I recently finished replacing the upper engine mount, lower engine mount, and transmission mount with brand new Mini parts with Powerflex yellow bushings and decided that now would be a good time to load the 93 Octane Stage 1 Tune that I purchased a while back through BootMod3.

This is the standard OTS tune for an F56 JCW, nothing fancy. I've seen some dyno results (but no before and after), and there's plenty of commentary on driving experience. But I've never found any real-world acceleration test results, which I feel might more accurately reflect the difference in performance than a dyno sheet.

My car is a 2019 F56 JCW International Orange Edition with a manual transmission. I have no other performance modifications, so I feel these results are a great way to see exactly what the BM3 Stage 1 tune can do for you.

The conditions for testing the stock tune and the BM3 tune were nearly identical: 75 - 77 degrees ambient at about 75% humidity, overcast conditions with very little wind. Tests were done within 2 hours of each other on the same day in the same location.

I found a straight, fairly level piece of road with no driveways or significant traffic, and I ran each test 2x in each direction. You'll find in my test results that one direction was slightly sloped.

I tested by accelerating to the starting speed in the planned gear, then setting the cruise control. When the exact speed was shown on my HUD, I floored it and started the timer. I did my best to stop the timer at the ending speed, but I may have been off by 1 - 2 MPH at times, particularly in 3rd gear when the acceleration sometimes increases in 2-MPH increments.

Tests were completed in Sport mode with the JCW Pro exhaust flap open.

Test 1 puts you right around the top end of 3rd gear. Test 2 doesn't quite get you to max speed in 4th gear, but it's more of a usable test for how I might use the car on the highway. Test 3 is also kind of an interstate test in case I don't want to drop all the way down to 4th.

This is a decidedly unscientific approach, but I think the close spread on each test and the time difference between stock and BM3 are apparent enough to be usable.

Test 1: 3rd Gear, 60 - 80 MPH
Stock: 4.0, 4.0, 4.1, 4.1; Average: 4.1
Tune: 3.1, 3.4, 3.4, 3.5; Average: 3.4

Test 2: 4th Gear, 70 - 100 MPH
Stock: 7.0, 7.3, 7.4, 6.9; Average: 7.1
Tune: 5.3, 6.0, 5.6, 6.0; Average: 5.7

Test 3: 5th Gear, 60 - 90 MPH
Stock: 8.2, 7.7, 8.2, 7.5; Average: 7.9
Tune: 6.1, 6.5, 6.2, 6.6; Average: 6.3

I think these results are huge. For what BM3 claims to be a 14% increase in HP (so, around 32 HP), the acceleration difference is amazing.

Next week, I'll be taking a 2,000-mile road trip and can report back on MPG. I've read that MPG may actually improve with the tune, but that doesn't account for a lead foot.

 

That is a great way to test the real world results of a tune. Even though the dyno numbers are a more quantitative measure of the difference in power, your test shows how the real world driving experience changes. When it stops raining here, I will do similar test with my tunes (OTS, BM3 93 octane stage 2, Dervtech custom tune) and post below. Although mine won't really be comparable to yours, since environmental conditions will be different, and I have a lot of bolt-ons, it will give a comparison of different tunes within a given platform. Unless you think that is hi-jacking your thread, which I don't want to do.

 

I think it would be great to have more comparison acceleration tests with different tunes and other upgrades, so by all means please share your results when you’ve got them!

 

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