Here's a gift for you!

I found this very entertaining and informative indeed.


Cheers,

Charlie

 

The little engine (Um, car) that could…

 

So that video from FCP Euro that I posted over in the "High Mileage thread got me thinking about the durability of the B48 - the closed deck, coated cylinders, and composite bearings. I was freshly reminded that the motor can safely make power.

So I determined I could raise the ante with my aging friend - without necessarily contributing to his prompt extinction.

Therefore.




I'll report back in due course.

Cheers,

Charlie

 

Well, go Charlie, go!

Does this module make more power than the Dinan Elite?

I also thought that the B48 engine was the one used in the 302 Hp Clubman JCW, or am I mistaken?

 

I dunno Jon, and I will not bother to hit the dyno this time. Specs say yes.

The B48 turns up all over the place - yes in the Clubman, also numerous BMW sedans.

"The B48 is arguably the workhorse of the brand being widely used in various BMW models, such as the 1 Series, 2 Series, 3 Series, 4 Series, 5 Series, X1, X2, X3, X4, MINI Cooper, Clubman and Countryman. Even the Toyota Supra 2.0 uses the B48 engine." Here.

Cheers,

Charlie

 

Dinan Denied...


Here's a curious tale that explains why Gollum is NOT getting more power - it's just one of those things...

ECS was fine, Dinan did not screw up, but yet.....

The tale begins when someone listed a Dinan "piggyback"chip here in the For Sale department. I looked at it, and realized it was NOT the same product that I had previously encountered and enjoyed.

Gollum got a "Dinan ELITE" piggyback installed in September of 2018 and the result was placed on Bren Tuning's Mustang Dynamometer in November of that year. It returned 255 whp and 286 wtq.
Gollum got a warranty replacement of that chip in April of 2019, after throwing 11B213 and 119002 - the new chip healed the problem.
Gollum was irritated again in December of 2021, when "intake manifold pressure" suddenly became implausible. Again, Dinan honored their warranty and the problem was cured.
Gollum finally LOST the Dinan ELITE in June of 2023, as I had it deinstalled.

So that Dinan ELITE product worked very well indeed, and for a long time, and had good product support. For a time, Mini USA and Dinan had good interleaving warranty coverage, but eventually that relationship cooled and ended.

At which point Dinan, still having the knowledge required to create a good tune for the F56, offered only the "Uninstall and ship us the ECU" form of tuning, which I could never abide.

Therefore I became tempted by the re-appearance of the piggyback approach, and about 10 days ago I purchased "DINANTRONICS Sport Performance Tuner" through ECS.

Today, I FedEx'd that very same product BACK to DINAN, as it does not fit the car.

Wrong order? Nope. Confusion on model year? Nope. Vendor mistake? Nope.....

Here's the video....


And here is what DINAN finally had to say about the problem.

"After hours of research, we believe we know the issue. BMW is known for switching connectors at the end of a product year for different year models. For whatever reason, it looks like your car may have been one of the cars that BMW switched the connectors on, even though your car is not at the end of a production year. This is a very rare issue that we do not see often at all. At this point we have two options, I can return this product for you and refund your money, or you can attempt to trim the shelf off our harness to get it to fit. If you choose to trim our harness and it doesn't fit, we will still offer to return this product for a full refund. I do apologize about the inconvenience but like I said, this is a very very rare issue. Please stay in contact with this issue. " -- Dylan Hunter , Diinan Technical Support


Considering that I could not feasibly alter their plug (e.g. somehow grind off the shelf) and was NOT willing to hack the OEM engine chassis, that settled it.

Damn extra power would probably have just gotten me into trouble anyway!!! ;-)

Cheers,

Charlie

PS: Thanks to Dylan Hunter from DINAN, and for Antoinette Bell of ECS for their patience and support during this little fuss.

 

Well that sucks!

 

So a rabbit hole nobody gets into that I'm sure others have wished they could have found an answer for may have yielded something useful for you. Like many I'm sure, I found that the factory harness connectors for the coil packs on my MINI kind of weird and tough to get to undo and then broke a couple -- not so that they won't stay in place with friction alone, but definitely not "in intended condition."

So I managed to chase down who makes those connectors, so that I could put new ones on (remove terminals from old connector, place in new connector).

