Drivetrain The Always Up-to-Date Thread on Tuning 2011+ (N18) MINIs
#1401
06-23-2013, 03:03 PM
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"Starting January 1, 2005, owners of vehicles six or less model years old will pay an annual smog abatement fee for the first six registration years instead of being required to provide a biennial smog certification."
so we're looking pretty good.
#1402
06-23-2013, 04:47 PM
Terry, is there any possibility of porting your prototype N18 piggyback to the N14 platform? I assume the N14 is slightly less complicated than the N18 so supporting both engines would not be much extra work on your part. There are still a lot of N14 people out there who want a piece of the pie.
Just a heads up for anyone skeptical of this news. BMS stuff is top notch. Their "piggybacks" have earned a strong following in the N54,N55 and N20 world. This is not a "unichip" or any of that Mini Dynamics ********. BMS backs up their tunes with dyno numbers and their price point is usually very competitive.
Just a heads up for anyone skeptical of this news. BMS stuff is top notch. Their "piggybacks" have earned a strong following in the N54,N55 and N20 world. This is not a "unichip" or any of that Mini Dynamics ********. BMS backs up their tunes with dyno numbers and their price point is usually very competitive.
#1404
06-23-2013, 04:57 PM
Terry, is there any possibility of porting your prototype N18 piggyback to the N14 platform? I assume the N14 is slightly less complicated than the N18 so supporting both engines would not be much extra work on your part. There are still a lot of N14 people out there who want a piece of the pie.
Just a heads up for anyone skeptical of this news. BMS stuff is top notch. Their "piggybacks" have earned a strong following in the N54,N55 and N20 world. This is not a "unichip" or any of that Mini Dynamics ********. BMS backs up their tunes with dyno numbers and their price point is usually very competitive.
Just a heads up for anyone skeptical of this news. BMS stuff is top notch. Their "piggybacks" have earned a strong following in the N54,N55 and N20 world. This is not a "unichip" or any of that Mini Dynamics ********. BMS backs up their tunes with dyno numbers and their price point is usually very competitive.
Earlier adopter of the JB when I had my E92. Always a huge fan of Terry's especially when the Vishnu vs JB wars always brought out the flaming oh whose was better than the other. Anyways, since I've left the BMW side and jumped shipped to MINI, I always wondered if JB was going to tap into the MINI side of things, hopefully the N14 guys can be part of this development because I loved my JB4 (when I had it) and it was always a blast.
You know I'd donate my car if you need it Terry! Long and Ivan @ LTMW would easily vouch for my MINI as a test subject
#1407
06-23-2013, 06:55 PM
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$945 tune, $64 their shipping back, $58 shipped there, and like $160 for spark plugs.
My mods were fine, I'm not adding a DP cause of me moving in the winter(Cali). Otherwise I would have. I just got a FMIC, Hot side pipe, K&N panel filter, and a 2.5" custom exhaust with 2nd delete. They said that's good.
My mods were fine, I'm not adding a DP cause of me moving in the winter(Cali). Otherwise I would have. I just got a FMIC, Hot side pipe, K&N panel filter, and a 2.5" custom exhaust with 2nd delete. They said that's good.
Last edited by pyrrhusmj; 06-24-2013 at 04:59 AM.
#1408
06-23-2013, 06:58 PM
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Thanks. As of today we have two working N18 prototypes. One that can be installed in 10 seconds and other that takes more like 10 minutes to install. Both are invisible to the DME once removed making them "warranty/lease friendly". To start we'd be shooting for the low hanging fruit. The easy gains with minimal risk and minimal cost. What I refer to as a Stage1. The tuning is currently dialed in well enough to study the approaches on the dyno so we can quantify whether it's reasonable to move forward to customer alpha testing with either. But I'm cautiously optimistic things will work out nicely. Will know more next week. Fortunately the sensors and logic used are very similar to other BMW models we tune meaning no waiting for connectors or PCBs. 
To start the Stage1 N18 tuning system would be simple (similar to an N54 JB+) but we also have a relatively advanced Stage2+ CAN based JB4 system with features like in dash gauge hijacking (showing boost in dash, for example), on the fly map switching, 1st & 2nd gear boost limiting, etc, that we could adapt down the road if demand justified it. The CAN based system is able to datalog timing, air/fuel, knock count, etc, all through the factory DME and even self tune itself to optimize performance and safety as you race around. I won't waste my time talking about the JB4 much as that would be a long way out for N18 owners I will say its one of the most popular BMW N54/N55 tunes in use today.
