How difficult and how risk is it to dis-connect the ECU and take it out?
How much does it cost to buy one, if any?

Thank you.

 

Takes 5 minutes to remove and I dont think there is any risk just remember to slide the tabs away from the center and the wiring tabs will pop off never try to pull them off. Keep in mind if you plan on shipping it out to someone you want to place it in a antistatic bag and get insurance.

The cost of a new one is around $1100.

Instructions can be found at the link below. It is the ALta how to install post but it does have a couple pictures of the ecu.

https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...ad.php?t=15124

Summary of the ECU removal

3. Now disconnect the ECU plugs - there is a forward and rear. This is a little tricky, so here's the secret: do not ever try to remove these by puling straight up. They have tabs on each end that you will pull away from the center of the ECU. These tabs force the plugs up and off. Here are some pics:

 

Interesting .....

This will be expensive route to go for sure.

Let see, if we're not talking about the cost to get the ECU:

What if we keep the old ECU as a base line, get another ECU and tune it properly. Then we don't have to worry about the flash's been erased by dealer, warranty issues and etc.

And we might be able to get very accurate dyno result, before and after the tuning.

Or, we can even send both ECU to 2 different tuners, have them flashed the ECUs according to the config of the Mini and compare the result on dyno for some numbers, torque-curves charactors, useable powerband locations and etc, to see which will work for us the most.

Just a thought.

 

ECU, any different between year? ...... 02 - 04 and 05 - 06?
Thanks.

 

I almost made the mistake of pulling out the ECU from the top while installing my CAI. I thought I had the tabs pulled out all the way but it wouldn't come out, so I thought I had to pull from the top. Then I saw that the plastic tops were coming off, and could just begin to see wires. AAHH! So I stopped and tried pulling the tabs even harder and finally they came out all the way. No damage done, thank God.

 

Good idea, but each ECU is coded to the immobiliser at the factory, so if you have more than one ECU, you'll have to get BMW to code that to your existing immobiliser. There's also the possibility that BMW will not code more than one ECU to the same immobiliser, but I may be wrong. It would also be cheaper and easier to go down the MTH route (not that I like the product) if you want to be able to reflash the ECU following a service etc.

Cheers,

Henry

 

Good point.

If the immobiliser is not an issue....

The benefit will be:

1. no down time on the car when we send the ECU to the tuner.

2. no warranty issues.

3. real time result to compare, before and after or compare the results from 2 different tuners in order to pick the one that will work for us.

Down side:

1. Hard to find a used one., and a new one is expensive (if we can buy one)

Edit: Just found one used for <$400.

 

Instead of using another OEM ECU, why not consider something like the Hydra Nemesis? With the Hydra, you have complete control of just about everything your engine does (it's pretty much a stand alone solution). The Hydra ecu controls the engine while your stock ecu takes care of "creature comforts" inside the car. Jeff Perrin (of Alta Performance) just put one in my Mini yesterday to try out, so I will post info as it becomes available.

 

Looks interesting. Is Alta providing some custom tunes with this package?

 

We started with a base map tuned for 15%, catback, and intake (provided by Hydra). The initial driving experience was great. Definitely moved the powerband down a bit. I have logged some driving under various load conditions and sent the file to Jeff for him to look at. We will have to put the car on a dyno in order to properly tune it (of course), but it looks like this might be the solution for a complete tune.

 

I am happy with my GIAC but this may be a solution for some of the more technical MINI crowd that wants to do some tuning.

Cool keep us updated.

 

That is very interesting indeed.

Not a new product for Japanese car scene. Glad to hear they have an application for Mini as well.
From what I heard, it's kind of $$$ though, am I right?

Thank you.

 

I found this: Hydra HMS Nemesis V2.0

Very interesting, especially for the more advanced market.
Remind me of many years ago, when playing the Apexi V-afc with my Acura on dyno.

 

Except they still won't release them (I've been trying to get one since OCTOBER last year), and they're mighty expensive.