Putting this up as a thank you to all the Mini brethren that have posted so much outstanding info here on NAM. Learned a lot so thanks.

I was planning on upgrading the stock turbo pretty soon but my schedule got bumped up when my turbo grenaded recently...1500 miles out of warranty.

Anyway, called up Arric at JM Turbo Coopers to get a 42mm KO3 hybrid but no new ones were available. So a 45mm it is. I would be remiss if I don't take the time to say their customer service was outstanding and I found Arric to be both very helpful and knowledgeable.

Although the website lists the E45HP as requiring a tune I can confirm it lives quite happily in an N18 with no CEL's. I'm also very happy to report it plays well with the JB+ from BMS. I'm still adjusting and data logging but here's some interesting graphs for reference.

Stock turbo with no tune peaks at about 14 before dropping to 11 psi at RPM.


Here's my best run ever with the stock turbo and JB+ which drops off to 14psi at high RPM.


Here is the E45HP with JB+. Notice no drop off.


As you can see its like the Energizer Bunny.


A couple of thing to note about fitment with the E45HP. First the turbo inlet is larger than the standard 38mm turbo. So the inlet tube needs some assistance. On the N18 at least there is a rubber grommet in the pipe that makes for a nice snug fit. If you remove this however the tube is a perfect fit on the E45HP.


The other item to note is that if you get the turbo ported and polished the outlet side is ported to the dimensions of the DP gasket. An increase in size from 2.5 inches to 2.7 inches. This means that if you have 2.5 inch DP there will be a sudden step. Luckily my DP is from WMW and has a nice thick flange so I was able to port and blend it. JM can also provide and I highly recommend getting the Gen 3 exhaust manifold also ported and polished. If you buy both the turbo and manifold together they are port matched. The porting is done by hand and who ever does it is very good at their job. All the ports were within 1/64 of an inch in size.


Previously I posted steps for doing your own carbon cleaning on the N18 so I thought I'd see what they looked like after 8000 miles. I was not happy with what I found.


So since I'm here and a new turbo is going in why not clean things up a bit. Step one blast away.


Better but still not totally pleased as the casting is just too rough in these heads. Leaving all kinds of nooks and crannies for oil and carbon to stick to. I've ported and polished before so why not. Granted it was Chevy small block heads. Just got to remember I'm dealing with aluminum here. I was not looking for big increases in flow, more concerned with keeping velocity up. So no deep bowl work, just port matching and polishing to clean up the airflow, increase efficiency and reduce carbon buildup.

Intakes:



Exhaust:


Quite frankly the carbon buildup issue with these DI engines has finally pissed me off to the point I'm going to do something about it. I'll be posting another thread on a fix for the N18 carbon problem.

So there you have it. I'm very pleased all around with the results and hope you found this informative. I'll be putting it on a dyno tomorrow so hopefully the numbers come back somewhat better than the pathetically anemic number of 171hp when Tigger was bone stock. After that its a trip up to Renntech to let Lenny work his tune magic.

Oh BTW I'm even getting 2 more MPG on the highway.

 

Thanks for sharing. I have been thinking about upgrading to a JM.

 

How much later is it spooling up compared to stock? Images make it look like it's only a little laggier.
Also did you do ported version?

Thanks for sharing the info!

 

Please let us know how the air/fuels are, timing, boost and new WHP. Great job on taking a chance
Mario

Sent from my iPhone Office

 

Yes its the ported version. Wish I would have had time to get the turbine housing and manifold ceramic coated as well. JM offers the service but I was having serious withdrawals without my Mini. I would have answered just a little bit slower but I went back and reviewed my data logs and its generating more pressure sooner than the stock turbo either on the factory tune or with the JB+.

Stock Turbo No Tune - 7.1 psi @ 3100 rpm, 13 psi @ 3500 rpm.
Stock Turbo JB+ - 4 psi @ 3100 rpm, 7.8 psi @ 3500 rpm but much more boost at 4500 rpm.
E45HP JB+ - 14.7 psi @ 3100 rpm, 16 psi @ 3500 rpm with lots more left.

I think its a case of giving the impression of being a tiny bit slow to spool but only because of how long and hard it pulls once it starts. I'll turn the JB+ to zero or remove it for some more logs so we can see all the apples to apples info. After the dyno run of course lol.

 

So I visited Shaun at DST Motorsports for the followup dyno. Same place as did the original run in stock trim. I meant to post these last night but was occupied analyzing the data logs I took at the same time as the dyno runs. For reference here's the base run done last year.


The following are the newest ones. The first pull was recorded in 4th gear wherein the gear ratio is 1.15:1.


This next one was recorded in 5th gear wherein the gear ratio is .95:1. Fifth gear is the closest we can get to a 1:1 ratio.


Oh and before I forget here is the last one with AFR's


All runs were performed on the same dyno and under similar conditions. Gotta say I'm pretty happy with the results. I picked up 34 hp and 42 ft.lbs. of torque Not too terribly shabby for an automatic. When comparing the AFR's from Dashcommand and the dyno they were spot on. It's also obvious from looking at the data that there's a lot still left on the table. The factory map the JB+ is forced to work with is definitely holding performance back. The AFR's need tweaking, the timing advance needs help and more boost can be dialed in. I'm sure injector pulse width could use some fine tuning as well. After Lenny at Renntech gets his hand on the DME I'll update once again. That should be the last engine mod for a while... till the heads get properly ported by Thumper and the bottom end gets done. Now if only Schrick would make a cam for the N18

 

Yippy for some hard data! Now that I can see the light at the end of my clutch install hell, I may get to do some pulls on my e45hp setup too.

Are your boost readings from OBDII or external sensor?

