Well, I finally bought A turner motorsport chip for my 1990 E32 735i.
It was in the shop today having an oil service and a replacement distruibutor cap and rotor installed.

So I drove it home eager to install the chip and see how the 4000 pound bad boy would run :buttrock.

I got home, and installed the chip in about 45 minutes without a hitch. Car started the first time around and I reved it alittle. Much better throttle responce, I was amazed.

I took it out on the street and drove and then started pushing it. THe car had a lot more juice but was still shifting between 5500-6000 rpm, way before its stock redline, not to mention the 6800RPM redline that the chip gives it.

I decided to to put it in manual mode and this allowed me to shift manually at whatever RPM I please. Drove for about 5 miles shifting at 6500 or so and then I was like..... wait... this has a 6800 RPM redline!!!!

I turn around and head back home. From first to second I shift at 6500, and then from second to third I shited at 6800 and felt a BIG clunk. The car chimed and "TRANS PROGRAM+" came on the display and it seemed as if the car was in LIMP mode.

The car has two places for characters designating the mode and gear it is in.
The first one denotes E for economy, S for sport, and M for manual. This went totally blank and the car stayed in limp mode. I pulled off on a side street and could barely get the car up this hill (felt like it was starting in 3rd or 4th gear), turned the car off and back on. The second I hit the gas, TRANS PROGRAM came on again and the car was limping again.

So I turned the car off again. Got out, locked the door, opened it, and started it again. It was fine all the way hope.

I would like to know why this happened, after all, the turner motorsport chip safely raises the rev limiter to 6800RPM. THe only thing I can think of is that the transmission and ECU both have different rev limiters programmed into them and when the transmission shifted at past 6800RPM, its program clashed with the ECU program throwing this TRANS PROGRAM fault.

I would also like to know why the car shifts at 5700 or so when floored in Economy or Sport mode.

Any insight is greatly appreciated :)

bump, please help fellow fanatics!

Replace the Battery, believe it or not. There are many threads on this board covering this fault and also to guide you to the right battery. Let us know

The reason why I dont think it is the battery is because it only happens when I MANUALLY shift past 6500RPM. I have done reasearch on this and the battery is usually at fault when TRANS PROGRAM appears immediately after turning the car on.

Anyone know why my car shifts at 5700 under FULL accelleration (with a stock 6500 redline and a 6800 raised one)? In my 740i it shifts at 5900 or 6k everytime. (which I believe is the actuall redline)

I can't answer your question, but how many miles are on your E32...?

Maybe it's just me, but I can't see thrashing a 14 year-old car just to see if you can hit a higher redline.

Yes, the chip removes the lower redline restriction, but running your engine into the mid/upper 6Ks is asking for trouble, IMHO...

And, perhaps give Turner a call - they can probably think of some reason for your shifting woes...

I can't answer your question, but how many miles are on your E32...?

Maybe it's just me, but I can't see thrashing a 14 year-old car just to see if you can hit a higher redline.

Yes, the chip removes the lower redline restriction, but running your engine into the mid/upper 6Ks is asking for trouble, IMHO...

And, perhaps give Turner a call - they can probably think of some reason for your shifting woes...

I'm with Reed! I just can't see trying to hammer your engine and transmission by running it at almost 7000 RPM. Has it been built up? Have the clearances been checked? Have any of the internal parts been magnafluxed? The factory put on the RPM limiter for a reason. And that was for when the car was new and in good condition. It is now almost fifteen years old. Many miles to you have on it? At just 10K miles per year that's a hundred and fifty thousand miles. Do you think that the engine experienced any wear over these years and miles? I'll bet that it didn't get that way be being driven at 6800 RPM or anythign close to that.

BMW built their cars the way that they did for a reason. Sure, there are compromises. But do you really know better than all of the engineers that designed it? How is it that just by putting a chip in the car the rev limiter can be "safely” raised?

My first reaction about your trans program light was the you "blew something up". I was surprised to learn that everything went back to normal after a "reboot". If you are going to keep this up, I’d recommend that everyone else stand way back to avoid all of the shrapnel.

If you are going to keep this up, I’d recommend that everyone else stand way back to avoid all of the shrapnel.

Chuckle.

Time for a tranny blanket - preferably one made of kevlar...

Thanks for the replies that DID nothing to answer my question. I didn't ask for your opinions, I own three BMW's and know how to maintain them. If you can't answer the question presented to you, then DON;T POST.

Thanks for the replies that DID nothing to answer my question. I didn't ask for your opinions, I own three BMW's and know how to maintain them. If you can't answer the question presented to you, then DON;T POST.

