Hello,

I contact RENNtech and they informed me they can do to my new 2013 Countryman JCW an ECU tune and gain 40hp 40 torque if I will send my ECU and they will do only software upgrade. They didn't recommend a new FMIC but only an Akrapovic downpipe to gain something like 5hp.

So, anyone have a RENNtech tune to N18?

Any thoughts or experience with the RENNtech tune to N18?

Thanks,
Ran

 

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I did read all of those 78 pages...!!
And no info as to my Q, the only info is that RANNtech do an ECU tune for the N18....OK, BUT anyone did this tune with them and can give me some feedback please...??

 

Yes. Worth it. I think there's at least a half dozen other Countrymen who have also posted they've got the Renntech tune. It does need a day or two of acclimation before the permanent grin shows up though.

 

I shipped ECU to them from TX to FL. It got there Monday morning and was back on my doorstep Tuesday morning.

Engine at idle was noticeably quieter with less vibration in the car. Everything felt smoother without sport button on driving around town. Just a different car.

Measuring 0-60mph and looking at OBDII data, the first 50 miles with new tune felt and measured as slower than the stock tune, but by two days later it got much stronger.

I had been running a piggyback for extra boost for the previous year (set at #6 of 10 positions). Without the piggyback, but with a Helix intercooler, Forge recirc valve, K&N filter, and Borla catback OBDII would report a peak boost of 16.1 psi. Every car is a little different and and the vehicle sensors may not be as accurate as an external gauge. With the tune, and after the ECU learned the engine for a couple days it still showed around the same peak boost level, but again it just used the boost much more effectively. Without the sport button on, some others have reported it feels 10% stronger. In my case if I'm in sixth and in manual mode and go to 90% throttle (stopping at the resistance point that would otherwise force a downshift) it feels a bit slower to accelerate. But without the sport button at higher RPMs it's stronger than pre-tune (without piggyback).

With the sport button on it's much quicker. You still can't just floor it from 0mph and get max accelleration. More like three quarter throttle for the first second or two. But after that at full throttle it pulls very strong and very consistently up to redline and shifts feel faster (but a little more jarring which may be bad long term for some of components between the engine and wheels).

I also ended putting the piggyback back on as well, and the sweet spot seemed to be down at setting #3 of 10.

OBDII measured air to fuel ratio (although vehicle narrow band O2 sensors can't tell you much) still shows the car as running rich at wide throttle so I'm not worried about leaning out. And there's no more CELs like I used to get with the piggyback alone. But all the built in drive cycle stuff like evap emissions complete still works. Due to all the magic they do with the tune, I can't get the misfire counts anymore, at least with my Scantech, but I'll just check the plugs periodically to make sure there's no detonation and maybe a cooler plug would be needed.

I've had full day tuning done on previous cars where everything about the car ends up perfect and the car feels like an extension of your body. Just shipping an ECU out doesn't usually match that experience, but the Renntech tune comes close.

 

Thanks doug_all4 for you feedback,
Did you dyno your car to see the output after the Ranntech tune?

From what I understand your OK with this tune, but not more then that...

 

Thanks doug_all4 for you feedback,
Did you dyno your car to see the output after the Ranntech tune?

From what I understand your OK with this tune, but not more then that...

 

Sorry, no dyno. It can be difficult to choose between waiting for NM tune availability, seeing what the new JB piggyback offers in stage 1 or 2, going with Renntech (20-40 ft-lbs more torque), or just living with car the way it is (and not jeopordizing the engine's life span).

 

If you use the Search feature you can see 500 Renntech posts going back to the original announcement. Some have posted their dynos...

https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...p/photo/109444

 

I have the Renntech on my '12 CMS ALL4.
1 month and 20 or so "reduced engine power" messages later I'm pretty confused about the tune. It seemed to breathe some new life into the engine and was quite enjoyable for a while, but something does not feel right. It's just not as smooth as stock, a bit jerky at times i have to say. And ofc, the aforementioned shower of CELs.

