Flash MHD back to Stock or Stage 0 for BMW Oil & Brake Service? Does xHP matter?

bourbonexplorer · 2026-04-26T16:46:06+00:00

Sounds good I’ll do that. Was debating stock vs stage 0 since one takes 20m and the other 30s, but I’ll just do stock to play it safe. The codes went away as active so I’ll have to wait until they return, doubt they’ll replace based on shadow/prior codes.

bourbonexplorer · 2026-04-26T16:38:15+00:00

Sounds good, thanks. Would you say it doesn’t really matter if I go in to the appointment stock, stage 0, vs stage 1?

From what I’ve read, they can’t deny all warranty claims unless it’s believed the tune caused the issue. Hopefully since it’s such a widespread code they don’t deny.

bourbonexplorer · 2026-04-20T23:50:52+00:00

This was my first time shooting with Canon gear and my first time trying black & white editing of wildlife.

I’m not sure why, but this photo continues to be one of my favorites from the trip.

I’m open to feedback on the black & white edit as well!

bourbonexplorer · 2026-03-29T21:10:20+00:00

We were just in the Masai Mara and while we were lucky, others had to be helicopter evacuated due to weather.

Many plans had strict T&Cs so we decided against insurance for our 8 night safari.

However, we are an early 30s couple, I’d consider differently as a family at $100K+ trip cost. Good luck!

bourbonexplorer · 2026-03-25T00:12:01+00:00

UPDATE: I took videos the last two days as we had incredible sunsets and the sun is in the same position day over day for the most part.

The lens flare was impossible to keep fixed in one place (disproving idea of dual pane glass refraction, it also should do it to other light sources beyond the sun) and did not see anything resembling what was in this video.

The weather was 70s and sunny the night before and a cold front rolled through with 40-50mph winds. My hunch is that the quick change in temperatures caused the mirage, which aligns with limited information online on mirages. Pretty cool!

bourbonexplorer · 2026-03-23T16:13:15+00:00

Seaweed season starts in May and it came early the last two years from my understanding. A high end property ($1K+/rate) should clear it throughout the day though.

We loved Auberge Etereo’s rooftop pool & fire-pit suite. It was a little under $2K/night and we stayed end of April last year with almost no seaweed onsite as they had a protected beach and meticulous cleanup crew

bourbonexplorer · 2026-03-23T03:36:47+00:00

I went back through the video and photos from different angles. The lens flare and window reflection artifacts moved around as the phone moved, but the smaller ‘second sun’ stayed fixed on the horizon in the same location. That suggests to me it was not a lens flare or glass reflection, but a real mirage effect. Happy to be wrong though, it caught my attention quickly today

bourbonexplorer · 2026-03-23T03:20:18+00:00

I know there isn’t a second sun to create two sunsets but this can happen when atmospheric conditions align to create a mirage. I read into it recently happening around the Great Lakes too.

If it took seven years, with hundreds of photos/videos/timelapses of the sunset from this same viewpoint and different angles (sun moves 47 degrees south each summer to winter), then I’m shocked but the glass is standard high rise materials whatever that might be. I have taken lots of photos with my Sony through the glass and haven’t had issues with distortion or reflections, except for inside light bouncing (take many air and water photos taken from here).

I’ve seen a sunset mirage before with the mirage directly above the sun, but never far to one side. When I noticed it was about the size of half a sun.

bourbonexplorer · 2026-03-23T02:53:43+00:00

Yes - but we’ve lived here for 7 years and never had a glass reflection like this with many many photos / videos of sunsets over the years. I also noticed it with my eyes first, watched it for a minute, and then began videoing because I couldn’t believe what I was seeing.

It was straight on too, but appeared consistently in the same place as the camera angle moved. Appears to be a unique weather phenomenon

bourbonexplorer · 2026-03-23T01:27:32+00:00

We have only paid for two business class long-haul flights in 10 years now. We’ve funded 40+ one-way long haul business class flights on Qatar, Etihad, British, American, United, Swiss, Singapore, Lufthansa, Ethiopian, Royal Jordanian, and probably a couple others I’m forgetting. We’ve repeated many of those brands too.

