I purchased my 2015 F56S manual in December and took delivery in March, and I had told myself that, apart from the two small cosmetic pieces I had the dealer install (black tail-light surrounds and black painted hood scoop) that I'd wait a few months to finish paying off my bike before doing anything to the Mini. Of course that didn't stop me from looking around at all of the options and fun bits. I pulled the trigger on two small pieces, a Platypus front license plate mount and the Mini-logo puddle lights, but was still holding out for anything major.

I met my girlfriend at her work earlier this week to take her to lunch, and was pleasantly surprised on my way out to see the Neuspeed/NM Engineering logo on an industrial building around the corner. Turns out, she works in the same industrial park that they're headquartered! Now I can't pass up a serendipitous opportunity, so I popped in to have a look around and chat for a bit. Their new rims look absolutely amazing, and I may pick up a pair of 7x17 Y-spokes when it's time to buy tires in a few months, but I go to talking with one of the guys about the differences between the NM Power Module and BMS's Stage 1. As you can guess, after talking a bit, I decided to go ahead and pick up the NM Power Module (the lady wasn't too happy about it, but of course that's not what you're interested in reading about).

(If I seem a bit distracted, I'm watching MotoGP free practice for Jerez. Looking forward to see Ducati take a win with the amazing new GP15!)

Well the installation is stupidly easy. 1 hose clamp and 3 bolts gets you to the sensor, route the wiring and fit the two connectors on and you're done. It's less than 10 minutes including finding the tools! Running around at the 91 octane brings Sport mode closer to where you'd expect it to be. Personally, if I'm putting my vehicle in "Sport Mode", I want it to feel like I'm driving something sporty. It was just a bit too docile from the factory. After a few miles, the ECU adapted and the difference was obvious. There was a bit of torque steer to fight through, and the boost when the turbo gains traction felt great. I was quite happy with that, but why settle there?

After driving around on the lower setting for a bit, I upped the ante and pushed the module into the higher setting to see how noticeable of a difference there would be. From the lower to the higher setting is night and day; 1st gear basically disappears. By the time that you're off the clutch and you hear the turbo's spooled, your head is thrown back and you're banging the rev-limiter. On freeway driving, I find I'm downshifting much less for acceleration. Where I felt I'd need to drop into 4th to have the power to overtake before, I can now just leave it in 6th and have the confidence to move over without slowing traffic behind. One of my favorite freeway on-ramps I take often has a quick 2nd gear chicane, followed by a decreasing left hander before a short straight to the merge zone. In stock trim, I could take the chicane flat-out in 2nd, with an upshift to 3rd just past the apex of the left hander. After putting the power module in, keeping anything flat-out would have me way too fast for the left, and off the right side of the on-ramp.

All in all, I can't compare the NM to the BMS, but I have absolutely NO complaints. Chesty's "Sport Mode" feels truly sporty now, with Mid feeling like Sport used to, perfectly acceptable for daily driving. An added benefit, I used to clock about 37mpg on my 60-mile round-trip commute to work (75mph-ish) using Green mode on the freeway, but with the NM on high, and having a bit of fun on either side of the freeway, I was still able to squeeze out 41mpg round-trip. So a proper Sport Mode, overtaking confidence and better economy? How did you do it NM Engineering? This feels like adding lightened rims to a motorcycle: it's not the flashiest modification you can make, but it's the best bang-for-buck all around.

 

Having a local company to talk to is definitely an advantage. With that aside, what made you go with NM vs BMS?

 

Any issues with CELs?

I was told by NM Eng that the power module was not to be used with the 2015+ B46 engine...

 

I want to do this so bad with my MINI, but I bought the extended maintenance and bumper2bumper warranties and I don't want them voided... I was thinking about buying the JCW upgrade, but it seems really pricey and read it you don't feel the difference until you get the RPMs up high... :(

 

Clint, the Burger tune is a safe tune and can be easily removed in 10 minutes before visiting your dealer. Once removed, there is absolutely no evidence of it having been installed. So no real risk IMO. Not when your dealer can't "see" it or detect it.

I am absolutely loving my Burger tune. The power/torque increase is awesome. My 2014 Mini S now performs the way it should. Not docile by any stretch, nor pushed to the limits of the stock motor/drivetrain.