Don't worry, I bet people will bend over backwards for you now...

Civility goes a long way on this board, don't know about others you may be on.

BTW, I did provide a suggestion - call Turner.

Thanks for the replies that DID nothing to answer my question. I didn't ask for your opinions, I own three BMW's and know how to maintain them. If you can't answer the question presented to you, then DON;T POST.


I hate to tell you this but I dont think they were really stating opinion as much as giving you some good advice. Doubtless you should call turner, but maxxing the redline just because you can will really decrease the life of your transmission unless as was stated some measures have been taken to fortify your ZF4HP24 transmission. I think you should relax, no need to shout (capitalize) when all anyone was trying to do was offer some good advice. :nono I imagine the trans error you saw on your MID was intentionally put there by BMW engineers as a safety measure to protect the mechanicals of the car from the abuse which persons like yourself do unintentionally. Also don't forget the VDO clusters have a margin of error with the actual speed and the displayed speed. Its logical to me that error may be shared by your RPM gauge as well and if you physically exceeded your set RPM limit though the gauge told you otherwise, you may be visiting the hurt locker when that repair bill comes. Just my .00000000002 cents. take it for what its worth. :)

Thanks for the replies that DID nothing to answer my question. I didn't ask for your opinions, I own three BMW's and know how to maintain them. If you can't answer the question presented to you, then DON;T POST.

C'mon mb10175, relax a bit. I don't have the direct answer to your question. If I did, I'd certainly give it to you. As for opinions, I think that everyone here is entitled to one and we generally share them freely. That's the way this forum works.

As for my opinions or advice or whatever you want to call it. I stand by what I said. Driving "for about 5 miles shifting at 6500 or so", especially on a fourteen or fifteen year old car is abuse.

I am glad that you own three BMWs and you are able to maintain them. I am still curious about what this maintenance consists of? As I asked earlier "Has it been built up? Have the clearances been checked? Have any of the internal parts been magnafluxed?"

I hope that you are good at rebuilding engines and transmissions. The fastest way to destroy an engine is to push it to try to provide more power than it was designed to without making sure that it is in good structural condition inside and correcting any shortcomings.

Point well taken. With regard to my starement "for about 5 miles shifting at 6500 or so", it was incorrectly phrased. What I meant was, that during the five mile drive, I shifted at that RPM 2 or 3 times to see if the 43HP gain that the chip claimed was evident.

Maitnence consists of oil and filter changes/ gas treatment (techron), coolant fluid changes, power steering fluid changes, brake fluid changes, new hoses and belts, etc etc (more frequently than required). The car is bone stock but has had alot replaced on it. I want the engine to last a long time and the transmission also, since it was changed only about 5k miles ago.

The car has 125k miles on it, pretty low mileage considering its age. It is my spare car.

Sorry for jumping on you guys, I am pretty stressed out right now and was venting in the wrong place. :nono

Apology accepted. Please do be careful about the high RPMs. Just because you can buy some software that can raise the limit doesn't meant that it is good for the engine or transmission in the long term. It is nice to that the power is there when you need it, but the candle that burns twice as bright lasts only half as long.

Point well taken. With regard to my starement "for about 5 miles shifting at 6500 or so", it was incorrectly phrased. What I meant was, that during the five mile drive, I shifted at that RPM 2 or 3 times to see if the 43HP gain that the chip claimed was evident.

The car has 125k miles on it, pretty low mileage considering its age. It is my spare car.

Sorry for jumping on you guys, I am pretty stressed out right now and was venting in the wrong place. :nono

No problem. Stick around and you will see that his is probably the most civil group on ANY digest, which is very refreshing.

Does Turner really claim 43HP? I thought that kind of bump was only possible with M cars...

It's a Conforti chip, right? Well, he does know what he's doing and is not prone to exaggeration, so I tend to believe the number...I forget, does your car have the M30 engine - the one that was also found in the E28 5-series (among others)?

If so, great engine - I had an E28 535i before my E38 and loved to hear that baby scream at WOT...below redline, of course! Dinan chip in that one, along with a huge K&N stuffed way up into the grill...

My first 7 Series was an '86 735i. I was amazed at how much smooth power there was for a relatively small six cylinder engine.

Does Turner really claim 43HP? I thought that kind of bump was only possible with M cars...

It's a Conforti chip, right? Well, he does know what he's doing and is not prone to exaggeration, so I tend to believe the number...

