^In due time. There’s been A LOT of blood sweat and tears poured out over this install, a lot more then I ever dreamed. I’ll make a full post once I’m on the road, I don’t want to jinks anything. . .
I was wondering since the DP’s are just about done and it sounds like the tune is getting close to being finished also and from what I’ve read I’m guessing together they will perform the best. I was wondering if JHM would be able to make some kind of “kit” of whatever peices will go together best? tune, dp, spacers, etc? I was just thinking instead of people just buying what they can afford I was hoping JHM could maybe offer a one or two packages or stages so to speak?
Also please don’t shoot me for asking this but I was reading the FAQ page and noticed our cars are govorned at 130, this is odd to me because as far as I know BMW’s are at 155 and I don’t know about Mercedez but I’m sure there not at a measly 130. I was wondering if JHM plans to remove the govorner?
I’m sure they will do something like that when it comes around, stages and/or packages would definitely be a cool idea. gotta release the tune first though!
As for the governor. I’ve gotten mine up to a bit over 150 (stupid but I just had to know what it would top out at)… Not sure if they will remove it or not though.
UPDATE: 7/20/2011
Yikes! There a lot of posts here that I just haven’t been able to keep up with. I’m sorry for that, guys. Let me see if I can’t address everything that was asked so far:
3.0L flywheel: In many ways this B6-A4 3.0 seems to be a frankenstein of B5-S4 and B6-S4 parts in some places, the transmission is no exception. It does have the 01E transmission and its flywheel is similar to the B5-S4 but it is NOT a direct swap. There are some small but significant differences (step height, pressure plate dimensions, etc…) between the two platforms. As was mentioned, we’re cutting a brand new lightweight flywheel right now that will be specifically for the 3.0L A4. We’re also working up a few different clutch disc materials to give you guys similar clutch stages to the B6/B7 S4.
Launch Assist: As soon as we are able, we will definitely add LA to the 3.0L tunes. Like Maddog said, we want to write the tune and make sure the “basics” are running well before we go adding in extras. We’re working on it though. LA is traditionally available for manual transmission cars only but we may be able to work up something for the TIP guys too. Using our research on the ECU tune and the Transmission Control Unit (TCU) tune from other platforms we’ve worked with (B5-S4 TIP w/ big turbos, A6 4.2 TIP, B6/7-S4 TIP Supercharged), we may be able to create a Stall feature for the 3.0L Auto cars. This will allow you to lock the brakes up, floor the gas and load the revs up, release the brake, and launch like a drag strip pro (well maybe not that well, but our results on some of our Auto S/C tunes have been quite promising).
Staging/Package Deals: We may start to designate stages for these vehicles as the gains for different combinations of hardware and software become more definite, but right now you’re looking at a simple list of software and hardware options on the power side:
- JHM 3 Liter Tune (and JHM TCU tuning for Auto/TIP)
- JHM Piggie Pipe Modification: Removing your stock cats
- JHM Intake Manifold Spacers
- JHM Downpipes: Increased diameter, straight pipes with a HFC option
- JHM Cat Back or B6-S4 catback adapter setup: increased diameter
Let me know if I’ve forgotten anyone’s questions and I’ll do my best to get back to you. Your best bet to get an immediate answer would be to send me an email at sales@jhmotorsports.com or call me at (209) 968-0077.
Okay, now for the goodies. I know we’ve been dark here for a little while but I wanted to tell you about (and show you) some of our latest progress with motorsports916’s 3.0. While we’ve been plucking away at the ECU tune hard up until this point, we’ve taken the past week or so to make some progress on a TCU tune. That’s right, we didn’t forget about all of you automatic/tip trans guys.
We’ve thought for a little bit now that the automatic transmission on these cars was going to be a bit of a hurdle for those so equipped on their 3.0. We were not wrong in our prediction; the auto-trans is definitely preventing all of the power from the motor being sent to the wheelsmotorsports916’s 3.0. That doesn’t mean that we’re going to quit on it. In the past, we’ve tuned cars with TIP Transmissions (A6 4.2) and have made a lot of progress with them through a lot of hard work. In addition to the shifting gains, we’ve even seen acceleration gains with a TCU. We don’t know everything that we’ll be able to get out of this car but we do know that at the very least our TCU tune will get you faster, crisper, harder shifts that will make your auto 3 liter much more aggressive and sportier to drive.
