I was at my local Mini dealership this Saturday and the salesguy said they are coming out with an aftermarket 200 horsepower chip. He also said that its installation would not void the warranty.
Has anybody else heard abou this chip?

 

I'm definitely interested but I still skeptical on the realities of a dealer-installed chip that will offer 200HP. Please let us know if you find out more!

Mark

Note : Moving to beneath the bonnet...

 

The evotech chip gets 20-25 hp. 40 hp is a little hard to swallow from just a chip. That said, the John Cooper Works package is said to be in the range of 40 hp, and should be offered from dealers with the warrenty intact. It's also significantly more involved than just chipping.

 

i have the evo chip and it definitely does not get 15 hp, lucky if it gets 2hp. Dare those mfg's to prove their claims on your car or give you your money back!

 

>>i have the evo chip and it definitely does not get 15 hp, lucky if it gets 2hp. Dare those mfg's to prove their claims on your car or give you your money back!

That sounds more like a cow chip.....

 

VW/Audi 1.8 turbo engines can easily get 30-50 hp (or more depending on initial factory programming) from chipping alone. My stock GTI went from 150 to 215 with just a chip from APR.

If BMW purposefully de-tuned these vehicles using ECU software in the same way that VW/Audi does, then we are in for a real kick in the pants when they offer a factory upgrade like that.

I sure am going to wait and keep everything stock like a good little boy knowing that next year Santa is likely to come early :smile:

I probably won't feel sorry for those that rush to bolt on the first 200hp kits that someone cobbles together somewhere in a dimly lit garage. I have a strong feeling that BMW is going to support these vehicles very well, considering the attention they are going to receive for the next 5 years at least. The aftermarket is going to be HUGE for these cars, and I am sure that BMW is going to want a piece of the action.

~Andrew~

_________________
~Yucca Patrol~


"Good judgement comes from experience, and experience comes from bad judgement."

 

Yucca,
I hope you are right dude.:smile:
I really want to ...add stuff, but I'm leary bout the warantee.....downside.
If BMW gets involved w/ these performance upgrades...there should be big $$$$$$ in it for them. How could they be foolish enough not to get invloved?????
With all the posts I've read...I hear about such varied performance gains..that I'm sorry to say ...It all seems tooooo suspect.:smile:

Peace,
D

 

With my '01 SVT Lightning, there were chips that added a good 40hp available. It's not impossible. But whether or not it can be proved on such a car as the MCS, that's up in the air.
The last time I was at my dealer, one of the staff happened to mention that BMW was coming out with a chip that would substantially increase the hp ratings. He wasn't sure as to what the numbers were or availability on it. Said he heard it through the grapevine. So the 'sure thing' factor is not all that secure on that one. But word seems to be getting around. It 'may' just happen. But expect to pay a small fortune if offered through BMW. Even if highly priced, that may be worth the security of still having the warranty in tact, as well as higher power. Time will tell. I'd wish it would hurry up though.
Cheers,

 

I had an APR chip installed in my 1.8T and I can vouch for the major gains. 93 Octane chip claimed to give me 225 hp and 245 lb of twist, and the difference it made was unbelieveable! When they remap the fuel and air, and turn up the turbo (stock boost was 9 and chipped version was 21 pounds of boost) it makes a world of difference. Being able to switch from stock mode to chipped mode also made it nice for when you brought it to the dealer, or when you couldn't get 93 octane (or else the knock sensors would go off). APR, GIAC, and a host of others have been doing this for years, and I'm sure we are going to get some great aftermarket products for our beloved MINIs, that are reliable. Now the warranty issue has many questions. I've read that you can still retain your warranty on any car unless the dealer can prove that the modded component/part/chip was the direct cause of the problem, if a problem ever arises. Sorry this is so long. :smile:

 

Quote:

"200hp kits that someone cobbles together somewhere in a dimly lit garage."


For some reason that strikes me very humorous...

A fine wine definitely takes time.

 

I'm with cooper44, I too used to have a a4 withe 1.8T engine. Initially I just chipped it taking the horsepower from 150 to a little over 200. Later on I decided to go with thier stage 3 kit which brings the horsepower to right under 300hp. All of this was done for under $5,000. Even though I am anxiously awaiting the JCW kit for the MCS, I am a bit frustrated that 50 hp comes at a $5k price tag, where on a lesser powered engine (150hp stock 1.8t) I got 50 extra horsepower with a $400 chip. Oh well, we will have to see on the final spec for the JCW kit. I also just email apr to ask them if they had any plans on providing mini tunning in the near future. I'll be sure to post the results when I get them. Just thought I would add my two cents

Blake

 

Yes, a car company cannot void your warranty for aftermarket parts that cannot be proven to be the cause of a malfunction, but that is likely to take attorneys to resolve and the big car companies know that.

