HTE tune review

[332]

Jordan is the king of bmw tuning, imho. RKTunes, he's the guy.

[karter16]

Bry5on ^

[dhoke1]

Thanks guys. Yeah, this is a bit of a passion project for me, and is also for my daily that I’m extremely picky with, at least from an engineering perspective. I’d love to start an aftermarket auto business some day (probably not with e46s, but you never know), but I’m not there yet as yes, I do have a day job that keeps me quite busy.

The mullet tune is designed for CSL airbox cars with stock cams. There are two tunes: one for US headers and one for euro/aftermarket headers. The tunes are built around driveability, engine safety and enjoyment, not for peak power. It should feel like a stock airbox M3 at low revs, and a CSL at high revs (hence Mullet). I expect it’d be 5ish horsepower down from a custom dyno tune, so there’s still a place for that if you value peak power over all else, which is totally cool too. The maps are different enough that you can’t just slap the dyno tune tweaks from another tuner onto a mullet file. The tuning in the mullet is far more thorough across the DMEs various maps.

The euro mullet is now on v26 with some improved cold starting and a little better throttle response and fueling tweaks for some very specific low rpm spots. As I daily this thing 15-20k miles per year I get a lot of refinement seat time in it. I’m always happy to update folks to the latest files.

Lastly, skepticism is absolutely the right approach with things like this. I try to post enough about what I’m doing to explain it such that folks can make their conclusions.

@Bry5on

Hi Bryson,

Was wondering if you’re still sending tunes for the CSL Airbox conversion. I just registered and can't use private messaging yet!

I’ve got an '01 with a new MSS54HP DME, and I've just flashed Terra's clone binary to it.

My car has stock cams and an OE replacement euro cat. I typically use ROZ 98 fuel here in Germany.
Let me know if you need any more info. I haven’t been able to drive the car yet after the Airbox install since I'm still waiting on the new cats to arrive. Thanks in advance!!
Best regards,

[freshprince2421]

Anybody need an HTE dyno tune? I prepaid for one but staying stock as I might sell the car soon.

[EthanolTurbo]

I'm ordering the HTE tune for my E46. Do yall recommend I purchase an up to date laptop to store the stock file, and to run the software/remote in process? I dug up an old laptop I have that says Windows 10 but its pretty old. Could I move the stock file off the computer onto a hard drive stick in case the laptop fails in a few years?

Email stock tune to your personal email address.

[Circa Surviven]

I'm ordering the HTE tune for my E46. Do yall recommend I purchase an up to date laptop to store the stock file, and to run the software/remote in process? I dug up an old laptop I have that says Windows 10 but its pretty old. Could I move the stock file off the computer onto a hard drive stick in case the laptop fails in a few years?

[JPoole]

Thanks guys. Yeah, this is a bit of a passion project for me, and is also for my daily that I’m extremely picky with, at least from an engineering perspective. I’d love to start an aftermarket auto business some day (probably not with e46s, but you never know), but I’m not there yet as yes, I do have a day job that keeps me quite busy.

The mullet tune is designed for CSL airbox cars with stock cams. There are two tunes: one for US headers and one for euro/aftermarket headers. The tunes are built around driveability, engine safety and enjoyment, not for peak power. It should feel like a stock airbox M3 at low revs, and a CSL at high revs (hence Mullet). I expect it’d be 5ish horsepower down from a custom dyno tune, so there’s still a place for that if you value peak power over all else, which is totally cool too. The maps are different enough that you can’t just slap the dyno tune tweaks from another tuner onto a mullet file. The tuning in the mullet is far more thorough across the DMEs various maps.

The euro mullet is now on v26 with some improved cold starting and a little better throttle response and fueling tweaks for some very specific low rpm spots. As I daily this thing 15-20k miles per year I get a lot of refinement seat time in it. I’m always happy to update folks to the latest files.

Lastly, skepticism is absolutely the right approach with things like this. I try to post enough about what I’m doing to explain it such that folks can make their conclusions.

Are you still selling this tune? Unfortunately, since I just joined I can't send a PM yet.

[Abrajam]

Bry5on I can view the message but can’t respond

[Abrajam]

Not gonna lie, that mullet tune from Bry5on sounds like the type of tune that suits my driving needs as opposed to the hte tune. Going to be getting the turner csl airbox soon so I’ll be hitting him up for the tune. Unfortunately i’m a new member so I can’t even contact him. Anybody know what i need to do to be able to send a pm?