Mouser Electronics (www.mouser.com) is where I got the new connectors from. That connector in your pic looks generic enough that they might have whatever "old" or "new" flavor of it you need/want. Kind of a random approach, and could take a little bit of time to sort exactly the right product, but I'm betting it's doable. If you want to. For more power, ar ar ar. :D

 

Interesting. I started to go down that same rabbit hole for Charlie.

I was wondering if there was a matching half of a plug that could be retrofit to the Dinan wires, or could be made into a jumper so that it would fit the other half of the MINI’s plug so nothing on the MINI had to be changed. I didn’t get very far with that one.

I also fine it to be incredibly interesting that BMW/MINI selected a pressure sensor that would accept either style plug. It would really suck if that sensor was also unique and if it had to be replaced, the only thing available was the non-unique one and the MINI wiring wouldn’t plug into it.

This does remind me of the first year MINI, when they first came out, and there are parts in it that are different from any of the later MINIs.

I keep thinking of how much fun it would be to be on the track with my JCW and it having 40-ish more HP. Maybe I should the plug on my MINI before buying one of these units.

 

The fact that Dinan gave permission to modify their product and in the event it still didn't work they'd offer a refund speaks volumes about Dinan as a company. Love to see that in today's world of poor aftersales support on products.

 

So last winter was expensive for Gollum, as we dealt with the leaks between the plastic bits and the block that are known trouble spots for the B48 (water pump, oil filter housing & intercooler). So I was hoping this winter would be kinder!

So far, yes. Gollum did start complaining that the TPMS system was inoperable about mid-December, and also started exhibiting a little rubbing sound at wheelspeed when driven around parking lots.

So yesterday I loosed the pit crew on these issues, and learned two things...

First, the batteries in the TPMS sensors have a finite life of five or six years, and then must be replaced!! Reading codes on Gollun revealed that one of the TPMS sensors was declaring 0 pressure and -35C temperature... OEM replacements all around come to a bit more than $900 so that is not a mere flesh wound! Needless to say for now I rely on the Longacre pressure gauge that has always resided in the passenger side door compartment.

Secondly the wheel/tire combination I run, when sporting the 225mm summer Falkens, does still sometime nibble a bit at the rear fender well linings, and on the LR corner a bit of lining was descended to kiss the tire. That's fine, and not a wheel bearing, and easily trimmed!

So all in all, Gollum is fit and well and finally the week of high wind and bitter cold is passing, and normal winter threatens to resume.

Thus passeth life here in paradise.

Cheers,

Charlie

PS: 144,200 miles thus far...

 

So, what does everyone do with TPMS sensors? Mini of Peabody needs $942.48 to replace four, which reflects the OEM parts price, which is oddly VERY high indeed.

I assume most folks balk at that and seek an alternative, but technology is sometimes finicky so I wonder if aftermarket alternatives work.

I reckon I shall find out.

I went to the InterWebs, and found Pelican Parts and TPMS Direct as potential sources with prices only a fraction of the OEM part. So I grabbed four from TPMS Direct. noting their catalog lists these as equivalent to the 2018 JCW Hardtop F56 - 36 10 6 881 890.

Then I got a polite note from the sales folks at TPMS direct - read, laugh, be amazed, and be skeptical.






So we'll see if a credit hits my account. When it does I shall have four TPMS sensors for $75, as opposed to $160 for each (OEM). But will they work??

Come April when the DWS 06+ current tires come off, then we'll find out.

Worth a shot I reckon given the price difference.

Cheers,

Charlie

 

I have purchased form TPMS Direct and have been very satisfied

 

I run aftermarket TPMS sensors in all of my aftermarket wheels with no real issues. They have all come from my tire shop. Just make sure the sensors that you get have the metal valve stems. Years ago I got a set that had rubber valve stems and they leaked. Leaked bad out on the track. Couldn’t take the heat. Since then my shop has only used the OEM style with the metal stem.

Another thing I have noticed on my JCW is that all of the sensors read about 2 psi low compared to my gage, even the MINI ones. Gage error? Maybe. But I have used multiple different brand gages and come up with the same difference. Don’t know.

I have also found that they don’t like the heat that is generated in the tires when out on the track. No, I haven’t checked the tire temp. Might be something to do in the future. But it is not something that is high on my priority list as I run the JCW basically stock, meaning front camber is about zilch. So not much I can do about it at this point. Maybe upgrades is the future? Maybe.