What they can do is simply refuse to work on your vehicle if they know it has been modified. Lots of VW guys have gotten reamed by VW in this way.

I spent many thousands of dollars on my VW GTI and have had no warranty issues with my very cool mod-friendly dealer, but I always know in the back of my mind that they will bow to a higher power with just a little pressure from the bigger fish.

I'm keeping her stock with only factory performance upgrades. Even stock, this thing will kick some serious butt in the stock amateur racing scene.

All that being said, I have $5000 ready to give BMW if they will sell me what I want.

ATTN: MINI USA -If you build it, we will buy it!

 

>>I am a bit frustrated that 50 hp comes at a $5k price tag, where on a lesser powered engine (150hp stock 1.8t) I got 50 extra horsepower with a $400 chip.>>
>>Blake
First off, these companies are trying to make their development dollars back asap. I'd expect prices to come down over time. Secondly, an more importantly (zipping up flame suit) at this stage of the game, the Audi/VW 1.8 turbo engine is simply a better engine. I believe it was purpose built to be turbocharged which is one reason why such impressive gains can be had by re-mapping the ECU. A larger turbo makes this power plant a real monster. Even a stock 1.8t is an amazing engineering feat. Have you guys ever driven one? The torque comes on VERY early in the rev range, which is no small task in a small displacement turbo charged engine. They have all but eliminated turbo lag.
I'm not saying the mini engine is bad, but the 1.8t is better. Besides, would you rather be seen cruising in a "new beetle" or a mini?

 

While it has been proven that VW & Audi "de-tune" their engines, I am not so sure that this is the case with the MINI engine.

I hope that the MINI engine is de-tuned and capable of at least 15%+ more HP and torque through better ECU tuning...
but you have to consider that the MINI Cooper that we all know and love is basically the same (engine) as the lower-HP MINI ONE, which is only sold in the UK.

It is my understanding that the improved performance of the Cooper over the "One" is solely a result of ECU tuning. If this is true, then maybe we cannot expect the significant gains that VWs have achieved through ECU tuning alone.

 

>>With my '01 SVT Lightning, there were chips that added a good 40hp available. It's not impossible. But whether or not it can be proved on such a car as the MCS, that's up in the air.
>>The last time I was at my dealer, one of the staff happened to mention that BMW was coming out with a chip that would substantially increase the hp ratings. He wasn't sure as to what the numbers were or availability on it. Said he heard it through the grapevine. So the 'sure thing' factor is not all that secure on that one. But word seems to be getting around. It 'may' just happen. But expect to pay a small fortune if offered through BMW. Even if highly priced, that may be worth the security of still having the warranty in tact, as well as higher power. Time will tell. I'd wish it would hurry up though.
>>Cheers,
>>
>>

Stock Lightnings come with significantly more HP than the Mini, getting 40 HP out of a chip modification in a Lightning (Gen 2, 2001) is a bit more than 10 percent increase. Getting the same 40hp gain from modding a Mini ECU would be a rough guess of about 25 percent increase (excuse my math). I wonder if that much of a gain is unrealistic, with just the chip. Toss a good intake and exhaust that is matched to the calibration in the aftermarket chip and I think the 200hp goal is totally achievable.

 

Blake,
I can vouch for the ability to boost the hell out of VW engines. I got rid of my Jetta turbo because I was already having transmission problems, possibly due to the Upsolute chip. Hopefully this will not be an issue with the Getrag. But, anyone strapping that 200 hp turbo kit for the standard Cooper (from MiniMania) may tear up their 5-speed down the road. Like VW did with the 1.8T, I'm sure MINI will give their models a HP gain after a few years. I figure we'll see a 180HP S from the factory within 3 years.

 

40 hp is not unrealistic at all for chipping a car. Just ask any audi or vw guy about chipping. The stage one chip for an audi 1.8T (stock 150hp prior to 2001) was a 50 hp chip, so as far as a percentage increase in horsepower goes, a 40hp chip in my mind would not be unrealistic for a mini. It all depends how far mini has already pushed the s as far as the engines capabilities, take for instance a honda s2000, king motorsports in a past road and track article was showing off thier s2000 that they dumped nearly $40,000 in mods on (not including cost of the car!) and it took .25 secs of the 0-60 time. Sounds like a lost cause, I think people have come to the conclusiont that honda has milked everything out of the engine that they could. I look forward to seeing what kind of chips are out there for the mini in about 8 months when some tuners have had some time to play god with the mini. Yahoo!