As I mentioned before, we’ve already got the first version on the car in our shop. As soon as I put this TCU file in, I knew Kurt had found something after his intense digging and experimenting with shift strategies. It’s just my opinion, but a TCU tune has the ability to transform this car. Even testing it on a STOCK ECUT tune, the difference is noticeable.
As we continue to make finite adjustments to the TCU tune, we’ll be working on scaling back some of the shifting characteristics to give the tune a balanced feel while you’re cruising around in drive. Right now, it shifts the same in Drive, Sport, and TIP. Kurt is probably digging away as you read this trying to find all of the shift strategies to adjust and fine tune… so we’ll there soon.
As I said before, we’ve tuned TIP cars before including those with tons of power: high-powered 4.2 A6s, big turbo TIP 2.7ts, and Supercharged TIP B6-S4s. Based on the performance of the tune on those vehicles, we know that the TCU tune on this car will extend the life of the Auto trans on the 3 liter. This is because the quicker shifts prevent wear on the automatic transmission, especially once you start adding power. While long, sliding shifts may be comfortable, they cause increase wear on your clutch packs. That’s right, your auto transmission has a clutch (sort of). Just like the clutch on a manual transmission car, and auto transmission has clutch material that slips in between shifts to change from gear to gear. The longer a shift takes and the more it slides, the more the material wears, heats up, and ends up in your transmission fluid. Faster shifts mean less slippage. Less slippage means less wear. Less wear means longer transmission life.
Sorry for the gap between the update. I’ll do my best to stay on here more and get back to your questions quicker. Thanks for the support and dedication! We’ll talk to you guys soon!
Oh yea, TCU chip shifting videos in the next post! ;D
Thanks for the update Keaton, great to see it come along so well.
This was actually going to be one of my questions, great to hear that it increases life, but what sort of pressure does it put on the driveline ie drive shafts , axles and drive shaft seals.
I understand that the TCU tune will decrease upshift times, but what about downshifts will this be decreased as well.
The JHM catback you speak of, this wouldn’t happen to fast intentions would it and have you worked out what the optimal dimension is for the piping; is it 2.5 inch.
Goood stuff! TCU tune is going to be unreal, it will be like getting chipped twice!
Very interested to see what the intake spacers do, something that hasn’t really been tried on our car.
Who has AR as their homepage? raises hand 
Not home page but I refresh it on my iPhone like 3 or 6 times a day…addicted is to be understated lol
make that 3.
The great thing about the TCU tune is the performance and life extending part of the TCU tune. I remember reading back in the day with the S4 Auto cars when they would get close to the end of the transmission life you can extend it by just getting a JHM TCU tune. Great stuff.
I don’t see any reason to see more stress on the driveline. The gear engagements are in the transmission your just getting quicker transfer of power. While we have to see just how aggressive the shifts are I don’t see them shocking the shafts more so then quicker gear engagement. Quicker gear engagement is going to mean much faster acceleration. Im excited about that.
^^
True, but flooring it all the time to do power launches will eventually take their toll on you CV axles
And I’m about ready to see this progress on the DP’s
come on, spill the beans Count & shawn hornet
Soon. testing right now. Loos to be going well.
So what would it take to get some performance axels available for our car???
“performance” axles aren’t really necessary. Just replacing old worn out ones is best. I believe when JHM broke theirs at the track it was on their 130k+ mile car. I also had a CV axle catastrophically go out on my S4 just under 130k miles.
Like many others, I recommend Marty@Raxles. Yes the cost is more than double getting a cheap chinese alternative (i.e. $199/each @ raxles) but you’re paying for piece of mind knowing you’ve got brand new OEM cv joints on your car
wow, i feel like a complete idiot buying a used one from shokan where all they do is replace boots I think. I paid like 200 something for a OEM one. Ususally I’m on top of getting things for the best price possible but this time I flopped completely.
Driving back from JHM now. Two quick words… Holy shit… It’s a new car. I’m in love.
Nice dude!
Great meeting u rod!
Congrats on getting your car back…enjoy
AWESOME!!!
It was great to meet you as well. I’m sure i’ll see you again soon. Glad your liking the cars new feel, those first couple shifts are awesome. Lots of get up and go and and the shifts are quick!
Have fun with it and be safe.
MORE more… let us know how it all comes together after you have driven it for a while. I think your the only other one to have the TIP chip. Its crazy better then you would think huh.
I would love to hear more when you have a chance