Butch needs a Joey mod to really be called "butch"! Happy to hear the cai is happening!

 

Dup. Oops

 

Just be kind to us DoS

 

Not a new site, but I ordered stripes from this site: http://www.mini-graphics.co.uk/mini-graphics-home

 

check out what popped up on ebay today. race chip adds 30% more hp and 20% more torque, is removeable and is not traceable after removal. but its not cheap. i wonder if its really works. almost sounds to good to be true

 

http://www.racechip.de/racechip-chip...33&language=en if that works il buy it right away. its 640 dollars for the pro version, if it works i rather do that or wait for accessport which i was told was not going to happen instead of cracking my ecu open and paying 700-800 bucks

 

i read some stuff and people really do like it, for the non s r60 its 300 bucks but for us its 600 on ebay directly from them, i am really temped to get it.

people talking about it who also bought it. http://www.toyotaownersclub.com/foru...c=118497&st=60

 

i hope someone can get one and report what they think. im buying a new house so my cash is tied up until everthing is worked out. i would be very interested if does what they says it does without side effects.

 

I may be just the crash test dummy for the job. I just brought my ALL4 S home yesterday, and already I have the itch. Both of my parents have JCW's and I am feeling a little left out in terms of power. However, I am leery of any permanent mods as I want to ensure the integrity of my warranty coverage.

As for the Racechip: I am a brand new Mini owner, and fairly new to turbos in general, so I am still working out which is my a$$ and which is the hole in the ground. However, from the digging around I have done, I haven't heard any glaring failures, and for the most part users have been very pleased. Unfortunately, not a one has been a Mini driver, and most have been on diesel vehicles.

After further investigation I found this Racechip Pro finetuning video which demonstrate how adjustments are made to the device. Wouldn't you know it, but the example the use in the video is our very own Countryman R60 S. What I found interesting is that the company claims to ship the unit with the "optimum" setting for a blend of performance and economy.

My concern is that for ~$700 I will get a device promising up to 30% gains, but that can only reliably run with 5% gains. Maybe a bit over dramatic, but you get the point. Before watching this video I was very concerned that the "optimum" setting might be a very low setting (of the 16 available).

After watching the video closely, I was encouraged to see that the "optimum" for the R60 is "6" which is the second highest setting in terms of performance. Based on this, I expect you could realize close to the claimed 26% improvements well with in the proper "safety" tolerances. If you're a bit uneasy you could event dial it back a bit (at about 1.5% per stop according to the video) and still have some healthy performance gains while increasing MPG.

On occasion, I have been a sucker for some good "snake oil", but this one has really piqued my interest. I have a 2600 mile trip coming up, and I am strongly considering picking one of these up and using my road trip as a proper testing ground for the device.

 

Yea, I have been also searching for super chip reviews. Seen nothing for petrol countryman. Some say it's just a box of resistors that trick the motor. But is the ecu not a bunch of resistors that control the motor? I'm not sure but race chip appears to increase boost, fuel, and adjust timing. You tube videos look good and makes it look like it intercepts signals from the ecu and tunes them for increased performance.

 

Spoke to the ebay seller today. He is going to see if he has a dyno sheet from a Mini with the Racechip installed. I asked him what a realistic expectation of increased performance was, explaining that I had no expectation (or need) of achieving the 26% claimed on the Racechip site. His response was that 20-25% is pretty typical, and that if I wanted less I could just dial it back.

For me this seems to be worth the "educated" shot in the dark. Sure, I might leave a few horsepower on the table compared with a bespoke tune, but there are so many advantages. Quick and painless install (and uninstall if needed), no need to remove and ship my ECU, no possibility of having to reflash the ECU for dealer service or after a software update, no risk of warranty issues, adjustability that I can't get from a tune.

I have searched plenty and haven't come up with anyone who had anything negative to say about the devices. At worst it didn't give the performance they were looking for, and at best they were thrilled with the increase in performance. Worst case scenario: I will take advantage of the 14 day return policy and be out a couple hundred bucks after shipping and restocking fees. Best case: I get it and it does anything near what it is claimed to do. The math works for me. Will update if and when I pull the trigger and have something to report.

 

surely you will be able to notice a 20-25% increase in power. i also like that it is adjustable, and removable. i wish it had just a plain on/off switch so you could compare the power instantly.

 

We're all counting on you All3MiniS!! On with the show!

:D

 

I've been doing some research on this as well, and decided to go ahead and pull the trigger. Hopefully it'll get here early next week so I can play around.

 

Did you order from the ebay seller or directly from RaceChip? I am ready to pull the trigger as well, but have concerns about the ETA since I will be driving cross country in two weeks. Coming from Germany it could take close to two weeks, but it also sounds like the ebay seller gets them in from Germany then ships it to the buyer.

 

Please keep us posted.Love the CM but do miss the JCW extra kick.

 

Giddyup!!

 

I used the Ebay re-seller. Estimated delivery is 6-11 business days, so we'll see. No particular reason why I didn't go direct, maybe I got thrown by the fancy Euro sign.

 

I just bought a set of the mini-graphics.co.uk pinstripe stripes for my r60 in cream and red.

 

If you are going to try this, I suggest that you do some baseline, repeatable testing before and after the install. For instance, time with a stopwatch the car's acceleration from 50 to 80 mph in 3rd gear (no shifting), in two directions. Do this on a relatively flat road with very light traffic for safety, and preferably light wind conditions. Make no changes between tests except to install the device. This should give you a reasonable idea of what the device is doing, short of an actual dyno test on your car.

 

Did you get that estimate from the seller directly, or on the ebay listing? I ask because farther down it reads:

"Shipment:

We ship all our packages insured via UPS Ground with a tracking number. Estimated time of delivery: 15 days as Chips are imported on an order basis from Germany. "

Unfortunately, 15 days is longer than I have to wait. I may just have to wait and see how yours goes and then get one shipped to my new address.

I'll be curious to see how it performs with your other mods.

 

I am definitely interested in trying to use a "scientific" approach to measure a baseline and improved figures, and I am not particularly interested in tracking down an AWD dyno.

As a stop-gap I downloaded an app called "dinodyno". It is free for Android phones and has some decent reviews. The interface is not all that intuitive or robust, but it seems workable.

I took two test runs yesterday with readouts of 176hp and 178hp on a stock ALL4 S. Seems reasonable with a .2 "drivetrain loss" factor. Mostly I am interested in consistency over precision, and it seems to provide that. I will also test on my dad's JCW Clubman to see how it reacts to that.

 

awesome, and thanks for taking the chance for us. i think we are just too cautious. it would be huge for us r60 owners. Alta better step their game up

 

I was mostly going off of what fleEbay told me. I guess we'll see when it actually shows up (never know sometimes). My theory (which isn't worth much usually) is that if they have 10 available (9 now) then maybe it'll ship sooner. I'm a dreamer sometimes.

 

I've got a PLX Kiwi WIFI that gives me OBDII access to my i-devices. I'll try to get some before and after readings with that. I've also used a local dyno here that can do All4 vehicles, and this is a mod that will finally warrant me heading back out there.