Santa gave me a Gtech Pro RR for Xmas. For those of you who are gadget freeks this is a must have.

website http://www.gtechpro.com/

In sum the Gtech sources the data through the cigarette lighter unfortunately the way BMW/mini wires up their cigarette lighter the Gtech won’t work. In order to get it to work in your mini you need to source power from the battery directly. I didn’t want to cut the cigarette lighter cables so I went out and purchased a cigarette lighter assembly from the local auto store. I wasn’t big on the suction cup option nor did I want to drill up the dash so I attached the Gtech base unit over the driver’s circular side window defogger. The only piece I drilled was the trim ring so when it comes time to sell the car, I just need to buy a new trim ring.

I think it came out clean looking and is in a place in which I can easily reach it.

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Looks good .. i like the idea of using the Vent ring. For me I was using the Suction cup holder and attached it to the center of the Speedo. Which worked good for about 6 months but wont stick there anymore. Currently im using a Quick clip mount that attaches it to the Rear view mirror when i go Autox. I know it doesn't really matter but I perfer it to be in the center of the car if testing for Lateral G's. Less vertical movement and bumpage when going from left to right. Once i take time to figure out how to hardmount it infront of my dash cam to where its not blocking the view that much. It's going to be a great addtion to those Shots.

The colors on the newer version which you have go great with the interior (silver with orange lighting). I have the older G-Tech Pro competition which is Black with blue lighting and the Orignal G-tech .. black with red LED's

 

Can you give us some details and pics on the wiring install ?

Thanks

 

here ya go - while I wanted to fix mount it I didn't wantto drill the dash nor cut the Gtech wires (w/ cigarette plug).

This pic shows the GTech and the cigarette plug (RED) just under the dash which is an off/on switch.


here is the vent w/ the trim ring removed which I drilled to pass the wire up via the side access panel. sorry fuzzy shot.



here is the side panel opened - you can reach the duck (upward) and feed the wires down to the foot well easily from here. zip tie to hold extra wire lentgh (no rattles please).



here is a pic of the cigarette lighter that i bought at an auto parts store to receive the lighter plug from the Gtech



Wiring was straight forward - from the back of the new cigarette ligher:
1) red cable goes to battery terminal in the engine bay. I added a 15 AMP in line fuse.
2) black wire ran straight to a ground.

Inconclusion - I got my fixed mount, didn't do any damage to the car out side
of a trim ring, I have the an off/on switch and I can disasemble easy enough and the GTech is 100% original.

 

What a great idea on your mounting. It took some work but well worth it.
I installed my G-timer in front of my shifter.(gallery) But i was lucky that i could use my lighter plug.unlike your G tech. But like i said yours came out perfect.

 

Have you gone out and played with it yet?

Matt

 

It was funny because it kinda just wanted to go there. The base of the GTech was just about the same size as the trim piece. Access via the side panel made it really easy. I used 1 screw to connect the gtech base thru the trim ring into the dash without leaving a visible mark. Worked out great and now I'm getting the hang of using it.

 

best run (so far ) 194.6 hp and 183.1 TQ using the same vehicle weight as you. This sucker is just pure entertainment

 

Why couldn't you use the stock cig plug? I used a friends G-Tech in mine a while back and it worked just fine.

 

Stock lighter if filtered supply will not pick up engine nosie properly unless running a heavy load on the alternator.. Also the older version like i have picked up better on the engine noise than the SS and RR versions. Once i updated the Firmware to the same as the RR version i was getting the same RPM pick up problem.

 

Ahhhhh............so I would need to find a different source for power if I get on of the newer ones.

Thanks.

 

I will follow your lead, nice work .... mine is currently not in use, due to the cig lighter problem, thanks MINI

 

Ditto.

 

Hopefully this will help but if need be drop me a pm. This install was very. easy.

Prepurchased supplies

10' ft of red wire
10' ft of black wire
1 cigarette lighter
1 inline fuse 15 AMP
1 box of male connectors
1 box of female connectors
2 larger connectors for ground and power.
1 role of electrical tape.

power and ground

Since I don't like to spend alot of time on my hands and knees under the dash. I pulled the red & black wires from under the dash to the engine bay via the rubber boot. I had installed a boost guage earlier so I had already made a hole in the rubber boot. In the engine bay, I taped power from the terminal and facing the car to the far right near the hood hinge is a ground.

