In the interest of providing more constructive information to the community, we are posting the results of our shop R53's "Path to Power". While there are many threads out there providing various results on parts, it is our goal to provide fellow MINI owners a precise path to achieve their performance goal. This thread offers modular upgrades to a typical 2006 MCS and its results.

We have quite a few factors that make our results more useful.
1. We have an 'In-House' Mustang Dyno that can be used to measure the results of each modification. We make no claim that our Dyno should be used as the basis for others, but for purpose of this report, it's quite significant b/c a true "delta" is recorded each time. Instead of comparing a DynoJet result against a Dynapack versus a Mustang, our results come from our Mustang Dyno.

2. After each additional modification, the vehicle is retuned to the optimal level and the same AFR; so the results of these mods have been optimized and the final figures are posted.

3. Graph-to-graph comparison with overlay. Not only are we able to present the Peak WHP and Peak Wtqe, we are also able to show "before" and "after" curves, as well as providing "min/max" readings.

4. Minimized external factors... having these tests done at the same facility means elevation is not a factor. In addition, the same 91 Octane gas from the same gas station is utilized throughout the entire process.

5. For the sake of fair comparison, the rev-limiter is set at 7300RPM... all pulls are done in 4th gear!!!

With that said, here are some of our preliminary results... More results will be posted as they become available:

WHP WTQE
171 149 Bone Stock (untuned) = And "YES", we got lucky with our 06 MCS, we have a strong motor
191 153 Bone Stock w/ Custom-Tuned
201 164 15% Pulley with Bosch 550cc Injectors + "One-Ball"
211 173 15% Pulley with Bosch 550cc Injectors + Shrick Cam
234 18415% Pulley with Bosch 550cc Injectors + Shrick Cam + E85 Fuel
243 193 15% Pulley with Bosch 550cc Injectors + Shrick Cam + E85 Fuel + MegaMynes Header (Straight version)
248 198 15% Pulley with Bosch 550cc Injectors + Shrick Cam + E85 Fuel + MegaMynes Header (Straight version)+ Invidia Exhaust

*** Note on the graphs: The graphs are not 'forced scaled' so the Y-axis (left-hand side) is only in reference to the HP; I will modify the future graphs on the Y-axis (right side) to read Torque instead of AFR

Post #2: Untuned Stock MCS vs. TUNED stock MCS

Post #3: 15% Pulley and Bosch 550cc Injectors added & retuned.

Post #4: Shrick Cam added and retuned.

Post #5: 15% Pulley with Bosch 550cc Injectors + Shrick Cam On E85 Fuel (FIRST MINI tuned on E85 in the USA)!!!

Post #6: More information on the Bosch OE 550cc Injectors vs. the 450cc/550cc "Drilled Out" Bosch injectors.

Post #7: Results for MegaMynes Header

Post #8: Additon of Invidia Exhaust

Post #9: 91 Octane tune results on customer cars.

Post #10: (RESERVED for misc)

 

The age-old question goes like this: How much power can i gain from a Custom tune? Answer listed below:

NOTE: For the sake of a fair comparison, we raised the stock Rev Limitor to 7300RPM while not touching the rest of the mapping. If we had kept the stock rev-limitor, then the "DELTA" from our custom tune would be even higher. But we are more interested in comparing "apple to apple" rather than having better looking numbers that do not truly reflect the situation...

Peak HP is typically achieved at 7250RPM... if that was the case, by simply removing the STOCK rev limitor and moving it to 7300 will get you an extra 5-10WHP. But as a tuner, i can't claim that credit as a result of my tuning... and that's probably why my stock MCS is reading "high" on the HP. But if one examines the entire curve, it's evident that the power curve has been moved up at the higher RPM range... now that's the "gain" that i can claimed as the true DELTA of a custome tune

Why Isn't my Torque number higher with a tune? Torque is a directly affected by boost level and engine displacement. Without mechanical changes, the tune can only do so much to increase the Torque number.

WHP WTQE
171 149 Bone Stock (untuned) = We got lucky with our 06 MCS and ended up with a strong "Wednesday" motor
191 153 Bone Stock w/ Custom-Tuned

This is the correct graph below:



This graph belongs in Post #4... (sorry, it was late when i posted this :( )...

