Got myself a JB4 piggyback from Burger Motorsports.. Burger Motorsports is a tuning company from the United States that is famous for their no nonsense JB4 tuner.. The first time i saw the product, I'm not impressed.. Box design so so only.. Very minimalist approach with nothing but a BIG JB4 in the front accompanied by MADE IN USA.. But the review for it is nothing short of ordinary.. A lot of good reviews and testimony from customers all over the world.. 

One of the reason I got the JB4 instead of an ECU remap is because of warranty issue.. If I do a remap, very high chances I will void the warranty as BMW technician can detect the ECU been remap before even when I revert back to stock factory setting..

Most people claim service center can't detect when using JB4.. But there are some who claim they can as well because a stock standard engine will not boost over the original value unless being program to do so.. But I choose to believe the former 😊.. Keeping my finger cross and hope everything will be fine..

Very normal looking box.. Doesn't show that it packs a punch.. I got the JB4 together with the Connect Kit so that I can control it on the fly.. What I need to do is buy the program (can be downloaded from Apple App Store and Google Play Store.. A lot of things can be customize ranging from what MAP to run and also what kind of information to show on your phone.. This is really very convenient as I don't need to send my car to tuner in order to change to run a different MAP.

I've been using MAP1 since I got it.. Here is the explanation on what different MAP will do..

JB4 Map Guide:

Map0: Stock tuning, fully disable JB4
Map1: 3psi over stock added (91 octane)
Map2: 4psi over stock added (91-93 octane)
Map3: 6psi over stock added (93+ octane)
Map4: Absolute target map with peak target of 20psi (93+ and/or 30% E85, EWG connector suggested)
Map5: Absolute target map with peak target of 22psi (30% E85+ fuel, EWG connector suggested)
Map6: Custom tuning map -- see details on n54tech JB4 page
Map7: Progressive WMI map with tuning a function of meth flow and user defined boost additive. 
Map8: VALET / Low Boost Map

Been running around in MAP1 for more than 8 months and just a few days ago I decided to change it to MAP2 instead.. Still haven't really test it out but the difference is not that apparent comparing to stock standard and progressing to MAP1.. Let me try it out for a while more and I will update accordingly..

I'm planning to do a dyno run and see what's the gain I get when running on MAP1 and also MAP2.. My hand is itching to press on MAP3 as the boost is double of that comparing to MAP1.. But I'm not sure whether RON97 petrol is sufficient or I need to run RON100 for not getting engine detonation.. Because 93 Octane is around RON98 so running on MAP2 is still consider safe as you can see from the above.. I can't get any information on Octane 93+ hence I dare not venture into MAP3 for this particular reason alone unless I'm running on RON100 which is definitely safe enough to run on MAP3.. 

This is the JB4 apps that I was talking about.. The apps alone cost more than RM100 but this is a one off payment.. I think the apps is worth getting if you have the Bluetooth Connect Kit because it will make your life so much easier.. You can use the apps to do logging and also find out if there is any error code from the car and diagnose the issue..

UPDATE

My finger decided to push on the MAP3 button 🙈.. Whoaaaaaaa.. The difference between MAP2 and 3 is pretty obvious.. Can really feel the car pull strongly.. Before doing that, I drop an email to Burger Motorsports and asked them regarding MAP3.. They said 'SHOULD' (very clever choice of word here) be ok to use MAP3 with RON97 petrol.. So I did it.. Push that damn button and all hell break loose.. The power delivery is pretty addictive.. What I'm afraid now is the boost level.. Sometimes I see the boost spike to 20psi.. Pretty high to me.. I'm not sure on the actual boost for a stock B48 on the 320i but someone wrote on the net saying is around 8psi.. So MAP3 will increase 6psi over the standard 8psi and we are looking at 14psi.. Most of the time the boost will be around 14-15psi.. But sometimes it will spike to 20psi.. Anyway I'm enjoying it way too much.. Can't wait to get it dyno and see the difference between all the different MAP..

The Voigtlander Nokton 35mm F1.2 Aspherical Ver.1 is one of the best 35mm lenses that I've ever owned.. But it is also one of the heaviest.. I've started shooting with 35mm lens (50mm in my application) when I'm using Fujifilm mirrorless cameras.. It is one of the focal length that I'm most comfortable with.. Since Fujifilm are using 1.5x crop factor (ignore the GFX series), 35mm will technically become around 50ish mm.. Not ideal but I can deal with that as I've been shooting crop factor ever since I've started my photography journey.. Mounting the 35mm lens on my Leica M8 (1.33x crop factor) will make the focal length to close to 50mm.. So a bit wider comparing to what I've used to previously.. I can adjust to the difference so no issue on this as well.. Though I must admit I do feel fatigue after some time of holding it but that's the price you pay for a well built all metal lens..

