Can you swap a ECU from a JCW into a MCS.

 

Something doesn't sound right...

 

I am thinking of swaping in a intake, ECU and the suspension from a JCW.

 

It does not sound right, and we may need some clarification.

When you have a lease, you can swap tires, and other after market accessories onto the car, but you will need to swap them back when you return them. That is the only "swapping of parts" that I know that is allowed on a lease, but it is your responsbility to return it as close to the shape you received it, minus traditional wear and tear.

Taking other parts off, especially something as crucial as the ECU, will likely cost you replacement parts, labor, and anything that may be damaged as a result.

HOWEVER, if you currently own a JCW and are trading that in, that is a different story, you can do what you want to that, but it is defintely going to impact trade value.

 

Maybe I should just delete this....

 

hmm.. sounds like stealing to me.

 

Good idea...

 

Forgetting all the moral, ethical and legal reasons....

No

ECU's are coded to the vehicle.

 

*sigh*

Why?

The ECUs are physically the same. The only thing different is the programming.


Why change a hard part when all that would be required is to reprogram the one you got?

Talk to Jan @ RMW. He can make your S as fast as if not faster than a stock JCW without changing anything physical on the car.

 

Its amazing my 1stgen Neon came with a DOHC and I swapped the bad motor with a 2ndgen SOHC. The DOHC computer controls the SOHC motor. I dubbed the ECU "Jesus."

 

heh.... the "sanitized" version of this thread is kinda hard to understand

 

The ECU's are vin coded. The computer still reads prom chips in the car and won't recognize the car as a valid VIN#.


Mark

 

I don't think you know what your talking about:

 

No you cannot swap a boosted ECU from a leased MINI or any other 2nd gen MINI into your own and expect it to work at all.

 

is talking about reprogramming the guts of the ECU to allow the swap. You can't just take one out and plug another one in and have it work without hacking the unit.

Matt

 

I don't think your in the the right gen forum bud:

 

Not a problem. Try it and call me back when you get it to work.



Mark

 

Your Cooper seems outta place in a stable of Porsches. Perhaps the PCA boards are too sophisticated?

if one wants to consider NAM sophisticated - what to name my MINI again....

BINGO. If you can go from MC to MCS with offsite (not at the dealer) reprogram, MCS to JCW is a walk in the park. You might even get your dealer to do it for the right price.

Two mistakes:

1. Dealerships can upgrade to JCW software, so not a hack. There are even others who can upgrade you to JCW software if you've followed the right threads.
2. If you were refering jaytech as hack, you haven't seen his work.

I don't have to. Anybody that has upgraded to JCW installed at the dealership can confirm.

You do have more posts than me, but I've been around a lot longer.

 

Exactly my point. When you order something as simple as a JCW Stage I kit upgrade, it is VIN specific. You can't just throw it on another car.

It's no different than a chevy. I put a blown bigblock in an S10 and I thought I could at least use the ECM I had from another GM that was identical except programmed for my engine upgrades and it wouldn't stay running longer than 30 seconds. The computer reads a prom chip and verifies that someone doesn't just change out ECMs to steal someone else's car.

Number of posts mean nothing. Experience does however. If you don't believe me, call up a dealer and ask them. Simple enough.

Mark

 

I agree, most dealers will likely not reprogram without JCW kit. Money talks, especially in a down economy, you might find they are cool. But the dealer isn't the only one who can change it - as I said in my earlier post.

An MCS owner can go to the dealership and have a Works kit dealer-installed (OMG not factory installed!?) taking their MCS to JCW - the VIN doesn't change.

Thats all I've suggested, a retune to JCW, not a swap. But even if you did swap, it could still be reprogramed.

For your clearly superior experience, you sure have trouble reading previous posts.

 

You are correct. The vin doesn't change.... however, you CANNOT use that software upgrade on another MCS because it's vin specific, right? What makes you think that BMW doesn't install a JCW tune with a vin???

It's real simple, ask Jan at RMW and see what he says. I'm sure he knows more about what is vehicle or vin specific than either of us.


Regardless, it's a moot point because no one would be stupid enough to waste time, effort and money trying to use a JCW tune when you can go to RMW and do a tune delivery twice as much as a JCW tune.


No, I think YOU are the one that has trouble reading posts. The original poster asked if you could take an ECU out of a JCW and install it in an MCS.

He didn't ask about swapping programs, he asked about physically taking an ECU out of a JCW and installing it into an MCS and expecting it to work. Yes, it would physically fit but no, it won't "just work".

THAT WAS THE ORIGINAL QUESTION I answered.

Mark

 

Having owned 3 MINI's since '03 this one is far from out of place in my garage.I see you've had the the same R50 since '03 and commend you for your loyalty to the brand but I see where your coming from and understand your frustration. Try building engines with some real power(R50 head swaps and dodge neons not included) and then we'll discuss sophistication.

 

at what cost to reliabilty? No argument that other tunes (hacks according to Dr Obnxs) can deliver more power. To each their own.

I'll refer you to my first post where my intention was to suggest reprograming the ecu (by quoting a previous post and giving thumbsup) rather than a total core swap. There it is - way up near the top. While I'm sure one could clone the contents of an ECU and install it in else ECU, you basically have the same ECU and run into the same vin issues as you discussed (that can be remededied using similar RMW methods). As motormouth suggested, why do something difficult when a reprogram is sufficient - thats been my position this whole time, not a core swap. I just used the experience with the neon to illustrate that ECUs can be used on different motors (the ECU doesn't know the vin of the motor).

It seems we may have been arguing over the same perspective.


I see this has become a measurement of (members)ships and with my far inferior R50 and neon there is no way I can compete with your three Porsche thoroughbreds and history of MINI ownership. The sophistication needed to invest in non-appreciative luxuries far exceeds my comprehension. And there is just no way to ever build power in either engines to cope with my ignorance.

 

Not true.........I have had the JCW software installed in my R53 at the dealer in a non JCW car. You just have to talk to the right person.....

 

hacking a computer doesn't mean that the person is a hack, here in Silicon Valley (and everywhere, I thought) that's slang for unathorized reverse engineering and modification of code.

But this really is a tempest in a teapot. Fact is you can't just swap ECUs without code changes, no matter who does it. Another fact is that the dealer is limited to ecu code changes that are supported by the manufacturer tools, and those that use thier own or others tools can change pretty much anything in the EEPROM.

Aftermarket people actually have more freedom than the dealers.

Another thing to keep in mind is that for the R53, the JCW kit was available as a dealer add on, long after one bought the car, so flashing up to JCW was actually a supported option. Like Rossii found, but not all dealers would do it. (frowned apon by corporate). I honestly don't know if the new ECU can be "up-revved" by the dealer because of the differences in hardware between the S and the JCW. It may or may not be possible. Also, when the Minis first came out, the dealer tools were stand alone. Eventually, the switched to a system that checks in with "the mother ship" in New Jersey or wherever, for permission to do what the tech wants it to do. Times sure are a changin!

Anyway, don't let me stop whomever wants to try. Go ahead, and let us all know what you find. nothing replaces experimental evidence!

Matt