 

We then installed the 15% Pulley (full stainless steel version) along with the Bosch 550cc injectors and modified the exhaust to "one-ball."

Why the 15% pulley? This is proven to be the most reliable with modest power gains. Very little belt failure (if any) has been reported with the 15% pulley - the same can't be said about the 17% or the 19%.

Why the 550cc Injectors? The common misconception is that 550cc is too big... not really? If the injectors are properly configured and scaled in the ECU Mappings, then they are going to run like stock. In addition, the 550cc can provide additional flow for future upgrades.

HP achived for this mod: 201 WHP & 164 WTQE (+30 WHP, +15 WTQE from BONE STOCK)...

WHP WTQE
171 149 Bone Stock (untuned)
191 153 Bone Stock w/ Custom-Tuned
201 164 15% Pulley with Bosch 550cc Injectors + "One-Ball"



Added 3/10/2009 => More reasoning behind the 550cc injectors (from one of my other posts on NAM):
The price difference between the 380cc, 440cc and 550cc are virtually none. So for the same price, why not get the most out of them, right? the 380cc are bigger than the stock 330/340cc, but the difference is not that significant enough to make a big difference on WOT. The 440cc are good, but not quite versatile enough for all the things that we want it to do (i.e. turbo upgrade or E85 conversion). The 550cc are kinda in the happy medium where they are big enough to handle almost anything you throw at it but still not too big to control. We have tuned a few 440cc RC injectors and they were not consistent in performance. All those customers have upgraded to the 550cc and yielded great results.

On a Stage I upgrade (intake, exhaust, 15% pulley), a typical S should be pushing the 200whp mark. At this power level, the stock injectors are pretty much maxxed out and they are working overtime to keep up with the motor.
With the 550cc, the injectors are not working nearly as hard at that power level; at the same time, it can still accommodate more power should the customer decide to add a cam or upgraded IC.

In some areas where E85 are available, one can also convert their MCS to run on it. But to do so, it requires a lot more fuel.. and the 550cc is big enough to handle that as well. The bosch are quality injectors and they are very precise. We can control these a lot better than the RC's.

We can tune the 380cc, 440cc or 550cc injectors, np. And our remote tuning software will be able to provide custom mappings for the injector size of your choice. We just tuned one MCS with Newman Cam, RMW header, 15% +2% crank running on 380cc JCW... it made a little over 220whp but the injectors are pretty maxxed :(... it's also boosting over 16psi and hitting fuel cut so we are looking into a voltage clamp to eliminate that factor.

But all in all, for the price and versatility, the 550cc Bosch are hard to beat. I'm getting a set of these "drop-in" 550cc bosch injectors and test them out and see how they compare to the ones we are using right now (which require the EV6 to EV1 adapter).

 

Next, we added the Shrick Cam and retune it We chose the Shrick b/c it's one of the first cams to come to market and there's quite a lot of them in circulation.

Adding the Shrick Cam raised both Power and Torque curves by 9 points each (I'm going by the numbers listed on the graph and not by the numbers in the "comment section").


Compared to BONE STOCK (UNTUNED w/ 7300 Rev. Limitor), it's +40 WHP & +24 WTQE (see below).

 

Ok, for all those who are "lookoing" for another REASON to upgrade to the 550cc Injectors... E85!!!

Additional Mod: NONE. Instead of 91 Octane, we used E85 FUEL from the local gas station.

For more information on E85, go here: http://www.e85fuel.com/e85101/faqs/e85.php

To find the nearest E85 station near you (USA): http://www.e85refueling.com/

What if i can not find an E85 station during my long road trip?
Answer: If you have the Mynes/Bytetronik Remote tuning software, you can simply pull out your laptop and load the PUMP gas map back into the ecu. It takes less than a minute

Is E85 going to damage my fuel lines?
Answer: No. There are countless people running E85 in their gasoline vehicle without any issues.

Result of tuning on E85: +23WHP; +11WTQE


Total DELTA from BONE Stock: +63WHP; +35WTQE

 

We've been running and testing our car on the Bosch OE 550cc Injectors (6-hole pattern) with excellent results. We sell these for $300.00 shipped to the CONTI-USA.



