Thats good to hear, you spoke to NM or someone at the dealer? Im due for a free oil change in Nov and I was thinking of just buying a spare ECU and swapping it before the visit just in case they flash mine.

 

That was my understanding as well. Indeed, I thought both RMW and RennTech need to physcially open up the ECU housing to get to the innards in order to perform the bench tune whereas NM simply connects its equipment to the ECU to introduce its "secret sauce". Consequently, a physical inspection of the ECU housing will not reveal the existence of an aftermarket tune from NM, but would with both RMW and RennTech.

 

Correct me if I'm wrong but NM doesn't clear the CEL from the downpipe right?

 

Correct.

 

If you're going catted, there's always the $4 non-fouler. Or, you can use the more expensive right-angle piece that's around $30. Or lastly, the Delete-R from Akrapovic which is over $200.

The $4 works well according to everyone who has done it. Just a few options to throw out there if that's a deciding factor. While I was searching for a tuner for my R60, that was a big point, but found out that it doesn't have to be.

If you're going catless... well then...

 

The $4 non-fouler did not work for me and I haven't seen anyone who it has actually worked for. I haven't seen the angled piece although NM spoke to me about it, I don't know where to get it.

 

Well, that's no good. I've heard from two specific users of the Akrapovic DP that the little non-fouler worked (or worst-case, one on top of the other).

Here's the other part I (and others) were talking about -- not trying to advertise for any vendor, but this was a place to get it:

http://www.etektuning.com/42-draft-o2-sensor-spacer/

 

I used the 42DD spacer on my last car (MKV GTI) and it avoided CELs for the 6k or so miles that I was untuned with a 100cel cat. It's worth a try. Positioning (turned toward the front or back of the car) and depth of threading make a difference on that one, so it's "tunable" if it doesn't work initially. There's also a "wayne angle block" that works on a similar concept, but is a bit uglier.

--Matt

 

what is the CEL situation if using the milltech 200cel cat downpipe?

scott

 

Guys, although pretty relevant, going to ask you to start another thread on this topic to keep the clutter here down.

Hate to play thread keeper but really want this to stay specific to the tunes here and not downpipes and solutions to CELs to avoid multiple topics on a single thread.

Thanks

 

While I completely agree, I have to say... The first page pretty much sums it up.

There are only a handful of tuners for this, and they're all on the front page.

It comes down to if you want the CEL off, which way you'd like to be tuned, and what type of damage / change it does to your ECU. Other than that, there's really not too much more to add here based on the specific topic.

Perhaps I'm wrong, but that's kind of the way it looks, and I'm super-excited about getting my N18 tuned!

 

I was with you on the other threadjacks, but am not so sure on this one. Whether or not the tune will take care of a CEL is material information for many people in making their choices between tuners. If you had two tuners producing identical quality tunes both for $500 and both equally convenient, but one turned off CELs and the other didn't, the one that did would get a lot more business.

Note that the AP, which does not work on the N18 engine, gave people the ability to eliminate CELs, and this thread, in many ways, owes its inception to the fact that the AP is not available for the N18 engine.

In short, whether or not the tuner will turn off a CEL should be on the short list of information to gather about tuning options. Here is the list, as I see it:

1. Cost
2. Ability to tune post 02/2012 ECUs?
3. Dyno or canned
4. Have to ship ECU?
5. Number of free re-flashes
6. Able to turn off CEL?
7. Bench or OBDII

We might collect this information for each tuner listed on the first page or so of this thread, then update as time goes on so that people don't have to read 20 pages to find it all out. Whether or not its all strictly on point or not, 20 pages is 20 pages.

 

Hujan sounds spot-on with that list IMHO.

 

I talked to Jerry at NM. I asked him a similar question and there would be no way to tell the ECU has been tuned.
He said if there is an update that needs to be done then it will wipe it clean but then bring it back for free to re flash

 

I heard the same from Jerry both in an email and on the phone. They use a different tuning method from some of the others.

 

+1

these are valid concerns that go with a tune

scott

 

Just got an email from Evolve... they told me they can tune my 2013 MCS. :D

 

just got confirmation from renntech that they can tune both ECUs used on N18s

also got a phone number with an invitation to call an engineer for details re: other mods and the renntech tune

i will call tomorrow

scott

EDIT: all renntech MINI tunes are done at their headquarters, the ECU must be shipped to them

 

Finally got in touch with Jan at RMW and he is going to look into whether he can tune the newest (i.e., post-February 2012) ECUs.

He asked me to give him the "HW and SW" number from the ECU. I assume these are some sort of batch or serial numbers on the ECU? Would those numbers be standard for all post-February 2012 ECUs?

If so, can someone with a post-02/2012 ECU provide me with that information?

Otherwise, I'm going to pull my ECU to take a look. In which case, can someone kindly give me a quick step-by-step on how to remove the ECU? I know it is in the box next to the fuse box. I got the box open, but am unsure how to actually slide it out. Also, I assume it would be a wise practice to disconnect the battery before doing so, which I've never done on a Mini before.

 

http://www.renntechmercedes.com/www/support/ecu_removal

a pdf on renntech's site ... it is a countryman in the illustrations

scott

 

Thank you, sir! Exactly what I was looking for and probably overdue in this thread anyway.

So the question: Disconnecting the battery is as simple as unbolting the connection to one of the terminals (negative?) right? Just from looking at it, I imagine that thing is going to spark like a **** when I go to bolt it back on.

 

yes, negative off first, on last

one of the tuner sites had a note to not insert the key while the ecu was removed, leading me to believe they don't disconnect the battery, but i don't see that disconnecting the battery can hurt either

scott

 

Hey guys,

I've had some more hands on time with my ETG tune. I also had a Forge R56 Intercooler installed into my Countryman, so your experience my differ a bit.

So what a couple of real apparent things:

• Increase in torque, I feel much peppier off the line. Unfortunately, the limiting factor now seems to be my clutch. My wonderful wonderful CMS clutch -.-
  
• There is no Sport Mode anymore at least in terms of throttle. Throttle response with the ETG tune is the same in both Sport and non Sport Mode. Steering IS tighter in Sport mode however, so unfortunately I still have to press both my fog light and Sport mode button when I start the car. I really wish somebody would come up with a mod that would default both to on.
  
• Even without an intake mod (which is next on my list), my car doesn't feel like it's struggling to breath. Then again, I am based at sea level, so this may change when I wander into the hills soon.

So next steps for me.. will be a dyno when the local AWD dyno is up and running and probably an intake mod (I need to find a CARB legal CMS intake)

 

Would this Auto Sport Mode help you?
http://www.waymotorworks.com/auto-sp...de-module.html

 

Unfortunately that's not compatible with the Countryman. I have yet to see a module for the countryman.