I know people rave over RMW, but if I can't drive down to SoCal, who's the best tuner in the bay area?

I've considered Bay Bridge Bimmers. They checked my mini one time and I felt that they were extremely honest. Joe is pretty awesome and is extremely knowledgeable!

I was also maybe thinking of Edge Motorworks, but after they tried to charge me close to $900 for just installing a new radiator and replacing the thermostat, I didn't really feel comfortable dealing with them.

Anyone else have any recommendations?

 

What services are you looking for? Where in the bay?

Bay bridge Bimmers is great for all the regular maintenance and service, plus they have a body shop. Totally honest dudes, won't oversell but sometimes they are bad at scheduling with customers. They won't custom tune your car tho, but do everything else.

Gt auto concepts does some mini stuff but most of their heavy car work is farmed out. They distribute duell ag stuff, so prices are generally high for that stuff. They had a great nite drive event with nothing but minis and hopefully they do it again next year. Nice guys but they serve more of the exotic market and pay most attention to those people/services.

These are two I have experience with. There are a few other mini exclusive places but I haven't used them yet.

 

I'm searching for someone to tune my mini when I'm ready to install new injectors. I'm going to install a 15% pulley and 2% ATI damper. I probably won't do it until next year, but I like planning ahead

 

You can check into a remote tune. Jan at RMW can tune your car with their remote set up. Give them a call and check them out. I don't know of anyone in the bay area that can custom tune a mini (all can tunes). I have had a lot of work done by both Bay Bridge and Edge. Both do very good work as far services or up grades.

 

Thanks for the reply! What's a remote tune exactly? I tried googling it but the results were pretty generic. Is it a one size fits all kind of map?

 

A remote tune uses the OBDII port on your MINI. Jan puts together a tune based on your mods, and you can upload it via OBD.

You mentioned new injectors -- what size?

 

So it's a pretty general tune... Might be worth it to make a trip down there! Hehe

I'm planning on putting in 550cc injectors.

In addition to the pulleys, intake, exhaust, and intercooler, I'm also planning on adding a thumper head and a sprintex supercharger and most likely a can as well.

I see it as a better alternative to buying a crazy expensive Porsche or something along those lines.

These mods of course will take time!

 

I would contact Jan at RMW and see if he is willing to tune your car during Mini Thunder VI (Feb. 15 2015) at Willows CA. Willows is about 2.5 hour drive from the Bay Area (2 on the way back with a new tune).

 

Definitely give Jan a call. FWIW, he does wicked work with an OBDII flash tune. He tuned my car at MOTD, and the difference was night & day. Of course, a custom tune done on a dyno is optimal if you get the chance. He retuned my car in Sept. on the dyno to finish off the power mods, and I couldn't be happier with the whole package. The end result is phenomenal.

You might also mention your plans for mods, if you have specific HP & TQ numbers in mind, see what he has to offer. Like many others, I can vouch for the quality of RMW parts and service.

 

Unfortunately I have a ways to go before I get to power modding, so Willows will be a no go. I have wheels coming in at the end of the month (949 racing) and need to get the appropriate accessories to go with it (wheel studs and spacers). Also found out that my strut towers are jacked up despite having m7's strut reinforcement plates, so some cravenspeed under tower indurators are a priority at the moment.

I also just got my car serviced by Mini yesterday and changed my power steering pump/ fan since it was still under warranty. They found my front wishbone bushings torn as well as leaks in the power steering hoses.

My plan for mods are the following:

Pre-tune mods:

Cravenspeed UTI's
Powerflex Wishbone control arm bushings
Detroit Tuned BPV
Exhaust (already in my possession)
Vibra-technics Front Passenger Engine mount
TSW Engine Damper Package
Performance Intercooler
H-Sport control arms

Tune Phase 1:
WMW Pulley Package
2% ATI Crank Damper Pulley
Powerflex Tensioner bushings
WMW tensioner stop
550cc Injectors

Tune Phase 2:
Thumper TPR-1
Cam

Tune Phase 3:
Sprintex Supercharger

I'll probably be adding an LSD and rmw street header whenever

And yes, I've thought everything out lol

 

I have a '09 R55 that I have been taking to MINI WERKS in San Carlos since new, service and some performance work. They are a small 2-man operation Don Baker/Andy Jennings, and offer a series of their own designed engine upgrades, but will be happy to talk your ear off for anything modifications you want.

 

I'll have to check them out sometime! Thanks for the tip!

 

with those mods, itll be worth the drive to have Jan tune it...itll be cheaper to drive there and get tuned... vs getting a remote tune (you still have to buy the obd2 tool plus add the cost of the actual tune + dyno time)

 

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