steve.breen@Dinan
06-20-2008, 10:06 PM
There seems to be a lot of misunderstanding about software, so I thought I would take the time to explain how it works. There are approximately 40 to 70 control units in a new BMW depending on the model. All software has bugs, and so BMW and every company writing software have ongoing updates to improve the operation of the machine. When a software update is performed the first thing the programming device does is erase the software stored in the unit. This erases both program and data numbers (these are called BCU and PCU, respectively) for the BMW engine control unit. During the life of a BMW engine control unit there are between 100 and 200 updates, that’s one every week or two. These mostly deal with very small items that you cannot feel. The updates get bunched together and when your car goes in for service, BMW’s programming tool queries each module to check on what version of software is in its memory and then performs an update if needed.
As we've said before, it does not matter if you have 29.2 or any other version in your engine control unit because the Dinan software download also starts by erasing the stock program, and hence there is no BMW data in the ECU afterwards to affect the operation of the car. No update from BMW will have any lasting effect on your car’s operation after Dinan programs it because the stock data is erased. Dinan periodically updates using both BMW updates and Dinan updates and combines them into a new program so after BMW updates your car and the Dinan software is put back in you get the latest version. There should never be a loss in power from either a BMW update or Dinan update. The types of changes are small and usually cannot be felt but will typically make the operation of the vehicle better; that is the point behind doing them.
I hope this helps.
As we've said before, it does not matter if you have 29.2 or any other version in your engine control unit because the Dinan software download also starts by erasing the stock program, and hence there is no BMW data in the ECU afterwards to affect the operation of the car. No update from BMW will have any lasting effect on your car’s operation after Dinan programs it because the stock data is erased. Dinan periodically updates using both BMW updates and Dinan updates and combines them into a new program so after BMW updates your car and the Dinan software is put back in you get the latest version. There should never be a loss in power from either a BMW update or Dinan update. The types of changes are small and usually cannot be felt but will typically make the operation of the vehicle better; that is the point behind doing them.
I hope this helps.