I have a RMW tune and their Dimsport remote tuning tool. I did ask Jeff to perform dyno runs with all three tunes (stock mapping, my custom RMW tune, and the ALTA tune). I am not currently planning on posting that dyno chart as I do not want this to turn into a comparison between the two tunes. Both tunes are outstanding and provide lots of power. I will probably switch back and forth between the two tunes as each company updates their tunes with improvements. I might be talked into posting the comparison dyno at a later time in a different thread but this thread is not a comparison between the two tuning companies and I won't turn it into one.

Do I have a preference between the two tunes, yes, at this point in time: ALTA as they currently have more features in the tune and especially in their tuning device. That is the only direct comparison I'm willing to make at this point in time and in this thread.

Jeff was asked last week about adding in the pop & burble into the exhaust sound. In checking the thread he did reply and said that he can add the effect so I will go ahead and comment about that. I do have the pop and burble sound effect in my custom ALTA tune. I find that I am using sport mode more with my automatic as the sport mode keeps me in a higher power band between 3-4k RPMs versus 2-3k RPMs not being in sport mode. At the higher RPM levels the effect is much more noticeable as I let up on the gas and as it downshifts. I think it sounds awesome! It definitely turns more heads as I drive by pedestrians.

In the couple of videos I tried taking with my iPhone 4 the noise cancelation feature was removing most of the exhaust sound so you can't hear it on the video, however, I was inside the MINI while making the recording. I may try it again if I find a helper to either make the recording outside of my MCSa or to be at the controls of the MINI while I make the recording outside.

 

You can't accurately compare dyno charts from different dynos on different days with different vehicles and with different people at the wheel of the vehicle for the dyno runs.

 

Perfectly said, like dynoing on a day with 60 deg vs 80degs lol

 

That is for sure!! The turboback does make more power, but part for part, part for cost our FMIC is the winner for sure.

220WHP-ish is the max. As Thumper said, turbo just runs out of air. But a JCW upgrade or a K04 upgrade is what i think will be popular on these after we get some mapping for them.

It seems like there are 2 tunes from Mini depending on the ECU. One that makes 160-ish and one that makes 170-ish. But also on the same car you can see this huge variable with cool charge temps vs hot charge temps. Typically the Mini's make 165-170 on our dyno. But the before and after is whats important.

Raised for sure!

 

Pricing and availability......??????

 

The numbers for the stock MINI look high compared to official numbers. Almost all the r56S models put out more power than official.
look at the stock dyno Jan posted. It already has over 200 lbs torque STOCK. Altas stock graph is not unusual.

 

Thanks for the info guys lol...i was in the dark for sure. Really makes me want to dyno mine!!!

 

I KNOW you can! I have 235's on my 09 JCW with the ALTA AccessPort and Tune and it gets squirrelly now!

 

Have you tried driving in full manual mode after getting the tune? Is there still a noticable difference in throttle response vs non-sport mode? Are shift times still quicker? Does steering response still stiffen up?

Essentially, I drive my MCSa in manual mode pretty much always so I control the shift point. If I get the tune I wonder if there will be any performance boost left for sport mode or if all those features would just be integrated into the normal mode.

 

BostonJohn,

I'm confident that you'll keep all your "sport" mode abilities. I wouldnt buy it if they were gone.

In regards to your question about performance boost, i think having sport mode on will make throttle response even more intense. Thats how mine is...but..... I have a different tune/tool(rmw).

Alta, will it be possible to get maps for quicker shifts for the auto guys utilizing this tool??

and please, correct me if i'm wrong and i'll just go back to lurking.

 

1. Yes, I have driven in full manual mode with the sport button depressed but not for any considerable amount of time. I have not driven in full manual mode without the sport button depressed.
2. Yes, it has a very noticeable difference in throttle response in sport mode vs non-sport mode.
3. I'm not sure I completely understand this question, I can't say much about shift points until Jeff releases more info
4. Yes, the steering response is still tighter in sport mode.

With my custom tune and how I drive there is plenty of performance boost in sport mode compared to normal mode. I'm skirting the edges of what I'm comfortable talking about until ALTA releases more info on what they can do with their tune.

 

The first R56 we dynoed was the same thing. High. Which is weird. Seems like they are all under rated a little.

The sport button is just a built in Sprint Booster. So there is no performance difference. On the dyno and street the sport button didn't change the shift points at all.

SimpsonGI's RMW tune didn't change power when pushing the sport button. All this does is make the throttle more twitchy. But with that said we can make that button make more power!