What I love about this lens is the fact that it is one of the fastest 35mm lens around.. If not the fastest!! F1.2!! Bokehlicious!! Who said 35mm lens can't produce nice bokeh?? Mounting it to the Leica M8, it produces one of the creamiest bokeh that I've seen.. Don't mind the bigger and heavier size of the lens.. Don't mind the lens hood blocking the lower right of the viewfinder.. I just love the way it renders the pictures.. Bought this lens to Japan last year and it was glued to my M8 throughout the whole trip.. 

My style of photography changes over time.. When I first started shooting, bokeh is one of the most important criteria for me. Everything need to be bokehlicious.. Doesn't matter whether the subject is interesting or not.. So long the bokeh is nice, then 90% of the time I will be satisfied with the picture.. Fast forward a few years later, bokeh is becoming less and less important for me.. Not sure whether does it correlate with my age?? 

Love everything about this lens as it complement the shortcoming of my Leica M8.. Although I seldom shoot at night with my Leica M8 (because it is rubbish comparing to my phone!!), I know I can have a decent shot mounting the Nokton 35mm F1.2 without going over ISO 640 (which is the max that I will go).. So everything is about give and take.. Nothing is perfect in this world.. Just like the Voigtlander Nokton 35mm F1.2..

I really like the look of the new BMW G20 generation.. To my eyes, it is the most beautiful BMW 3 series ever produce.. I'm not just talking about the exterior.. The interior is mind blowing as well.. Thought not as flashy as the latest generation of Mercedes, but I find it really pleasant to look at.. 

The one thing that bug me whenever I see this car is the big and shiny chrome kidney grill.. It just looks weird to my eyes.. The 320i in Malaysia came in the Sport variant with black out door frame and the big chrome grill just looks awful.. So naturally, this will be the first mod that I did for my car..

I chose the design grill design that is similar to the original instead of the M3 or M340i style grill.. Actually, I regretted getting this as the insert can be taken out.. If I bought the M3 style grill, then I will have 2 different design for the grill.. But can't complaint much as I don't think I will have the time to keep changing the design.. This is basically mod and forget.. 

The size for both grills are actually the same.. Just the angle of the pic making the black one looks a lot smaller.. The black out version looks so much meaner comparing to the chrome version.

This is 100% original before any mod done to it.. 

After changing to the black out version.. Really transform the looks of the car.. In my opinion, it should leave the factory with the black out version as standard! Luckily this is something that is easy to do.. Those interested to change it can search from Youtube on the steps of dismantling it.. Is a very easy job which takes around 15 mins.. But the outcome is priceless.. 

Been driving around in the latest BMW 3 series codenamed G20 for the past 8 months or so.. So far I got nothing but praises for it.. My G20 is the base 320i Sport variant.. Not the 330i or the full blown M340i that was launched recently.. But no complaint so far.. However, those that know me personally will most probably know that I got a disease that is call 'ICLMCS' which translate to 'I can't leave my car standard' disease'!! 

Did some small mod here and there and so far I'm loving it.. Didn't go crazy with the mod yet as the 5 years unlimited mileage warranty is still intact.. Don't wish to void the warranty because of all the mods.. Most of the mods I did so far were mainly cosmetic.. Did something to the engine as well but that is plug and play.. No crazy ECU flashing at this moment.. 

There is nothing quite like the Ricoh GXR.. None that I can think of.. This is a very unique camera but unfortunately not very well accepted.. The concept is good where instead of changing the lens, the camera let you change out the sensor as well.. The lens is fix to the sensor in a single module.. Less or no dust on the sensor and the lens will be pair to a sensor that is deem the best.. A win win combo..

The camera itself is small.. Very compact camera like.. When I first started off with photography, all I wanted was a big fat DSLR and a big lens to match it.. Never care much bout the weight or the sore arm and neck after using it extensively.. Those are the days..

So the reason why I got this camera is because of the A12 M-Mount module.. I believe this is the only camera outside of Leica with a purpose built M-Mount camera.. This is a 12MP sensor with APS-C crop which is slightly smaller compare to my Leica M8.. I'm not a sucker for the megapixel war.. 10MP on my Leica M8 is more than enough for me..

This is the reason why it is called a freak/frankenstein of the camera world.. It can be dismantle and fix back just like Lego building blocks.. The handling of the camera itself is very good with a substantial grip and the lack of weight making it really easy to handle.. The camera itself is very light but the built quality is excellent.. One might mistaken it to be flimsy with all the moving parts but it is not.. Is not as solid as a Leica M but the built quality will put a lot of cameras to shame.. Good job on that..

The Ricoh GXR is dubbed the poor man Leica M8.. The picture that it produces really do look like the M8.. The black and white output is very nice as well.. Definitely a good backup camera for my Leica M8..

*Unfortunately, I've decided to sell it as I'm not using it like I've intended to in the very first place.. Brought the camera along to Japan last year and I believe I've shot less than 30 pictures.. Most of the pictures taken using the Leica M8.. So I don't see the point of keeping it if I'm not going to use it*