These are the Bosch 550cc 6-hole injectors that we've been using on our testing. These are the EV14 connectors so we need to use an adapter to fit the EV1 on the Mini Harness. The injectors fit perfectly, and the adapters raises the profile of the connector but it still fits fine underneath the factory IC.




PRODUCT UPDATE (Comparison):
There were some "direct plug-in Bosch injectors" advertised on eBay so we ordered a set of the "450cc" injectors to try them out. First impression, they are "resized" injectors (and NOT OE 550cc injectors). We noticed that the holes are not 100% identical, which suggests the original size was smaller and they were modified (drilled out) to the bigger size.

This was later confirmed by our supplier... direct quote from my Bosch Supplier: "Those injectors are actually 250cc that he drills out to 450cc, the red ones are 320cc that he drills the same way; the factory spray pattern of the EV14 injectors I sold you are much better."

So here are the Pro's and Con's on these injectors:
Pro:
- Direct plug in, no adapters needed.
- Less expensive than the Factory Bosch 550cc injectors.

Cons:
- The holes are drilled out to a bigger size; spray patterns 'unknown'.
- Minor variation are to be expected from set to set (or even from injector to injector within the same set of 4 injectors).
- Atomization is likely less favorable than the Factory 550's.

Here is a pic of the "450cc" "Drilled Out" Bosch injectors (4-hole pattern):





Side-by-Side comparison between the 450cc (yellow) and the OE 550cc (Green):

 

After a couple months of designing and prototyping, finally got some concrete numbers on the MegaMini-Mynes Headers.

One thing that doesn't show up on the graph is the INCREASED responsiveness of the gas pedal.The "laziness" of the pedal is almost eliminated....

There are two versions of the same header:
1) 1.5-inch equal-length runners into a 4-1 collector w/ CAT (Straight version)

2) 1.5-inch runners stepped up to 1 5/8 runners - Equal-length w/ CAT (Stepped version)


WHP WTQE
171 149 Bone Stock (untuned) = And "YES", we got lucky with our 06 MCS, we have a strong motor
191 153 Bone Stock w/ Custom-Tuned
201 164 15% Pulley with Bosch 550cc Injectors + "One-Ball"
211 173 15% Pulley with Bosch 550cc Injectors + Shrick Cam
234 184 15% Pulley with Bosch 550cc Injectors + Shrick Cam + E85 Fuel
239 18915% Pulley with Bosch 550cc Injectors + Shrick Cam + E85 Fuel + MegaMynes Header (Stepped version)
243 193 15% Pulley with Bosch 550cc Injectors + Shrick Cam + E85 Fuel + MegaMynes Header (Straight version)

The "Stepped" header is outperformed by the "Straight" version primarily b/c our test car has a STOCK head. On larger or PORTED heads, the "Stepped" header would probably shine a little more.

Here is the comparison from the previous test #4 with the addition of the Straight 1.5" Header.

Here is the comparison between the "Straight" vs. "Stepped" header:




Here is the overall gain from "Current State" to "STOCK":



Some of the highlights of our header:
- Equal-length runners in all the designs
- Our 3/8" flange is Port-matched to the header gasket
- Runners are welded both "inside" and "outside" to ensure perfect fitment (no short-cuts taken here).
- Smart Modular V-Band design that allows the easy installation of a "TEST Pipe" to replace the high-flow metallic CAT*.
- Customer can choose from Coated Mild-Steel**, full stainless steel or coated Stainless steel finish.
- 100% Made in the USA with the highest quality and craftmanship.
- 2-year warranty on the unit including the CAT against mfg defects and craftsmanship.

* The high-flow CAT's body is spun stainless steel, and the Core is 200 cells per inch stainless steel foil.
** Coating is provided by Jet-Hot Coating, additional lead time require for this service. Typically 5 to 7 biz days.

More info on Jet-Hot Coating: http://www.jet-hot.com/colorchart.html

Here's what the 1.5" header looks like:




This is the Stepped-Header after it's been heat-cycled




Close-up of the "Step" @ 7-inches from the flange on all runners...




