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I've had my '19 JCW for a month / 900 miles now, and I've got a shiny new JCW Dinan Elite sitting in a box waiting to release another 30-40HP from their cage.
My question is: I'm going to keep this car for 100+k miles, am I putting it at risk by adding the Elite? I know the warranty will be there at first, but I'm planning on a long, happy relationship with my JCW.
My 2005 Cooper S has 140+k miles on it and is still running strong, I honestly don't know if it would have gotten there if I'd put the pulley on it (as tempting as it was at the time).
So, opinions please -- install the Elite and drive it like I stole it, or enjoy my stock JCW as-is? Which is pretty darned nice, by the way.
I say do it. I just installed it on my 17 JCW with 12k miles. It’s a nice solid improvement in power. But nothing crazy. I honestly don’t see how it would stress the motor more. I honestly feel it the most at like 60% throttle. It’s a noticeable bump in mid range. Was it worth $899? Meh. I think there’s a little bmw tax there. But it was worth it not to worry about being hassled at the dealership for warranty issues. I personally think $500 would be a better price point and they’d still be making 400% profits.
just change your oil often. Don’t go by the service minder. I plan to do mine every 3000-5000 miles.
I enjoy mine on an S, so can't speak directly to the JCW version. I felt a bit more comfortable with the fact that the Elite is 50 state emissions approved, so obviously they aren't putting the car through the ringer to squeeze out the added HP. These engines (B48) are used in higher HP situations already. Enjoy the car in the present and don't worry about the long term would be my advice.
Many of my F series customers come from a JB4, Dinan, RC, or NM piggy backs and are amazed how much difference there is with a real ECU tune. More power, safer, smoother and glitch free
basic stage 2 is 65whp and 102wtq gains. I also offer remote tuning with an OBD2 Powergate module and downpipes
Mario
mQubed Motorsport Manic & RPM Power Tuning
Last edited by MarioKart; Nov 13, 2018 at 01:42 PM.
If this is a true ECU tune (which is what I have, different brand) I love mine. No "stuff" clipped onto the engine, no zip ties, no gerryrigging. The guy who did mine said many of his customers already had the clipon units like the JB4.
Oh Mario, don't tease me, I'm in Camarillo just down the road from you and it would be so easy to go to the dark side.
Questions:
With an ECU tune what happens when it's time to have the car smogged here in California?
My car is brand new and will be going to the dealer for service and, likely, factory flashes as they revise the software for the car -- does the ECU tune survive this?
What happens if there's a warranty claim and the dealer says "Well, you had an ECU tune and that's why the transmission blew up"?
Oh Mario, don't tease me, I'm in Camarillo just down the road from you and it would be so easy to go to the dark side.
Questions:
With an ECU tune what happens when it's time to have the car smogged here in California?
My car is brand new and will be going to the dealer for service and, likely, factory flashes as they revise the software for the car -- does the ECU tune survive this?
What happens if there's a warranty claim and the dealer says "Well, you had an ECU tune and that's why the transmission blew up"?
__________________ 2013 GP2 #295, 270whp/310wtq, KO4 47mm Turbo, 18" NM Wheels, Alta intake, Manic Stage III+, HFS-3 Meth, 30% E85 Blend, Forged IC, Alta Hot Pipe, P&P/Ceramic Exhaust Manifold, m3 Extreme Ceramic DP, Vibrant mid res, 4" Double walled Tips, WMW/KW V3 CO, Alta Rear CA, CREE Fogs, Black out F/R Rings and Gas Cap, M7 CF Front Splitter, and No Stickers. MORE TO COME!! Previous 04Triple Black 17% Alta, MM Air/H2O, CAI, OBX Header, FBT Head, Shrick Cam, 234whp
I have the NM module on my 2016 F56 JCW and it added 30 HP and corresponding torque numbers. I think the Dinan is about the same. I have had the module on the car for 38,000 miles of twisting with no issues to-date. I have tried it on high with TORCO octane booster and it feels torquier with the high setting, but I have not put it on a dyno. 269 HP and 285 FT LBS of torque in sport mode. It is a daily driver as well.
Still lovin' my Dinan Sport. Just enough extra to tell me it's there. No issues coming up on 2 years and about 12,000 miles continuous use. No hassle from the dealer when I went in for 10,000 mile service. They just wanted to drive it and they were impressed. Cheeeep thrills.
Sorry I don’t mean to hijack this thread, but I’ve been looking through a LOT of info. I want max power, and I will be talking to Mario when he calls me back. But I thought I read somewhere that the higher the power gains you are able to achieve, the more you have to worry about other issues. In particular I thought I read where you can put a lot of strain on the clutch. I have a JCW, so do I have a different clutch then a MCS? Is this a valid concern?
Again sorry for the hijack, and the “noobie” nature of my question. Thanks!
Sorry I don’t mean to hijack this thread, but I’ve been looking through a LOT of info. I want max power, and I will be talking to Mario when he calls me back. But I thought I read somewhere that the higher the power gains you are able to achieve, the more you have to worry about other issues. In particular I thought I read where you can put a lot of strain on the clutch. I have a JCW, so do I have a different clutch then a MCS? Is this a valid concern?
