Hello everyone. I am intrigued by VR Tuning who offers an ECU tuning package for R56 Coopers (non-s) advertising gains of 20 hp and 20 ft-lbs of torque. It looks like around $800 but as the only game in town, I am curious. I am very happy with the performance of my Cooper with no thoughts of upgrading to a S, so the thought of 20 hp gain would be something I would definitely feel. Please share your thoughts or experiences about this plan.

Thank you!

Ivan

 

There is no way they're getting 20 hp and torque out of a N/A just a with just a tune.

You would feel the difference if thy could however and it would make the car far more enjoyable.


If you do decide on upgrading to an S, do yourself a favor and get an r53 or maybe one of those f56. The ones in the middle are lackluster to say the least.

 

If there's a tuner that is going to tune a non-S, you should talk to Battle Tuning. They don't market it, but they can tune for it.

 

Hmmmm, perhaps its time for them get the word out. I bet there a few justa's out there that might a little bump.

 

I called them today. They said it is closer to 13-15 hp. The guy said there is a slight bump in mileage too. He is confirming that it can be done without any hiccups through the OBDII connector. They had issues with a 2013 S where they had to remove the ECU to flash it. They are going to call me back. Either way, that kind of bump is impressive for a car that seemed like there is nowhere to go when it comes to significant power gains. I'll keep everyone posted. I am still intrigued...

Oh, and I just reached out to Battle Tuning. I will let you know what they say.

 

I know I'd be interested in a boost on my Non S.
Be sure to let us know how this goes!

 

Will do!

 

Have you looked into this further? I wonder if one of the things they do is adjust the TPS to give the same effect as the SB2

 

Will look forward to your reports.

DOC

 

I reached out to them. They told me they needed to check with someone to see if they were prepared to send me a tune without them having the car. I gave them my contact info and was told I would get a return call. To date I did not get one. I am still interested. Maybe I'll follow up next week.

 

I have a VR tune on my 2012 S. I had to overnight my ECU. They were able to tune without the car. Runs a bit rich but overall a good tune. Hope this helps.!

 

Hey, I have a 2012 S as well. Did you stick with the VR tune? Is your mini still reliable, or did the tune pose any issues with the car?

Would love to hear more before making a purchase

 

I switched to a Manic tune... the difference is night and day! Looking back, VR Tune seemed like a glorified stock tune. It really didn't do much compared to Manic. Contact MarioKart in this forum for the tune...

 

Huh, ok. Thanks for the response! I have read plenty of good things about the manic tune. Why did you choose it over say, the burger jb+ tune? I'm tempted at the $300 price tag of the jb+ tune.

 

Been there... Did jb+, then VR, then Manic. As you can see, I spent an additional $1k between the first two solutions before I found Manic. There's a reason why sold my jb+ and never looked back.

But remember it also depends on your setup...

 

Thanks for the input, read appreciate it.

 

Hey Jimbaco, Your MCS keeps getting faster!! You were my first VR tune, that was written over. I have had a couple more since then, but I rarely come across VR. Glad you are still loving the tune Talk to you soon Mario mQubed Motorsport, Manic Tuning Dealer

 

I decided to do a tune on my 2007 Mini Cooper S convertible as well as do some needed repairs. After extensive review of every company that makes a tune for this car, I decided on Vivid Racing as they had by far the most extensive dyno data for this model and great posts on their work. VR was not the cheapest tune out there, but if I do something once, I want to do it right.

I was immediately impressed with the helpful input and immediate response from Ahmed in tech support. He got me set up with a supercharger pulley, a new radiator fan unit as well as the tune. I texted and chatted with him briefly and he was incredibly knowledgeable and helpful. The parts came in quickly.

Everybody does customer service – but the real differentiating factor is when there is a hiccough. We had a brief issue with OBD2 unit on the flash kit and I texted Ahmed at VR. Within minutes he had Dan, Co-owner of Vivid on the line and diagnosed the problem. Dan actually screen-shared my computer to find the issue. In less than 15 hours, Vivid overnight shipped a new OBD2 unit and it worked perfectly


With great on-line instructions and a little coaching from Dan and Ahmed, I had the original tune uploaded to VR and I had my tune in less than 24 hours. The download and were a breeze. Installation of the tune took less than 10 minutes after set up.


Now for the fun part. I absolutely love my Mini’s stock throttle response and prefer the supercharger to turbo for bottom end torque. With the tune, I just got more of what I love – the car pulls harder and digs deeper throughout acceleration. I was too busy with my eye on the road to see exactly where I was on the tach, but the torque was awesome through 6200 rpm.

While I there are no dynos around, I did do a before and after test on the same stretch of road immediately before and after the tune doing some 0-100 runs (closed driving conditions, of course). The first obvious difference was tires breaking ground with a clutch dump in first and second. Clearly more torque and the ability to burn more rubber if that is what I want to do. The most notable difference was shifting into third where the tuned version gets a healthy chirp that was not there before. Sure, much of that has to do with shifting style, but the difference was clear to me.

So. I’m delighted with my VR Tune. If you’re thinking about a tune, really consider who you are dealing with and what they have to offer in service and support. With no previous flash tuning experience, the VR team coached me through it and their instructions which are very clear (provided that you read and follow them!). I recommend Vivid highly and will continue my tuning journey with them for the long term.

 

Hi. I make new accounts to promote products i dont really have/own. Welcome me..lol.

*fyi - VR is short for "Very Rong"

 

VR = No