Close-up of the high-flow CAT and Test Pipe:






Welded runners (both inside and outside):



V-Band:



Test Pipe and High-Flow CAT:

 

Ok, got the Invidia exhaust and i'm loving it. Even if it doesn't give me extra hp or torque, i'm keeping it on my car until i go turbo

Latest numbers:
248 198 15% Pulley with Bosch 550cc Injectors + Shrick Cam + E85 Fuel + MegaMynes Header (Straight version)+ Invidia Exhaust

Net Gain from Exhaust: +4 Whp / +5 WTQE

 

Here are some of the results on 91 Octane Shell Gasoline. I will update the graphs after AMVIV - trying to pack things up right now)..

Customer #1)
2004 MCS with 17%; Milltek, 550cc Bosch; Newman Cam, RMW header; 228whp/189wtqe


Customer #2)
2005 MCS with 550cc Bosch, 15%, CAI, Milltek, 222whp/175wtqe


Customer #3)
2004 MCS with 15%, 2% crank, OBX header, Bosch 550cc, Shrick Cam, MegaMini Stage I Head, electric waterpump, aftermarket exhaust (forget what kind) = 244whp/179wtqe

 

For this test, Hubie took one for the team and ran with it. He got the 1st production Stepped header and put it on a MegaMini Stage III Head in Cali ...

and the results: => +25WHP / +5WTQE

WHP WTQE
196 177 BVH with the Stock Header
214 177 BVH with the MegaMynes Stepped Header (everything else unchanged)
221 182 BVH with the MegaMynes Stepped Header with Custom Tuning

So here you have it... the results with the BVH and Stepped header... a match made in heaven

 

171 is a pretty high number for a stock untuned Mini I would think. So you made 20 hp just by tuning, and 10 more with a pulley and a oneball ?

 

Nevermind, you posted the answear to my question.

 

I like where this is going....more options...

MYNES Makin Moves!!!

 

bone stock mcs makes 171whp?? no way! where can i get 1 of those?

 

wow, thumbs up for Mynes.

 

I like the progression of upgrades and how you pre-posted. Nice job.
Will you have pictures of the header?

 

Great thread! I'm excited to watch the mod progression & before/after numbers & graphs. Nice work.

 

Mike,

A quick question. The first plot is of an untuned, stock MCS, but it is revved past the stock rev limiter. Either the RPM on the dyno is incorrect, someone had been in the ECU, or I'm just missing something. What's up?

 

Very nice.

But everyone needs to be aware that these numbers are only good for the car tested. My friends 04 MCS was dynoed with 194hp with the standard 15%, CAI, one-ball. After tune he got 210hp. This was on a dynapak (?) and RMW did the tune.

And I am sure you can also adjust both the rev limit and the traction control with your tunes?

 

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Great stuff guys.

 

Mike, why is it in post #2 the stock TQ is above 126lb ft at 6500RPM and in post #3 it is well below the 120 mark at the same RPM? Did you pick and chose runs for comparisons sake? There's a 20hp difference 30 minutes apart on the runs?

EDIT: The description above the graph does not match the two runs listed on the graph itself. The stock "untuned" is not on the sheet in post #2

 

One more item. We know that HP is a simple calculation from torque and RPM;

HP = TQ x RPM /5252

On any dyno sheet one should be able to take the TQ at a given RPM and calculate the HP. It seems your dyno is optimistically high on the HP reading for the TQ measured.

For example, on the first graph posted the stock car makes 126lb ft at 6550 RPM(where it crosses the axis). According to the standard calculation it should make 157hp. Your dyno is showing it well into the 180hp levels.

Can you help me out in understanding this?

EDIT: Are you not showing the TQ scale or is it shared with the HP Scale? This would help to clarify this.

 

Add'l comments added to Post #2. cheers. Mike

 

See add'l comment in Post #2. Southbay MINI can get you a good one... ask for Amanda and pls tell her Mike@Mynes sent ya

 

Post #3 has add'l mods (15% stainless SC Pulley and 550cc injectors) to #2 so the car is going to react differently. The runs are the same if they have the "same comments" on comment line; the resolution of the axis might not be to the same b/c i try ZOOM in on the graphs to fit the screen...

the HP and Torque use the same scale on the "Y-axis", you are correct on that one. ***Correction*** The "Y-axis" only represents HP (and not both HP and TQE)... I did not use "forced scaling" on the HP & TQE - human error.

We present the results as we test them. These are the same parts that MINI owners can get from their favorite reseller and we have nothing to gain from making them look either good or bad... "just the facts, ma'am!!"