Performance Torque (P-torque) Stage 1 remap Review Cooper S

[futureal33]

Just thought I would share my feedback of the P-torque remap which I had carried out on my car yesterday down at their centre in Wolverhampton.

My car has covered 7000 miles and the only mods I have on it (pre remap) were a custom CAI and a Powerflow exhaust - which is more of an aesthetic mod than a performance one anyway!!

First of all they rolling roaded my car before any mapping was done and it came out 185bhp - 3 back-to-back runs were done to ensure the figure was accurate and each time it was within 1or2 bhp of that figure. I had a torque of 205lb/ft . Both these figures were more powerful than the standard Cooper S figures of 175bhp and 192lb/ft - so it seemed as though my car was already quite a strong one! Or maybe the CAI and exhaust had given more power than expected... anyway!

The remap took about an hour to do and then my car was set up to be rolling roaded wth the ECU back in the car and the stage 1 map loaded onto it.. Results... 217.8bhp & 269 lb/ft torque!!

That is an increase of nearly 33bhp and 77 lb/ft torque. I was of course eager to feel the difference on the road and Will offered to let me out for a spin to feel the car. Unfortauntely due to fairly short & very busy local roads I wasnt able to really open her up at all, I hardly got above 4000rpm - initial impressions were that the torque was immense and even just touching the peddle (in sport mode) gave you a big kick into the back of your seat!

I probably couldnt have picked a worse weekend to get this done because being in Birmingham at 5pm on a bank holiday weekend - friday evening is not where you want to be!! It took me around 4 hours to get home (100 miles) and I hardly got above 30mph all the way so had no further chances to test the car. I was going to write the review last night but decided I would go for a spin today to remind myself whhat its like on nice quiet roads around me.

I have just got back and all I can say is WOW. The car feels twice as quick as yesterday - Will I dont know if the map needs a few miles 'run in' or something but I swear its more powerful today than yesterday. The only thing I can compare the torque to is a VW Golf 2.0 GT TDI - but it lasts for a lot longer!! From 3000rpm I have 269lb-ft of torque on tap with a completely flat line to about 5700rpm - the only downside to this is the torque-steer which is now pretty bad , the car weaves about all over the road as you put your foot down in 2nd but as long as you have 2 hands on the wheel you're ok

The exhaust note has got a little louder (which to me is only a good thing) and it certainly burbles and pops a lot more, especially when letting off the pedal.

MPG... This is the best bit...

Drive down to B'ham doing average 80 returned 36.5 mph. I've just got back from doing a 30mile blast 20miles on country lanes, 10 on motorway doing 70/80 - average mpg now reads 39.8 and that is with fairly aggresive driving. I'll keep this thread updated as to how my mpg develops over the coming weeks but at the moment I am extremely happy with the remap

Oh one more thing: I did some 30-70mph tests in 3rd gear before and after and logged all the results:

Before Map
1 - 6.5
2 - 6.7
3 - 6.3

After Map
1 - 5.5
2 - 5.2
3 - 5.8

The results speak for themselves


If you are considering this modification I strong reccommend P-torque to carry out the work. Will is very friendly, extremely knowledgeable and dedicated - how many people would do 6 dyno runs to ensure they are accurate all included in the price of the map? - plus he has possibly the biggest fan I have ever seen in my life - which ensures the results are as close to driving on the real road with real wind speed/cooling as possible

10/10 A++++ Get it done

[Benny No.1]

Congratulations! Sounds fantastic! So for £400 you got all that? I'm considering a remap and have sending emails to Will. He has impressed me with his knowledge and understanding of the caution I've shown towards remapping. He wants the best for my car as much as I do! Now just need the funds!

[futureal33]

He's reduced the price to £350 I think

The way I see it at the moment is that with the increased MPG over time it will begin to pay for itself in fuel savings.
Went out for another blast last night to show a mate. He was very impressed, especially how in 4/5th there is still loads of power left and you still have a massive amount of torque on tap even at high speeds

[kevkbuk]

This kind of thing is not for me until the warranty is up, but it sure sounds good!

Has the drivability of the car suffered? (apart from the torque steer..)

How much did your insurance premium raise?

[futureal33]

Driveability of the car (IMO) has got a lot better - there is simply more power on tap exactly when you need it and you dont have to change up a gear any more to get the optimum overtaking acceleration, as the torque line is fairly flat throughout there is over 200 lb/ft torque from 1800 rpm onwards and it just gets stronger

Mpg is just getting better and better. Absolutely hammering the car today against my mates A3 2.0 Turbo Quattro i just couldnt get my mpg below 35.5 and as soon as I started driving normally it was back up to 38 really quickly, and on the drive home along A roads doing 50ish it got it back up to 43!

I really couldnt be happier

Insurance only £55 so thats good news too

[Bombers_son]

does sound like a very good piece of kit

[kevkbuk]

Quote: Originally Posted by futureal33 (original)

Insurance only £55 so thats good news too

Cool, who are you with?

[futureal33]

With Greenlight - who I think are quite mod friendly

[pbarclay]

This does sound great. Will promises good things for a Dooper as well. I like the idea of customising the remap to suit the individual car using the dyno. Manchester Superchips will do a remap for £499 and charge an extra £100 if you want a dyno testing, which is almost double the amount you paid.

However, I am still a little worried about losing the warranty and 5 year TLC pre-paid servicing. Surely if the difference in performance is that profound, the garage will spot it a mile off. Your modified exhaust might also count as a performance enhancing device, which could also invalidate the warranty/TLC.

A "third way" might be to use the Bluefin device to re-program the ECU for added power/economy and then revert to factory settings for servicing or resale.

The Bluefin is available for the Cooper S but not yet for the Dooper. I contacted Superchips earlier this month who replied:

"The Mini Cooper Diesel Bluefin is currently in development, however we don't have any timescales for the release."

[futureal33]

My advice would be to keep away from Superchips.... each to their own though

[futureal33]

Quick video of 30-70mph

YouTube - Mini Cooper S R56 30-70 &...

[MINIJUS]

i didnt think the bluefin was available for the r56 yet ?

J

[Performance_Torque]

Thanks for the great feedback Nick!

Your Mini was performing very well. The key to good mapping is to hold the torque as strongly as possible throughout the rev-range, ensuring constant power delivery.

Loved the spoiler too

[Performance_Torque]

Quote: Originally Posted by pbarclay (original)

This does sound great. Will promises good things for a Dooper as well. I like the idea of customising the remap to suit the individual car using the dyno. Manchester Superchips will do a remap for £499 and charge an extra £100 if you want a dyno testing, which is almost double the amount you paid.

However, I am still a little worried about losing the warranty and 5 year TLC pre-paid servicing. Surely if the difference in performance is that profound, the garage will spot it a mile off. Your modified exhaust might also count as a performance enhancing device, which could also invalidate the warranty/TLC.

A "third way" might be to use the Bluefin device to re-program the ECU for added power/economy and then revert to factory settings for servicing or resale.

The Bluefin is available for the Cooper S but not yet for the Dooper. I contacted Superchips earlier this month who replied:

"The Mini Cooper Diesel Bluefin is currently in development, however we don't have any timescales for the release."

Hi!

We can offer the Dyno run before/after for just £45 on top of the mapping

[The Overrun]

269 torque

how is your tranny holding up?