Dyno graphs from the South Florida dyno day have been posted:

http://www.motoringfun.com/2007/08/0...cu-tuning-day/


Hope you all don't mind if I post this here as well for others to enjoy.

 

minimal gains... hm? was it because john didn't have all of his tools or something? how much was the tune?

 

Minimal is right.......hope there is more to the story.

 

I got my MINI tuned that day and John made a great job.

My base dyno was 188whp and he got an extra 5whp from the tune. (I had GIAC tune before the tune...)

The biggest improvement was the low-end torque... I asked him to get most of the power available at that range and he really improved that.

The tune and dyno runs were $400.

 

I dont know if any of you "minimal gains" people noticed the outside temps? and those gains were at the wheels.

 

wow that's really strange... 5 whp? maybe the tune didn't take... I have seen that happen...

from my expirence when I have tuned... raising the rev limit to 7500 got you 10 WHP alone... then with tuning from there with an otherwise stock ecu was another 15 WHP... just be getting the AFs out of the 8s and into the 11s... no need to mess with anything else... although I do like getting the TB more responsive... All tuning was done on ussually the "basic" mods.. just 15%/ intake/ exhaust... no heads, injectors, IC upgrade or anything fancy...

 

Doesn't the SAE smoothing compensate for the air temp and humidity?

 

it should

 

For the "minimal" folks...what do you consider to be minimal? What kind of numbers were you expecting?

Also, I think actual dyno numbers and a list of current mods prior to tuning would be more helpful for comparisons.

 

Then again....

Possibly these were more tunes for midrange driveability then were for absolute top #'s. The more I read of the LDG methodology the more I think that LDG does not tune looking for peek power at all costs unless thats the customers desire. I admit to not having looked at the curves as of yet but the reports from the people that have had LDG tunes all seem to jive with better driveabilty.

Or it's a mass conspiracncy to cover something.

Where is Oliver Stone?

 

I think you've hit the nail on the head Gnaster so many people look at the peak instead of looking at the whole rpm range.

 

 

Still a pretty good deal for those of you that participated.
Too bad that's not the normal price.

 

Some will have a different viewpoint, but for me, it was mostly about torque and throttle response. LDG tunes seem to deliver in that area (although that's what I requested).

The extra whp is mostly up top and I'm rarely near the red line around town.

In fact, except for track days, I doubt the whp difference would be worth the money to me if it were mostly for street use.

Usable torque and significantly improved throttle response? I can use that all the time...

 

i was one of the cars tuned in so. fla. as i posted in an earlier thread, gains were "minimal" w/ about 3 hp and 5 lb-ft. these numbers don't represent the difference in the way the car drives and feels. i will be on the track at homestead this weekend and will then be able to compare my car w/ a couple of other MINI's that didn't get tuned. i am optimistic. i like the way the car feels. w/ only a 15% pulley and a Mini Madness intake i made 193 hp at the wheels. i had the rev limit raised to avoid some short shifts or bouncing off of the rev limiter at tracks that i frequent. i didn't gain any top end power due to rev limit increase. this might have had something to do w/ temperatures...i think that is pretty strong. i've seen people w/ a much longer mod list that would love to make 193.....it was 113* when i made my pulls. it would be fun to see the number on a cooler day, but much of my track time is spent in high heat. it is what it is.

 

Yes. Please report back after your track day.

 

I don't see how you can make 50 whp by only adding a 15% pulley and an intake when considering that the stock car makes between 145-150 whp.

 

the list of mods on my car is long, but the underhood mods are exactly as described. i did not dyno my car prior to the pulley and intake. i was getting faster around the track through extensive suspension, wheel/tire, brake mods and experience, so hp wasn't a big concern. are you one of the "long list of mods" people who aren't making this much power? when i did my baseline pull, several people said "don't touch it"!

 

LOL...thats kinda cool...ive never been a part to a conspiracy! at leat not worthy of Oliver Stone hehe...

But, I think you are right in that many of the people who have "reported" on the LDG tune so far have been those that haven't done much to their cars, yet. In cases like that, their standard tune with pulley seems to net the biggest bang for the buck. Alot of the little extras like spark plugs, CAI's, cat back exhausts don't seem to impact the final result and I think he would rather you save your money.

For those who have moderately modified cars it becomes slightly more complicated as choices might have been made and money spent on things that don't necessarily affect power/torque. It is my impression that LDG would prefer having "virgin" or close to virgin Minis that they can help you rebuild from the ground up...starting with an initial pulley and tune. From there, if one decided they want/need more, other options can be discussed.

I have seen with my own eyes, Minis that are being completely rebuilt to the way John sees fit and get a sense that he is very particular about the sequence in which mods are made. He kind of like an artist...who has a vision of how the Mini should/can be and would rather work from scratch than revise what someone else has already started....

Has anybody seen or been in their 500+hp Evo?

 

WELL...WELL...WELL
I was one of the cars that got tuned in sunny Soflo with LDG. As many had said here the graphics and the minimal gains seen on those grpahics can't really tell the story about our car's performance. (althought I am going to the track this weekend as well..to test it for real).. When I first saw the little gains on the screen I had to admit I felt a little dissapointed.. until I got on the driver's seat and took my car for a spirited run... The differences were noticed instantly.. better trhottle response, much more low end torque without sacrificing driveability.. John told me he looked carefully into my file and found that my car had a jcw program in it.. (to my surprise) he needed to do some other adjustments.. so he did and I went on the road again and felt the car even better..I also got my rev limiter t o 7200 which wil give me a little more room at the track... I am very please with the results..graphs don't say much but if you drove my car before and after you will be more than satisfied.. conspiracy??? I will never doubt of LDG or john as a person nor the enthusiast like me that were there.. conspire ??? for what reason???

 

Video posted on StreetFire from the Ferrari of Washington Test & Tune day. The car is still under development too. It needs better brakes now that it has all that power. While I personally haven't driven it I know someone who has (aside from the guys at the garage) and aparently it's a bit of handful.

 

Thanks for putting that up Matt. The blue 360 challenge car is my partners old car and the new owner was perplexed that Colin could run him down so easily with a street car. Japanese no less.

 

I'm by no means putting down the tunes.. This probably isn't the thread to post this since I do believe the tuned cars from this day prolly are quicker and better to drive.

But time and time again - I'm not convinced by the testimony and butt dynos of people who spent hundreds of dollars expecting results. There have been plenty of threads with people praising parts that don't do anything. When was the last time someone wasn't happy with a tune - canned, custom or otherwise? Know where I'm coming from?

 

the definitive answer will come this weekend at homestead. there are 5 MINIs running in the instructor/solo group. two were tuned by john. we have all run on the track together before, so we know where we stood before the tune. it's time to stop bench racing for us!

 

looking forward to you reporting back.