When my wife and I first got our 2016 Countryman S I loved the potential of what this little thing could become.

many cosmetic mods, suspension upgrades, and getting it to breath and exhale with larger lungs later I was very happy.

but then I heard about Mario through my mechanic. 1 year later I pulled the trigger on a stage 2 tune and I cannot believe the change he made to this little car of ours. It’s a little beast that no expects. Overtaking people on the highway. Jockeying for position on a two lane road. Swiftly passing on the 1.

i can not recommend Mario enough. Super easy to talk with. Clearly passionate about his work. Very professional. And dare I say a new friend.

if you’re thinking about a tune for your car, Give him a call and make it happen.

 

New to the thread but I wanted to post my experience with Mario from this last week.

This man went above and beyond for me! He has been beyond patient with all the questions I've hit him with before and after tuning my car and always gets back to me on my questions even now. I'm rather green behind the ears when it comes to tunes especially being on my first Mini as well but he has humored all my requests and has done a superb job working on my car! There are a few Mini tuners around but this guy has definitely earned my trust, respect, and future business!

 

Hey Mini Fam!
LONG time lurker, first time poster!

Wanted to come on here to say that the tune Mario gave me for my 2009 MCS is AMAZING. It's EXACTLY what I needed to get the "oomph" I wanted. Stage 2 with all the fixings.

I come from a background of MR2's, Rotaries and Subarus. I've had my share of tunes. Mario remotely tuned my mini IN ONE GO! In the past I have taken my cars to get tuned and it sometimes ended up being multiple visits or having to go somewhere else but not this one. He did an amazing job pretty much overnight. If you need a tune and you need a tune done right, Mario is the one to go to. 5/5 Stars. 10/10 would do again.

Hurry up and get all your stuff and things from Mario!

 

hey al! been lurking for information on a tune for the mini, as i wanted to get rid of the JB+ and get something more solid and found Mario on an old post. I did some digging and decided since he was in my area (los angeles) id reach out. Everything from the first email to our most recent text has been well. Mario was kind and welcoming, he asked if i could bring the mini over and without question i was on my way. I had a few parts already installed - m7 intake, upgrade cold/hot air tubes, intercooler, and a few small other upgraded tubes. We decided to go with stage 1 since i didnt have a downpipe and boy do i love it. He even took my jb+ and gave me a discount on it. Mario knows his way around Minis. I also had a steering wheel that he changed out for me. Im now looking for another mini for my gf and will most definitely hit up mario for another tune when its time! Thanks again.

 

X

 

Dang, do please tell more

 

Valves breaking has been a common occurrence on some engines even on a stock tune. Sorry it happened to you. As much as I am not a fan of Mario, I don’t think I would spout off and blame the tune from him for this.

 

Wanting to install a down pipe without the cat. I’ve read posts about o2 sensor spacers and or o2 sim. Just wondering where to go or whom to use for a tune. Just finished installing a Detroit tuned timing set, turbo smart bov and an aftermarket intercooler. Been waiting to install the down pipe the reduced power on these cars sucks. Any info will be great thank you

 

From what I’ve read, those O2 spacers don’t work on these cars. Get in touch with @Lou@Prototype-R for tuning information. He can build a custom tune to whatever your goal and power adders, and can remove the O2 signal from the down pipe.

 

I wanted to find a good JCW R57, but there was nothing decent on the market. One day I found a 2009 R57 S with only 14,000 miles on it. First, I changed the brakes to a JCW kit, then full exhaust, intercooler, and intake. The only thing left is to find a good person for ECU remapping, and thanks to this post, I found him. Thanks for the work you've done. The result exceeded all my expectations.

 

I had been looking for a tuning solution for my bmw E86 Z4 3.0si for almost two years. There are several companies that offer simple flash tunes for this car, but nothing that had all the bells and whistles/customization that I was looking for. I had reached out to RPM tuning directly and was quoted over $2100 for a tune to my Z4. While it had all the options I was hoping for, that was far too much money to spend on a tune for a vehicle of this caliber.
One day while speaking with the prior owner of my Mini R56s(RPM tuned as well), he mentioned that he had it tuned by Mario. I reached out to Mario several weeks ago and everything started to look up from there. Not only did he assure me that he would be able to do everything that I thought I wanted to do to my Z4, he additionally brought up several other things that hadn't even occurred to me(and for a much affordable price). I had been stressing about having to send my ECU out and the downtime that goes with that, and Mario recommended purchasing the RPM/PWG handheld tuning tool to allow me to upload and switch maps myself.. Best decision in the world. I simply had to download my ECU file off my Z4 and send it to him. Just a short while later, Mario sent me multiple tuning files with varying settings(I.E. different amounts of pops/bangs), and a quick video on how to do each step. No downtime on my car at all, other than the hour or so it takes to initially load up each map/tune file. The entire process was almost laughable at how easy it was, and the few questions that I did have, Mario answered them quickly and professionally. He's someone who doesn't work with a very large team, he's a family man, and probably does VERY well for himself. AND WITH THAT BEING SAID, I felt like I was chatting with an old friend through out the whole experience. He will take you seriously and actually treat you like a human being, he cares about his customers and your vehicles(Let's be honest, this is becoming more and more rare). I will confidently recommend him to anyone who's looking for a tuner in the future. Truly a 10/10 review for Mario.

