xHP Stage 1 vs 2 vs 3
Discussion
Sorry if this topic has been done to death but looking for opinions.
I have just picked up a 2017 330e (Dec 17) with ZF8 gearbox. I don’t know if it has the sport automatic gearbox or just the normal one;
The typical identifiers: it doesnt have the leather shift boot (just a piece of plastic) and it has leatherette on the back of the shifter,
But it does have paddle shift.
Anyway
I’m looking to improve the experience of the drive. I do find that sometimes the shifts and kick-down seem quite slow to respond, this also affects the experience of the hybrid drive as the rev hang does make the drive not feel as seamless as it should be. I think xHP and a remap will fix this and make the car feel more “dynamic” but I don’t feel the car is lacking for power (yet) so I think just xHP to start with.
I can’t decide on what stage to go for.
I am not looking for harsh racing car style shifts - but I don’t want slow and dimwitted. The shifts need to be smooth
S mode is rarely used (about 5-10% of the time) but when I do use it I want shifts to be quick - but still not harsh.
I like driving in manual mode and using the paddles but they need to be quicker to respond.
When im driving in D mode most of the time I want the car to feel smooth and “wafty”
Should I skip stage 2 and go straight to stage 3?
How does stage 1 fare?
I have just picked up a 2017 330e (Dec 17) with ZF8 gearbox. I don’t know if it has the sport automatic gearbox or just the normal one;
The typical identifiers: it doesnt have the leather shift boot (just a piece of plastic) and it has leatherette on the back of the shifter,
But it does have paddle shift.
Anyway
I’m looking to improve the experience of the drive. I do find that sometimes the shifts and kick-down seem quite slow to respond, this also affects the experience of the hybrid drive as the rev hang does make the drive not feel as seamless as it should be. I think xHP and a remap will fix this and make the car feel more “dynamic” but I don’t feel the car is lacking for power (yet) so I think just xHP to start with.
I can’t decide on what stage to go for.
I am not looking for harsh racing car style shifts - but I don’t want slow and dimwitted. The shifts need to be smooth
S mode is rarely used (about 5-10% of the time) but when I do use it I want shifts to be quick - but still not harsh.
I like driving in manual mode and using the paddles but they need to be quicker to respond.
When im driving in D mode most of the time I want the car to feel smooth and “wafty”
Should I skip stage 2 and go straight to stage 3?
How does stage 1 fare?
Edited by VS02 on Friday 26th August 15:14
I’ve got xhp on my 2017 340i wagon - had a similar dilemma to you.
In the end I went straight to stage 3 and have no regrets.
Normally driving the shifts are incredibly smooth, almost unnoticeable. In sport+ at high rpm using paddles it shifts very quickly with a bit of a snap, but that’s what I want - 2 cars in 1.
My wife, who drives in a very conservative way (comfort only) loves it over stock and has never complained about the shifts feeling aggressive. It’s all eliminated the small lag when pulling away from standstill.
For anyone with the ZF box, xhp is a must have.
In the end I went straight to stage 3 and have no regrets.
Normally driving the shifts are incredibly smooth, almost unnoticeable. In sport+ at high rpm using paddles it shifts very quickly with a bit of a snap, but that’s what I want - 2 cars in 1.
My wife, who drives in a very conservative way (comfort only) loves it over stock and has never complained about the shifts feeling aggressive. It’s all eliminated the small lag when pulling away from standstill.
For anyone with the ZF box, xhp is a must have.
I just did xHP Stage 1 on my X3 M40i to remove the torque limiters, Change speed etc says the same. It was combined with a map from DMS so the gearbox won’t interfere with the map at all.
I love it. I didn’t want faster shift’s, just the stage 1 remap to be left alone by the gearbox control unit.
It works well for me.
I love it. I didn’t want faster shift’s, just the stage 1 remap to be left alone by the gearbox control unit.
It works well for me.
Would love to hear your thoughts once done. I've seen lots of mentions of xhp, but feel the stock zf8 shifts are spot on tbh.
It seems all 330e's have paddles, as a result I'm not sure many people specced them with SAT. Would be good to know if xhp removed the lag from the paddles. I've never enjoyed cars with paddle shift as they always seem to lag. The SAT gear shifter can just drop in without coding too.
What's the servicing requirement for the zf8?
It seems all 330e's have paddles, as a result I'm not sure many people specced them with SAT. Would be good to know if xhp removed the lag from the paddles. I've never enjoyed cars with paddle shift as they always seem to lag. The SAT gear shifter can just drop in without coding too.
What's the servicing requirement for the zf8?
Ice_blue_tvr said:
Would love to hear your thoughts once done. I've seen lots of mentions of xhp, but feel the stock zf8 shifts are spot on tbh.
It seems all 330e's have paddles, as a result I'm not sure many people specced them with SAT. Would be good to know if xhp removed the lag from the paddles. I've never enjoyed cars with paddle shift as they always seem to lag. The SAT gear shifter can just drop in without coding too.
What's the servicing requirement for the zf8?
Its certainly less laggy with xhp especially in the sportier modes (If fitted) It seems all 330e's have paddles, as a result I'm not sure many people specced them with SAT. Would be good to know if xhp removed the lag from the paddles. I've never enjoyed cars with paddle shift as they always seem to lag. The SAT gear shifter can just drop in without coding too.