 

How safe is it to run the NM is high mode on 91 octane? Sounds from everyone like it's a grey area. The dyno on their site says it was run on 91, although they don't recommend it- that's pretty ambiguous. It also seems that this is around the level of power/boost that the Berger creates, so maybe it's actually equally safe. And what would happen if the NM does overdo it- would the computer detect the knock and pull back timing fast enough to avoid any bad things happening?

I just don't know if I'd have the restraint to keep it on the low setting...

 

FastMINI, I have a '15 MCS Auto.. Is it gonna throw error codes? What kind of gain would I notice just driving around town? Any change in efficiency?

 

I've been running my NM in high mode for a few months now. Daily driver with some spirited runs here and there. No issues at all and have never seen a CEL on 91 pump.

 

I can't comment on the '15 MCS as mine is a '14. For my '14, no codes. No issues. However, there is/was a minor issue with the '15 MCS throwing a code. I believe Terry was working on a fix. You can contact him at Burger Motorsports for an update. As far as gains, look to get approximately 40hp and 30tq. I haven't noticed any change in gas mileage efficiency since a power increase usually results in more spirited driving around town. LOL. In the past few months I have NEVER driven in any mode but Sport.

 

You're using the High setting with 91 octane pump fuel? Be careful because their website clearly states that you need 100 octane fuel with the High setting. That is a major reason why I decided to not go with the NM module and instead go with Burger.

 

i think running the 100 octane tune your computer will learn longterm knock retard and start pulling timing.

 

has your car died with drivetrain malfunction yet?

 

Doc9point5 you mentioned after speaking with NM in regards to theirs and the Burger, you went with the NM. Care to share what NM had to say?

 

FYI we're pretty sure that B46 CEL issue is resolved. NM looks like a nice product. Our Stage1 includes TMAP control & MAP control (the latter lets us also adjust timing & AFR targets in this platform), but either is a huge upgrade over stock.

 

Hi Terry-
I think you're getting at a question I've been wondering about- to dumb it down (to my level), the NM connects to something like 2 wires, and yours connects to something like 4 wires. Those extra connections are the TMAP and MAP? Can you speak to why you did yours this way, and what the advantage over the NM is?

Thanks!!

Jeff

 

Sounds pretty good. I've never seen 100 octane gas. In Arizona we can only get 87, 89, and 91.

 

I decided to install the NM in my '15 F55, despite NM saying it wasn't for the B46. Install was very easy and took me less than 15 minutes.

I did a few test runs around town in both normal and race mode with 91 octane fuel. No knocking detected, no CELs, no drivetrain malfunctions, just a very noticeable boost in power. I was happy with the power before, now I just elated every time I mash the gas. I haven't been super hard on it, as the roads here just don't really allow you to be, but on the freeway and around town, so far so good!

 

How much is the NM unit? As I recall the Burgertune is $400 for the F56, $300 for my car.

 

Outmotoring sells them for $365 after a coupon code (which they always post here on NAM in the Vendor section)

 

All the tuners for this platform are fairly simplistic. But without hijacking this thread the simple answer is the TMAP sensor lets you control boost relative to the factory boost, while the MAP sensor lets you control afr & timing relative to the factory levels. Finally our add on flex fuel connector lets you control fuel trims relative to the factory levels (useful when adding in E85 mixtures, etc). So with this platform with TMAP & MAP we can provide more engine control than can be provided TMAP only. I say with this platform because what you can do with what sensors is entirely platform specific.

 

Thanks for the reply, Terry. I don't think that's hijacking the thread at all. So the simple answer is- more control. I like it.

 

And it cleared out my whole reply...let's try this again:

Sorry for the absence, there's a lot going on between work, school, finding a new job, applying for a new school, MotoGP, and trying to maintain a relationship. Hopefully NAM will get the Apple app figured out soon so that I can reply from my phone.