P.S. I attached a short video of my Z4 post tune. She was so quite before hahaha

 

I can't say enough about Mario and his services! I just got home literally 10 minutes ago from visiting Mario and the drive home was all smiles. I opted for a stage 2 on my R56 S with the sport button option. He advised me that I would need a torque arm insert due to the additional power. Guys if you're thinking about it, JUST DO IT!! He's professional, informative and an overall great person! DO IT! Also, he informed me that after my tune I could run 4 gallons of E85 which makes me even more excited lmao.

 

Safe to say I should plan to flash back to stock ECU before going for a smog test? Currently running RPM stage 1 by mario.

 

depends where you live, CA and MA have become a bit more strict, so setting it back to stock for testing is the fix

MINI/BMW ECU Tuning
MarioPalza@gmail.com

 

Thanks Mario - I live in CA so sounds like that is the move. I'm due for it next year, so when that time comes I'll reach out and send the ECU to you to flash it back to stock. There's no way to do it remotely yet, right? Car is 2013 R56 JCW.

 

I had Mario tune my mini about a year and a half ago it’s been amazing no issues car runs amazing and recently I had him re tune it to have flames car is absolutely amazing right now highly recommend mario for any mini tuning needs or parts if available

 

My review of a stage 2 tune from Mario:

2013 Mini Cooper S. Mods -
DDM Works Racing intake
Spacer on the diverter valve
Upgraded Alta diverter spring
Cat-less Downpipe "Not Mario's"
Muffler delete
NM Torque arm engine mount inserts
Upgraded Intercooler
Oil Catch Can

So I will start by saying I had a JB+, and for the money and ease of install, it gave a decent boost to the car over stock. But after upgrading my intercooler and installing the cat-less downpipe, I needed to take advantage of those, and also get rid of my CEL from the downpipe. I reached out to Mario and he quickly answered all my questions. Throughout the whole process he was friendly, patient and prompt. I can't say enough good things about how easy it was to work with Mario. He's awesome!

The tune:
So I got the stage 2 tune, with extra pops and burbles. After my ECU arrived back to me in the mail, I threw it in, checked for any codes and cleared them, then fired it up! It worked flawlessly and no more CEL after driving it for a whole weekend. I went to the gas station and filled her up and drive nice and easy on the way to warm up the engine. Leaving the station, on a nice straight and empty road, I wanted to test it a little bit, so I gave it about 70% throttle, and it made my jaw drop. Even at just 70%, it blew the JB+ away in terms of performance, pull, and power. After testing it hard over this last weekend, I can now say that my car is a little monster. I can't put into words just how different it feels, how much smoother it runs, and what a smile it puts on my face. The power for this little car is insane. The biggest bonus for me was travelling at 6th gear on the freeway. Trying to pass someone, while staying in 6th, I give it a little throttle, and it feels like I dropped I dropped it into 5th gear and hammered it "pre-tune". No more need to change gears to quickly pass people when cruising at 60+.

Back in April I had traded in my heavily modified and tuned Kia Stinger GT2 that had 543 HP. With everything going on I wanted to be more financially responsible for my family. I've always liked Coopers, and so I got my first one in the trade. The cooper was zippy, and fun to drive, but I was missing that "feeling" when I would hammer down on the Stinger and tear up the road, and any other cars challenging me, and leave them behind me. Now I'm not going to say I will smoke any car in the Cooper. But now when I hammer it, I get that same feeling. It freaking goes, and goes fast. It gets my adrenaline going. It's an insane amount of Torque for this little car with this tune. I promise you I would surprise some people on the road if they wanted to try and have some fun...

