cooldaddy, being a proactive guy, I just emailed Jack Friedman, the President of UNIChip. I provided this thread, and the desire of the MINI Community to have their presence on this forum. Might be a long-shot, but what the heck!

Jack has always been responsive, so I know I will hear back. I hope it will be feasible for them...

 

There is section on the "least favorite mods" thread that Jack should see.....

UNichip really could benefit from a presence here on NAM......

 

Without airing too much dirty laundry I think gowest and I can both put a serious dent in the responsiveness factor.
I do hope they show though. Spending over $1K( this includes the base unit of course) to get a custom tune is not cheap. So I'd like to get facts from the source.

 

I think for them to participate here, they would need to pay a monthly fee. Just not sure if that will be deemed worthwhile for them considering their main distributor/vendor already has such a presence here. We shall see...

As I said, he has always been very responsive to my emails, so I expect to hearback regardless of the decision.

 

I'd like to thank you guy's for your comment's and efforts and hope Unichip can make some kind of response here. They could do themselves a lot of good with some public relations effort.

Two things I'd like to see from them, both already mentioned at some point. #1. A traveling custom tune, get one or two of the best custom tuners to travel around the country doing custom tune parties. This would increase sales and greatly improve customer satisfaction. #2. Increase the red line. (fuel cut point) Most, if not all of Unichips competitors do this. If it's possible, it could just be one more option, just like the choice of a 93 or 91 octane map. GIAC does 7.3k Evotech does 7.5k. This could also increase sales.

 

An experienced Unichip tuner, equipped with only a laptop, could probably do a very good job in 2-3 hours or less, by simply riding and making adjustments, IF the basic AFR and timing are decently done to begin with.

For me, that first required a lot of dyno time to fix a real mess. But the basics OUGHT to be able to be delivered so it could be primarily just fine tweaking for a particular car.

I'd love that!

 

thanks Tony, last week I actually sent a message about doing a custom tune, through their website, so maybe with this renewed interest from UniChip users they might start working with us. I think this thread is a good start for ongoing discussion...

Marcel.

 

And I did indeed here back... He will not be joining us here, but of course will avail himself via phone and email. Here is his reply, along with contact info (sig):

Tony,

Yes I remember your name and it’s nice to hear from you. Thanks for the thought and the invitation, and I’m sure the forum is a blast for MINI enthusiasts. Different enthusiast groups from all across our application list frequently hit us with requests to participate in their forums, but our policy is that forums are for the members not for manufacturers. Although some manufacturers don’t share that belief, we think it’s inappropriate to “advertise” or “market” products on forums by participating in forum discussion. As always, anyone with questions is welcome to shoot us an e-mail or give us a call and we’ll do our best to provide the information they’re looking for..

Cheers,
Jack

Jack Friedman, General Manager
Unichip of North America
www.unichip.us
Toll free 1.866.643.7400
Local 1.503.640.7465
Fax 1.503.214.6444

 

I really don't blame him for not coming on the board.

Most manufacturers have too much to do, especially when too often it degenerates into flames.

So does this mean he has no interest in at least reading & discovering what's being said or where they might look to address certain recurring issues?

Sounded like he was being dismissive of the thread, but I might well be reading more into it than was intended.

 

Understandable.

Now let's get that traveling tuner thing going

 

Yeah!!!

What he said!

 

It's human nature to read into things. I'd try not to with Jack though. I bet Josh might consider touring if there was at least a few folks in a location. Sounds like the Bay Area already has at least a couple... If not, we'll wait for Bob!

Actually there are at least two UNIChip tuners in the Bay Area... I'm just not ready yet as I have some mods still to come: most notably a ceramic-coated SS header, DFIC and a Cosworth head & cam.

Anyone willing to lend me an IR temp reader so I can do a before/after at various points in the engine bay, for the header swap?

 

Oh come on guys. Just give up on the whole UNIchip thing..Go TC and the Turbosmart will make all things right with the world....

j/k

I am planning and extra day with Randy for dyno tuning in the spring...

 

Jim,
I believe you are the one who did a custon hi-fi install for me years ago when you were in B'ham. I have a 2006 MCS, 6 sp, LSD, 22mm rear sway bar and a 15% reduction pulley. CAI and Denso cool plugs on order from Randy Webb.
Your experience with the Unichip is very helpful, since I WAS considering getting one. A week or two ago I talked to Floyd at Hesco. He said in a few days they were doing a Unichip on a 2006 MCS and he could give me some hp gain info. That must have been you. From your experience and others, I think I will leave the ECU alone, save a ton of money, time and aggravation.
Have done business with Hesco for years, three engine rebuilds. All three are still running strong. Good people to do business with. I hope they can get your problem fixed.
Larry Barksdale

 

Hey Larry!

I remember you and I remember the installation!

I also remember you guys were working on that Z car.

I think that was when when I had that crazy modified Miata that Hesco did.

Yep, it was me that was coming to Hesco.

Given the time restrictions, they did a fabulous job.

I just want to finish it up. There are a few rough edges.

To be honest, I never even looked at HP or Torque. Only watched AFR and monitored timing aferwards.

My first MCS still has Randy's Webb/Powerchip ECU flash. It was - and is still - awesome.

 

Jim,
We still have the Datsun. Let me know the final hp and torque when Hesco gets finished. The MCS has been to three tracks, VIR, Road Atlanta and Barber. With racing brake pads and tires, it is very fast. The most fun car I have ever owned.
Larry

 

Custom Unichip tuners can be located at the Unichip website.
There appears to be a great one in Santee - near San Diego.

I'm looking for one around Santa Barbara, CA.

Anyone?

- none found too local on the Unichip site.

 

i installed a unichip and like the extra horsepower. it pulls much stronger to redline. i only have a few mods and they match one of the standard maps.

 

How necessary do you believe it is to weld in a bung pre-cat for the custom UNIChip tune? Any ideas regarding how much more accurate it would be to place the O2 sensor upstream from the cat as opposed to a sniffer in the tailpipes?

 

I had a long and indepth discussion with 2 Unichip reps at Monterey (sorry don't remember their names)
They seemed more into selling the newest greatest invention on earth and were not a bunch of help with my ancient unit.

I did get a straight answer on the rev limit and they said that function is IMBEDED in / too many layers down in the ECU for any piggyback to be able to adjust.

OHHH but the new one would be so much better

Remember when we were all told that functions like IC temp would be able to be monitored so that "sprayers" would be automatic ???

EDIT .... OMG ... This is my post # 666 !!!