So i have had my 2011 mini cooper countryman s all4 for 4 years on April 4th and have been slowly been working on it since. My first modification was the NM intake and then came the charge pipe, JB+, Scorpion Exhaust, JCW front lip, then Megan Racing Coilovers, and Wagner tuning competition intercooler. Once I did all of that i knew i wanted to get a down pipe... which one was the question.... my friend who also has a mini had MarioKart's Down pipe on. I heard it for the first time and i said i wanted it. So i got one shortly after lol. When i got the pipe i saw the quality right from the start. It was beautiful! After seeing this I knew I wanted to get a tune and i learned that he does the Manic Tune. I always posted on the forums about what i should do and then one day Mario answered me. Then he pm'd me and thats where my dream of building my mini became a reality. I was nervous at first but Mario is such a great guy. I live on the east coast and the time zone difference is 3 hours. I would wake up at 8am and not thinking message him a question and boom seconds later he answers! I dont care what shop you go to or store for anything for cars, clothes or anything else YOU DO NOT GET ANY BETTER SERVICE THAN THAT! Once I shipped my ecu over we talked every day. I also ordered spark plugs from him and gapped them to the mods that i have on my car. I consider Mario more of a friend than just a person I did business with. Now i have my tune and been driving my car for a week today on the stage 2 tune and my car is more alive than ever and I am so happy I went with Mario. after the experience i had with him I highly highly recommend doing business with him because he is the best and thats it!

 

I just had the pleasure of working with Mario for the first and certianly not the last time over this past week. I had been having some issues with O2 sensors causing the dme to throw a CEL and prevent it from passing inspection. I spoke with him on the phone for about 45 minutes and we decided to install a stage 2 tune from Manic. I couldn't be happier with how things turned out and how fast he is at getting things back and being in constant communication with me about the process. I have definitely fallen in love with how this car now preforms on the stage 2 tune he installed. I already have plans for a new downpipe and a few other supporting mods all of which will come from Mario. Thanks again man.

 

Had the pleasure of getting my baby a kick in the butt with a Manic tune done by MariaKart. Luckily his place of operation is local to me and I drove to him and he dove right into my machine hot and all. Dude was knowledgeable, personable, and a decent human being. Customer service is impeccable. Definitely found me a local vendor and Mini enthusiast that actually knows his way around my car. Looking forward to doing more work on my car with his hand in the project.

 

Hello all.


I just bought my first Mini 2 weeks ago. picked up a 2014 Clubman S and traded in my 2008 VW R32. I was having a ton of electrical type issues and also my A/C was shot. So I decided to hunt for a MK6 GTI but ended up chasing too many raw deals. Test drove the Clubman S and instantly fell in love with it. I'd even go as far as to say its handles better than my R32 did on Coilovers and AWD. Power feels almost identical to a MK6 GTI.


So why am I ranting here? Because of course within the 1st 24 hours of ownership I began the forum search for everything and anything I could do to this car to make more power and agility. I saw countless reviews of plug n play tunes, Manic, Evolve, ect... I wasn't sure what to do so about a week in I ordered a JB+ to see if it would supply me with the extra kick I wanted. It did indeed work but it was very inconsistent at times, sometimes it felt great and others it was near stock. I monitored everything with Torque Pro and to say the least it confirmed the fluctuations in boost. I would peak 19 here...then 15 here then 16...blah blah.


It was at this time I decided to research a little more for additional mods and stumbled across these nice Ceramic Downpipes made by Mario. I decided to send him an Email to see if he still made them and what I would be looking into as far as pricing but also worried that CEL would bother me seeing it all day. He informed me he had Downpipes but I could also get a tune that together would net a nice 50HP gain. I was unaware he was a dealer at this point so I began to discuss the tune and options I had. I have at least 80 emails with him in the past few days and he never failed to respond to one of them, we may have well exchanged numbers to text for the ease lol. After days of talk and throwing the idea of stage 1 or 2 thru my head I finally just mailed the ECU on Thursday (without even making my mind up on which stage to get lol). I knew I wanted it but if I didn't do something I would have 1000 emails and even more time on here and google. We spoke a little more and I decided to pull the trigger on Stage 2. I figured I would either get a downpipe on ebay or maybe find a steal on a used one. Mario offered me a used on at a fair price but I had decided to get the SPS switch and colder spark plugs instead. At this point I was maxing out what I could spend at this time for mods. BTW he deducted $200 off my total for sending my practically new JB+ to him as a trade. =)


My ECU arrived to Mario on Friday afternoon and he immediately notified me. He updated within another hour that he may not have it to the post office in time for the cut off for overnight. It was not an issue I was just happy to be getting tuned. He informed me Friday the box would arrive on Monday. Now I just sit back and wait. I will update on the tune itself once I get some seat time.


BUT WAIT...


There's one more thing, the one thing that took Mario a few steps above other Tuners for me (not MANIC ones specifically but in general) He kindly sent me something extra. Something I don't want to name specifically but something I needed to run this tune correctly. He sent it in good faith that I would send him the extra bit of money once I had the funds available. THAT right there is what sets Joe Shmoe Tuner apart from Mario. Good faith in humanity and care for a fellow car enthusiast.

 

Yeah he's the best as far as my experience goes with car modding and tuning. Mario is totally a stand up dude. Congrats on your choice of vehicle and hope you enjoy it.

