Installed Alta's AP... my impressions.
 

Received my AP today from Alta. Opened up the package and thought they forgot to put the unit in the box because it is really tiny...lol.

I uninstalled the RMW tune and put the stock tune back on the car.... took it for a drive and then installed the Alta tune.

Here's my general impressions.

AP unit. Very compact, lots of menus to choose from. You can do everything from clear codes to read sensors, temps, boost, data log, the list goes on and on and on and on... VERY IMPRESSIVE UNIT.

Ease of installation. VERY EASY. You plug it in and literally in less than 2-3 minutes it uploads the new maps. I didn't read the instructions (or ask for directions...:grin: ) and had it installed in seconds.

The tune itself. I have to state something here first. RMW supplied me with 2 tunes AFTER the numbers in my signature. In all fairness, I have not had an opportunity to have Jan do a final tune on an actual dyno. Basically, I'm running a "canned" tune from him and I'm sure it would be in my benefit to have it tuned all the way.

Having said that, I'm sure the numbers that the car is producing are far more than what my signature says.

Okay, on to the tune....

Alta sent me 3 tunes. They were all the same (Stage 3) except they had different throttle responses/positions. What I mean is the transition from gas pedal to throttle opening. The more you push on the throttle, the more (or less) linear the curve is to how much the throttle opens in relation to the gas pedal.

(turns out I like the SUPER linear throttle feel)

Okay... here's the nuts and bolts. Since I haven't made it to the dyno and I have 4 track days this week, I won't be able to do any "dyno" comparisons till next week or so...

So, all I have to compare anything is real time driving and seat of my pants.

The Alta tune feels more powerful. Remember, I'm not going to feel the same "kick in the ass" difference that many of you that don't have a tune will simply because I have a great tune from Jan already. There is a definitely seat of your pants increase and I can't wait to get it on the dyno to put numbers to each tune.

Now, here's the part I like. The Alta tune is very smooth... it's very sophisticated. Though I'm used to a lot of power from the RMW tune, I think Alta's tune is misleading me a bit in the sense that it's sooooo smooth.

The powerband starts off lower, it pulls harder and longer but I don't have that "hiccup" I had at 3200 rpms.

One thing I thought I noticed (and I will verify first thing this morning) is the car idles much smoother when I start it up. I'll know better tomorrow morning but whenever I start my car, it always feels like it has a cam in for the first few minutes. Once it warms up in the least, it's fine but if I don't give it gas first thing in the morning, it will almost stall.

Like I said, the car will sit overnight and I'll be able to tell if that is truly cured and will know if it is in the tune or not.

So, for now until I get get numbers from a dyno, I can't say much more. Thursday, I'll be flogging the car at the track for 4 full days. I'll have a great idea how it runs. A fellow member with a JCW that is still running the unichip will make for a great comparison. My car pulled harder out of the hole with the RMW kit but once we were in the 60-70 mph range, cranking it up to 120, we were side by side.

I'll let ya'll know how that goes this weekend.


Mark

Thanks for wetting our appetites, this is great. Looking forward to hearing more feedback...especially from your track days. Should be a great representation of the overall tune IMO (versus just pure dyno numbers, although we need good quantitative data too of course). :thumbsup:
:popcorn:

Nice write up...thank you, Mark! Can't wait to hear more...

Nick

Thanks for you insight. I'm one of those JCW owners with no tune, so I'm really looking forward to getting my butt kicked. You indicated that you like the full 100% linear throttle response the best. Did you get the stock up to 30% and then linear to 100% map as well? Did you give this a try? Have fun on the track (how could you not?). Oh, what track? Looking forward to your review.

yea, smooth is the word. and the linear throttle has a very different feel


strong? hell yes

Damn it, I just wrote a long response and stupid internet shut down.

Okay, here's a last few things...

The idle is completely normal first thing in the morning. No more almost stalling when it's fired up for the first time.

I'm guessing we'll see a increase in gas mileage. Even with my foot out of it, I only averaged 26'ish in town with my last RMW tune which is low compared to other RMW tunes I've had.

I figure Alta's tune will increase mileage approx 2-4 mpg. I'll verify that over the next few days and since my track days are at VIR, I'll get some highway mileage too.

