This post serves as my first impressions and initial thoughts on the software and tune with ~50 miles driven. I am new to both Mini’s and BM3 and not affiliated with any tuners or companies. I bought my Mini earlier this year in used condition, where I have now put ~2000 miles on it. It is my daily driver with the goal of slowly adding modifications to it. I have not used other tuners on the Mini so I cannot compare with JB4, NM, etc. I will post further updates as I put more miles on the tune.

Vehicle: 2015 F55 5-door Cooper S manual w/ 21000 miles and runflats

Modifications as of this post: None other than BimmerCode

Future mods planned: Performance all weather tires, intake, exhaust, engine mounts, LSD

Tune used: Version 1.0 OTS Stage 1 93 octane

Tune config settings: Exhaust burble: OTS, rest are set to OEM, 1st gear 20% reduction, 2nd gear 10% reduction



First impressions rating: 7/10

Pros: POWER, ease of use, no under-the-hood install, sports instruments updated, BimmerCode settings untouched

Cons: Some tune configs may have not done anything, active sound design must be on for burbles, new sports instruments HP values, auto start/stop dead



I am going to skip explaining the process of tuning as there are in depth explanations on the BM3 website and BMW forums. I used a windows laptop and had no problems making an account, activating my license, or flashing the tune.

Sport mode: The power is great. I was truly surprised at the new power as I thought stock felt great. 1st and 2nd feel under control with the boost reduction mentioned above and using up to ~50% throttle. Hammering the throttle easily causes wheel spin. 3rd really picks up but I could not get wheel spin as I read the JB4 could do. The new power in the high RPM range of 3rd and above is where the fun is. Downshifting to 3rd going 60 mph and hammering the throttle got me slapped, as it unexpectedly threw my wife into the seat. Power across the board is delivered instantly with fast response, almost too fast. The car jars forward with the slightest touch of the throttle. I suspect this is due to me not being used to the tune and using stock engine mounts. I did not notice any torque steer. OTS burbles are okay. They seem less prominent so I may switch to OEM and test that out.

Mid mode: Similar than stock Sport mode with no burbles. This may be my go-to mode for daily driving as response is a little less strong but still has lots of power if asked.

Eco mode: Similar to stock mid mode. I wish this mode wasn’t touched as much, as this was the perfect mode for letting family drive or preventing groceries flying around.

Other notes: BimmerCode settings were untouched. I have modified driving mode memory, disabled the idrive warnings, and changed light checks. These all work after the tune. The Auto start/stop feature is dead in all driving modes. With the Mini warmed up and no A/C it will not auto stop. I figure this won’t be a problem for most people, but I have some long red lights I hit on my daily drive. When stopped the disabled logo appears, similar to if the A/C was maxed out. Regarding the sports instruments, the max HP shows 320 while the max torque shows 400. I think the max HP should be closer to the actual max HP this tune delivers, maybe at ~275-300? Changing GTS startup roar and cold start didn’t change my startup. It still revved to ~1600 and relaxed to ~1200 for warmup. I changed these back to OEM since I did not see the change. I initially had 1st gear set to 25% reduction and 2nd gear at 15% reduction. I slightly reduced these for more power.



Please send any questions you may have my way and I will try to answer. I will probably post an update for first week impressions and first month impressions, then just add to the thread as needed.

 

Damn. When did bootmod start supporting the b48 engine? I contacted them about 3 years ago. They had b48 tunes, but not for minis. It didn't make sense. I'm glad they have tunes now, but hell, I'm already set with the stage 2i have.

 

Thanks for the write up and impression. Looking to get this done soon and it's nice to hear from another Mini owner.

 

How much does this tune cost?

 

The Bootmod3 flashing software costs $595. With this purchase you get to choose one off the shelf (OTS) map, either stage 1 or stage 2 and 91ACN, 91, or 93 octane fuel. They recommend an upgraded downpipe and intercooler for stage 2 and 91ACN stands for Arizona/California/Nevada or anywhere else there is exceptionally low quality fuel. For another $50 you unlock all of the OTS tunes, meaning you can switch to another tune if you upgrade your vehicle with stage two parts or want to switch to other octanes. Additionally, many tuners (as in people who make tunes) use the bootmod3 flashing software and can make a custom tune for your vehicle and wants (see these posts on NAM 1,2). I did not do this and do not intend to at this time, but I am assuming it costs an additional $300-$500.

UPDATE ON THE TUNE:
Auto start/stop is back. I am not sure what was preventing it from working right after I flashed the tune, maybe my battery was low due to the flashing processor. I am glad this is working! As I said from my initial impressions, the OTS burbles in sport mode are definitely less prominent than OEM. I have not changed this back to OEM but I likely will in the next couple of days.

I reiterate...... POWER!! Wow does this thing pull hard. Every time I slam the throttle it feels as if the engine may rip out of the front end and leave me behind. The new throttle response in sport mode is pretty harsh, as I have accidently revved the engine a few times shifting into 2nd in slow traffic. I think the tune actually makes mid mode a viable option for the daily driver.

 

Hi just wondering how it is going after several months of use, as I am considering this for JCW F56.

 

For a 6 month review with a couple thousand miles on the tune leaves me feeling as I did when I flashed the tune. The tune gives great power in sport mode without any noticeable side affects. For now, I plan to keep the tune installed. Rereading my previous posts, I still think that mid mode is likely best for daily driving. The throttle response is very touchy in 1st and 2nd in sport mode, but it is always fun to tear away from a stop sign.

Note on torque steer: There is definitely torque steer... When writing my original post I had commented that didn't notice torque steer. This was a mistake which stemmed from a combination of balding tires and inexperience. Torque steer is prominent in 1st and 2nd as you would expect.

Note on fuel efficiency: Before the tune I was averaging 33 mpg with a mix of city and highway. Driving sporty in sport mode all the time gives me an average of 27 mpg while modest driving in mid mode gives me about 29 mpg. These are all numbers retrieved from the dash.

Note on JCW tuning: I have not yet driven or tuned a JCW so I can not give any opinions. Be aware that the Bootmod3 JCW tune results in less NET percent gain but you are staring with higher HP. JCW tuning will result in the B48-L gains as described on their website.

Again, please send any questions my way and I will try to answer.

 

Well it was a good run. I was rear ended on the way home and now the MINI is a total loss. Good thing is that I'm okay and I'm getting back what I paid for it! Moving forward I am uncertain if I will get another MINI. I really loved it but I might opt for something larger as the family grows.

I was still happy with the tune before the accident. It ran smoothly for the two years I ran it and always surprised anyone I gave a ride. I was able to de-tune the car after it was towed. Bootmod3 has a great feature that it can be transferred (sold) once. Anybody interested at the $400 price point? I can send the ethernet to OBD-II cable as well.

 

Sent you a PM. Interested in working out a deal on the BM3 License.

 

I have been running BM3 for about 1 year now on my S and I am also happy with the results. I am curious about your 1st and 2nd gear reduction settings... to me the logical fix is having better tires when traction is a priority. Am I missing something?

 

The 1st and 2nd gear reduction was simply to make the manual easier to drive as a daily driver, as well as make it easier on my wife when she drove.

 

Sorry to hear about your mini, but how much boost psi were you running on your stage 1 tune? Does the tune you ran allow you to adjust the psi or do you have to select another map to get different psi.