Regarding the firmer shifts. The ECU doesn't control that kind of stuff, but its on the list of things to try to figure out! The auto stuff is still in development do to having to clear CEL's right after the flash. All tunes have to do this right now, and we are making sure the ALTA AccessPORT doesn't do that. After we release the AccessPORT, we will still sell them to auto customers that understand this CEL and have a way to clear it.

 

With either the Dimsport tool or the AccessPORT whenever I flash the ECU I get a couple of CELs upon completion of the flash. I do not think this happens with a manual transmission. When Jan was dyno tuning my MCSa I had to clear the codes when he would flash the ECU. I had to do the same thing for another auto that day as well. So this issue seems to be applicable with all current ECU flashes with an automatic. If you have a a MyGenius and an auto transmission you should be familiar with having to clear these CELs.

ALTA has already made some progress in eliminating the CELs caused by the flash but it isn't completely dialed in yet. As Jeff said, the mapping for the automatics is still under development. It has gotten better with every new map file I've tried. They appear to be very close to getting the last of the auto kinks worked out though. I have a ScanGauge so this hasn't been an issue for me. It is nice to see that Jeff is not holding anything back.

 

For 100% this is not a problem on Manuals just the autos. But as Gary said we are working on it!

 

On the Alta accessport are you able to make the map the same for the sport mode on and sport mode off without a custom tune. On my 08 STi I had a Cobb accessport and with the street tuner program I was able to copy all the map settings for the Sport # mode to sport mode and it was nice.

I read that the MCS ECU can kind of adjust for higher octanes and advance the timing to make more power. Will it be critical to tune for other octanes on the Alta AP like the Cobb AP is for the STI? For example I used to put 5 gallons of MS109 in my STI and switch to a 95 octane real time map which made about 25 more horepower over CA 91 octane swill. If I left my AP on the 91 oct base map there would be almost no gain in performance. I guess my question is will the Mini make considerably more power with a custom map over an OTS map with 95-100 octane fuel?

Oh, and please add FFS to the Alta AP. Being able to shoot flames between shifts is fun.

 

Wow, so My birthday is coming up in September. Any chance ya'll wanna send me one as a Birthday Present !!!!!

 

Being completely ignorant, what will this do for me.

I have the JCW kit installed on my 08 R56. No other performance mods. What kind of improvements would I see. A 10% bump? I am also not very mechanically inclined and don;t have a lot of time. Is it simply plugging the module in and flashing the ECU? Any "info For Dummies" would be great.

If it is what i think it is I'll be inline drooling with cash in hand.

 

ME TOO... Birthday in 3 days! DORTOH wants more power for his JCW!


Has anyone asked how the MPG is affected? Assuming I can maintain my current 'economical' driving style.
l

 

If you can maintain an "economical" driving style the MPG will go up. On my way home from ALTA after they tuned my MCSa I remembered to check the MPG for the last 45 miles of the trip home. I got 38 MPG on the freeway. My previous best on the freeway was around 34ish.

However, I'll admit that I have not been able to maintain an economical driving style and as a result my MPG has actually gone down by roughly 2 MPG doing mostly city stop & go driving. I've yet to be able to manage to go a whole day of reserved driving since I had either my RMW tune or the ALTA tune.

 

I got a 25% increase in torque versus the stock tune and a 16% increase in HP versus stock with the ALTA tune.

You don't have to be mechanically inclined at all to use this. All you need to be able to do is locate the OBDII port under the steering wheel and slightly to the left. Plug the unit in and follow the directions. Jeff has said it takes roughly 4 minutes to install the ECU software and the map (tune) file. After the initial installation to install a new map file to the MINI it takes roughly 45 seconds. It is a much simpler install than MyGenius tool.

 

I got a new map file from ALTA last night to try. The P&B effect is much nicer now. I tried to take an audio clip of it but it wasn't the best recording as my iPhone 4 tries to cancel out background noise. I'm planning on trying it with my old iPhone 3G to see if it can capture a better audio clip of it.

 

Then I'm in. Let us know when this is redy and I'll be ordering one.

 

I dont know how to ask this best but how does the computer in the car control the boost? and how well does the car and turbo handle all the extra boost?

 

Supposedly the stock internals can hold up to 300 hp. The engine should handle it fairly well.

 

Wonder if it's 300 whp or bhp... My guess is bhp but considering mini usually underrates power to almost the whp point my hope would be 300whp