The power band is crazy balanced. With the JB+ I had a nice little bump at lower RPMS, that would taper off. With the stage 2 Mario tune, the power is there across the RPM range. And now my car even idles smoother at stop lights. The extra pops are crazy awesome, but just too loud with the setup I had. Sounded like I was shooting a gun as I drove by, and was actually scaring people on the sidewalk. Mario pointed me towards a nice resonator to install, and that was perfect! It now sounds amazing, the pops are many, but now at an acceptable volume.

I can't say enough good things about Mario, and his product. I can now have mad fun in this little car, and still get 36 MPG on the freeway when cruising. Best of both worlds IMO.

 

Like many here, I can't help but sing Mario's praises enough. I picked up a 2014 f56 2 years ago (almost to the day). I immediately started looking at mods and options when I came across Mario's name. At the time I was running a JB4 piggy back and a few modest upgrades. I reached out to Mario about 2 months after getting my mini and we settled on setting up the stage 2 tune. He had my car for a couple hours and when he brought it back my mind was blown. Between the tunes he offers, the candy he gives you, and the incredible service, I couldn't imagine going to anyone else for my tuning needs. With California getting more and more strict with emissions laws, he has always had an answer as to how to navigate passing smog. With the most recent rules, your car can't carry an aftermarket tune, so Mario helped me by setting it back to stock so that we can get through smog, and will be reinstalling the tune after the fact. HUGE life saver.

If you are thinking about a tune or are leaning towards a piggyback, contact Mario first. He is the absolute best in the business and doesnt play any games.

 

Back in late 2019 i bought my first mini, r56 s, and immediately jumped on forums and web browsers to find reputable tuners/builders. i stumbled across Mario and got in contact with him. once i had my intercooler, plugs, and intake all that was left was the downpipe and a tune. took my mini straight to mario and was blown away by 1. how fast he was able to install the dp and tune and 2. how well the car preformed after. car sounded amazing and pulled insanely hard. if you’re anywhere in na mario is definitely the guy to get your mini set up right.

 

C


Casually Posting My Now Reknowned “Bee-Eating Dolphin”
I got a very nerve racking yet exhilarating experience today. Raced a 2020 Dodge Charger Scat Pack Edition. I don’t know much about them but the owner was not to contempt with the outcome. Met up at the stop light. I told him I was tuned by Mario from RPM Power and I’m FBO. He preceded to tell me he has exhaust, intake, and e85. Pretty sure he heard the Pop & Bangs so he began revving at stoplight. I kept rpms at about 4200rpm. I dropped my clutch on him. I managed to get a half a car on him till about 25 while he spun a tad. I shifted into second gear nd started to squeal!! At this point he regained the half a car and I thought it was a loss. Suddenly I gained grip on these 225’s !! When I caught traction I pulled so quick I couldn’t believe it was my car. I slammed my “Dolphin” (car) into third. That’s when the race changed. Idk when he let off but I was able gap him by two car lengths till fourth. By fifth I had to let off. Some traffic got in the way but I was still impressed by how the car felt and couldn’t believe wtf just happened. SHOUT OUT TO MARIO!!!! It felt similar to my Rsx but with a load more of torque. and Got my tunes sent to me in no time!!! Thanks to Mario coming in clutch with the RPM power gate module, he got me the right tune. I’m fully bolted on with exception of exhaust. My car is is 2009 JCW Hypersport (little more aerodynamic) and I am absolutely impressed and terrified of the cars power levels in a good way. MPH creeps up on me so fast. Say I’m doing 60 in 6th. I touch the pedal and now I’m at 100 in 2-3 seconds. On a good flat I’ll be luck not to spin second at any mph under 50. If u want to absolutely change the attitude of your Mini. I’m talking throttle reponse, low end torque, high end power, pops ,bangs, flames. Mario is the best!!! I love knowing I have a little missile in my garage. I only want the best for my car. U should too!!

 

I hope everyone is doing well, and Happy New Year!

I wanted to start 2023 off with something nice for myself and decided to reach out to Mario regarding going Stage 3.
I first spoke/messaged Mario back in December of 2021 and was torn on whether I wanted to keep the car or not (I was swapping the motor of my e90 at the time and was planning to giving the Mini to my fiance when I finished).
Anyway, I have heard nothing but high praises for Mario and his tunes so I shipped out my ECU the Monday after Christmas (I forgot it was an observed holiday, and didn't use USPS so shipping was crazy) but Mario got the ECU on that Wednesday (N18 so ECU had to make the flight), he tuned it and sent it back and I got it that Friday.
No unfortunately this past weekend it was damp/raining in CNJ so I drove with sport mode off (I got the option and would 100% get it again) because driving with it on and rocking older all seasons just meant spinning tires. (I do have new tires to handle the winter weather and then will have summers when ready).
There was one day where the roads were dry and I could get a partial feel for when I hook enough and my god it was insane. The tune truly made me glad I'm keeping the car.

