Tigger i really dont know your work and how everything performs with that i dont even have a mini right now(searching for a good R56 JCW 2012+) i have a HUGE list of after market products that i have to put in my car im looking every single detail on everything....You f@@cking convinced me...your saying and your website sayings...
Hope i find the R56 soon and make a project together.
I admire people that being " humble" and giving every single detail about how this works and what they know.!
Goodjob!!

 

@MarioKart

 

In all fairness to the Manic dealers most of them didn't know how the tune itself worked. It's not something Manic had any reason to share. In correspondence however they would always refer to them as modes not maps.

I have always been the curious type and was one of those kids that one hour after getting his first bicycle had it disassembled in pieces on the garage floor. Luckily, my parents decided it was easier to put up with me as opposed to trying to hide the body.

With a full damos, the funktionshramen (1600+ page document that describes the operation of the ECU) and a Tricore disassembler it finally made sense to me.

Just happy to share with the community. I believe that the better informed someone is, the better decisions they can make. Better selection of mods, better maintenance and upkeep, etc.. At the end of the day we all want the same thing, to enjoy these little rockets as much as, and for as long as possible.

Happy Motoring
Lou

 

I appreciate the feedback.

Question: If I want to purchase your stage 2 tune, would I have to get the Manic tune rewritten to OEM by Mini first?

 

Not necessarily. If a dealer isn't close by and you have a K+DCAN cable and a laptop with wifi we can arrange a remote session to reflash the ecu back to stock.

 

Where can I buy the handheld to then buy a StageX tune? Is this how ir Will work?

 

This is great news!

 

WOOHOO!

A great new DIY blowup your engine tool!

 

Lol. No DIY yet.... Maybe in a few more years though.

 

This is very interesting as I ran into the issues acquiring a Stage 2 tune due to Manic.

Re: optimization, do you have mode info about the different options?
Can the Sport Button be utilized to adjust throttle response etc?

How many N18s have you tune using this?
Is it possible to share customer’s reviews?

 

Standard optimizations included on all tunes is the catless/highflo CEL delete and coolant temp lowered to 90 degrees Celsius. For Stage 1 the CEL delete can be left out to meet local testing requirements. Additional optimizations include methanol injection, selection of race fuel, linear throttle response, extra pops and burbles as well as vehicle specific optimizations such as using JCW MAP or MAF sensors on an S model, BOV CEL delete, etc.. Individual optimization costs are $50 each but capped not to exceed $100. The ability to do the N18 is brand new but I'll ask my clients permission to post their data or see if they will post here themselves.

Yes the throttle response for both Sport and Non-Sport mode can be optimized as well as the pops and burbles for each. Since each of the three performance tunes carried on the Stage X handheld is a separate tune it allows for quite a bit of customization. For example one can be a street tune using pump gas with extra pops and burbles in sport mode. Another can be a track tune optimized for race fuel with a linear throttle and no pops and burble to meet track noise limits. While a third could be optimized for meth injection, etc..

 

Forgive my ignorance but what is the benefit of optimizing the jcw map or maf sensors in the S model if you're already tuned?

 

The JCW sensors shave a different scale for higher pressure and flow readings. In order to use them on an S model, you need to have the ECU calibrated for them.

 

We now offer the option to including Readiness+ to tunes for clients at no cost. It has come to our attention that some (cough) racing organizations (ahem) may soon require vehicles to pass emissions readiness checks prior to competition. While some of these organizations may allow one readiness check to not be set, others may require all of them be set. This could pose a problem for drivers as it may be necessary to drive the vehicle for a while to set all the readiness checks to green. The Readiness+ option allows all readiness checks to show green on startup and stay that way, even if a high flow or catless DP is installed. This is of course if your racing organization allows the installation of said components.

All normal diagnostic functions work as usual. So if your are running a factory catalytic converter without the Cat Delete option and the cat becomes clogged you will still get a CEL even though the readiness check shows green. The same holds true for any other systems related to readiness checks.

 

 

Any news on a group buy or discount?

I have little use of a handheld device as I’m just looking for a generic Stage 2 tune, so I find the price of tune and device a bit steep.

Would it perhaps be possible to “rent” the device for a small fee as an option?

 

Will this work with the SCS Delta ECU?

 

Discussions are still ongoing but I'm holding out for a $100 discount for NAM members.

SCS uses proprietary SXTune software for tuning their ECU's. Moving to a standalone ECU such as Motec, G4+ or SCS adds a whole other level of complexity because of the installation itself, and initial setup if a base file has not been developed. The upside is you have capability to make realtime alterations in the ECU on the dyno while the engine is running. This reduces dyno costs and development times. Each also requires certain work arounds. For example the Motec is not compatible with the Mini PWM controlled alternator. Other issues can arise as well such as loss of air conditioning or cruise control and canbus compatability. The other upside is it is much easier to implement features such as launch control and anti-lag. So for most it would be a race only application. The SCS looks like a very capable solution although I didn't see a Mini base file yet on their website. Hopefully, they'll publish some R56 variants soon.

 

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays everyone!