As far as the choice of NM over BMS, I wanted simplicity. I have experience using tuners on motorcycles and being able to tweak the maps myself, but I really wanted something that was completely plug and play. The BMS has that capability, as well as many more that make it a great option for someone looking to do some real work on this engine. There's a thread from Terry that's pretty interesting with the capabilities of the FF, and a guy in South America using the BMS to really unlock some of the B48 potential. For me, the NM is simple, reliable, easy to use as a daily driver, and there's less of a potential for me to mess around with it and muck something up. I also have the 100,000 extended service, and don't plan on doing anything major to Chesty until after that. I really like having local support from the manufacturer, so that was a big pull for me, but I'll look into something a bit more comprehensive, like the BMS, when it's time to start playing with turbos, timing, etc.

Clint, I haven't had any problems with codes coming up in my '15.

I DID run into the drive train shutdown when I jumped it to the higher setting and slammed into the rev limiter in 1st gear. It's amazing how quickly this little engine revs with a bit more boost, so if do put one of these modules on, make sure to take 1st gingerly until you get used to it. Basically, it goes into a safe mode and kills the drive train. Let it settle for a second, restart the car, and wait for the diagnostic tests and everything should be fine. I find I'm short shifting into 2nd any time that I'm pulling into traffic. If I start in 1st, let the RPMs get to about 3-3.5k and then punch it as I'm checking traffic for a merge, I'll hit the limiter before I realize I'm through the RPM range. So I've just taken to putting it into 2nd early and focusing on a smooth merge, rather than hitting shift points and neglecting my place in traffic.

As far as NMs 100 octane setting and warning, they don't want people over doing it at the track, or under hard driving, and overtaxing the engine/slamming the rev limiter continuously. I've been running it on the higher setting for about a month now, and have had no problems with it at all. The guy I spoke with at NM has been running his '14 on high since they came out with this, and has had no problems at all either, so it's more of a cautious warning for people who may not pay very much attention to how they're driving, or are looking to push hard without taking any kind of considerations for the car.

Terry, don't worry about hijacking. Feel free to post links to your other thread for people who are curious. That's why I started this, to get some info out to guys who are curious about these, so thank you for coming on here and giving your point of view. It's great to see support for the community from the aftermarket manufacturers.

Oh, and basically, the NM doesn't connect two wires, rather it runs in-line, intercepting one signal and then sending out it's own signal back down the line to "confuse" the ECU into pushing the boost a little higher. Like the BMS, it's incredibly easy to install and remove for service.

 

We have for 379.95 currently.

http://www.ecstuning.com/Search/SiteSearch/NM.648846/

 

So I brought Chesty in for his first service today, right around 9,000 miles, and figured I'd update you guys on the NM Module. I installed it in late April, so I've had it for going on two months and about 5,000 miles now (it's a lot of mileage, I know, we went on two road-trips.) Basically, I love it, the power difference is seat-of-your-pants noticeable, which is the important thing in a street car/daily driver, and I have had absolutely no problems with it, the other important thing. I'm perfectly fine if you stop reading now. That's the important info.

Before going in for service, I removed the module, just to be on the safe side. First, it took me all of 2 minutes to accomplish. 10mm socket and a flat-head screwdriver take care of it. All you need to remove is the "ram-air" scoop from the grill and that'll give you access to the MAF sensor (much easier to do with a cold engine since the coolant hose is about 4" away from the sensor.) I immediately noticed the drop in power after having the module on. I had to downshift to change lanes and overtake on the freeway, where just gassing a little in 6th was acceptable before, and it didn't pull nearly as hard through 2nd and 3rd (I like to plant and shoot out of sweeping freeway on-ramps, and I have a few rather short freeway dump-ons near me that made the power module a great safety investment.)

I brought the car in, had the service done and there were no problems noted by them. Side note, the little rubber roof trim on the front passenger side had broken the clip during the first road trip, so they replaced that free-of-charge for me while I was there as well, other than a squeaking passenger door, that's my only complaint so far. I got the car back, drove home and threw the power module back in after about 5 minutes of cussing at an incredibly hot coolant hose, but I'm impatient, so that's my fault not NMs.

Basically, great, simple, reliable power upgrade that you can actually FEEL while driving. Turbo noise goes up a bit with the higher boost, but that's part of the smile maker. I may see about buying someone's OEM intake to cut up a bit and throw on, but that's a project for when I don't have any other projects.

 

Nice honest review. Thanks. Really like the BRG color in the F56 form. When the sun hits it , its sparkles.