ECU Tuning
Although mods themselves do increase the torque of the vehicle. The most essential part of this whole process is ECU Tuning. Essentially, ECU tuning is changing the air-fuel ratios the computer communicates with the engine to provide more power. In other words, by feeding more air into the engine via the mods I installed, the computer now tells the engine it must account for that by adding more fuel. More fuel + more air = more torque from the crankshaft. I did this entire process using a flash tune software called BM3 tuning, specifically designed maps made for BMW motors.
Bootmod3: How it works
BM3 is an online tuning platform, where you can purchase a license to use their flash map tunes, create custom tunes, or find online tunes from other creators. They offer Stage 1,2,2+ tunes for my engine. The stage 1 tune is able to be installed after the chargepipe upgrade as it requires that stronger reinforcement of the plastic chargepipe. Stage 2 can be uploaded to the vehicle once the downpipe was installed as it provides the free flowing exhaust system needed for higher turbo speeds for more power. Stage 1 gave about a 50 hp boost to the vehicle and stage 2 another 30. This program allows for the customization of many features on the vehicle's onboard computer. You can change things like throttle sensitivity, allotted torque per gear, and even creating backfires (the pops you often hear on sports cars) through the delay of exhaust valve closing.
The platform also acts as a diagnostic tool which I often used during troubleshooting to monitor boost psi, manifold pressure, coolant and oil temps, etc.