North American Motoring - Drivetrain (Cooper S)

Unichip Destoyed My ECU

kidshark — Sat, 21 Nov 2009 06:11:24 GMT

Have any of you heard about the Unichip Connecters allowing moisture into the ecu and rotting out the factory ECU pins. My car would not start so after much searching I took the Unichip connectors off my car and noticed enormous amounts of electrolosis that rotted off three of my pins. Anyone heard of this?. Now I have to replace my ECU and if I want the unichip I have to hard wire the harness into the stock harness.

Oil Leak????

Herman da German — Sat, 21 Nov 2009 03:55:33 GMT

My 09 JCW sprung a leak and I can't figure out where it is coming from exactly:confused: . I have it narrowed down to the passenger side of the engine. It's not coming from the top or bottom, but in the middle by the pulleys. It doesn't leak when the engine is shut off just when it is running. I have it up on jack stands with the wheel and fender lining off. Still can't pinpoint the leak. It doesn't drip it's more of a stream. Any advice would be appreciated besides the obvious of heading to the dealer. Nearest one is 200 miles. Long way to trailer it.

Forge BOV questions

malteseracer — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 13:41:05 GMT

I should be getting the forge bov i ordered in a few days. I've read over the instructions and everything seems easy enough, but i have a few questions just to be sure.
-What size Allen key is used for the removal of the screws for the solenoid?
-It says to apply some grease to the O ring. Is this grease included or just generally accepted that whatever you use is fine.

Clutch replace @ 9.5K

thunderhead — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 19:30:02 GMT

The original clutch made noise when the pedal was depressed. This only happened a few times and it was just in first gear. When I mentioned this to the dealer during the scheduled service they said they would install a new clutch ass'y including the flywheel under warranty per a service bulletin from BMW

They had the mini one day. Dropped it there @ 0900 and it was finished @ 1600 hrs. 7 hours for a complete clutch install !! Was that possible ?? Anyhow, now the clutch engages at the top of the stroke. It used to begin engaging much lower. Just off the floor to be exact. It was much easier to drive when it was lower. The pedal is now way off the floor and much more difficult to drive on an incline. Maybe we are just used to the clutch engaging close to the floor since we have been driving manual Toyotas for 30 years and that's where they grad.

They are going to drive the vehicle next week and try to adjust the clutch travel.

Now I am wondering if I should have even let them do the clutch repair.

It was better before they worked on it.

It's an 08 Convertible S.

Almost @ 18 months on a 36 month lease. Like the mini but we'll turn it in at the end of the lease. It's loaded with options and the buy out is about 17k.

Neither one of us drives it hard. It's been good except now we don't like the clutch release.

Water temps about 215F. Is this normal?

Phoenix — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 03:00:38 GMT

All,

I've got a scan gauge and thought that this reading indicated that the motor was a little hot. Thoughts? My M3 runs about 25 degrees cooler...

Thanks,

Jeff

How-To Seafoam Treatment R55/R56

OXYBLUECOOP — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 00:08:34 GMT

I use this stuff on regular basis(right before my 3k oil changes) and was unable to find ANY videos of Seafoaming a MINI so I managed to throw together a quick video of some past treatments. I can't emphasize enough how useful this product is on the N12/N14 engines with the high compression ratios and the PCV design. I've seen the cylinder heads from these engines after 20k+ and the amount of burnt oil/carbon buildup is ridiculous. You can pick a can up at Walmart or most auto parts stores for under ten bucks. Installing an Oil Catch Canister will also help in preventing sludge/carbon buildup. For you folks who are hesitant for fear of hydrolocking I've done this procedure every 3k for over 85k on the MINI and never had any catastrophic results. You will definitely notice a difference in performance after the treatment.

Motor On,
Chad

JCW dyno pull

Stig One — Sun, 15 Nov 2009 16:18:50 GMT

run 1 whp 215.38 @5800 rpm

run 2 whp 220.41 @5800 rpm

run 3 whp 220.26 @5800 rpm

all runs done at sealevel 78f 29.82 in-hg ,humidity 40%

I hope a tune will pick up 20 to 25 whp and raise the max wtq from 216.77 to the 240/250ish range .

Mini Boost gauge work with supercharger pullys???

WizardEyes — Sat, 14 Nov 2009 23:53:05 GMT

does the OEM Mini Boost gauge work with supercharger pulleys or does the mini gauge not go high enough for the boost created by the new pulley?