Drilling the air vent

First take off the dash side piece off, hand fits easily and you will feel it. Note that the plastic is very thin so when drilling, easy with the pressure!
the hole needs to be about 1/2 to accomodate the plug. I was **** and installed a rubber guromet that I had laying around but a its not necessary.

Wiring thru the Gtech parts

To get the wiring up thru the gtech fixed mount, I cut out a small pie piece sacrificing one of the screw holes.

Then to get the wiring thru the GTECH pyramid mount, I had to cut a small channel in the outer ring of the Gtech mount because the head won't fit thru. I removed about 1/8 of an inch and its in the back near the windshield so its not visible.

Installing 1 long screw (1" abouts) to hold the unit firmly in place. While the trim ring is round once removed you will see that the space below is oblonged - where you can see the under dash. Its approximately in the 7-8 o'clock position if sitting in the drivers seat and dead ahead is 12 o'clock. I then lined up the Gtech base so one of the screw holes was directly over that area. I marked it and drilled the hole in the trim ring holding the Gtech base over it. I reinstalled the ring and screwed in the screw until it hit the under dash leaving a mark which I then used as a guide to drill a small pilot hole.

The rest is just passing the wires around.

Good luck all.

 

I have added this to my list....very nice ... Thanks

 

BahamaBart did it his way, I put a relay in wired to the battery lug in the engine compartment. I did this thread on it as well. Not too hard to do, and well worth the effort.

Before I did it, I got the RPM cal to work. Once. Very shakey at lower RPMs, and even with load on the alternator, it was screwed up. So I bit the bullit and did the wiring.

Matt

 

Matt, it was your thread that guided me thru the wiring . I loved your permanent mount BUT I just couldn't bring myself to drill holes in the dash.

While at first I was pissed that it wouldn't work in the cigarette lighter, in a way it was a blessing since I had to deal with that I put in the extra effort like yourself to fix mount it.

 

Once for the G-Tech, once for the PLX-500. The only way I'm getting rid of the car is if it blows up or I hit a tree with it, so I wasn't worried.

And I agree, it's worth it to do a nice mount. And the wiring isn't that bad either...

Plus, I now have a trick little circuit board that I can hook other items to, and it's switched as well.

Matt

 

BahamaBart,

Have you run the 1/4 mile yet? With 0-60 readings and all? I tried my friends G-tech once and the only thing it displayed properly was the 1/4 mile, 0-60, 60ft, etc.

P.S.: Didn't you do the one-ball before adding in the OBX Exhaust? If so, do you still have the one-balled exhaust?

 

The only thing I've done so far is HP and Torque analysis. Unfortunately, I had to fly back to Nassau for some end of year deliverables so the Mini is sitting in Miami. I need to get the car wieghed, so until I do that all numbers are suspect.

Here is what Gtech says

"The Gtech measures "net horsepower" which reads even lower than wheel horsepower. The Gtech's net horsepower value is the measurement of all horsepower that is available to accelerate your vehicle after all power losses have been subtracted." (A difference would be aero drag which does not exist on a dyno).

"In order to calclate meaning horsepower measurements you must provide an accurate value for your vehicle's weight." (this is the key component).

At present I'm using Matt's weight number. I figure he either wieghed his car or at least really made an effort to calculate the proper weight.

Yes, I had done the 1-ball prior to my OBX exhaust and yes, I still have it. Someone locally had inquired about it and I offered it to them for half price (paid 125). They said they would get back to me after Xmas. I assume your interested in it? If they don't come back by the first week in Jan, and you would like it, you can have it - same deal plus shipping. I had bought this from MYMini - mandrel bent and SS clamps.

Drop me a PM after Jan 7th if interested.

 

Thanks for the great info.,just ordered the G-Tech/Pro RR and can't wait to get it.

 

Bahamabart,

Do you miss the defroster that you covered up ?
Did you disable it or plug it ?

 

Remember is Freezing to Bahamabart when it drops below 60 degs

 

YOU MEAN TO TELL ME THE CAR HAS A DEFROSTER? COME ON, NEXT THING YOU'LL BE TELLING ME IS THAT THE CAR HAS A HEATER TOO!

To answer your question most of the vent is covered by the Gtech Base. You could trim more of the base off (I trimed just enough for the power cable) to allow some air flow. You could proabably achive 30-50% of the original vent hole. Of course it might not have the same "aim".

 

WARNING - There are side effects to having the Gtech!!!

1) Gas mileage will go down.
2) your odds of a speeding ticket have just gone up.
3) ALL traffic lights become "staging" lights.

Your Mini will say "hey, man whats up with you today!"