My name is Lou. My other handle was Tigger2011. I wanted to take a moment to thank everyone for their interest in this thread, and to thank NAM for welcoming us as a new vendor. It's great to be here supporting the site, and I look forward to continuing to help other members whenever possible. The coming year should be an exciting one for the Mini platform. There are a lot of great developments coming from many vendors as well as some great build projects in the works for the R series. In addition, the commonality of components between the B48 and B58 should result in some exciting F series projects.

Happy Motoring

 

Lou can you speak to the reason why someone should choose one tuner over another? You can PM if you feel it is more appropriate.
I'm still researching an ECU over the current Dinan module in my F56S.

Specifically ran across this bashing in general of other tunes. https://www.jmturbocoopers.com/Unsafe-ECU-Tuning.html

Thanks - Happy Holidays all!

 

That's a great question. There's several good tuners for our platform and some... not so much. With all the hype and half truths floating around it can be difficult to pick between the two groups. Here's a few questions to ask that will help you separate the wheat from the chaff as it were.

1. Does the tuner sell canned tunes without asking questions? Even our Stage 1 tunes are tailored to the clients needs. What is the vehicle used for? How many miles does it have? How long has the client had it? How has it been maintained? The truth is that everyone has slightly different goals. Another truth is that increasing output will always place a greater load on an engine, and with all else being equal ANY mechanical system will wear out sooner when operated under a greater load. One client may be asking for a tune on their daily driver with over 100,000 miles. Another client may have a second vehicle that's only used for autox or weekend play. Offering the exact same solution to both would probably not be in the best interest of one of them.

2. Does the tuner offer map switching with different levels of performance for the Stage your interested in? This gives you the option of choosing one level of performance for daily use and a different level of performance at a track. On the other hand some clients may only be interested in a single solution. If that's you then the importance of asking questions to clearly define the clients goals becomes even more important.

3. Does the tuner provide a canned Stage 3 tune or it is tailored to your specific setup? Does the tuner offer free software for remote data logging and provide adjustments as needed? Most every engine responds slightly differently to a larger turbo, and the ability to actually record the relevant variables including the knock sensor are important.

The article you mentioned has some good info. A quality tune requires many adjustments to create a cohesive whole. Our Stage 1 tunes include over 70 alterations to various settings and maps. Some other mistakes I've seen tuners make besides those mentioned include bringing too much boost on too soon. Trying to produce too much torque at low RPM is a good recipe for a blown motor. Other short cuts I've seen tuners use is zero'ing out the MAF tables to run in VE all the time. You'll know if this has been done as part throttle driveability will be poor and datalogging will show no flow from the MAF sensor. I'm also not a fan of tuning an engine to produce more boost than the MAP sensors can report to the ECU. A good tuner will ask a lot of questions, help you set realistic goals, offer advice on maintenance, and be just as responsive after the tune as before. Remember any tuner can make a car fast...once.

 

Glad I jumped back in and started reading. Good stuff going on the the Mini world.

 

well now I know why I don’t get a reading from the MAF sensor in my RPM stage 2 tune! What’s the drawback of doing so? I’ve read that this was common in the tuning community. Thanks for taking the time to answer our naive questions Lou. Wish you had this solution back when I tuned my car!

 

This sounds a lot like MHD times for the N54s. A tad less actually. On our N54s depending what ecu you have its anywhere from 20-40 minutes lol, for the first initial tune. After it’s only about 2 minutes to change maps etc. I have a N14 do you guys have that working for this car? I’m new and just bought my r56 so I’m looking around for all the fbo parts etc

 

Hmm... by their reputation I'm surprised to hear that. I would double check the MAF connection just to make sure. The original N14 Euro spec vehicles did not have a MAF sensor. It wasn't until later later that BMW added it like the US models. The MAF is important because the vehicle ECU must know the amount of air entering the engine in order to calculate the correct amount of fuel to inject. With a closed loop fuel system the ECU can adjust fueling if it was incorrect, but not until after the air fuel ratio has gone too lean or too rich. Closed loop is a good thing because it helps prevent motors from grenading. But it is a reactive system in that the cylinder has to fire before the ECU can note the deviation and correct it.

There are two ways for the ECU to know how much air is entering the cylinder. One way is via the MAF as it measures the air MASS in grams per second and reports this to the ECU. Knowing the mass of the air entering the engine allows the ECU to correctly calculate the amount of fuel to inject in order to hit the target air fuel ratio or lambda. The other way for the ECU to know the amount of air mass entering the engine is to estimate the airflow based on manifold pressure, the engines volumetric efficiency and the intake air temperature. This MAFless method is refereed to as speed density and it works. A good tuner can make an outstanding speed density tune but it has its limitations. The biggest limitation is that altering the volumetric efficiency of the engine will change the amount of air mass entering the engine at a given pressure. The ECU however is not aware of the change in air mass without retuning. When the ECU continues to see the actual lambda differing from the target it will apply adaptations to the base injection. This allows the ECU to be able to handle deviations but only up to a point, After that things can start to getting interesting. The ECU may trigger CEL's depending on the issue, lambda may be too rich or lean resulting in a jerkiness or non-linear throttle response during normal driving or you may see surging in boost. These will usually be most apparent during throttle changes while driving normally and in high boost / low RPM situations.