N18 issues aside, where are we on the original topic of RMW @ Detroit Tuned? Rob, are you still trying to herd the cats on this, or are you stepping aside?
It's kinda just sad from my standpoint, the best in the business won't tune an N18. Shoot I'd even pay another $200 for his services on top of that. I'm just gonna send my ECU in to PAW and be done with it. I'm over it at this point of waiting and trying other tuners to dyno tune my car. $860 ECU tune, colder plugs, and shipped, not a bad price. I will still have another $100 to dyno the car to see what type of power I can put down(not looking for anything crazy). As for the R53 comment, I won't go buy another car just to put more mods, when the same could be done with these N18s. Funny how NM, RennTech, and PAW can tune them whether its dyno tuned or sending my ECU in. But hey what do I know lol. I still hope others decide to tune their cars by RMW at DT in September, it's gonna be exciting for those trying to get it done.
Oh yes I will still help out, Detroit Tuned are great guys! Any questions I can answer I will do my best, otherwise people who are interested have to call DT to fill slots up!
Good luck with your N18 and don't forget to ask Wayne from G4 and the little fella that does the tunes at PAW about the car they tuned at the Dragon this year. The car did not make it back home from the Dragon running........ be careful who you send your ECU too. Just a word of caution.
Jan is doing you a favor. Read Dave's post above several times over. He's not being lazy, and he's not trying to screw you, he's trying to prevent you from getting screwed. The N18 is one any tuner in their right mind at this point would avoid, unless you're willing to sign a waiver to the effect that you don't mind the risk to your ECU being fried, losing your warranty, and all the ensuing emotional damage that occurs (After an N18 tune, one guy divorced his wife, developed intractable diarrhea, and developed a penchant for cross-dressing; he can now be found on the streets of Wichita making bird noises. Now THAT'S sad.). At some point the risk/benefit line gets crossed. It looks like that line is drawn on the N18. That doesn't mean that people won't try it, and it may work out ok for some, but take a hundred N18's and tune them, and you're going to have many unhappy ex-MINI owners.
Could you explain why that happened? Or do you not know? One bad experience won't hinge my perception on them. NM had issues with tuning automatics. I'm sure when Jan started out he had a few mistakes. Noones tune is perfect but RMW is one of the best and I also consider PAW and RennTech in that discussion since they've tuned a few N18s so far. I'm really curious what happened exactly to that persons car.
Your comment from an above post: "It's kinda just sad from my standpoint, the best in the business won't tune an N18" ought to be enough to leave it alone... there is a reason he is not tuning it. There is a difference between having a few problems, and tearing up your engine.. That's bad for business..
Agreed. It's already been stated, the tune is the easy part. Physically getting at the ECU is hit or miss. One thing you quickly learn watching/getting tunes is how different each car is, even when they have the exact same engine/mods. Is your car the one that it going to be easy, or is yours the one that the ECU is going to go thermonuclear during the tuning process? Roll the dice.... It's just not worth it, that's what we're all trying to tell you, unless you're ok with a several thousand dollar fix if things go bad. If you go ahead and do it, seriously, I wish you best of luck, and hopefully you'll be one of those lucky ones. If not, this thread will be a sad reminder for posterity. The truth is, you have the wrong car for what you want to do.
Seriously- if he doesn't feel good about doing it... than really, DON'T! If anything, this should show you how responsible Jan is for not accepting your money and trying to protect your car. BTW- WTF is PAW? :confused5: If they are cool with doing this for you, I'd be very leary.
Renntech does Mercedes, BMWs, and MINIs and a few others from talking to Lenny(main guy in charge). Precision Auto Werks(PAW) is friends with RennTech but have slightly different tunes. Both are located in FL. Most of the information is located on NAM in a thread. I think some of you don't know about them because no one on this forum talks about them or knows about them. A lot of people have the RennTech tune and no issues with it(N18). Also a few have the PAW tune. I prefer the RennTech tune over the PAW, but we'll see. And thanks for the good luck, I think I will be fine. Check out dyno charts or RennTechs dyno charts for the N18. I will say however I won't go with ETG(ECU tuning group), the guy is a scammer and came from Europe. He gives out crap tunes and we warned one guy on NAM about it but he learned the hard way when his engine blew up at like 17k miles. I don't want people to think I'm bad mouthing Jan, I heard he did a few N18s at the dragon so that's why I'm kinda confused as to why he won't do it. I understand its a risk and all of that, but he keeps telling me to wait for a OBD tuning device...that's where I'm like well, "hello RennTech or PAW". If you guys have any other questions, look at the thread on NAM. It's under,official N18 tuning thread.
I hope it works out for you, I'd just ask for some sort of guarantee in writing. The N18 unfortunately is a different beast. BMW really screwed the pooch on that one.
Tune Party The Tune Party at Detroit tuned will be Sept 14/15 weekend if we get enough deposits. Prices are posted by Rob in the 1st of this thread. Jan can do N18's yes, but they take ALOT of extra time and there are risks like posted above. Doing these on the road is not a real option. N14 Turbo MINI's will be no problem though. Call Detroit Tuned to make your arrangements. 586-792-6464
Good luck with your N18. I NEVER go on NAM it's full of B.S. and idiots that buy ALTA parts and I only trust one guy in Florida and his name is Ian not Mickey.:lol: