I was considering MTH but after reading many threads on how great the GIAC is, MTH is out. Unfortunaetly it seems all? of the great GIAC reviews talk about the 19% pulley and large injectors. While I have the larger injectors of the JCW I am forced by STX autocross rules to stay with the JCW pulley, 14.3%. (?) GIAC has a 15% program, possibly close enough to where I'm at but I have other mods as well, London Stainless Headers (Seem identical to Millteck) and a custom, very open 2.5" CAT back. I'll probably be swaping out the JCW intake for my old Madness or get a new GTT. I will test the JCW v. Madness first, if I don't get a GTT before that.

How the UniChip fits in here is I already had it before the JCW and just need to send it back to Webb Motorsports for a free reflash.

Which do you guys think would be the best for autocrossing? Smooth, fast launches and mid range power, are of greatest importance. UniChip can of course be custom tuned to any car if you get to one of their shops, at extra cost, $200+ I think. I also understand the quality of the job varies by where you go and I'm unlikely to get to one of the better shops, but we'll see. UniChip has several (5-9?) pre-done programs for a variety of mod combinations. I'd go to Helix, or much closer Curry's, to get the GIAC and dyno tune in my new 5" disc SuperTrapp and test intakes.

Anybody with 15% or JCW and headers and exhaust, that's done both?

 

Did some more searching. From UniChip's U.S. web site under vehicle search I found they have 10 maps for the MCS, two will probably work better than the rest and they have inflated dyno maps for all. I'm trying to think of them in relative terms. They specifically have a JCW map, well it says JCW with Alta intake + Headers + Milltek CAT back. I don't know if they came up with this before the 210 kit though. Gains were not huge and the map wasn't real smooth but it was still better, power wise, than the 2nd choice. 2nd choice is MCS + 15% and everything else the same. This is a smoother map with consistant gains above apx. 5K but slightly less overall power and the first choice had a nice autocross power bump down around 3.5K. I'd probably should remove the JCW software to use #2 as well.

 

Just got my 06 MCS JCW flashed with GIAC - let me know if you want a ride. :-) It's definitely a noticable difference. Currys is top-notch if you want to get it flashed as they have a good relationship with Helix.

 

Cheating is half of the game bud. You just have to be good at it.

Get the alta 19 and take a few thousandths off the surface to get rid of the logo, then paint the pulley black.

 

or the 2% crank reduction

 

Thank's Kurt. No one responded to a more recent and specific GIAC/JCW post of mine and I was wondering if anyone in the U.S. had done one. One U.K. MINI2 person reported great results, 190 lbs./ft. of torque, but had JCW headers as well. The reflashed UniChip was worse than the JCW software alone, so GIAC was my next bet. Anoter NAM'er said MCS w/15%, JCW injectors, intake, gained 18 hp when GIAC was added.

With you in D.C. why did you go to Helix instead of Currys?

 

Eric installed a 25mm rear sway bar on my MCS also and he's a good MINI friend so I wanted to spread around the business.

 

If your not cheating, your not trying. If you get caught, your not trying hard enough, I like your thinking Rick! -- Johan

 

LMAO I love your thinking BTW... It was practically my motto for all of highschool lolol... Couldn't have said it better myself...

 

Well, its true.

Everyone is motorsports cheats in one way or another.

If they say they arent, they are lying.

 

I just hope each of us gets what he rightfully deserves.

 

I race in BMW CCA AA class and am very competitive with e46 330i with PP. I have springs and a rear sway bar. I don't cheat and post times of car with 100 more HP at the flick of a wrist.

 

Thank you, I wondered how this changed into the "cheater thread" What has anyone proved when they cheat.

 

I'LL tell you at the next Autox Gowest.. going to throw on some R compounds and run in G stock =P

 

That is truly PATHETIC ... what is the point in "cheating"? As you say ... what are they "proving?". This is very sad, kind of like Barry Bonds who will go down as a CHEATER after a good career. I guess its kind of sad to see MINI owners talk about "cheating" at anything ... it demeans the culture. Worse yet, its a sign of weakness that you can't make it on your or your car's own merits ... sad.

 

i dont think you guys understand.