Mark

Mark, 'preciate that report. One common theme I am hearing from the Alta tunes is the smoothness and strength through the power curve. It sounds like Jeff has hit one out of the park. Better fuel economy would be icing on the cake, but I'll take power over mpg's any day...especially if I can control it with my foot :lol:. Hope it goes well for you at the track!

Damn it Mark......now I am going to have to order this from Alta.....:sly: :lol:. Thanks for the great write up and we look forward to hearing more about your track day and dyno time with the tune.

Well guys, I hate to say this because I believe in being fair and honest but Alta seems to really have gotten their stuff together on this. I have great respect for Jan's tune but this tune right now, is smoother, more power (I'm seeing 2-3lbs of boost) and the driveability is great.

Guess ya'll have to break out the checkbook again...lol.


Mark

I'm starting to think missing the NC RMW tune last month may be a blessing in disguise.

Thanks for the review Mark. I have been on the fence regarding the RMW tune for awhile now. I like the fact that you can read and clear codes with the tune tool from Alta. I just might have to open up the wallet!

Hey OC. What other mods you runnin? Dp or intake? I've got the canned rmw with stock intake (foam panel filter) and a forge ic with a hotside bt.

This is what I love to hear. I know that there are guys out there that think power numbers day and night but driveability is a huge, huge factor. I know that I want the car to drive the right way and it sounds like ALTA has hit the nail on the head here. People don't want the rough idles and the hiccup's and dips etc. They want smoothly transitioning power and it sounds like it delivers on that promise. Sounds like my CC needs to come out of the wallet. :)

Will be waiting to see dyno results as well. Thanks so much for taking initiative here Mark! Good luck this week!

I called my local dyno shop and I'm actually trying to see if I can get some dyno time before I go to the track for those that want to see numbers and a graph.

Mark

I'm watching this with great interest. Awesome review, Mark!

I'd love to see some numbers.....

:thumbsup: and throw in customer service. I think Alta can provide this.

I'll backup OCs review again. My own observation is the engine is running really smooth from idle to full bore.
Power wise I've never driven another MINI that accelerates like this and I've driven some very heavily modded R53s that claimed to be 250+hp.

I have the day off work today and I was planning on getting dynoed but my wife decided it would be nice to surprise me and take the day off herself. That pulled the timing on my plans.

For gas mileage - I haven't started driving normal yet so it'll be hard to confirm, but i suspect the mileage will go up too. Besides the extra timing, the linear throttle makes a difference.

orange crush- you said you are seeing 2-3 lbs boost. That's funny because
i'm getting 23. =P

haha... :lol:

The few runs I have done I'm seeing 22.9lbs of boost.

Mark

What was the stock boost levels you were seeing before any tune?

Honestly, I can't remember... it's been a while. I think it was in the 16'ish lb. range.

Mark

I concur with OC's review. Very well worded. It meshes with my prior reviews and MotorMouth's. The AP device is tiny compared to the MyGenius device. :) I can see why OC might have thought it was left out of the box. :nod:

With my MINI being an automatic I kind of like the non-linear sport mode throttle response without it being in sport mode. I don't have to worry about letting up on the gas in order to shift. I can see where it might be touchy with a manual transmission and having to manually shift. I haven't tried the SUPER linear response yet, only the normal linear and the sport mode response.

I have finally managed to drive less aggressively for a couple of days and the MPG did increase by 2 MPG for me. :thumbsup:

My rmw tune has a bad hiccup in first gear. If i go full throttle i dont expierence full power that i feel in 2nd gear. Even with tc off. Does the alta tune fix this? Basically, how is 1st gear with this tune?

YES, it does....

Smooooth.


Mark

We're all excited to see your dyno numbers...:)

Mark... That rough idle almost stalling feeling that you got in the morning, It was present in the tune Jan gave me in Philly in April. I asked Jan about that He said that its a map from the Challenge cars and that they run lean when the car is started up. I don't buy that but its what he said.

Jan sent me a tune last week that he says was a combo of my tune and new maps. It seemed much better than what I had. I still want to meet up with him again to get my car back on a dyno for further tuning. But he did not respond to my last email asking when he was going to be in the northeast again.