To start the Stage1 N18 tuning system would be simple (similar to an N54 JB+) but we also have a relatively advanced Stage2+ CAN based JB4 system with features like in dash gauge hijacking (showing boost in dash, for example), on the fly map switching, 1st & 2nd gear boost limiting, etc, that we could adapt down the road if demand justified it. The CAN based system is able to datalog timing, air/fuel, knock count, etc, all through the factory DME and even self tune itself to optimize performance and safety as you race around. I won't waste my time talking about the JB4 much as that would be a long way out for N18 owners I will say its one of the most popular BMW N54/N55 tunes in use today.
I am assuming that the way your system works, the ECU changes in mid-2012 may not be an issue?
#1410
06-23-2013, 09:26 PM
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Terry, is there any possibility of porting your prototype N18 piggyback to the N14 platform? I assume the N14 is slightly less complicated than the N18 so supporting both engines would not be much extra work on your part. There are still a lot of N14 people out there who want a piece of the pie.
Just a heads up for anyone skeptical of this news. BMS stuff is top notch. Their "piggybacks" have earned a strong following in the N54,N55 and N20 world. This is not a "unichip" or any of that Mini Dynamics ********. BMS backs up their tunes with dyno numbers and their price point is usually very competitive.
Just a heads up for anyone skeptical of this news. BMS stuff is top notch. Their "piggybacks" have earned a strong following in the N54,N55 and N20 world. This is not a "unichip" or any of that Mini Dynamics ********. BMS backs up their tunes with dyno numbers and their price point is usually very competitive.
#1411
06-23-2013, 09:29 PM
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#1412
06-23-2013, 09:33 PM
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The car I'm working on currently is a 4/2013 build. Generally speaking DME (ECU) versions tend to get more complex making tuning the later builds more difficult. So assuming that holds true here I don't expect any issues with previous DME versions. As always is the case though until I look at it I can only speculate.
#1413
06-23-2013, 09:50 PM
#1414
06-23-2013, 11:25 PM
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i'm awaiting delivery of a 2014 Q5 with the 3.0T ("T" for supercharged...go figure). that car is currently being assembled and should arrive at the end of july. guys that recently went stage 2 (with a pulley) on 2013 models are gaining ~130hp! it's basically the same engine that's in the S4, S5, A6 and A7, so naturally there's lots of support. 0-60 in 5 flat and quarter mile right around the 13 sec range for a 2 ton SUV...i'll take it! stage 2 should run about $1800 for software and pulley. only need to add the pulley install labor if you don't do it yourself.
#1415
06-23-2013, 11:28 PM
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you can swap back to the stock cat when you go in for smog on the 6th year anniversary. that's not a terrible option, but also not ideal. even if the cat CAN pass emissions, it'll fail the visual. a mechanic that smogged one of my cars recently said they have serial number on DOT approved parts. if they don't see that number on your cat, it doesn't matter if your car is blowing out bubbles of pure oxygen mixed with lavendar, they will fail you.
#1417
06-24-2013, 09:38 AM
#1418
06-24-2013, 09:40 AM
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#1419
06-24-2013, 09:41 AM
#1420
06-24-2013, 09:53 AM
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sweet! so i can grab a b'fast burrito at nick's and get my car smogged at the same time?!? =) oh wait, you said the car doesn't even have to be there!
btw, you ever meet up with other mini owners in the area? i would love to ride in a tuned mini one day just to see what i'm missing out on...altho that could be quite a dangerous proposition.
btw, you ever meet up with other mini owners in the area? i would love to ride in a tuned mini one day just to see what i'm missing out on...altho that could be quite a dangerous proposition.
#1421
06-24-2013, 09:55 AM
sweet! so i can grab a b'fast burrito at nick's and get my car smogged at the same time?!? =) oh wait, you said the car doesn't even have to be there!
btw, you ever meet up with other mini owners in the area? i would love to ride in a tuned mini one day just to see what i'm missing out on...altho that could be quite a dangerous proposition.
btw, you ever meet up with other mini owners in the area? i would love to ride in a tuned mini one day just to see what i'm missing out on...altho that could be quite a dangerous proposition.
love those burritos.There is a lot of local activity as since SCMM is a big active group. I generally dont attend their meets due to differences in my style and their own.
But yeah I am sure we could work something out and let you ride in my car haha.
#1422
06-24-2013, 10:08 AM
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sounds like we need to do a seal beach "cars and b'fast burrito" get together one of these days! there always seems to be some car show on main st whenever i'm out that way.
#1423
06-24-2013, 10:23 AM
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#1425
06-24-2013, 10:51 AM
Dave