Hello All,

I was wondering whether anyone knows if ECU tunes affect the longevity of the engine in any way. I'm considering a canned stage 1 ECU tune from NM Engineering. I have a 2012 MCS and would like to keep the car for as long as possible. I know bespoke tuning yields better results, but I'm on a budget and am quite happy with NM engineering after getting the torque arm bushing insert as my first mod. Thanks for any comments!

 

Technically.. Yes.. Shorter life. But as long as you drive with sanity it should not be an issue.

Spinning parts faster... Wears them out faster.

 

just make sure it doesn't knock and you'll be fine.

 

Totally drive with sanity; this is just for daily driver fun, and maybe to compete with the gen 3 engines as well. Your comment really gets to the crux of my question. Any estimate of the amount of total engine mileage I'd sacrifice by getting a tune?

 

That literally is the definition behind your mileage may vary. There are so many factors that go into why one engine wears faster then another. Anything from driving style to maintenance intervals to manufacturer tolerances, etc. so it's hard to gauge how much life you're going to lose by getting the car tuned.

I prefer to look at tuning as a way to make all the parts work together again. Unfortunately when you put parts on the car (even just a performance air filter) the ECU compensates some, but doesn't unlock hidden potential and factory-esque harmony.

 

Using a W/M injection together with the larger intercooler will help out a lot when it comes to cooling your combustion temperatures, piston rings and piston landings. A W/M injection will ensure that your engine won't have any detonation (knocking) which will kill your engine. A tune will increase heat generated by your engine, compensating by improving the cooling of combustion temperatures, piston rings and piston landings (via W/M injection) will go along way to slowing wear and tear.

 

there's no formula that says it'll be 5,473 miles less before engine failure. parts, like water pumps, etc. may fail at random but no one's to say your parts wouldn't last longer than even someone who's totally stock.

learned this a long time ago when i was putting tunes on the evo. as long as you're not detonating (basically as long as you have a decent tune), there's nothing to say the motor wouldn't even last longer. i don't really hear of people here blowing their motors due to the power/mods they make, only from the timing chain.

 

Think of it like an athlete....
If a runner runs harder do things wear out faster? Yes....but the runner gets there faster!!
Most cars DRIVEN to the junkyard when junked...or dragged in with a running motor...on most cars, engine we a is not the killer...
Done RIGHT, a mini is no different.
Sure...folks have blown up and destroyed motors....if you push limits...things can happen...same with the runner. But keep it mild, and life is good.

 

depends on the motor; Turbo vs Normally aspirated.
N14/18 with turbos tuned for power will run more boost and the propensity for damage from higher boost and possible resultant detonation can spell accelerated wear or failure. The Ultimate Chip as a piggy back was not great for adding fuel under higher boost.
(burned pistons and valves are not uncommon)
To counter this Manic can lower coolant temps which greatly helps not just the motor but any thermal plastic components like water pump and thermostats. Way too much heat for these components to withstand for prolonged periods of time.
Also lower coolants temps help ward off detonation.
Even further, these engines are tuned from the factory way too lean.
Again Manic to the rescue. They can adjust the A/F ratios for more fueling which cools pistons, valves and cylinder head combustion chambers. This helps with longevity if not just "blowing" the motor.
Overall, if u drive the engine hard then, of course the chances for damage are increased. BTW my motor has 101k miles; the last 12k have been brutal; tuned/modified and many track days.
I do have many years experience as a machinist building motors although this was many moons ago.

 

Today after my engine was at 222.2*F I turned on the AC max and my coolant temps dropped to 211.2*F. This was only a few minutes of monitoring my coolant temps, 10*F drop in 30 seconds.

 

Wow, I am glad I never hit those temps. My coolant temps average around 184*F whether I have sport button on or off during my 33-mile commute to work, and I will hit short bursts up to 80-90 mph on some sections of the commute . I think the most I've seen during a long idle is 215*F.

