Greetings all.

My first post, though I have been lurking a week or so. Just purchased my first Mini back on Feb. 12th. Red CMS All4, black rims, black top, eh.. i'll post some photos later.

Short background: I love cars. My first was an 69' Austin Healey Sprite (mk iV). LOVED it. Passed it off to my sister when I went to the first Gulf War in 91. Fast forward past a Ford Probe, Jeep Wrangler, Turbo Supra, a few motorcycles, v8 Mustang, a C300, an Infinity g35, and my last.. an xTerra. Back around to something fun to drive, the Mini.

I have a hefty commute from South Orange County up to LA, about 120 miles a day. The xTerra was killing my bank account and had 175k miles, so i figured it was time for a change. Always like the Minis. The CM seemed to be the ticket and after the test drive, I was hooked. So on to the tune..

I've done a fair amount of online research, mostly because none of my friends have ever owned a Mini. There are a few shops strewn around OC and LA, but none that really jumped out and made me feel good about them. I wasn't looking to radically mod the car, it's my daily after all. But I wanted more "oomph" and, though the car is only in it's second season, it looked like I had a few options. ECU tune, upgrade the intercooler, swap out the paper filter for a K&N, and maybe swap out the downpipe and/or full exhaust. The ECU was the most bang for the buck with the least amount of downtime, so I focused my search there. RennTech, ECU Tuning, a few others. Read the claims. Read the reviews. It came down to Jags at ECU (formerly Singh Autosport) and a RennTech dealer down in Huntington Beach, Ca. RennTech guy wanted me to drop off my car for several days. They take out the ECu and ship it off, pretty much the same story with most ECU tuners. Jags said he could do it same day. Easy call.

Note: The car has not been dyno'd so I don't have base numbers. Also, the car was bone stock prior to the ECU tune. To be honest, I care more about how the car responds with me behind the wheel than how it performs on rollers.

Drove down to GI Motosports in Santa Monica and met Jags and Farzaan this morning. After the small talk, I settled into the GI waiting room and let Jags go to work. It took a bit more than 2.5 hours to pull the ECU and remap it. After everything was put back into place and check over, we cranked it up and took it for a little drive. Here are my initial thoughts.

1. Right off the bat it felt like it was in Sport mode. The idle was a bit tighter and the throttle delay was nearly gone. Took a block like that. Very peppy. Easily felt the added torque behind the wheel.

2. Switched into Sport mode. VERY noticeable. Like it wanted to jump up and GO! Very hard not to want to flatten the pedal driving around Santa Monica. I jumped on it a couple times on some straights, maybe 300 yards. Pulled hard and fast. When you're on it, you can really feel the all wheel doing its thing.

3. There was not a noticeable difference in engine acoustics. Both idle and accelerating sounded normal. Keep in mind, i still have the stock paper filter in the basket. I expect a little more throaty sounds from the engine when I drop the oiled filter in later.

Verdict? Win.

Here's what else I have coming over the next 2 weeks:

* Intercooler Replacement.
* K&N panel filter. Possibly full CAI kit of some sort. Not sold on it yet.

If I decide to move forward with the downpipe replacement, I'll most likely give it a few more months before I do it. Might go full exhaust, might go downpipe and catback.

 

Tks for the review, ordering my CMS4 today. Whats the total cost for the ECU upgrade?

 

I paid $595.

http://ecutuninggroup.com/price-list

 

Tks, doesn't this void the warranty?

 

<snip from the ECU Tuning Group Site>

Q: Will it affect my warranty?

A: Our software is completely undetectable. Most of our customers are actually factory supported dealerships.

I'm sure if you have any other questions, the website will provide you answers. Of course, Jags is also very good about answering his email so there's yet another resource.

Good luck!

 

Tks man

 

It must have void the warranty?

 

Did you even bother to read the whole post?

 

How much are retunes? Is it a canned tune, or did they strap your car to a dyno, with wideband etc? The Cobb AP is one of the reason I haven't seriously considered the Mini.