It is funny you say that - when I first moved to CT in '92... Wil Turner was the counter parts guy for Noble Auto Parts in Danbury, CT. He live for racing...every weekend he would drive his white e30 M3 somewhere to a race, drivers school or auto cross. When it became to hard to keep his daily driver race ready - he sold the M3 and bought a e36 318i. Oh, it was followed very shortly with his first race car - an e30 325 track only car. It was not too long after that the 318 received an M3 motor an tranny too....

Noble's went broke, closed and Wil moved back to Boston where his mother lived. The rest is history as they say..... he has done pretty well at both - racing and Turner Motor Sports. :redspot

My first 7 Series was an '86 735i. I was amazed at how much smooth power there was for a relatively small six cylinder engine.


My first was a 93 740i. Power was very good for the size of the car I thought at that time. When Marc came here from Germany we blew down the NJ Turnpike at triple digit numbers with ease and the car could really pull when dropping the hammer at 100+ mph. :eek: I miss her in alot of ways. :(

My first was a 93 740i. Power was very good for the size of the car I thought at that time. When Marc came here from Germany we blew down the NJ Turnpike at triple digit numbers with ease and the car could really pull when dropping the hammer at 100+ mph. :eek: I miss her in alot of ways. :(

My first BMW was an '83 320is and I still have it. It was so slow is was painful but it handled well and everyone liked the looks. Black on Black.

I will always remember a trip from NY to Dallas thru TN - a Firebird, Corvette and myself doing over 90 mph minimum for at least 30 minutes straight. I learned to appreciate BMW's that day - even at 96 hp, still had 4 cyl, it had no problem keeping up with them at speed. Loved it!

Mod Disease hit me and $50K later - it has two more cylinders, over twice the original hp and even handles better than stock. It now has almost 22K original miles - only 500 in the last 13 years. :eek:

It is funny you say that - when I first moved to CT in '92... Wil Turner was the counter parts guy for Noble Auto Parts in Danbury, CT. He live for racing...every weekend he would drive his white e30 M3 somewhere to a race, drivers school or auto cross. When it became to hard to keep his daily driver race ready - he sold the M3 and bought a e36 318i. Oh, it was followed very shortly with his first race car - an e30 325 track only car. It was not too long after that the 318 received an M3 motor an tranny too....

Noble's went broke, closed and Wil moved back to Boston where his mother lived. The rest is history as they say..... he has done pretty well at both - racing and Turner Motor Sports. :redspot

Good story. I remember Noble from the 1990s and wondered what happened to them, now I know.

Talking to Drew at turner motorsports now and hes like uhh ummm.. Stuttering. He doesnt know if anyone will be able to answer my question, sad.

Back to my original question, why does the car shift over 500 rpm away from the stock redline?

This may be overly simplistic, but a redline and a shift point are two different things. The optimum shift point is not necessarily the redline. Maximum horsepower and torque will both come in at a certain point that is likely to be below the maximum redline. Above this point the horsepower and torque will start to drop off.

The way that I see it, the idea is to shift before the power drops off too much and have the next gear pick up where the power curve is still building up to the maximum horsepower and torque. This process is repeated through each gear. Holding to the maximum RPM is likely to be LESS efficient than shifting at a more ideal shift point in the engine’s maximum horsepower and torque band.

This may be overly simplistic, but a redline and a shift point are two different things. The optimum shift point is not necessarily the redline. Maximum horsepower and torque will both come in at a certain point that is likely to be below the maximum redline. Above this point the horsepower and torque will start to drop off.

The way that I see it, the idea is to shift before the power drops off to much and have the next gear pick up where the power curve is still building up to the maximum horsepower and torque. This process is repeated through each gear. Holding to the maximum RPM is likely to be LESS efficient than shifting at a more ideal shift point in the engine’s maximum horsepower and torque band.

Great point, Dave.

So the chip may well be doing exactly what it should be doing - providing the best performance for your car...

This may be overly simplistic, but a redline and a shift point are two different things. The optimum shift point is not necessarily the redline. Maximum horsepower and torque will both come in at a certain point that is likely to be below the maximum redline. Above this point the horsepower and torque will start to drop off.

The way that I see it, the idea is to shift before the power drops off too much and have the next gear pick up where the power curve is still building up to the maximum horsepower and torque. This process is repeated through each gear. Holding to the maximum RPM is likely to be LESS efficient than shifting at a more ideal shift point in the engine’s maximum horsepower and torque band.

I understand this. Every other BMW I have owned has shifted at redline (3 other cars). I did some reasearch on this and have concluded that 5500 is the right place to shift. This is the first BMW that I have owned that does not make all of its power just shy at redline. Weird thing is that my 330 auto (sold) shifted at 6500 but made max power at 5900. Must be an OBD II vs OBD I thing.

Thanks!