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Laughing, I think Mini /BMW has learned the hard lessen with the N14's, they do run too hot. If that's not enough they are tuned from the factory too lean. Earlier this week I was at the beach, when I was leaving I always go up this steep *** hill if you can call it that, anyhow I went up that hill in "Sport Mode" AC off then did it again with the AC on in "Sport Mode" and it went up the hill feeling like the engine had more power than was needed for the hill.

I'm sure if I were to get a Manic Stage 1 Tune I might burn less oil do to cooler temps and perhaps less oil vapor being run through my intake passing and sticking to the valves. There's two things I require before getting a tune, a larger intercooler and W/M injection, then comes the tune. Our 91 octane gas is horrible in California! A W/M kit will bump up my octane rating (also recommended by Manic) while further cooling my intake temps, then there's the larger intercooler.

 

That is interesting that having the AC on adds more hp for that hill..hehe. When I first got the car, my coolant temps were 192*F average. I changed to a better hi-flow filter, helix FMIC, and added the belly pan which is suppose to improve air flow thru the engine bay supposedly and improve the aerodynamics too. I'm guessing the lower temps now is proof that it works.

What is considered ideal AFR? I usually fluctuate at 12.3-14.0 and mostly 13.2 during average highway driving.

+1 on the horrible gas in Ca.

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IMO, forged pistons would help, similarly to the BMW N54 engine.

 

I wonder why we see such a variance in coolant temps unless the veh is tuned?
The DME controls the thermostat and, from the factory likes 220 all day long unless WOT, then 180. This should not change by "external" forces unless the cooling system is over taxed. All the extra air flow will not affect the coolant temps. (engine compartment temps yes) The DME will just adjust the thermostat opening.
I never experienced at coolant temp change or drop with a/c on or off??
Unless under WOT, if the DME sees lower coolant temps, a MIL should comes with p0287(not sure) for cooling map issue.

 

According to the scangauge, My 2012 justa automatic runs 220 no Matter what I am doing. I have seen temp drop suddenly to 185, stay there for a few minutes, then return to 220. This has not happened often enough to see a pattern. One guess is the computer is just checking for proper cooling ability periodically. I have tried turning AC on/off or sport mode on/off with no effect.

 

Do I get more gas when the AC is on or just more rpms? In either case one or both of these must help climbing a steep hill.

 

2 years, my mods with NM2 stage!!!! Man up!

 

I'm updating my earlier post about turning on AC set to max reducing my coolant temps, I tried it again several times Saturday and this time the outcome was no cooler coolant temps. Frankly I'm a little confused.

 

Same with me. I had the a/c max thing work once but could not get to work again.

 

I first saw the temps drop when car was parked, maybe it was because my fan was running faster than usual. It has two speeds, normal and super fast!

 

There is no "ideal" AFR. The lowest emissions are from running at stoichiometric, which is 14.7:1 AFR, which is usually held at cruise and idle. Best power is usually richer, maybe as low as 12.0:1, though opinions vary. Running under boost, extra fuel is often used to help cooling, so that would also be richer than stoich.

Better economy is usually gained by going leaner than stoich--the "lean burn" cars from the 90s could run at something like 22:1, but that would only be at cruise when not much power is desired. You don't run a turbo that lean unless you really want to burn it up, though.

 

Weird. Mine does it without fail daily. 2012 MCS auto
Edit: I do notice with sport mode on it takes significantly longer to cool down and only drops to 95C vs 92C with sport off. So always take it out of sport mode the last 5 mins of driving and let it idle for a minute when it reaches 92 then turn it off

 

I took a 25 mile trip to the beach today and the moment I parked the car with AC set at max, temps again dropped from 224*F to 210*F. It's final reading was 208*F, why this only happens when car is stopped and idling is strange.

 

Hey just wanted to thank everyone who replied; I'm gonna go ahead and get the tune...thanks so much for the advice! Now I just need to start researching the W/M injector...