any feedback on this ecu?

For your Mini?

What benefits are you looking to get from swapping to SEM?

Just trying to get info to better recommend an ECU.

Are you looking for P-n-P or full replacement?

Who's tuning it?

For your Mini?

What benefits are you looking to get from swapping to SEM?

Just trying to get info to better recommend an ECU.

Are you looking for P-n-P or full replacement?

Who's tuning it?
Looking to completely replace the ECU. If I keep the factory one that means I must keep the key, the factory gages, the drive by wire and some other stuff. Figure I'll go all out and possibly get this unit. The installer came out today and spent a good couple of hours going over all options, including keeping my stock unit. This aftermarket gives me the freedom of tuning my own car (once I learn how) via my laptop.
All I want in my car is a push button start and as few swiches as possible.

I'd vote Motec M400.

Your tuning should be done on the dyno, although there is a small bit of tuning you can do from egt data logging, this probably won't be very applicable to you.

I'd say get Motec M400, dyno tune it from a reputable tuner (there's one in NY you can bring your car to), and you'll be good to go.

You can also go with an AEM System, I don't know of any that have been used on a Mini before, but it would work very well.

Your car is Cmod, right? Any pictures of the cage?

I'd vote Motec M400.

Your tuning should be done on the dyno, although there is a small bit of tuning you can do from egt data logging, this probably won't be very applicable to you.

I'd say get Motec M400, dyno tune it from a reputable tuner (there's one in NY you can bring your car to), and you'll be good to go.

You can also go with an AEM System, I don't know of any that have been used on a Mini before, but it would work very well.

Your car is Cmod, right? Any pictures of the cage?
I have not heard great things about Motec. Mainly the cost of the unit and that cost of actually getting it set up to run right. Still open though. Is there a reason you don't care for the Autronic?
I have a good tuner here in CT, but have not been able to discuss this with
him yet. He took care of my Unichip tuning last season.

Not C mod, but I'm a Mini S so I still get screwed. My little 1600 must, by BMWCCA rules, run with the D mods. 2200-2980

No cage in yet. I hope to have it in the chassie shope in the next couple of weeks.

Not heard great things about Motec? They are industry leaders.

Biggest issue with motec is the tuner. Without a good one, you are in trouble, but its hardware and support are pretty top notch.

AEM is another leader, while its just getting big in BMW's now with Evosport, its a pretty highly developed system.

Nothing wrong with Autronic, they are pretty damn good actually, but i'm not sure about thier support or hardware reliability.

As long as you can get support and have a good tuner, Autronic should be good. I've seen a lot of FI guys go with it.
They are a company from out of the country, so unless you can get it physically serviced here if there is an issue, it might be a pain.

I assume your tuner is Momentum?

Oh right its a 1.6, sorry, forgot, though it was a 2L...DM it is :) DM leader HP guys are about 320-340bhp, so considering you are a bit light, the only issue is FWD...but LFB can cure that :)

I think you should convert to RWD and drop in an S54 ;)

Not C mod, but I'm a Mini S so I still get screwed. My little 1600 must, by BMWCCA rules, run with the D mods. 2200-2980

Your little SUPERCHARGED 1600. ;) The 1.5x penalty for FI is actually pretty normal (and probably not enough of a conversion with moden FI technology). Twin charge your car with a turbo...I've heard of 250+ whp in some cases. That would probably outdrag anything else in DMod as long as you strip the car down as much as possible.

I understand that Motec is a huge name here, but the last thing I want are problems that only that one expert can fix. I'm new to this stuff as I'm an old carburetor/distributor guy. My main demand here is to have as simple a system as possible that is still a step above or equal to the factory unit. I just don't want to be spending a couple of K just to get the thing up and running.
But this is why I posted here, to try and learn more asap. As I understand it so far, the Autronic is an easier system to maintain with simple Windows and DOS software.

I don't think I need to worry about the leading DM guys. Figure I'll be driving a 200 hp, 2200lb car. I think this is an issue that could be addressed some day. To get anywhere near 300 I would have to twin charge the car, as I know at least on DM mini is doing next season, but I'd rather race though then sit in the pits with a burned up #1 cylinder.:shifty

Well, if you want to do it right, its going to take some work :)

Takes time/money to get this stuff "solid."

DOS, Wtf is DOS? ;) haha, don't mess with DOS, you're stuck in the 80's.

Do you HAVE to run in Mod, can you run in a prepared class instead? Might work out better, and you can be more competitive.

Your little SUPERCHARGED 1600. ;) The 1.5x penalty for FI is actually pretty normal (and probably not enough of a conversion with moden FI technology). Twin charge your car with a turbo...I've heard of 250+ whp in some cases. That would probably outdrag anything else in DMod as long as you strip the car down as much as possible.
We crossed post.
The one Mini that was set up with twin charged last season never made it out of pit row. The other one I know of that was intended for the track never even made it to pit row once all year.
I just want to drive this year and not worry about heat issues which the TC has plenty of.
Who know, I might change my mind when being lapped by the leaders gets borring. ;)

Well, if you want to do it right, its going to take some work :)

Takes time/money to get this stuff "solid."

DOS, Wtf is DOS? ;) haha, don't mess with DOS, you're stuck in the 80's.

Do you HAVE to run in Mod, can you run in a prepared class instead? Might work out better, and you can be more competitive.
Already way past those class rules.... :rolleyes
I understand it takes money, but I don't think it all needs to be done in the first season.
Still not sure why Motec would be that much better to be worth that much more trouble. What would I really gain over the Autronic with the Motec?

Well, for the reason you stated, reliability and support is key, and not worrying about it once its setup.

The 1.6L s/c is not very advanced as far as tuning goes, and you should not have any issues getting it tuned properly once and not worry about it after that.

Main issue with Autronic would be the support, and if you had problems, how easy would it be to get help from autronic or your dealer/tuner?

Also, you say you do not want to do it "all" at once, thats why I would suggest trying to go into a prepared class. How many mods do you have that are not easily changable that would be required for Prepared?

You'll have a lot more fun racing, then just going out there and getting spanked by the field. I'd much rather chose being competitive in prepared then trying to run a Mod car that needs more work and maintenance to just keep running, let alone competitive.

What I am getting at is, do you really even need SEM? Just tune your stock ecu, get a killer suspension setup, learn how to drive the car fast and LFB the hell out of it, and go to town! If you go into Mod, get the car insanely light, and keep the motor extremely reliable, get the transmission/driveline hooked up, get some fatty slicks on there and have fun.

Would a twin charger have a 3x multiplier assessed? So a tiwn charged mini = 1.6 x 3 = 4.8 which = B mod?

or maybe 1.5 x 1.5? so 1.6 x 1.5 = 2.4...2.4 x 1.5 = 3.6 which still = B Mod?

Would a twin charger have a 3x multiplier assessed?

I wouldn't think so based on the precedents in other forms of racing...I don't think anyone has added two blowers to a car in BMW CCA yet.

Two Blowers...uh, why? Single turbo will be far superior.

As long as its FI, its 1.5x. Its NA or FI, not FIx2.