Eventually I will dyno the car, but so far the mods I have are:
Upgraded JCW turbo | WMW turbo muffler delete | CTS downpipe (catless) | Akrapovic exhaust | Street torque mount | aFe drop-in | Colder plugs | Stage 3 tune from Mario

What's coming:
P3 gauge

What's on the horizon:
Mishi OCC | 25.5mm rear swaybar | DND seat(s)

By the end of 2023:
Begin collecting forged internals

 

Just want to drop a few words on my mariokart experience. I contacted Mario like a year ago and ask all kinds of questions about downpipe an tunes. I didn’t pull the trigger at that time. I contacted Mario again two weeks ago and he remembered me and didn’t hesitate to answer all my questions again. This time I did pull the trigger on a stage 2 tune and colder plugs. Let me tell you I’m so glad I did. So happy with the whole experience from start to finish!!!! I have a 2012 Mini CoupeS R58. Mario’s tune is amazing. The car runs like a rocket. If you want to get your mini or bmw tuned this is the guy to do it. He is way more personable than the guys up north by the lake. Plus you get a goodie bag!!! And he is cheaper!!!!

 

Not much I can say about Mario that hasn't been covered throughout this whole forum, but I will try. I have a 14 Countryman ALL4 S and had a bunch of misfire codes. After I ordered and installed new coils and plugs from ECS Tuning I still had the codes. I took it to my local mechanic and he traced it back to the ECU not sending the signal to fire the plugs. He recommended a new ECU, my first thought was Mario. I have always wanted to get a tune from him and now was my chance. I contacted him late in the afternoon and he was getting on a cruise ship and was still responding to work calls thank god. He said a used ECU might be tough to find, but he would put out some feelers. I was just glad I could get in contact with him and get the ball rolling. Within a few hours he had located and purchased an ECU from Canada, again while he is supposed to be enjoying a cruise ship. I shipped my ECU to him and by the time he got home he had my ECU and the donor ECU. He cloned my ECU to the donor and put a stage 1 tune on it for me. The process was awesome working with Mario, and he loves to help anyway he can. I got my new/used tuned up ECU back from him and installed, all the codes were gone and now turbo snail runs like a raped ape. Now I have started a MarioKart fund jar so I can start saving up to get a downpipe and maybe down the road a stage 2 tune. The car runs so great after he tuned it up, I would strongly recommend his services to all who need it. It was so easy and he is so responsive, not to mention probably the smartest most knowledgeable Mini guy I now know.

 

I reached out to Mario back in September with some questions about tuning. He answered all my questions super politely and explained everything I asked really well. Fast forward a couple months I didn’t wind up pulling the trigger on the tune but Mario reached out to me asking if there was anything I need or he could help me out with. I wound up going with a stage 1 tune fully remote. Mario explained the process perfectly and was very very good at answering fast and diligantly. When I got my file and reflashed my ecu the car felt completely different! Way snappier throttle and alotttt more power! Also coolant temps are running at about 185 now as apposed to 220-225! Overall I couldn’t ask for anything more and this guy is the way to go! 10/10 service🐐

 

Just wanted to shout-out Mario really quick while i'm at work...

Bought a Mini with 165k miles and rebuilt it from the ground up. Well, I decided to go Stage 2 when doing all the work on it and Mario was THE guy to go to... so I did. Nothing but perfection.
Mario worked with me Day & Night to help get the mini tuned properly. My car in particular was struggling a lot with starter problems and for a while couldn't figure out if it was the tune or not- well even through all that, Mario still helped me whenever he could. Come to find out, it was because the "starter wasn't OEM" (which I honestly don't know or didn't care at the time if that was the truth, but...) and I also had a bad HPFP I needed to swap out. Regardless, Mario's tune was not the issue and in fact did Overtime to help me try and figure out what it was.

Long story short: Mario is THE guy to go to in regard to properly tuning your Mini. I am now 166k miles deep, drove it all the way down from Dallas to Houston, and has been my daily driver for the past month taking me to work and even doing DoorDashes on the side lol. No issues, No codes, no problems. Plus he tosses in a little goodie bag with the tuner device- like now THATS service haha.

Thank you Mario for all your help and all you do for the Mini community. You are the reason I have a fun daily driver/gokart now and I can't thank you enough.
I appreciate the personal relationship and business. Definitely staying in touch.

Grace be with you,
Nico