[BMWfanz]

It's quiet a hard work to tune MSS54 without correct logger. It is not tunable online, you have to stop the car, reflash, and go again againd and again, so Hassan's work has reasonable price and he is always following his clients. Maybe he has not a lot of free time and you need 3-4 times to contact him but it is the best tuner of OEM ECUs for s54.

[digger]

We are now in 2025 and there seems to be some credible PNP aftermarket ECU around these days, there is something in having the tuner be able to drive the car and make live changes on the dyno or while driving on the street with suitable placed WB sensor(s) to capture aspects that cant be accessed on the dyno and to work on general refinement. the WOT stuff is the easiest, some of the driveability stuff is done by feel not by AFR or timing numbers. There is a bigger initial outlay and investment but it is worth it.

[jpiazzam3]

Are you sure it’s the tune. It sounds more like you may have a vacuum leak

[cornerbalanced]

The reality is that for the vast number of S54 owners a canned tune is perfectly fine because most are not that critical of operation and just assume "that's how it is." But I would wager most people on THIS forum are a little more in tuned with wanting everything "perfect." The fact is that every engine is different, every combination has its own factors and a canned tune can't be "perfect" on every engine combination.

With that said most end users are not well educated on the process and in this case that is likely a breakdown in communication between all parties involved but I'll put the majority of the weight on it to your shop that was happy to take your money without making sure you were well informed and then washed their hands of the issues.

I used to sell/middle man tunes to clients without much thought and I lost a lot of time sorting out details on drivability (not just with HTE, but other tuners too). But as more and more people chase perfection I now suggest a couple options. Loading a tune or at least connecting a laptop and having someone like HTE load it for you (remotely) is so simple now that anyone can do it with a little handholding which Hassan has been more than happy to do for my clients. So I tell clients buy the tune, have him remote in and you drive it and report back. You then can relay your OWN findings straight to him and he can adjust as necessary. Once you are happy with how it drives on the street then go to the dyno if you are so inclined and have him tweak from there. I offer to do this for clients too, but when you consider how much times is spent loading the file or just physically driving the car most clients don't want to pay me for something they can do themselves. BUT some do and that's fine as well.

I've had many tunes from HTE on my personal car and clients and he 100% goes out of his way to make it as best as he can. Do I think he's the greatest tuner? IDK, as I don't have a benchmark for everyone, but saying that the hype is not warrantied is a gross understatement in my mind. Do I think he provides one of the best values in service and communication? Absolutely.

YMMV but communication and openness are likely going to get the best results whether its with HTE or someone else. I would suggest you contact him and deal straight with the source and cut out your shop.

My standards are way too high, I had to take a step back and reevaluate. My day job is working for a company that restores $1+++million dollar vehicles and that zero tolerance for flaws/imperfections has really bled into how I personally interact with my own cars. Unfortunately.

I revised my initial post, it was too harsh on Hassan. Ultimately he’s a great guy, great tuner, and has some flaws like anyone else out there on the market.

[cornerbalanced]

Adding a CSL intake to a stock car with stock US headers is so backwards I'm not surprised it's not working out (that's probably not the issue but it's a new one).

Not calling you an idiot but you're going against what's been tried and true to work and getting different results than you expected so that technically makes you not insane.

You're tuning issues need to be rectified directly with Hassan, I've had my car and plenty of other friends with his tunes and as long as you remain the main POC in the ordeal, you shouldn't have any issues unless there are issues with the car.

Or you're doing something strange.

Like keeping US headers lol.

If it's for smog reasons, just register in a smog exempt city no?

If you're just chasing the noise, make your life more simple and get an Eventuri intake and not deal with any hassle at all. Unless you like the look of a CSL intake, in which case send it.

Primarily just sound, smog kind of but less important - and I honestly don’t want the power haha. I drive 24/7 around the tightest Malibu canyons - honestly even 300 wheel feels like a bit too much lol. Esp. with 4.10s. I enjoy having the car live between 6-8k RPMs and really having to work for power.

[cornerbalanced]

Have you done a compression check or a leak down check? you may have a blown head gasket

Recent compression test showed 194-195psi across all 6 cylinders, and near perfect leak down (forget the exact PSIs) - I would be concerned otherwise though. I have been seeing more and more head gasket failures on S54s as they’re getting older. Was extremely paranoid about that so had the comp/lead down test done as a precaution.