 

So I just got my 2009 Mini Cooper S Convertible this summer, been driving it for a couple of months and loved it. It was just a fun car to drive until I saw videos of tuned minis in Youtube. So, I was interested in modifying and started slowly. I first bought an open air intake from K&N, some stainless steel exhaust from Ebay and finally decided to go to something bigger. I was concerned on how the 09 minis would not do the pop and crackle on their cars. So decided to contact several Manic dealers out there and none of them would offer any option to do the pop and crackle to it. So bumped that I almost decided to trade my car for a newer Mini. But then, I contacted Mario and his service was amazing! He excitingly said that there was a tuning for the pops and crackles for my car and we went from there to making my dreams come true. It was like making the impossible possible and he taught me lots of things that I did not know from my mini. After anxiously waiting for several days, I then go the chance to re install my ecu back with the Manic stage 2 tuning. It was amazing and I could not believe how the power gain is so huge! The wheel spun first gear and second gear, it was crazy fast. The fun thing is that it is now doing the pops and crackles like crazy, which I personally like. Next mods would be a catless downpipe and intercoolers and soon getting it from Mario for sure. He has one of the best downpipes and intercoolers out there. Love working with him and hope to do more business from him in the future!

 

so you have manic stage 2 but no intercooler?

 

You can run Map A with no other mods except you will.need the colder plugs. I did it for a little while and it ran great

 

ahhhhhh

 

Keep modding you’re gonna love it

 

I purchased my first MINI back in May and have loved these cars from the first one I test drove. I drove it around a few months bone stock AND THEN I discovered this forum and all the great stuff you can do to them to make them your own and personalize them (performance and looks.) I also own a Jeep JK unlimited so I love the aftermarket world. Thats when I discovered this name Mariokart popping up everywhere in different threads. He always seem to know his stuff and everyone always had great things to say about him. I was about to purchase the JB+. I think I even had it in my cart on a site when I decided to take a chance and contact this guy Mariokart. What a great move that was! From the 1st phone call talking to Mario is like talking to a friend you've known for years. I had so many questions and I think 1st call was well over an hour. He explains things so throughly and relates it so well more commonly to things you might understand. You are never rushed on the phone and he responds quickly and continuously to texts about what I know are some of the dumbest questions. We have had well over 150 texts back and forth and atleast 10 calls that have consumed hours. He has helped my knowledge of MINI's and turbos and suspension and just cars in general 10 fold. I purchased Stage 2 tune, SMS, ceramic DP, plugs, and Intercooler from him. WOW!!! What a difference! I absolutely love this setup. This car moves out and is so fun to drive. I truly don't know how I'm gonna keep my license, I can't keep my foot out of it. He has given me my first taste of heroin and now I'm like where"s the next fix? bigger turbo?, meth kit?, coilovers? Whats next??? This is great!

 

I took my 2011 Countryman S (2wd) to Mario for a Stage 2 tune and I can say that the tune is the best thing I could ever had done to it. It is like a brand new car! I know that I am writing the same thing that has been written so many times on this thread, but this is exactly how Minis should come from the dealer. I could go on more and say exactly the same thing that everyone else has said about the performance and how amazing it is, but I would rather review Mario himself. They guy is simply amazing! He worked with me to schedule out a time to be able to tune my car in person even though he had barely any time at all. He was always quick to respond, personable, and just a great guy all around.

To to everyone who might read this thread, no matter what you are looking for, parts or a tune, Mario is the one for it all. I will always recommend him to anyone.

 

Great to meet you Wednesday night and thank you for being flexible with your seclude. I think we met at 9:30pm and finish just after midnight. enjoy the car and let me know when you ready for stage 3 or just have some questions.
Mario

 

If you're looking for a tune for the Mini you don't have a whole lot of options. Mario showed up and tuned my car while I was at work and the tune was great.

 

 

Besides the downpipe what else would be needed? New v-band, gasket at the turbo?
If so let me know where you guys got them from since I just pulled the trigger on a ceramic dp. Thanks Mario.

 

When I did my downpipe, I bought this kit:
https://www.ecstuning.com/b-genuine-...6sdownpipekt2/

 

 

 

Only in sport mode. Keep sport mode off, and the car is very civilized.

 

Mine pops without sport but only when i shift.
Ben

 

i thought there was a thread for installing a downpipe on the forums. It’s gotta be pretty straight forward. 3 bolts, v clamp and o2 sensors. Hardest part is jacking up the car lol.

 

Alta published a pdf on the process. Google r56 install downpipe and you should find the pdf from outmotoring.

 

The instructions here are what I followed:
http://az79640.vo.msecnd.net/akrapov...987b0971c8.pdf

Just ignore the parts about the exhaust install.

 

First off, I met Mario on Facebook when he had a JB+ for sale. Great guy to talk to and when I mentioned that I eventually want to get the Manic Tune, he was awesome to suggest things to get for my MINI and that he will do the tune for me.

After several months of playing with the JB+, I felt that I needed more and that the JB+ was more of a tease of the potential power. I contacted Mario about his downpipes and was reassured that I would not get a CEL with the manufacturing of his O2 bungs. He was absolutely right! And the fitment is par to none. It fit just like a glove and the quality of the welds and thickness of material is amazing. The sound produces a deep rumble. I put 1000 miles on that downpipe in a month and no light. I proceeded to remove the 2nd cat as well and get a Manic Stage 2+ tune with flames.

I put my ECU in the post on Monday (which was a holiday) and it was shipped Tuesday. He received it on Wednesday and shipped it back the same day. I received it on Thursday, despite not being home and having to pick it up from the post office. Installed it today, as well as new spark plugs, and boy does this have power now. Not only that, but I went from only having the pops in sport mode to having them in non-sport mode. And when sport mode is on, it is like gunshots going off. I absolutely love it. Can't wait until night time to see the flames.

Mario is a great guy and excellent MINI aftermarket expert and tuner. Definitely will continue doing business with him!