EVERYONE cheats in motorsports. its not just little guys at small town tracks, the big guys cheat constantly and that gives them an edge. the trick is to make it no such a huge edge that it makes you look suspicious, but to just give you a leg up over the competition.

i know of a person who shall go unnamed that runs oval track.

they have 2 fire extinguishers in their car. one is real, the other is a fire extingusiher that has been converted to hold nitrous. they run the line inside the roll cage and hide the jet in the back of the manifold.

it gives them that little edge.


What have i proved when i cheat?
I'm more resourceful than the competiton.

 

Rick, sorry to disagree but do you understand what you just wrote? The guy using nitrous, apparantly needs to cheat to do well .... So what did he prove (besides the fact that he is a cheater)?

Lets say he wins a race? What does it mean? It means Squat. He won nothing ... it would be like Vijay Singh cheating on his scorecard because he needed an "edge" on Tiger Woods. Suppose he won the Masters? It would mean NOTHING because he really did NOT beat Tiger ...

Same thing, this guy would have an empty "victory" and that is sad.

What have i proved when i cheat?
I'm more resourceful than the competiton.

If you don't "get it" now, maybe time and experience will help. It doesn't mean your more resourceful, it means you needed to cheat to gain an "edge", as you admit, to be the other guy ... an empty victory.

 

winning is winning, one way or the other.

 

Not to digress.. but can we take this thread back on track please.. this is about UNIChip vs. GIAC. Thank you.

 

Well said, chows. I always hope that cheating will catch up with the cheaters in time. Unfortunately, some just don't get it, so they need more than a slap on the wrists. Official penalties are usually not bad enough to keep ne'er-do-wells from even thinking twice about it. Personally, I'd like to see them lose body parts if caught at such behavior (and I don't mean doors and fenders ).

I think much worse penalties for all types of crimes, misdemeanors, "cheats" frauds, etc. might help reduce bad behavior. I recommend a big red "C" (pick your favorite letter) branded onto the forehead. That way, we'd know they were coming. And it might make them think twice before choosing to screw their fellow humans.

 

The UniChip made NO extra power on my car. In fact only at a few rpm points did it even come up to the power of the stock programing and I now have an appointment to get the GIAC on Tuesday. Helix says they have seen as much as 9-12 lbs. of torque on the JCW's, someone else told me 12-18 hp. and someone else quoted Garret as "twice the gains of the 15% program on a non JCW" without the injector upgrade.

I'm at 196+* whp and 170 lbs. now, so I hope to get to 210 whp and 177 lbs. with the increased red line.

*dyno setup was shutting me down at 6850 and the power was still going up. 192 @ 6650 and 194 @ 6750

 

Where are you getting your GIAC from? Currys in VA or Helix in PA? Chris Coulter at Currys is awesome although probably not as knowledgeable about the GIAC software as Eric at Helix.

 

Curry's in Sterling, that's where the dyno is. Was going to do a before and after there but they charge for two dyno sessions because they like to drive the car some after the flash. Seems like the right thing but I didn't want to cough up the $200, so I'll just go back to my "home" dyno for the after, since I already have a before. I may test another intake as well and see if the GIAC needs a different number of discs than the JCW software.

 

swell another sleepless day for me in the future.

 

More bad news, for some reason the GIAC also lost power on my car and I will need to take it back to where I got it installed to have it removed and get my $$ back on the 30 day guarantee. At least I can get my $$ back. Torquue was down 5 at peak and as much as 8 in some places. The only place power was close was from 6.7k up.

I did not retune the SuperTrapp for the GIAC. It was originally tuned for the UniChip and not changed for the stock JCW software. The JCW software is still the winner on my car. Maybe the SuperTrapp is just magic with the JCW software???

As I have to head up to northern VA. to get the GIAC off, I thought I MIGHT give the UniChip another chance, by getting a custom tune. There are several UniChip custom tuners in Md. within 60 miles of Washington. Can anybody recommend one of them?

Last possibility is the Evotech, I can see no reason it should be any better than the canned versions of the other two and it's $700+. The one outstanding feature, it has, is I get to select my fuel cut point (red line). Suggestions have been 8k and 7.5k. It also has a choice of a 91 or 93 octane map, like the UniChip though the Uni has two built in maps. GIAC is just a 91 map.