I'm actually seriously thinking of re-stocking the car soon. JB+ is around the corner, so i'll give it a try I guess

 

....oh yeah, and insane gas mileage after the tune. It's doing 16 mpg..that's right casual & good mannered driving

 

Wow and I thought renntech was a solid tune. Guess everything has their hiccups. And 16mpg's? Dang.

 

you don't know if this would have happened without the tune, nor do we know its directly the tune's fault. get the subcodes scanned and determine what is faulty and fix it. tunes wont fix mechanical issues, dont writeoff the tune as the culprit to this CEL.

 

well let's put it like that...

15k miles and not one single CEL, car running like a dream...a mediocre dream but one nonetheless

Renntech tune installed and 20 CELs come up out of thin air...i would say it's cause & effect, but i may be wrong.

ofc codes must be read and things looked into but the harsh reality is pretty much as described above

 

well 20 of them, yeah.

 

20 reduced power CELs......is the car possibly hitting the boost limit of 22psi on a consistent basis?

 

or its significant detonation CEL

 

i popped in an obd2 tool to scan the codes...apparently it doesn't seem to store them. Luckily enough it threw me another CEL just this day and i was quick to read it before i okayed the damn thing. Turned out to be P325F, which translates into "Relative fuel mass plausibility monitor"

Any thoughts, guys ?

 

Are you running the top octane?

 

i'm running 95...sometimes 98. It's just that out here in Europe u can't get less than 95
Anyway, i also got some info on the boost level. I did some runs and went as high as 18,7 psi. Now, i'm not that savy but maybe it leans out a bit too much.
Just to clarify things, i didn't have those issues back when the ECU was bone stock.

 

I went to Renntech this afternoon after work since they are 5 miles from my place of work for the first time. I spoke to a desk clerk and she pointed me in the direction of what I believe to be a sales rep. I start out by making my worries known such as CEL's and budget for what I want done. I talk about NAM and how there should be more of a vendor official for the product since so many people have so many unanswered questions on this site.

I got a tour of the whole facility that I didn't request but was still very exciting. From 3d printers to fancy CNC machines I was shown the whole 9 yards. From welding fab to Mercedes for days raised on hydro lifts having work done; very impressive. Everything was clean and had it's place on a shelf somewhere.

After the tour I talked to Lenny, which several people form this site praise in tuning and software. He showed me a graph of a tune with a recent Mini Copper S that was stock going from 171 base to a 207(give or take a few ponies I can't remember exactly and I think the car had a couple bolt ons at time of dyno).

I went there for info on their tune and posible Akroprovic downpipe install. I expressed several times I'm not looking for CEL's and warranty problems and was reassured a few times that wouldn't happen. I'm going to pull the trigger on their tune for sure and look forward to a possible vid. Lenny if you're reading this please address any possible negative outcomes as I told you there are tons of people curious about the renntech product.

 

I will be very happy to read your feedback on this Tune.
Do you have a N18 engine?

Thanks
Ran

 

Yes a 2013 mini cooper s manual. I also inquired about the best supporting mods to the tune and the first two things he said were intercooler and plugs. Apparently the stuck plugs will lean out and crack over time.

 

My car had their tune installed today and Lenny took me for a ride after completed. The guy can drive that's for sure. I don't have any CELs. Lenny said it felt like they added 30hp and 30 lbs torque to the car. The dyno was being used before I arrived so I was not able to rent it but plan on going back sometime soon to post some numbers.

The added power is very signifigant and I have to relearn how to drive the car again and what its limits are. Before where the cooper S felt like it fell flat on power after 5k rpm it continues to make power after 5k rpm now and the throttle response is about twice as fast compared to stock sport mode.

 

Hi,
Can you update how you like the tune after some time you got it now? Any CEL, or problems? Do you think it worth the money ?