 

I don't know the TPMS brand in my tires, but they are at least the OEM style (metal stem). All of them are always 1-2 PSI below my tire gauge, no matter which gauge I use, and I've got... uh... four , ranging from old-school analog to a fancy-dancy JACO digital that measures down to 0.1 PSI.

 

Are these sensors plug 'n play or do they require programming before use?

Never-mind, answered my own question...

 

That's one of my questions also - I am assuming they are plug and play.

I do note however that for example Turner Motorsports offers a number of generic and programmable sensors (and the programmer as a separate purchase). The sensors go as low as $20, and the programmer as low as $100. I am not that ambitious.

Cheers,

Charlie

 

IF the sensors have been programmed for the vehicle type, then only a sensor reset is required after installation. Else you need a programmer.....

 

I ran the schwaben ones on both my Range rover and MINIs and programed them with the tool and they have worked fine. You have to hold the tool close to the sensor/valve stem after they are installed/tires on the car.

Even on aftermarket wheels on both cars, worked fine. I know some older MINI factory wheels (pre 2008) cant take TPMS sensors as its the neck of the mount and the design if the barrel that almost touches. Those wheels were never designed back then to take a sensor.

https://www.ecstuning.com/b-schwaben...-of-4/ad177kt/

https://www.ecstuning.com/b-schwaben...ool/t1000~scf/

 

So the TPMS Direct sensors just went on the car without any problems - kudos! That's a massive savings and a solved problem. I now have TPMS again, and can resume watching the effect of speed, weather, and general stress on tire pressures - an endless fascination to my tiny brain.

I have (pause for reflection, and a tear) admitted to myself that Gollum and I are not racing any more (more on that shortly).

Consequently, when the current winter tires which I've enjoyed and appreciated for three years now got a bit too worn for safety in the wet, I did NOT go back to the Falken RT660s that I've run the last two years.

Instead I decided to rely on the Continental DWS 06+ in the same size (225/45-17) that I'd used in the Falken, a bit wider than the 215s I've been running.

They've 8.9" of section width, which is damned close to the 9" of the Falken, but as expected they clear all around, and once more Gollum is looking a bit like a Saint Bernard puppy!

From -5 degrees to 95 degrees, and in Cape Anne weather, they'll do. And, despite my good intentions, if one of the early NER events looks wet I shall be EXTREMELY tempted to go out and embarrass myself seeking my former glory on the autocross course.

Hopefully good sense will prevent that, but one cannot be certain.

I did NOT get Gollum detailed - Spring fever has not yet set in entirely.

Cheers,

Charlie

 

Excellent choice of tires!

And if the spirit moves you, I say do it. Not much damage to be done on an autocross course. Pride doesn’t count.

Enjoy and Motor On

 

Nice! Glad they worked.

DWS i had on my rover and they had the grip. They did not last as long as I thought, but they came with the car.

I noticed DWS only comes in more common sizes outside of MINI typical sizes.

We have 235/35r19 tires on the new alzors coming out, (testing) thats pretty beefy for an F56. Once we test we will know on much lowered cars.

 

Well I reckon I now know what I'll be up to on my birthday April 13th. I'll be 70 and Gollum will have 148k miles and therefore (of course) we're going to go racing.

Blame Jerry - one of the movers and shakers of the volunteers that run the SCCA New England Region these days. He and others cooked up a new idea to strengthen our already successful Novice Program, by adding the concept of a Mentor. Jerry put a post in to the NER SCCA Autocrossers Facebook Group to announce this idea and solicit volunteers to help make it real.

I couldn't resist, having previously run the Novice Course walks for a year or two, and having brought two newbies to the races last year. To see the whole matter again through beginners eyes is to re-discover the fun, wonder, and awe of this eccentric form of motorsports, and I do enjoy this very much.

My initial trial balloon (tentative, as I am not an active driver anymore) received some warm reviews, and one anecdote from Jerry that made me laugh. I had forgotten how deep my roots are around here, and it warmed me greatly to be reminded.




Cheers,

Charlie

 

No better way to learn, than to teach.



Keep us posted!

 

I stumbled across this rather nice photograph of the car that started it all - Gollum I.




Cheers,

Charlie