Mini Cooper Forum banner

Dinantronics Sport Performance Tuner review - 2014 MCS

9K views 18 replies 7 participants last post by  Nbabeaux 
#1 ·
This happened out of the blue as I wasn't really looking to mod my wife's car. But then a piggyback tune came up for sale (used) at a very irresistible price and I felt obligated to try it out just for a laugh. Our lil nugget is a 2014 MCS Auto (bone stock engine - 50,000 kms). Fuel is 98 RON (Australia).

Installation took less than 10 mins from start to finish. Very good instructions from Dinan. Build quality is fine for what it is.

With the installation complete, I went on a sedate drive to warm her up. A few Kms later - "Race" mode was activated via the App and "Sport" driving mode selected in the Mini. I must admit I was sceptical and wasn't expecting much. Within half a second of mashing the gas pedal, the grin appeared to be painfully wider than normal. 10 seconds later and I was hooting and cackling. 30 mins later I pulled into the garage with a sore face (couldn't stop smiling).

I felt a noticeable increase in torque from the reliable "butt dyno", this nugget pulls hard from mid range all the way to the top now (used to run out of puff before). 70kmh to 130kmh zips by in an instant, and you really need long empty stretches of road to safely test and enjoy the bump in performance. Like others before me have mentioned, a tune wakes up the Cooper S. This is how it should've come from factory. There're some fun turbski noises too. The up-shift fart noises are louder now (even on 1/4 throttle). I can also hear fluttering noises from the turbo wastegate? I'm not sure if this is normal (need to do a bit more research here)

The only downside being traction issues with the additional torque in 1st gear. The android DINANTronics Sport app looks/feels a bit unrefined and there have been a couple of times where it didn't want to connect to the module immediately (took a few mins to establish a Bluetooth connection).

I'm not affiliated with Dinan or any other tuner but I highly recommend this product to anyone who's looking or not even looking to mod their MINI. You're missing out if you don't (tune your MINI).

Thanks for reading.
 
See less See more
#4 ·
Thanks for reading. I was inspired by tonyt44 when he did a remap to his MCS. I don't feel any sudden spike in power with the Dinan Sport, it feels relatively progressive to me.
I might do a Dyno run with the tuning box disabled and then another run with it enabled to see what the difference is.

I've been looking at a tuning box for my 210, was looking at the JB4 which is supposed to be better than the JB+ both of which add extra BHP and torque on top of the factory map whereas a remap is a new map.
I got a quote on a remap which was £450 and i'll be getting around 255 - 260bhp, the factory 210s put out around 220bhp so i'lll be gaining 35-40bhp which is the same as a remapped standard CooperS.
A tuning box will give 30 - 50bhp on top of the factory map so i'll be getting 250=270bhp for around £250 (used JB4) which i could remove and resell when i trade the car so i'd get my money back :)

I've heard some tuning boxes come on boost sharply and can tail off where a remap is smoother and carries on until redline
I'm currently running a JB4 on my Z4 (N20 28i motor). Its on Map 1, I'm in the process of installing a downpipe and then I'll switch to Map 2. I was originally intending to go for a flash tune as it controls more parameters in the DME but I was curious about piggybacks. I'll still go for a Flash tune on the Z4 once I've had my fun with the JB4.

On a side note, I feel more of a performance increase in the MINI with the Dinan Sport than in my Z4 with Map1 JB4.
 
#3 ·
I've been looking at a tuning box for my 210, was looking at the JB4 which is supposed to be better than the JB+ both of which add extra BHP and torque on top of the factory map whereas a remap is a new map.
I got a quote on a remap which was £450 and i'll be getting around 255 - 260bhp, the factory 210s put out around 220bhp so i'lll be gaining 35-40bhp which is the same as a remapped standard CooperS.
A tuning box will give 30 - 50bhp on top of the factory map so i'll be getting 250=270bhp for around £250 (used JB4) which i could remove and resell when i trade the car so i'd get my money back :)

I've heard some tuning boxes come on boost sharply and can tail off where a remap is smoother and carries on until redline
 
#6 ·
I’ve a had the Dinan Sport box for 9k miles and Not one CEL!!! I do drive my car as a daily driver. I’ve run over 3500 miles on RACE mode (and that’s here in NorCal where I have to mix to raise my octane to 93 - I mix to 94 to be safe)

this thing has been seem less and has been awesome as an affordable piggy back with great result. Mr Baloo loves it.

currently switching it out as the car is now fully clear of bank payments and warranty for a Bytetronik stage 1 tune

For power upgrades, the car has:

quicksilver exhaust, Wagner Intercooler with aFe dry filter (looking to upgrade to the eventury system for Father’s Day). No dyno runs As of yet - maybe after I get the eventuri mated to the stage 1 tune.
69338
 
#7 ·
I’ve a had the Dinan Sport box for 9k miles and Not one CEL!!! I do drive my car as a daily driver. I’ve run over 3500 miles on RACE mode (and that’s here in NorCal where I have to mix to raise my octane to 93 - I mix to 94 to be safe)

this thing has been seem less and has been awesome as an affordable piggy back with great result. Mr Baloo loves it.

currently switching it out as the car is now fully clear of bank payments and warranty for a Bytetronik stage 1 tune

For power upgrades, the car has:

quicksilver exhaust, Wagner Intercooler with aFe dry filter (looking to upgrade to the eventury system for Father’s Day). No dyno runs As of yet - maybe after I get the eventuri mated to the stage 1 tune.
Awesome looking MCS. Loving the black and white theme!
Thank you for sharing your experience with the Dinan Sport performance tuner. Do you have a lot of turbo flutter on throttle lift off?
 
#8 ·
Update:
I've been driving the "angry" Mini for a few days now and its such a hoot! I find myself in sport mode and the tune is forever set at Race mode. No change in fuel economy so far, but I haven't run through a full tank yet. I haven't experienced any further Bluetooth connectivity issues either with the Dinan Sport box. I'm really enjoying the push back into the seat feeling in such a small hatch.

On a side note, I installed a downpipe on the Z4 and switched to map 2 on the JB4 . The increase in power and torque is more noticeable than it was from stock to map 1. The car feels strong in the low to mid range mostly. I find the JB4 isn't as linear in delivery as the OEM mapping (even the Dinan Sport has a more linear feel comparatively). The JB4 map2 feels kinda like a late 90s turbo car....it kicks in with a WHAM and not as smooth on full boost gear upshifts. The Z4 needs more seat time to understand it but so far I'm very pleased with both and would recommend either products to anyone.
 
#11 ·
I unfortunately am on my second Dinan Elite Tuner Module. The first one began tossing codes P12A9 and P10F2 after 3000 miles. I have spoken with a few others who have had similar problems. My replacement unit is now tossing the same codes after about 1000 miles. I realize this is the Elite and not the sport, but it is frustrating that some have had great luck with the units and others have not.
 
#12 ·
Wow that’s a bummer, I am on my third Dinan sport module, first one was replaced under warranty due to know defect causing check engine light, second one was good for the same as you 2 to 3000 miles and then I got these check engine lights, boost pressure sensor, I’ve only had my third one in for a day or two but Levi In their customer service department was awesome and sent me out a warranty replacement for my warranty replacement, they were back ordered on parts so it took about a month but I was appreciative. When I was getting the check engine lights I couldn’t tell if it was affecting the performance of the car so that’s a good thing, I would assume since you had to elite it might be more pronounced if there were issues👌🤷🏻‍♂️😊
74040
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top