As many of us are anxious to get our cars tuned and are just waiting it out, I feel like companies are not going to magically appear and realize, "hey, lets go tune some MINI's". I don't think this way is working. Many companies have not looked at the MINI line. Yes some avoided it because of the difficulty of tuning, but they didn't think the market was that big to even try. Companies like COBB cut off the MINI line because of lack of a market. Our market is now bigger than ever. Once we show interest, companies will realize that there is a market for MINI's and will be willing to do research and development on tuning our cars. I have emailed a few companies and showed them some of the forums and some never realized that there was any kind interest in MINI's. It totally did not come across them. They were extremely surprised and suggested that we should all do a push and show any kind of interest to show that we are serious on having a tune. They do not want to waste their time on one person wanting a tune. So we must show interest. I myself are showing companies the interest we have by just sending simple emails and showing threads on the NAM Forums, but it takes more than just me. Anyone care to join? Just do what I do. Many of them say they like a simple email. I just type a simple email, copy it, and send it to every tuning company I can find. Especially the BMW Tuners. Show companies we have high interest in a tune, and push for research and development. That's what they told me they want and I am just spreading the word. Many companies are blind and will not just come out of the blue unless there is a market and high demand.

Thanks for reading,

John

 

I am waiting on a tune also for my 2013 jcw hardtop mini add me to the list

 

Checkout the Evolve group buy that just finished, that should give you an honest gauge of the interest there is for paying for a proper ECU tune for these cars. It looks like the acceptable price that people are willing to pay is $300, just look at the success of the JB+, it appears they can't keep up with demand.

 

I love the cars and I'm happy we developed the JB+ for the N18. But, to be candid, in my opinion, the volume and price points don't exist in this market to justify large development investments. Cobb did not "accidentally" leave the market and there is a reason few others have stepped in to offer legitimate at home flash tuning. Your best bet is finding enthusiasts who happen to own and enjoy the car and happen to do engineering and want to see something developed despite the lack of financial motivation.

Now where you may luck out is if volume picks up on non-MINI N18 applications. Like in some of the newer BMWs coming out in EU. More cars sold = more businesses willing to invest in their aftermarket.

 

There's a huge gulf between the owners who want a little more and cosmetics compared to say 5% who are will to seriously mod their cars. The market is tinny and those companies that have taken it on must be regretting the time and money spent on development. Terry I think you've got the market for the other 95% cornered.

 

All they need is demand and see a big market.

 

At the end of the day we develop parts for cars we like regardless of the economics. Jon and I both love the MINI (we share the R&D load) and I think this project is mostly paying for itself anyway. But for a business looking to turn a serious profit the volume would be difficult to justify enough R&D to release the sort of products the market probably needs to move forward. There are some tuners/companies out there though that are well equipped to adapt existing products to new platforms so never say never. And mail in flash tuning is a viable option for those who want to run larger turbos, etc.

FWIW we'll be working on higher power tunes for the N18 as well. At the moment I've veered off on to N63 development. Which like the N18 is a low volume thing. But since the cars are $70-120k and customers routinely pay $3k for tunes the economics works out better for a low volume market.

 

I'm love my Jb+ and installed in the first 9 hours of the purchase of my 13' GP2, car only had 62 miles. The car pulls super hard and is blast to drive and this is from someone who owns a 700hp 10.9 1/4mile CTS-V Coupe!!! Add an intercooler and downpipe and your are set.
Thanks Terry, looking forward to version 2.0

 

It seems some tuning companies focused on BMW have also done R&D on MINI since its part of the same company and maybe its easier for them because of ECU similarities. I still think those people buying the JB+ are happy with the cost and performance and might not be interested in the extra cost associated with hardwear/installation to go along with the next levels of tuning. I've read on this forum of people spending $450 on fog lights so the priorities one group of owners compared to another are quite different.

 

So a JB4 style tune is for sure coming in the near future for the N18??

 

Evolve decat downpipe is the way to go for $260 but you will some lose low end but gain more high end power!

 

The low end loss in not present with a tune. you should feel no real difference down low

 

The only tuners that tune for the loss is Evolve Automotive and Renntech/PAW for the N18... I have a jb+ and I feel a definite torque loss with the decat, but that's just me and my butt dyno but either way it was worth it bc there's an increase in power in the higher rpms

 

No. But, we've not ruled out the possibilities of offering a higher stage N18 tune down the road. R&D continues.

 

I have no problem with my NM tune.

 

Apparently Manic Motorsport managed to tune N18s through OBD.
https://www.facebook.com/ManicMotorsport

 

I wish that we have the ability to do it here in the US

 

I am very excited for Manic Motorsport tuning our N18. Looks like an excellent company.
Watch this vid!

 

Check out there website. It is all very exciting. They finally cracked OBDII Tuning on our N18 ECUs!

http://manicmotorsport.businesscatalyst.com/info.html

 

Does anyone know when this is coming to the US?

 

I just sent them an email

 

Hope the N63 project is a success, maybe those peeps will 'fund' more mini R&D :-)

Thanks for being open and honest Terry, I'm sure all of us JB+ owners appreciate your efforts thus far on our 'mini' platform.

 

I just sent an email to terry about the JB+ It only lists the Cooper S. If you put it on a GP i'm assuming it will also work on my 13 JCW. Do you think you are getting the same kind of HP gains as the S?

 

You will get more than an S. You will love it!

Sent from my iPhone Office