 

the 1.8t is a great engine, but we can't say it's better than the MINI's engine. there hasn't been enought time for aftermarket companies to get their hands on it. as for chipping, that is one thing i plan to do, but i think i'll do other mods first. i don't want a "rushed" job put on my car. besides, i've always gone the "suspension first" route, but now i don't know because the MINI's handle so well already.

 

I'm with you cooper. I think we will see great performance add ons in the next year and a half after tuners have been able to properly develope kits. I never ment to put the 1.8T against the mini engine, just using it as an example on what kind of potential there is for chipping a turbocharged or supercharged engine. I still don't know what to do with myself since the MCS has such great handling stock, I've been so anxious waiting for the JCW to come out along with other tuners kits. Oh well, we'll have to see.

Blake

 

You are comparing apples to oranges, of sort. An aftermarket chip, applied to a turbocharged vehicle, where boost levels are managed via a closed loop boost control vs the Mini, where boost levels are likely determined by pulley size, makes a big difference on power output expectations from just a chip swap. Boost levels can be raised just by editing tables in the memcal, on most modern turbocharged vehicles. I am not aware that this is true with our Supercharged Mini. So, 40 HP with just a chip swap, in our application is a very high expectation IMHO. Swap out the pulley in conjunction with calibration mods, well then, that is a different story.

_________________

2003 Mini Cooper S (shared with Barb) | 1992 GMC Typhoon | 1991 GMC Syclone

 

There's a good article in the current "european car" magazine about Hamann-tuned MINIs.

I agree with you about the suspension... MINIs don't really need much help there. While you can always improve upon stock, when tuning it is always best to start in areas that have the most room for improvement (other obvious considerations: cost/benefit, ease of install, warranty impact).

1. exhaust
2. intake
3. ECU/Chip tuning
4. lighter flywheel
5. performance camshaft
6. gas-flow ported head?
7. suspension
8. brakes

 

JohnW, good points. I just saw a photo of a stock S exhaust and that is number one on my list now. It's terrible!

Daron, so does this mean aftermarket companies will sell chips with pullies so the remapping is correct? That is great information, thank you.

 

thanks, Cooper44..

That was the 1st thing I replaced on my MC - the Rogue Exhaust looks great, sounds great, and improved performance too!

I'm really looking forward to the next issue of Grassroots Motorsports, they are going to have an article listing the HP dyno improvements of the various aftermarket exhausts. Check out their website - www.grassrootsmotorsports.com

 

>>JohnW, good points. I just saw a photo of a stock S exhaust and that is number one on my list now. It's terrible!
>>
>>Daron, so does this mean aftermarket companies will sell chips with pullies so the remapping is correct? That is great information, thank you.

I suspect that a pulley upgrade will be part of a staged "package," depending on the vendor. For instance, "stage one" is intake and exhaust, "stage two" includes chip and pulley etc... I need to get smart on the strategies employed by Seimens when they programed our Mini fuel injection system. Until such time, speculation is a good description of my opinion.
It is highly likely our current computer could support more boost. Boost however is only part of the performance equation. Optimizing fueling and ignition tables to take advantage of the power potential gained from modifications ( exhaust and intake ) is another key aspect to performance and why I am so interested in what makes our Mini's brain think. If the service personnel can reprogram our Fuel Injection system with a service CD, than surely we can too....
I really want a vendor to sell a scan tool for our Mini's. I have a laptop attached to my Syclone's ECM and can monitor everything from knock counts to boost, and can graph all the ECM s parameters. This information is essential when tuning and burning new chips.
I'd really like a similar "window" into the Mini computer as well.

 

JohnW
my friend Dave Wallens works for Grassroots and he sent me the photo of the stock exhaust and a shot of the bmp exhaust. damn thing barely fit in my window! i can't wait for that issue as well, it will clear up a lot of questions. oh, the bmp exhaust looks beautiful. simply amazing!

Daron, one of my best friends has a typhoon with so much work done to it! 600hp 650 twist. i might be underrating him. anyway, i'd love a way to get into the cpu as well to make adjustments, like the vag-com. that's why i was wondering about the pulley involved in the chipping process. i would think it would be pointless to add just any pulley because it would adjust the air flow. more air more fuel, so the cpu would need to be remapped again. it'll be very interesting when all of the aftermarket kits start coming out. actually, i can't wait.