Super excited to see stuff coming to market for people looking to go past the stage 2 level. I already killed my first B46 on the bytetronik stage 2 tune. $10k and a new motor later, im very interested to see what can be achieved on this platform with upgraded internals.

 

 

Blew #2 piston, caused deep scoring on the cylinder walls and 99% compression loss. Was running stage 2 tune from ByeTronik, milltek downpipe, intake, and airtec IC.

 

 

It was driving perfectly fine and then I got a CEL when I was commuting home one day. Pulled over and got the car towed home and the next time I started it I got a big cloud of white smoke coming out the back. When I pulled off my IC the charge pipes were filled with oil. I filled up a small sized food container with oil that drained out.

They basically said it was my fault and blamed me for the whole situation. Still refusing to refund me at this point. "Sorry, we do not offer refunds on the tune b/c it's a tried and tested tune." Which is a joke because in my mind if something is tried and tested, that means they stand behind it and will refund you if something isnt right.

If you check back on this section of the forum, you can see that they posted about "PSA: Owning a modded vehicle = Owner's Expectations and Responsibilities." which was posted shortly after I threatened to bring this situation public.

Pretty sad that they're doing all this over $800. Ive even had other tuners reach out to me and offer me free tunes because they felt bad. Could have easily solved this a long time ago.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Always sad to hear about serious engine issues. I'm sure there are good reasons why the more powerful versions of these little BMW engines have some different internals. Can't wait to see what they're putting in the 300HP factory Clubman that is rumored to be in the works.

As a general comment, I think we all need to keep a few things in mind, especially if we call out a specific product or vendor:
1. We tune at our own risk
2. Unless someone can demonstrate a replicable cause and effect relationship between a specific mod and a specific problem that mod causes, we need to be very careful and thoughtful before attributing a specific issue to a specific mod.
3. In my experience, if one can, indeed, satisfactorily demonstrate that a specific mod causes a specific issue, my impression has been that vendors who embrace this community are usually responsive and fair-minded.
4. MINI drivers use their cars in many ways and employ many driving styles as they motor. Very difficult to parse it all out, IMHO. YMMV.

 

Funny ..... Ive had a Stage 2 ByteTronik tune for several months and not one issue. I followed BT's recommend suggestions for the tune and its been nothing short of awesome.

 

Cylinder 2 misfire. Dealer replaced the coil pack, then a fuel injector, then a head job, then a new engine lol.

1. If a tune you are selling makes someones engine blow up, the very least you could do is refund them and stop distributing that tune to make sure no one else has issues. It makes me feel sick to imagine someone else going through the same situation as me and not having the resources/money to repair the car (which was close to $11,000 in my case). Its also not fair to think/say "Oh well if you dont have the money or if youre expecting to not have problems with a modified car then dont modify it"... I dont think ANYONE should experience a blown engine from a stage 2 tune. We haven't even touched stage 3 and we are seeing catastrophic failure on multiple occasions/cars.
2. Seems like people living in California, Arizona, and Nevada running clean air hippie blend 91 octane, cant safely run a stage 2 tune without issues. Maybe tuners will start to offer a dialed down stage 2 version for people living in these states. Funny, I was told by Bytetronik on the phone that even the stage 2 tune I was running was "conservative" and they cited ACN91 gas.
3. See point 1. A vendor who embraces the community and cares about its customers doesn't make a huge ordeal over $800. I dont think its even close to unfair to expect a refund in my situation.
4. I SMASH on my all my cars and having said that, wasn't even driving that hard when my motor blew. I was also running my scan gauge and some live logs and saw no apparent issues.

If im not mistaken, you have 93 octane in Minnesota correct? Not sure about Emilio, but John and I are both dealing with sh***y California 91 gas. We are going to need some further development with cooling solutions or stronger internals to allow us to safely run more power.

 

IF a tune I'm selling is causing engines to blow, I would agree I've got liability. If you know, to a demonstrable degree of certainty, that a specific mod caused a specific issue, … otherwise it's just informed opinion and speculation and should be discussed as such, as in, "I'm wondering if x was the cause of why." But if you know for certain, and can prove it, that's a matter for your attorney to handle.

