Maybe this is a dumb question, but I asked one of my friends who wondered the same thing... I often see posts about dealers installing CD-based software to update some flaw that has come to light now that our cars are being used in the real world. My question is: Do dealer-installed software updates overwrite ECU upgrades? If I buy a ECU performance package, will I have to re-do the update every time I have the car in for servicing? If so, do the ECU software guys throw in their updates for free?

 

Yes, dealer ECU updates will overwrite aftermarket "performance" ECU flashes.

R

 

Think about it this way:

You have a PC and it comes with Windows98 on it. Then you upgrade to WindowsXP. Then you take your computer back to the dealer for work and they have to reinstall the operating system. They put in Windows 2000.

Bad analogy, but roughly the same idea.

R

 

What are the ECU tuners policy for reinstalling the software?
I can see problems - you take your car in for unrelated work and later get told "while we had your car we gave you the latest software to make it run better!" If you tell the dealer to not upgrade the ECU, you are pretty much telling them you have changed it.

 

Not a problem, reinsttalled at no charge.

 

MINI-Motorsport will be reflashing any customer in the database for free if dealer updates are installed. The only cost associated to the customer is the one-way shipping if the car is not local.

Let me know if you have any other questions.

Randy

 

This is an excellent question, and one we probably should have addressed earlier. Your dealer WILL flash upgrade your ECU, effectively downgrading your power without asking or telling you. You will need to have it reflashed by your ECU programmer/installer. This will be no charge plus freight. It will be more of a hassle, depending on your location, than an expense.

PerfPow

 

I'd be pissed if someone installed W2000 over my XP.

How long is turnaround on ECU's at Evo/Renntech/Madness?

 

Windoze 2000? XP?

Huh?

Get A Mac!!

(Mac based videography will be created for This Major Event! There's still room for you!)

 

Andy,

Right now, all the ECUs go through Renntech. The turnaround is the same day they receive it in most cases. If you FedEx it down, they can flash it then send it back FedEx, so the down time is two days.

MINI-Motorsport will be getting the required software and cable in the next week or two, then all of the units purcheased through here will be done here - but the same FedEx deal would apply unless you are local.

Hope that helps!

Randy

 

Does anyone know if it's possible to purchase another ECU from the dealer? That way, we can have a "dealer visit" ECU along with the high performance, everyday ECU.

X2

 

My question is related to this one as well. Let's say the latest version of the ECU from the factory is 2.0. Do the ECU tuners take this latest version and tune against this version? If so, what happens if you need 3.0 to fix a problem? Your tuned program is overwritten, but when you send it back to get reflashed, you are going to go back to a 2.0 that has been tuned effectively wiping out possible BMW fixes. Do the tuners keep up their tuned chips with the latest enhancements from the manufacturer?

 

I would guess that the ECU part price would be really high and not worth it to have a spare. Good idea though.
Maybe the cheapest route for a spare would be savaging the ECU from a totaled MCS or at auction for the parts due to flood damage or accident hopefully a rear end collision. Could try to contact a salvage specialist.

 

>>Do the tuners keep up their tuned chips with the latest enhancements from the manufacturer?

The tuners don't actually rewrite the software, they just rewrite the tables of
parameters for things like RPM vs. Ignition-advance and Load vs. Fuel-enrichment.

I doubt that it's possible to just erase the tables from flash, so I'm guessing that
they read out the existing data entirely, paste in their tables of coefficients, and
write the whole thing back out to the ECU.

 

That is what I thought. Otherwise, who would purchase the chips. Thanks for clarifying this.

 

The best solution would be a Jim Conforti (aka "Shark&quot shark injector for the Mini. Jim is the premier US BMW aftermarket flash programmer. His Shark injector allows you to just plug-in and change the flash program back and forth between stock and performance, at will. Now we need to convince him and Josh at Eurosport (his primary marketing distributor) that there would be enough demand to make it worthwhile. They sell the BMW Shark Injector for $395.

Contact info is:
Eurosport
http://www.sharked.com/
537 W. Pickett Circle, #400
Salt Lake City, UT 84115
PHONE: 801-886-2185
EMAIL: eurosprt@xmission.com


The Conforti website is :
http://www.bonnevillemotorwerks.com/

 

ECUs are specific to the vehicle and cannot be interchanged, sorry to say.

R

 

>>ECUs are specific to the vehicle and cannot be interchanged, sorry to say.
>>
>>

So if my original ECU develops a fault, you are saying MINI can't take an off the shelf unit to get my car back on the road? That does not make much sense.

X2

 

Great News: A Mini Shark Injector is in the works. See below


At 07:01 AM 4/29/2003 -0700, you wrote:
>Josh:
>
>Have you or Jim C. considered a shark injector for the Mini Cooper.
>This is the next cult car to the "2002". If you think us Bimmer fans
>are addicts you should look at the www.minicooperonline site.
>
>Best regards,
>
>Bob Smith

We are already working on it.

Josh

 

I had a very nice conversation with Josh. It is very much under development, and the product has not been given a timeline just yet for release.

They are also working on an intake design as well.

If there is a possibility of doing any evaluation on these, I will pass along the information as soon as it is available.

Randy

 

I'm not too keen at sending my ECU in over and over again. I found a reference to MTH tuning site. They have software that you flashed through the diagnostic port with a cable between your PC's serial port and the car's OBD II port. Looks like it needs a special ISO 9441 connector that allows it to write as well as read the OBD stuff.

Anyone have any experience with these guys?

MTH