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      01-16-2020, 03:57 PM   #1
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Question EKP Module (EKPM) Crashing / Overheating and Upgrade for Walbro 450 LPFP

So something I just came to learn is not really being discussed here on the M2 forums, but can be found elsewhere, and I wanted to make a thread about it.

I am having my fuel system upgraded today to support my Pure Stage 2 setup. I went with the XDI-35, Flex Fuel Kit, and Walbro 450 Stage 2 LPFP. While I read that the OEM LPFP was sufficient to support my power goals and sub E50 blends, It was recommended by a friend running full E85 in his M2 that I get the LPFP to support the corrosive nature of any corn fuel blend. So I bought a used pump from a forum member last week confident this was the safest move for my car.

I had to call Tuning Tech FS to acquire a part that was missing for my hpfp, and got to talk to the owner Frank about my setup and expectations. He promptly informed me that the Walbro 450 draws more amperage from the stock harness at certain flow rates than the oem harness can handle. The oem design limits the factory fuel pump draw and thus is unable to drive high capacity aftermarket fuel pumps without overheating. This can cause the LPFP to crash which can take out both the LPFP and HPFP potentially and cause misfires.

<9amps max is what I'm told the oem harness can handle, and the Stage 2 450 harness can require upwards of 14amps with full E85 in the tank. This is problematic obviously as it will fry the oem EKP Module along with the LPFP as I already stated.

So I have two options:
1) Do not exceed blends of E40-50 (working with Cary Jordan on my custom mapping this week, who is well aware of the issue)

OR

2) Purchase a upgraded or "virgin" EKPM for the lpfp and have the ability to run E85

So based on other tuners experience and feedback from Frank, the power increase from say E50 vs. E85 is pretty insignificant, maybe 5% (I'm told) and not really worth it in my opinion. So I will be sticking with lower blends with my current setup. I have a bluetooth analyzer so I can monitor the ratio in my tank.

My question for the community and for people looking to run full E85, is which EKPM does one purchase for the F87 M2? I cannot find anything specific to this platform online. I found this plug and play solution and was curious if there are any other more affordable solutions in the market currently? Im already $3k into fueling mods that no-one will ever know is there, so Im not looking to sink more money into the setup given my modest goals. But the reliability would be nice so I'm not ruling it out completely. Thanks everyone

https://www.eospeed.com/products/bpm...ump-controller
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      01-21-2020, 11:32 AM   #2
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Fuel pump upgrades are all the talk right now on the forum, and NO ONE has any input?!

Well I just got my car back with fueling upgrades and the car is running significantly stronger than it was on the OTS Pure Stg 2 map. Looking forward to getting a few revisions on the 91octane mapping before throwing corn at it. If anyone has any suggestions on EKP upgrades and how to appropriately code them for this platform, chime in.
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      01-21-2020, 12:26 PM   #3
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After I read this thread I reached out to Spool for feedback as we're looking at not only the HPFP but the LPFP as well (both stage 2). I haven't heard anything back from them yet. We know there are a few XDI's in the wild with higher flowing LPFP's. It's odd no one has reported any issues regarding the EKPS module.

Quote:
Originally Posted by 5thGearPinned View Post
Fuel pump upgrades are all the talk right now on the forum, and NO ONE has any input?!