What's the servicing requirement for the zf8?
Lots of discussion about ZF servicing but 60,000 miles or 5 years is pretty widely agreed on
I have xHP on both a ZF6 and ZF8 car, both are on stage 2. Shifts are quicker, which makes them smoother. More noticeable on the 6 over the 8, but imho a good choice on both. Even the missus notices the difference. 1 is abit meh, and 3 would be okay if I was younger.
ZF recommend a oil/filter change every 60-80k. Unlike BMW, VAG is 40k with DSG, and completed by dealers. That's just been completed on the wifes company Golf.
The 6 is coming up for another, personally I'd buy the kit including the sump as they have a habit of warping/weeping.
ZF recommend a oil/filter change every 60-80k. Unlike BMW, VAG is 40k with DSG, and completed by dealers. That's just been completed on the wifes company Golf.
The 6 is coming up for another, personally I'd buy the kit including the sump as they have a habit of warping/weeping.
Ice_blue_tvr said:
Would love to hear your thoughts once done. I've seen lots of mentions of xhp, but feel the stock zf8 shifts are spot on tbh.
It seems all 330e's have paddles, as a result I'm not sure many people specced them with SAT. Would be good to know if xhp removed the lag from the paddles. I've never enjoyed cars with paddle shift as they always seem to lag. The SAT gear shifter can just drop in without coding too.
What's the servicing requirement for the zf8?
Mine is up for a service - 75k . Autodoc has some good deals on the servicing kit for the specific eDrive transmission which is hard to find elsewhere.It seems all 330e's have paddles, as a result I'm not sure many people specced them with SAT. Would be good to know if xhp removed the lag from the paddles. I've never enjoyed cars with paddle shift as they always seem to lag. The SAT gear shifter can just drop in without coding too.
What's the servicing requirement for the zf8?
I am not too fussed - yet - about the service but it will be done soon, in the next month or two.
Only because both me and the previous owner drove the car mostly in eDrive so the transmission was hardly engaged. Shifts are currently unnoticeable and smooth, slight bit of “slur” between 1st and 2nd, and 2nd and 3rd but i attribute that to the excessively lazy nature of the gearbox currently and the fact it does not have SAT.
None of the 330es have SAT so I feel this could be a huge upgrade. Unusually, mine has paddles, and Sport+. It seems all UK cars got these but continental Europe didn’t get paddles as standard.
I am going to start the flash soon
ETA: already fitted SAT shifter to mine
Edited by V 02 on Tuesday 14th March 14:15
I’ve done xHP, I went up going for a “Stage 2.5” where I flashed Stage 3, but then made it a lot more comfortable in D, and a little more comfortable in S and edited the WOT to suit my driving style (reduced the max RPM in each gear in S from 6500 to 6100 to take advantage of peak power while letting it rev out a bit)
That way you get the best of both stage 2 and stage 3. I still havent tried stage 2 so I might try that out in a few days.
My god, in S its like a whole different car. The shifts are lightning fast and rejuvenate the car completely…. i did reduce the ferocity of the shifts a bit though, so they are more comfortable and kinder to the gearbox while feeling great. There is no lag anymore and it feels great.
I haven’t pushed the car as xHP suggests to bed it in for 50 miles so only driven it gently.
In D, its definitely a lot improved. The lag from standstill is gone, the shifts are even more smooth and the car seems more sure of what gear to be in. However, I think my map was too lazy so I have edited it to shift a bit faster, will keep tweaking as it goes along.
The “start in 2nd gear” feature doesn’t really work on the 330e. It seemed too laboured and “slippy” so I put it back to start in 1st, which is better actually, as it has eliminated the problem of the car holding 1st too long, and taking ages/jerking from 1st to 2nd. A much more pleasant experience.
The downshifts are fun. More noticeable and fun, but not intrusive at all.
Overall this has really improved the car. I am very happy to have done this. I’m sure the ZF service will improve it even further. It has made the car a lot more dynamic which suits the power the car has. However I reckon it was too expensive, a price point of £250 would have been better - £350 is expensive…
That way you get the best of both stage 2 and stage 3. I still havent tried stage 2 so I might try that out in a few days.
My god, in S its like a whole different car. The shifts are lightning fast and rejuvenate the car completely…. i did reduce the ferocity of the shifts a bit though, so they are more comfortable and kinder to the gearbox while feeling great. There is no lag anymore and it feels great.
I haven’t pushed the car as xHP suggests to bed it in for 50 miles so only driven it gently.
In D, its definitely a lot improved. The lag from standstill is gone, the shifts are even more smooth and the car seems more sure of what gear to be in. However, I think my map was too lazy so I have edited it to shift a bit faster, will keep tweaking as it goes along.
The “start in 2nd gear” feature doesn’t really work on the 330e. It seemed too laboured and “slippy” so I put it back to start in 1st, which is better actually, as it has eliminated the problem of the car holding 1st too long, and taking ages/jerking from 1st to 2nd. A much more pleasant experience.
The downshifts are fun. More noticeable and fun, but not intrusive at all.
Overall this has really improved the car. I am very happy to have done this. I’m sure the ZF service will improve it even further. It has made the car a lot more dynamic which suits the power the car has. However I reckon it was too expensive, a price point of £250 would have been better - £350 is expensive…
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