 

I dont think my stock car with under 20k on the clock was planning on blowing by itself. Again, this is over $800 which is completely relative to me. Its a matter of standing behind your product especially when you're selling it as "a tried and tested tune". The car was built exactly to their spec with intake, aortic intercooler, miltek downpipe, their colder plugs, and I always ran their recommended shell 91 octane gas. I had pictures of my stock plugs before the tune and they were in perfect shape and burnt evenly. Having said that, the variable to me here was the stage 2 tune.

Their communication has been terrible and I have to continuously follow up to get any answers. When refunds get brought up, they stop replying. They offered me $350 which was pretty insulting. Instead of sending a reply and getting upset, I said thats not worth my time, could you please send me a new tune perhaps? Its been weeks since and they are saying the dealer updated my software (which I totally understand) but if I was paying customer they would have been taking this much more seriously. As of last week, they have completely stopped replying.

Frustrating when a business treats you well, till you give them your money and then they turn around and show you their a** end.

 

A bit unclear here. In a prior post SoCal F56 stated the vender said, "Sorry, we do not offer refunds on the tune..." and then in another post later reported being offered $350, which was found to be insulting. It is also reported that the vendor has stopped replying. Not being privy to all of the verbatim back-and-forth between the poster and the vendor, it is difficult to fully understand what motivated the $350 offer or where communication broke down.

I stand by my prior statement that it is always sad to hear about serious engine issues, and my comment that we tune at our own risk. I would also stick by my opinion that, if it can be shown to a reasonable degree of certainty that a specific mod caused a specific issue, the vendor should step up.

I hope others who have, or are considering getting, a tune, read of others' experience and I would encourage anyone considering a tune to fully-research the risks and rewards. And I would remind all Motorers that the line between spirited driving and misuse of a vehicle is difficult to define but, in all instances, manufacturers' warranties are quite clear that if damage is determined to be caused by misuse or abuse of the vehicle, the warranty is void. It is difficult to define where the line is, but often a blown engine is examined closely to determine if it was always operated within the manufacturer's acceptable parameters. Thus the wisdom of SoCal F56 when he says, "It makes me feel sick to imagine someone else going through the same situation as me and not having the resources/money to repair the car." Buyer beware, for sure.

And, once again, I suggest that, on our forum, it is always best to differentiate informed opinions from known facts, especially when specific vendors or products are the subject of discussion and critique.

 

Agreed a bit unclear, they were hesitant about the refund at first and later came up with $350. To me a less than partial refund is not a refund, more of a f*** you. I just recently reached out to them again to see if they could refund $500 and that is when communication has ceased. I am yet to receive a cent back.

I just want other people to understand the risks and dangers and not have to experience the bad situation with their car, paired with bad service from the tuner. If this situation continues to escalate, I will start my own post to make this information more organized and public. I have told them from the start that I did not want to make this situation public and damage their business. I have been trying to be as courteous as possible, but its starting to look like I have no choice.

 

 

Probably best to keep your negotiations with the vendor private. And always wise to be very circumspect when posting about your experience. Best of luck.

 

Can you quantify "left and right" for us? How many are you aware of? Thanks.

 

Wanted to share this as well, just to put it out there. It was indeed a stage 2 tune.

 

Wow ..... this line made me laugh.

You are also forgetting to mention that you were running a homebrew custom 3in intake and exhaust so who knows what that did to the internals

We all know that modding cars is a gamble. If you start adding custom parts, "driving it hard", "flooring it" you are just playing with the houses money.

Trust me, Im not saying my 2016 with 23k is unbreakable, im saying if you drive like its a Challenge car, stuff is going to break

 

I was running off the shelf parts and a stock motor = Same outcome. This car (to me at least) has proven to be unreliable when modified.

Edit: Id like to clarify as well that im really not trying to be the guy here who expects a 100% reliable modified car. I knew exactly what I was doing when I got to the stage 2 level and was confident I would be dealing with some issues. I would like to be as constructive as possible and put this information out there and move forward. I am now aware of what this car can handle in its factory state and what must be done to proceed past that point.