Well I just got my car back with fueling upgrades and the car is running significantly stronger than it was on the OTS Pure Stg 2 map. Looking forward to getting a few revisions on the 91octane mapping before throwing corn at it. If anyone has any suggestions on EKP upgrades and how to appropriately code them for this platform, chime in.
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      01-22-2020, 12:18 PM   #4
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This issue is common on the E90s where they've upgraded the LPFP. I see no reason to upgrade the LPFP, it seems to cause more problems than its worth and guys are running 600whp on stock. Is there actually any benefit running straight E85 when E50 seems to do the trick?
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      01-22-2020, 12:26 PM   #5
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Pray for Mojo View Post
This issue is common on the E90s where they've upgraded the LPFP. I see no reason to upgrade the LPFP, it seems to cause more problems than its worth and guys are running 600whp on stock. Is there actually any benefit running straight E85 when E50 seems to do the trick?
For me, I’ll only tune for E45-50. But, I might run a tank of full of E85 at the track just to see if it helps with engine temps on hot days.
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      01-23-2020, 01:38 PM   #6
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Pray for Mojo View Post
This issue is common on the E90s where they've upgraded the LPFP. I see no reason to upgrade the LPFP, it seems to cause more problems than its worth and guys are running 600whp on stock. Is there actually any benefit running straight E85 when E50 seems to do the trick?
Hey guys, thank you both for chiming in. You are correct about not requiring the Stage 2 LPFP. Frank at Tuning Tech said they see M2s making 550+whp with the Xdi-35 with the OEM lpfp no problem. I purchased mine for its anti-corrosion compatibility with ethanol on recommendation from a friend, but if I were to do it again I would not have purchased it.

Would love to hear what SPOOL has to say about the issue.

As for fuel mixes, Tuning Tech also told me that between E50 to full E85, the power increase is modest and not really worth the added risk of gumming up your engine from running straight E85.

I am running both stage 2 high and low pressure pumps as of this week and will give feedback on my tuning and experience as I get more time to drive (been raining since I got the car back ). Cary Jordan is tuning my car and is very familiar with the EKPM problem on these pumps. He said it is typically NOT an issue at E40-50 but every car behaves different. We are going to start on a 40-50% blend and datalog from there to pull or add power.

The plug and play module I listed above seems to be one of the better options available to address this issue but is costly. The gentleman I bought my Stg2 lpfp from is now running a Stage 3 lpfp and XDI-60 making 660whp and 700+lb of torque without issues from the EKP module. So it seems that while the stage two lpfp isn't necessary for 500hp cars, it can be run safely with modest fuel blends in mind. I will say that the PS2 turbo pulls MUCH harder in the top end now on 91 octane where the car used to fall flat on its face. Excited to run the E40 map later next week.
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      01-24-2020, 06:08 AM   #7
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I run the xdi 35 pump and Lpfp stage 2, with e50. Not had any issues as yet. I did the lpfp as a preventative measure, but it was before I heard about the possible issues with the controller possibly overheating.

I probably wouldn't have done it, but so far so good, been using both for almost 2 years.
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      01-24-2020, 09:18 AM   #8
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Raymondo1234 View Post
I run the xdi 35 pump and Lpfp stage 2, with e50. Not had any issues as yet. I did the lpfp as a preventative measure, but it was before I heard about the possible issues with the controller possibly overheating.

I probably wouldn't have done it, but so far so good, been using both for almost 2 years.
You're probably in the clear then. It seems to be an issue for older N55s shortly after they've changed to Stage 2 LPFP.
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      01-24-2020, 03:33 PM   #9
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Raymondo1234 View Post
I run the xdi 35 pump and Lpfp stage 2, with e50. Not had any issues as yet. I did the lpfp as a preventative measure, but it was before I heard about the possible issues with the controller possibly overheating.

I probably wouldn't have done it, but so far so good, been using both for almost 2 years.
Appreciate the insight after prolonged usage. I don't plan on running more than E50 as well.
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      01-25-2020, 02:35 PM   #10
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Apparently we won't hear back from Spool (long story). Short version, once an order ($$$) was placed with them and they stopped all communication. The order never shipped and that's when we got concerned. It wasn't until we requested a full refund that we received an immediate response (and refund). Not sure what the deal was but we're considering ourselves lucky at this point and we're looking into other options (Dorch, XDI). Going to reach out to Fuel-it to have them put together a full kit (less the HPFP).

Are you running just bluetooth for the content analyzer? I see they have 3 options. Looks like the BT adapter can be removed and we can plug (hopefully one is released) a MHF FF module directly in (sig,gnd,pwr).