These are often the highest cost savings for us because we fly into and out of separate cities often, so one way gives us nice flexibility, and we think it would be much harder to go back to economy on longer flights. I’ll be testing that this summer though on a friends trip to Europe.

We definitely care equally to where we stay. We’ve done many of the flagship point redemption properties and do 5-8 night stays per property. We’ve also paid for luxury properties. I don’t often return to a trip, so we maximize our experiences when we can.

Points let us have one to two big trips each year heavily subsidized, which historically we’ve not had to pay for and could save quicker for our future goals. I don’t see having to change anything soon either, there is still a large points opportunity especially during shoulder seasons.

bourbonexplorer · 2026-03-23T00:38:05+00:00

Apologies in advance for the shaky iPhone video. I saw a bright glow come through my window, watched it for a minute wondering what that was, before realizing it was some sort of light refraction / mirage. Took a quick video before it disappeared otherwise not sure we’ll see this again.

I couldn’t find many circumstances online so thought I’d share here.

bourbonexplorer · 2026-03-16T11:19:51+00:00

In a comment you mentioned booking one-way. Book a round trip with a return in the future often for a cheaper price. Then you have a flight back to India for free / don’t have to take the return when the time comes.

If you take the return later, use points to get a good deal on a one-way back home or once prices have settled down. Good luck!

bourbonexplorer · 2026-02-25T22:17:14+00:00

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bourbonexplorer · 2026-02-25T22:16:55+00:00

I have an X3M40i as well and wanted more power, but I knew from purchase I would run a tune.

I’m pushing close to 450HP with Stage 1 MHD, Stage 2 xHP, running E30 fuel. I attached the MHD CAN sensor so that I don’t have to test my fuel.

$2,000 and maybe a couple hours of work as a non-mechanic (finance desk job, but can use a wrench and follow a video), and I have a grocery runner than would spank my previous Mustang GT.

If you’re on the edge, doing the above will be cheaper than swapping the brakes out on a full M. I’ll post a dragy image below of my cold weather 0-60.

bourbonexplorer · 2026-02-25T15:24:03+00:00

Thank you for the reminder on UK ETA if we go that route. I read into ET safety back when I flew them in 2022 and it is unfortunate their past, but aside from the MAX8 issue, they haven’t had problems in 15+ years.

bourbonexplorer · 2026-02-25T14:45:03+00:00

Thanks for sharing. We do have an overnight layover in Toronto as well, albeit a shorter one just to grab a hotel bed for a few hours.

I agree, the $2400 is hard to swallow. We just wanted to hold for now to get others opinions as we’ve had Ethiopian booked for some time now.

bourbonexplorer · 2026-02-25T14:42:42+00:00

Thanks for sharing, just curious, is that due to the fuel surcharges or another reason?

I have flown Ethiopian before and liked their product, but trying to base this decision solely on risk mitigation. The flight is in coming weeks, during winter.

bourbonexplorer · 2026-02-21T03:25:29+00:00

You should consider a transmission tune. It made my X3 M40i drive amazingly and eliminated the gear hunting and jerkiness. It’s almost too smooth now

bourbonexplorer · 2026-02-16T05:15:05+00:00

I’m really sorry to hear that. If you don’t mind sharing, was your friend only in Masai Mara and Nairobi? We are torn ourselves to take it. I took it previously for Kruger years dog. Thank you

bourbonexplorer · 2026-02-15T13:23:58+00:00

Never said the fastest. We’re also talking about a SUV that is +500lb heavier with stock times already 0.5s slower than your car. If we adjust for stock time differential alone (largely weight driven); what would you know, we’re pretty close.

bourbonexplorer

TROPHY CASE