Again sorry for the hijack, and the “noobie” nature of my question. Thanks!
Mike
I don't know about the clutch specifically, but in general yeah when adding power you definitely run the risk of breaking things. I went with the Dinan Elite for the warranty and it is a little more conservative than a stand alone tune or the JB4+.
On my mazdaspeed 3, doing a tune mean't you needed to upgrade the high pressure fuel pump and you ran the risk of burning up the stock turbo since it was running out of its efficiency range at higher rpms.
I don't know about the clutch specifically, but in general yeah when adding power you definitely run the risk of breaking things. I went with the Dinan Elite for the warranty and it is a little more conservative than a stand alone tune or the JB4+.
On my mazdaspeed 3, doing a tune mean't you needed to upgrade the high pressure fuel pump and you ran the risk of burning up the stock turbo since it was running out of its efficiency range at higher rpms.
Thank you for your advice. Since I want a very “aggressive” tune, it looks like I need to do a lot of research in order make sure I have the supporting mods. I’m about to fall out of warranty, but I will definitely be getting an extended warranty. It probably needs to be a company that supports mods. I did the same thing with my heavily modded e90 335i. Worked great, and was affordable.
Sorry I think I just “triple jacked” this thread!
Mike
P.S: one of my planed mods was a larger turbo, so maybe that will address the issue you were talking about? I don’t know I will be relying on the “experts” from this forum. I’m lucky we have so many of them....such as yourself.
Last edited by normtrum; Nov 27, 2018 at 09:20 AM.
Reason: Spelling
I think you'll get a broader response if you start your own thread.
I'll agree with G26okie that as you increase the power various things will break -- turbos (but you're swapping yours out), fuel pumps, clutches, transmissions, CV joints, at some point you'll grenade the engine.
I'm not sure what you're going for, perhaps you could explain. If you just want short bursts of power perhaps a nitrous kit would be the way to go.
There are reports that at somewhere north of 300HP the car becomes unmanageable due to torque steer.
Rumor has it that there will be 300HP JCWs in our future, but I haven't heard anyone claim that the 2-door coupe is going there, just the larger models.
I think you'll get a broader response if you start your own thread.
I'll agree with G26okie that as you increase the power various things will break -- turbos (but you're swapping yours out), fuel pumps, clutches, transmissions, CV joints, at some point you'll grenade the engine.
I'm not sure what you're going for, perhaps you could explain. If you just want short bursts of power perhaps a nitrous kit would be the way to go.
There are reports that at somewhere north of 300HP the car becomes unmanageable due to torque steer.
Rumor has it that there will be 300HP JCWs in our future, but I haven't heard anyone claim that the 2-door coupe is going there, just the larger models.
Yes I totally agree with you, I need to start a new thread. I apologize I usually am really good at staying on Topic. I do however agree with pretty much everything you said. I don’t want a tune so aggressive that a ton of stuff starts falling apart!
Thank you for your input. I’ll stop jacking this thread!
Looking at the graph above, I guess I have more learning to do. Seems odd that the peak hp would come within the first few seconds of the run. Torque I could understand. This just goes against everything I "though" I knew about turbo and supercharger. Spin the turbo faster = more air = more hp. Hmmm.
Looking at the graph above, I guess I have more learning to do. Seems odd that the peak hp would come within the first few seconds of the run. Torque I could understand. This just goes against everything I "though" I knew about turbo and supercharger. Spin the turbo faster = more air = more hp. Hmmm.
Those lines in the graph are not whp or torque, they are something else, but the y axis isn't showing what it is. The torque are the lines that ramp up high at 3200rpm, and the whp are the lines getting higher towards the right side of the graph.
Thanks guys. Guess I wasn't paying close enough attention. Makes more sense now.
I have an appointment with RRT Racing in VA next Friday to have the Elite installed on my 2019 F56 JCW. I will contribute once I have had a few days with it.
Zero regrets with Dinan Elite. I put it on one a week after I got the car. Lots of torque for city driving and I expect I ran the car hard enough that I'd expose any tuning flaws (like 9/10ths driving up Mt Palomar on a warm day). Just as driveable as a stock car.
I say do it as well. But like Minnie my experience with the Dinan Elite has been with an S.
Originally Posted by MarioKart
Many of my F series customers come from a JB4, Dinan, RC, or NM piggy backs and are amazed how much difference there is with a real ECU tune. More power, safer, smoother and glitch free
basic stage 2 is 65whp and 102wtq gains. I also offer remote tuning with an OBD2 Powergate module and downpipes
Mario
mQubed Motorsport Manic & RPM Power Tuning
I definitely plan on hitting you up once my warranty runs out next year.
I've been more than pleased with my ManicMini ECU tune for a couple years. The guy who did my tune in Tempe, AZ said the same thing MarioKart said: over half his customers had already bought a "clip on box" tune like the Dinan or JB. And I think mine was only like $500 too.