Quote:
Originally Posted by 5thGearPinned View Post
Would love to hear what SPOOL has to say about the issue.
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      01-27-2020, 02:01 PM   #11
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Quote:
Originally Posted by ///Monika View Post
Apparently we won't hear back from Spool (long story). Short version, once an order ($$$) was placed with them and they stopped all communication. The order never shipped and that's when we got concerned. It wasn't until we requested a full refund that we received an immediate response (and refund). Not sure what the deal was but we're considering ourselves lucky at this point and we're looking into other options (Dorch, XDI). Going to reach out to Fuel-it to have them put together a full kit (less the HPFP).

Are you running just bluetooth for the content analyzer? I see they have 3 options. Looks like the BT adapter can be removed and we can plug (hopefully one is released) a MHF FF module directly in (sig,gnd,pwr).
Correct, I am running the BT analyzer from my iPhone without issue. I was wondering if I made the wrong choice using the XDI but after seeing your customer service issue, I'm glad I went with Tuning Tech as their cs was excellent and the owner even took time out of his evening to call me and give me his personal cell number. Car pulls like a freight train to redline on the first custom map, awaiting my first revision and then will run some Ethanol
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      09-27-2020, 08:23 AM   #12
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Just started having the LPFP issue associated with overheating the EKPM. I’m running full E (appxE72) with Cary Jordan on spool fx150 and walbro450.

Of course the EOS upgraded module is out of stock and my car won’t start for more than 3 sec now.

Anyone have more insight or a resource to get a new module? I hear using a virgin stock one cures the issue also?

Thx
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      01-29-2021, 01:49 PM   #13
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Bumping this thread. Just got an upgraded LPFP installed in my car, what are the available options to handle the issue with the EKP? The EOS one seems overkill for what I need and super expensive. Are there any other options?
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      01-29-2021, 02:40 PM   #14
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Quote:
Originally Posted by detroitm2 View Post
Bumping this thread. Just got an upgraded LPFP installed in my car, what are the available options to handle the issue with the EKP? The EOS one seems overkill for what I need and super expensive. Are there any other options?
Are you running the Walbro 450 or 525?

I run the EOS EKP right now, but in my research in the past it I found some people that modified the stock EKP to add additional cooling to the unit:





This could be viable if you're running the Walbro 450. The 525 might be pushing it.
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      01-29-2021, 02:46 PM   #15
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Quote:
Originally Posted by -Eidos View Post
Are you running the Walbro 450 or 525?

I run the EOS EKP right now, but in my research in the past it I found some people that modified the stock EKP to add additional cooling to the unit:





This could be viable if you're running the Walbro 450. The 525 might be pushing it.
Unsure yet. Nostrum put it on while doing the flex-fuel tuning on my car. Should know later today if its the 450 or 525.
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      01-29-2021, 03:02 PM   #16
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Quote:
Originally Posted by -Eidos View Post
This could be viable if you're running the Walbro 450. The 525 might be pushing it.
Where is the EKP on the M2? Behind the passenger side rear seat corner?
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      01-29-2021, 03:18 PM   #17
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Quote:
Originally Posted by detroitm2 View Post
Where is the EKP on the M2? Behind the passenger side rear seat corner?
Yep!
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      01-29-2021, 06:57 PM   #18
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Quote:
Originally Posted by -Eidos View Post
Quote:
Originally Posted by detroitm2 View Post
Bumping this thread. Just got an upgraded LPFP installed in my car, what are the available options to handle the issue with the EKP? The EOS one seems overkill for what I need and super expensive. Are there any other options?
Are you running the Walbro 450 or 525?

I run the EOS EKP right now, but in my research in the past it I found some people that modified the stock EKP to add additional cooling to the unit:





This could be viable if you're running the Walbro 450. The 525 might be pushing it.
They put a Walbro 485 on there. Said they've been running the same one in their flex fuel 435i and haven't had problems, but admitted they didn't push the car like I would on the track.

Still probably going to get the EOS unit.
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