From Junk to Rocket: How He Reprogrammed His BMW 335i Thanks to ChatGPT

For a few years now in the tuning world, digital tools have started to take a place that used to belong exclusively to mechanics and tuners. In this experiment, the protagonist set himself a peculiar challenge: to improve the performance of his BMW 335i using only ChatGPT and with a practically nonexistent budget.

The car in question is a BMW 335i E90 bought for just $1,500. Why so cheap? The car had a broken gearbox and a myriad of problems recorded in the ECU. Its former owner had made basic mechanical changes: intake improvement and downpipes without a catalyst, but kept the ECU with the original programming.

Once purchased, Wyatt Webster and his colleagues got to work. After four transmission changes due to leaks and breakdowns, his BMW could now drive without problems. The original plan was to improve performance at zero cost, the dream of anyone, but things were going to get out of hand.

ChatGPT Took 26 Minutes to Prepare the Reprogramming

Inspired by conversations in forums where some users claimed that an ECU reprogramming could be created with Artificial Intelligence, Wyatt decided to check it for himself. So he opened the manager and asked how he could improve his car's performance. To start ChatGPT itself suggested a classic trick to improve acceleration without spending money: weight reduction.

It sounded innocent, but he got to work. So he started removing the front and rear bumpers as well as the doors, hood, and trunk. As a result, about 196 kg less and a look more akin to a junkyard car. Now it was time for the important part: asking ChatGPT to create a personalized reprogramming file. After providing data about the year of manufacture and engine, fuel he would use, and modifications installed in the car, the Artificial Intelligence generated a Stage 1+ file in 26 minutes, with a bit more pressure in the turbo and moderate pops.

The car started on the first try and ran without problems. The first time dropped from 6.21 s to 5.87 s in the 0-100 km/h. The improvement was modest but not bad for an improvised weight loss plan. But Wyatt was not going to settle for that.

So he reinstalled the hood, trunk, and doors and asked ChatGPT for a more aggressive configuration. As a result, the YouTuber achieved a 335i with turbos that blew up to 17-19 psi of pressure, managing to lower the time to 5.17 s in the 0-100 km/h. More than a second compared to the initial time.

Can ChatGPT Replace a Tuner?

For me, the curious thing about the story is that the car worked after the ECU update, not that it improved its performance, which it did too. Honestly, and answering the question, to this day the figure of the professional tuner remains key. And what if the update creates a cascading failure in other components?

We will always recommend that you work with workshops experienced in this type of work. This experiment demonstrates that it is possible to achieve a real performance improvement using ChatGPT to generate an ECU reprogramming, at least in a specific experimental scenario and with the right tools to flash the ECU.

But of course, this is where the possibilities offered by Artificial Intelligence currently end. What remains to be seen is how it will evolve in the future; the seed has already been planted. Below we leave you the video, where the protagonist himself acknowledges that it is a test with some risk, especially due to the previous condition of the parts.

Fuente: Wyatt Webster