I have this posted on NAM, NEMINI and MASSMOTORING but keep forgeting about MINI2 (sorry) so here are the details

The details for the RMW tuning day at Swift Motorsports in Norwich, CT. are solid. Jan Brueggenn is looking to fly out in late May to do the tunes just prior to the Grand Am event at Limerock, CT on Memorial Day weekend.

Swift Motorsports in Norwich, CT will be the location for the RMW tuning. Swift's DYNO Dynamics dynometer is capable of monitoring AFR and boost if you have a boost port available for them to tap into. The DYNO is also a two or four wheel dyno. Not that the four wheel dyno matters for the MINIs, but Jan also tunes BMWs. So for the BMW XIs out there who want a tune, let me know.

Jan is capable of tuning 6-8 cars in one day. Jan is also willing to tune over three days if there are more MINIs looking for a tune than he can fit into the first two days. This is a mid week tune so make sure you have your sick days on tap. Right now the prices are as follows:

R53: $350.00 plus DYNO fee
R56: $600.00 Plus DYNO fee

The DYNO fee will be around but not over $100.00.

This information is also posted on the local area MINI forum NEMINI : RMW Tuning Day in Norwich, CT is on the Horizon around May 25-27, 2010 (http://nemini.org/index.php?topic=434.msg7143#msg7143)

Here is the lists of MINIs for the RMW tune:


Assigned Dates and Times:

May 25th

9:00a DiffilculTT
10:30a dtsoccer6
12:00p AstroBlackS
1:30p TerryD
3:00p BHozier
4:30p Ladybug-S
6:00p jollyroger927
7:30p

May 26th

9:00a ZOOOOP
10:30a ZippyNH
12:00p Mr Silverblood
1:30p WilleysDriver
3:00p Scottab36
4:30p Sabes
6:00p
7:30p

May 27th

9:00a
10:30a
12:00p
1:30p
3:00p HeavyMetal
4:30p Goblintim
6:00p
7:30p

Maybe-almost Definite List

kenshin
hefro
-=gRay rAvEn=-


It is very hard to get Jan out this way, so if you are on the fence about this you might want to figure out which side of the fence you are on and make sure you don't miss this opportunity.

Please feel free to PM me if you have any questions.

A visit with Jan Brueggemann:

I went to San Diego, CA in late February and got the opportunity to spend some time with Jan Brueggemann of Revolution MINI Works. For those who do not know, Jan owns two R53s (one a GP), and is heavily involved with the racing and tuning of the R53 MINI Coopers. He is also spearheading the tuning effort on the R56 turbo MINI coopers. Jan spends most of the racing season travelling around the country assisting and tuning for multiple Porsche racing teams as well as doing some serious tuning on the BMW line. I knew it was going to be an informative trip, but I have to say that I left amazed at all the things he is currently working on.

Jan took me to the two main facilities where does his local work. As we walked around he would pick up a piece here and a piece there and go into great detail as to what was involved with the development of each piece and why. These pieces included heads, exhaust headers, collectors, different piping, intakes, etc… Some of the ongoing work involved changes to an existing design that creates very specific results, like having the torque come in at a lower RPM or having the torque stay higher up in the RPM band. If it has to do with making the MINI faster, Jan is working on it. The level of knowledge he has in this field is truly extraordinary.

I am not going to go into detail on the R53 tuning because I think that has been covered enough on other posts.

As for the R56 tune, Jan has done some exciting things with this but his work has not been easy. The R56 ECU is a very complicated beast. With a lot of ECUs you can easily find the map you want to change, and change then it. Just pick the boost map and tell it to add more boost. Then change the fuel map and add more fuel. Okay, it might not be this easy but you get my drift.

The R56 ECU will not allow this. When Jan made changes to the boost map he also needed to discover what other maps the ECU is looking at when it decides to pull the information from the boost map. If the ECU does not see exactly what it is expecting to see with regards to the maps, it will simply not work. This means that Jan had to discover every other map the ECU was checking with before it initiated the boost map. All of those maps had to then be adjusted before they would all work together. This created a cascading effect to adjust so many maps before Jan finally got the boost adjusted. Since the boost map is only one of many maps Jan is working with to improve the MINI’s performance, the level of effort quickly multiplied for him.

Did I mention that everything is encrypted? Sorry if I forgot that part. Jan has found a lot of maps but is still looking for more in order to provide an even better product. This is an ongoing project that he works on anytime he can get his hands on the R56 ECU.

Now on to the RMW tuning days: one thing that Jan mentioned to me that I found a bit surprising was how some of the MINIs arrive to the tuning events. Some MINIs arrive with even basic maintenance not completed. This includes MINIs arriving with dirty air filters, worn spark plugs, dirty fuel filters, etc… If you are serious about getting your MINI tuned, I would think that you would be serious about the maintenance on your MINI. The three items listed above will greatly affect the outcome of your tune.

Another issue that Jan addressed was the intake carbon build-up on the R56 engines. He has seen a lot of this and it will dramatically affect your tune. It is in your best interest to have this resolved prior to your tune. There are posts on NAM that will guide you in the right direction to resolve the issue.

The RMW tune is a custom tune specifically for your car. The tune is performed on the DYNO so it takes all aspects of your MINI’s specific set up into consideration. No two tunes are alike. Air flow, exhaust flow, fuel flow, fuel quality, ignition spark quality, engine compression and many other things are involved in developing your tune. There are also different tunes for your MINI. For example, a racing tune is possible.

So, on to the R56 flash tool: Jan is prepping to test the first tool when it arrives. After it passes quality assurance (QA) testing, the order will be placed. There are still a couple of government customs issues to come through, but I have full faith in Jan’s abilities.

My final thoughts on my visit with Jan Brueggemann: the man delivers a top quality product on every project he is involved in. The prices of some of Jan’s products might seem a little high, but the engineering behind the product will speak for itself. I am waiting impatiently for Jan to tune my MINI in the very near future.