 

Oh man having the new turbo and not being able to enjoy it has to seriously bite. Can't believe they sent the wrong pressure plate.

Yes the boost reading are OBD II utilizing a wifi adapter and Dashcommand on an iPhone. Then the data is downloaded into ScanXL Pro for review. The ScanXL software is free to download and use for analysis. But if you want to use it to capture data directly you have to pay for it. I'm seriously considering doing so as the data capture rate via the wifi is slow. It pulls info every 200ms which is what cause the stair step appearance in the graphs.

 

Thanks for posting all of this info. Really good stuff. My 'future' mod list is very similar to yours. I have been using DashCom too. The timing tools in DC are fun to use.

 

Not just new turbo...LSD, Clutch...etc.

I'm installing the full suite of PLX sensors and then will use DashCommand to data collect. What are you using for OBDII? I just switched from the Innovate OT-2 as nobody supported it. If PLX Devices would ship my damn Kiwi to USB cable...

 

I'm using the Kiwi II adapter for Dashcommand. My only issue is the data capture rate. Any refresh quicker than 150 to 200ms cause it to hiccup. I'm considering either buying the iMFD adapter with oil pressure and temp sensors or installing a 4 cluster pod around the tach for boost, water temp, oil pressure and temp. My 2006 Cooper had the optional instrument cluster with the tach and speedo in the middle. Then the center pod had oil temp, pressure, water temp and fuel qty. I miss that setup.

BTW... love the tag line.

 

I didn't buy their DM-100 gauge, but I wonder if it has a faster refresh rate?

https://www.plxdevices.com/product_i...MULTDM100OBDII

 

It should. I know the ScanXL software on a laptop using a USB CAN cable has a data capture rate of 1ms.

 

How streetable would you rate the 45? Oddly enough I enjoy the stock turbo on the street and being able to really ring the engine out to get the feeling I'm getting everything out of the car vs. being very careful with the throttle and a lot care being paid to my right foot.

 

Very street able in my opinion. Before I put the JB+ plus back on it was maybe a smidgen quicker than stock, but throttle response was about the same. Once a JB+ is installed though the throttle feels like your in sport mode all the time and sport mode can be a bit touchy or just plain damn fun depending on your point of view.

You have to remember our cars are a combination of hardware and software. The hardware sets the physical limits but its the software that control how far you push it and how you get there.

 

I've been continuing to play with the JB+ and the new hybrid. Love the combination on the car. The two just transformed the nature of the vehicle. I have however noticed something that was a bit odd. When the JB+ is set to 75% and I'm accelerating just enough to get into the boost there is a slight surging. The boost will climb to 3psi then drop to 1psi, climb back to 3psi then drop back to one several times. This behavior is most noticeable while cruising at highway speeds. This is the only time it occurs and a lot of drivers probably wouldn't notice it but it's there. It doesn't occur with the JB+ at 50% or 100%. It's almost like the turbo is spooling up boost faster than the DME wants and it's pulling it back. There is a simple solution though so I turned the JB+ back to 100% and the problem is solved. I like it better at that setting anyway

Still waiting on my quote from Renntech for the custom tune. I'm asking for two separate maps. On in normal mode and one in sport mode.

Also spoke with Nick at Manic in the UK for a while. Really nice guy btw. Discussed a Stage 2 and 3 tune for me as well as the size of the Mini community in South FL and a couple of Revo Technik dealers that are local. So that might be an option as well.

Either way not having a full tune is starting to get to me. Tigger's dyno run of 205hp was at 17 psi of boost and I can't wait to see what it will do at 21 to 22 with correct timing and AFR's.

 

Did you get the one with the billet compressor wheel? Also what are you doing to stop the CEL from coming on with catless downpipe?

 

I can't comment of which turbo he got but as far as the CEL goes the tune will take care of that. There is no point (or very little) of upgrading your turbo without a tune for it.

 

He is running the BMS JB+. It does not have the capability to delete a cell from catless downpipe. Its not the same as a tune. He must be using CAN Tool or something similar.

 

I purchased the E45HP which is the standard 45mm wheel mated to a KO3 turbine. IIRC the billet wheels either 45 or 47 are only offered with a KO4 turbine.

No tune yet. Just got my quote from Renntech on a custom dual map tune. In the interim I use BMWhat app on my iPhone. Just clear the pending code once about 10 minutes into my drive and no CEL's. The app will also read and clear codes from all of the ECU's in the car and will also let you code the CAS, KOMBIE and FRM modules.

 

Go-cart..

My bad I wasn't thinking. I forgot he had a N18.

 

Are you running any sort of aftermarket diverter valve?

 

Hi Go-Cart,

The E45HP comes with the improved recirc valve that shipped standard with the N18. The only thing I did to it was install the Alta stiffy spring. Alta claims that with it installed the standard valve can hold 40psi. I'm not planning on boosting past 1.5 bar with the stock bottom end so we'll see how it holds up.

http://altaperformance.com/i-1400716...bo-engine.html

 

Ok cool. I just ordered that spring from alta last week along with the hotside pipe. Once you get your tune let us know what kinda power you make. I am running the Jb+ also and am curious about how much more power is really there with a tune.

 

I should have an update in regards to that next week. I'm scheduled for the custom tune at Renntech on May 7th. Current plans are for a dual map tune set for 93 octane fuel with boost at 1.3 bar in normal mode and 1.5 bar in sport mode.

Original plans were to tune it for the E85 mix but I'd rather run the mix for safety and not have to worry about fuel availability if traveling cross country. Even if the only thing available is 91 octane I just have to remember to keep my foot out of it, and my finger away from the sport button.