanted a tune but it is sometimes too hard to put the power down with our 4,5 month long winter in this corn field lol.

[GOLFFRR]

Originally Posted by JNoSol

Yes, JB4 setting can eliminate CEL for DP. ESS is the more conservative tune, but lacks in features and costs more. If you want a conservative tune, you can always set your JB4 to Map1. I still don't understand the full value proposition of ESS and why it's $200 more expensive compared to JB4. Please educate me and the forum folks.

I just heard the ESS service is really good (which would justify the price difference), but I also heard Terry @ BMS offer just as good of a service.

In my mind, JB4 is way more flexible for those who want to run it on a stock engine or have bolt-ons/race fuel later. You can flip between map, from mild to wild and create custom map as needed. Has anyone went from ESS to JB4 or JB4 to ESS?

The good thing for us is there are many options for these cars. Everyone will like something different and thats ok. For me the 200$ more was worth it just bc I really enjoy ESS products and service. I am very happy with my purchase and would recommend it to anyone.

The map thing would be cool but honestly for me I don't see myself ever using that option. I don't change up my fuel or race my car anywhere so it prob would go unused for me. I want something that is just plug and go. but thats just me

Originally Posted by tonymac1

Cold start delete would be ideal if you're going for DPs. How are the tires holding up after you installed the tune? Is there enough grip?
I really wanted a tune but it is sometimes too hard to put the power down with our 4,5 month long winter in this corn field lol.

there def is a increase in tire slip but thats to be expected with more power. The big advantage of this tune for me was the extra power I feel on the higher RPM band. Im sure its not much but that little bit I can def feel when driving on the HWY and passing or speeding up. I use to feel a drop off at higher RPMs in the higher gears but with this tune it not as pronounced anymore. Also the car seems to run a touch smoother hard to really point it out and it could be in my head but it does feel that way.

[Daft]

Thanks for the review. I currently have an E92 M3 with the ESS VT2-650 kit. I'm debating whether I should trade up my car to the M4 and do this or another tune. Since you came from an ESS s/c M3, what are your thoughts on this? Do you miss the extra top end power of your ESS s/c M3? Does the extra torque of your new M3/M4 make up for the power deficit? A little off topic, but would appreciate your thoughts on this.

[tonymac1]

Originally Posted by GOLFFRR

The good thing for us is there are many options for these cars. Everyone will like something different and thats ok. For me the 200$ more was worth it just bc I really enjoy ESS products and service. I am very happy with my purchase and would recommend it to anyone.

The map thing would be cool but honestly for me I don't see myself ever using that option. I don't change up my fuel or race my car anywhere so it prob would go unused for me. I want something that is just plug and go. but thats just me



there def is a increase in tire slip but thats to be expected with more power. The big advantage of this tune for me was the extra power I feel on the higher RPM band. Im sure its not much but that little bit I can def feel when driving on the HWY and passing or speeding up. I use to feel a drop off at higher RPMs in the higher gears but with this tune it not as pronounced anymore. Also the car seems to run a touch smoother hard to really point it out and it could be in my head but it does feel that way.

That's great to hear! I'm wondering when someone will come up with a true ECU tune like the ones on e92 that's more configurable and with more features. But seems like the ECU on this car is hard to crack.

[GOLFFRR]

Originally Posted by Daft

Thanks for the review. I currently have an E92 M3 with the ESS VT2-650 kit. I'm debating whether I should trade up my car to the M4 and do this or another tune. Since you came from an ESS s/c M3, what are your thoughts on this? Do you miss the extra top end power of your ESS s/c M3? Does the extra torque of your new M3/M4 make up for the power deficit? A little off topic, but would appreciate your thoughts on this.

Its a tough choice that you are in as you know I was in same situation. Comparing the two is hard. The ESS SC M3 is amazing, pretty hard to beat that car it clicks all the boxes IMO. From a performance/feel prospective only:

Its tough to describe but the M4 feels faster DD due to the torque obv but it def lacks when your in the higher RPMs. I notice a huge difference even with the tune when I am on the hwy and accelerate or go to pass. The SC M3 has no hesitation and it just takes off like a rocket and never stops pulling. Also with the NA motor there is no delay where with the M4 although super minimal there is a delay on the power delivery which takes a little to get use to due to turbos.

Its a tough pick for you to be honest. If you go with the new M4 however you wont be disappointed the car is a lot more fun to DD and the overall interior and exterior are leaps and bounds nicer then e9xM but no it wont hang with the SC M3 in the sound department or the drag strip unless you mod/tune it pretty heavy and even then I am not sure how it would fair with a 650 kit since I have not seen that match up yet?

its nice bc your in a good position to be blessed enough to go either way! GL with your choice! Def go drive a M4 if you can that way you can see exactly for yourself

[GOLFFRR]

Originally Posted by tonymac1

That's great to hear! I'm wondering when someone will come up with a true ECU tune like the ones on e92 that's more configurable and with more features. But seems like the ECU on this car is hard to crack.

Im sure given the market there are a lot of people working hard on it. Im sure it will be soon, fingers crossed!

[dmk08]

Originally Posted by GOLFFRR

thanks buddy, hope you are having a great time with your new ride!



I went with the regular tune, that was the one ESS recommended to me. I do not have DP's yet I am however considering them. Just a little worried about the cold start sound the DPs make. I heard it in person and it was a lot LOUDER. So a little hesitant at this time. But with DP you would make a lot more power

Only 300 miles so far break in is taking FOREVER! This review has swayed me towards ESS but I want to do downpipes too. I'm guessing you could just pair it w/ the AKRA delete modules.