First off, I want to thank John Robins for the amazing tune that he has provided me for my '10 MCS. It's a helluva tune and in my case, I love how the power delivery has been changed from a boost happy MINI, into an even more track capable linear NA style power curve. John Robins of DNA Tuning has been the tuner for the '13 Challenge MINI's and has a huge reputation in the UK. I doubt anyone in the US has heard of him, but his work speaks for himself.

I inquired about his tune many months ago when I was going through v3 of my MINI and it was either go with the AP, or get a proper ECU reflash. We exchanged emails for weeks on end and I finally bit the bullet and decided it was time for a tune since my idea of getting a custom tune via Cobb AP was no longer something I desired. I've seen another user, George Talbot, who seemed to be the first to have his tune, and I was impressed with his dyno graphs that it was a no-brainer that DNA tuning was the way to go. John answered all the questions I had, and continues to support the changes I need accordingly. Not saying that his work is free, but his adjustments are there when needed, just a call or email away!

I haven't dynoed, so when I do I can provide the map, but so far my butt dyno says "YES YES YES!" all the way up to redline.

No longer do I feel a cut in power beyond 4500 RPM and I no longer have the decat downpipe CEL. He was able to code that all out of the ECU and I'm amazed with house responsive my MINI has been. He also adjusted my throttle to be linear, so now I have a race linear throttle response. This is only my 2nd day of driving her around town (work), but the linear throttle will take a bit of time getting used to since it's progressive instead of instantaneous boost/power when you blip the throttle (on/off).

My MINI has been adjusted to mimic the power delivery of a MINI Challenge car, but if you decide that DNA Tuning is something for you, then you can get a custom tune tailored for your specific driving needs. So if you want to maintain the boost curve, but have higher boost and maintain power up to redline, then he can probably do it, but I love the NA feel and I know it'll pay dividends on the track.

Hope you guys give DNA Tuning a try, because it is amazeballs.

 

So...... pricing ideas? Does he have an account here to offer up some information and such? I'd love to see what this is all about, but don't want to waste the guys time in an Email just to ask questions.

 

I'm intrigued for sure.

 

Thanks for the info. Wish I'd see more personal reports on tunes. I wish there were more local options for tunes.

 

Don't believe John @ DNA Tuning is on here. He doesn't market his tuning since he's working tunes on major series. As far as pricing goes, you'd have to inquire with him directly since pricing is a secret among vendors at times.

 

I was hesitant with him being based in the UK, but you don't even have to send out your ECU, he reads your data you send him and he can tailor a tune accordingly. So you're not stuck with a dead MINI while he writes his code.

 

Glad it worked out well for you looking forward to seeing your dyno's. So far I am very impressed with my map from John, I will be doing a track day on Saturday and will post some videos after.

 

Awesome! It was your dyno graph that really convinced me to finally get the tune from John. Great guy and top notch tune.

 

So he doesn't have an idea of price out there, and you can't provide a ballpark or info on what you paid and what all you got? I still wouldn't want to be bugging the guy asking a ton of questions for a "personalized" quote until I knew it was even going to be in my price range at all.

 

If your a member of minitorque.com in the uk it's £275 but as you are in the USA I am not sure how much this price would differ or change if at all.

Just send him an email with a description of the map you want and explain where you are based and ask for a price.

 

A simple google search provided me with a price range within 30 seconds. Not sure why others in this thread haven't tried the same.

 

It's less than what Evolve offers. Is that good enough

I know prices can scare people off, but seriously, "you gotta pay to play". I'm not saying that you have to fork out $1k to get a tune, but tuners do need to make something in return.

Yeah, that price was different from what I got, but I'm not complaining at all. John did a fantastic job and I have no complaints. I absolutely love the linear feel of my MINI and it's not an on/off switch like some other tunes, it just feels seamless.

Pricing can vary

 

FWIW this is the same tuner used by Colorado based JZW.

 

Possibly. Not sure how their tunes compare to DNA Tuning. Not sure if they're authorized DNA Tuner, but I see they do utilize the same Powergate 3 unit.

DNA Tuning may start a groupbuy soon for those interested in another N14 option. More affordable and probably the best option out there for the N14.

 

Group buys are ALWAYS welcome and appreciated!!!

 

John @ DNA Tuning is looking at becoming a vendor so he would welcome the enthusiasm and interest others are showing.

 

Man I'm all for another tuner in the MINI N14 world. Currently I feel that Evolve is the top dog tuning wise for the N14 with the AP now defunct so I personally want John to get involved over here, especially since I'm almost to the tuning stage myself.

 

The great thing about dealing with John is that you are dealing with the person that is actually creating a map for you instead of paying a premium to a dealer that is taking a cut on supplying you an off the shelf map and if you need any changes it's very easy to do.

 

I have no qualms with Evolve and I'm sure they can tune the lights outta the N14 as well, but knowing that they're the primary tuner for the MINI Challenge Series, I know where my money is going, someone that even MINI recognizes as an amazing tuner.

I've been fortunate to have tried out the Cobb AP, the NM tune, and even the JB+ tune over the time I've had my MINI and I'm not being biased, the DNA Tune blew all those outta the water. Complete night and day difference from what I have now. Power delivery is so smooth I forget it's a 1.6L turbo.

Mind you, I don't work for John @ DNA Tuning, but I know what he can offer is by far the cream of the cream for the N14. He may be a bit late in the game because he's UK based, but damn does he know the N14.

Agreed. John has been great to work with and I'm talking to him about getting NAM, US customers in general, to get his tune because I really love this tune and I am a true believer of what he's capable of doing. His credentials speak for himself.

 

has anyone run the DNA tune on fJCW?

 

Not that I know of. I'm sure whoever wants to get this tune for their JCW would have a blast with it though.

 

How do you get ahold of him? Use the "contact us" section on their website?

 

I'm convincing him to set up a groupbuy shortly. Please be patient

 

Is anyone able to compare the Evolve tune to the DNA tune? Anyone tried both?

Sent from my iPhone using NAMotoring

 

Ra2fanatic,
Did the tune come pre loaded or did he send you the handheld and wait for you to receive the device before writing a tune?