Evotech Software Tune

miniblume — Sat, 14 Nov 2009 16:17:32 GMT

Has anyone tried the evotech software upgrade? I know everyone seems to be on the RMW bandwagon and it appears they make great tunes however, I'd like to hear some opinions of the evotech option if anyone is currently running with it. Thanks.

eBay short shifter

Splattj — Sat, 14 Nov 2009 00:32:11 GMT

I'm sure most of you have see the eBay short shifter that's available for about $40 shipped. Given that the auction lists the part as fitting 05-09+ Cooper and S models, I was rather skeptical about the piece. Unfortunately, despite the exceptional looking offerings from shops like Cravenspeed, I just can't afford the price of their piece so I decided to give the cheap eBay shifter a try. It came in today and, although the freebie knob looks as cheap as it was, the shifter itself is interesting. I measured it out and the portion of the shifter from the pivot ball to the bottom is only about 1mm longer than the stock shifter. I doubt that it is going to effect the throw much. The shifter shaft is straight, like the factory piece but about 2.5" shorter. I took some measurements of the factory shifter and took some pictures. I'll let the pics speak for themselves and leave this thread open to discussion.

The tolerances aren't too far off, but I'm not sure I'm going to use the piece. My main motivation to change out the shifter was not to reduce the throw, I'm okay with the factory throw, but to have a threaded shifter providing far more options for shift knobs. I think the factory knob is too large and not at all attractive. And while the Whalen knob has its appeal, if I'm not going to shell out for a short shifter, I'm not buying a Whalen! I'm currently leaning towards machining the factory shifter to accept most Japanese aftermarket shift knobs. :)

I figured I'd post all this up for the curious amongst us.

Thanks!
Justin

DoS CAI Owners: Defenders of Speed wants your feedback - CAI Baffle Development

Mini'mon — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 20:50:40 GMT

Hi out there to current customers and potential customers.

Defenders of Speed has many customers out there that really like our CAI's signature sound, isolated intake cone, and performance. However, we realize that we may be missing the boat on customers that would like a way to have more control over this CAI's audio component.

So, all that being said, we're developing a baffle and have some questions for you, the consumer. Here are the options that we're presently pursuing

Option A) Would you prefer a passive membrane baffle or butterfly gate (like a backdraft damper) that reduces cabin noise?

-OR-

Option B) A 'push-pull' cable actuated blast gate type baffle (like an old style choke cable) that you can control from the passenger compartment? You can push the cable yoke in to close it it when your just cruising around town, on long trips, or if your significant other is in the car (reduces potential performance gains by ~5-7hp in this state) and would give you a roughly stock sound. When you're not in the car to talk about your feelings, you can pull the yoke to open-up the throaty goodness and full performance benefits.

Your feedback is more than appreciated. DoS would like to release a product that fits lifestyles and performance needs in the very near future.

Thanks for the continued support! :thumbsup:

Data logging

richardsperry — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 23:06:39 GMT

What are you guys using to view engine data? Is there anything like the VW VAG-COM?

Yes, I searched, but the last thread was in Feb 08...

Which Front Mount Intercooler should i buy

openeyes — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 17:43:03 GMT

I was wondering which FMIC is the best or gets the most bang for the buck. what are the major differences between Alta's, Helix's, and Forge. Does one perform better than the others or is one more efficient? Is there another company that you guys can recommend that is better than these?

nm-eng what to expect?

swisstexmini — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 20:15:55 GMT

What will i expect if I buy the Discharge pipe? Sound/smoother acceleration/ hp?

What about the new air charge pipe they just came out with. If i am correct does it take away the noise maker?

Im planning to buy both of them as my first mods and want to see if anyone knows if its worth it. I will eventually get an intake, exhaust, and so on....:lol:

But what would i expect from it? Any one know the difference between altas?

Thanks for the help =]:thumbsup:

:popcorn:

New(er) m7 Super AGS Install?

Dwight Walhood — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 04:37:42 GMT

The modified m7 Super AGS has the reinforced left side bracket and has the right side mounting pin drilled to take a cotter pin. Just put one on and it was a bear as m7 hasn't updated their install PDF. Told them about it and they will update. Only thing I couldn't figure out was how to insert the cotter pin :mad:. I don't have the hands of an Elf and would really appreciate some help from anyone who's done it. Thanks

BTW, the AGS, on top of my other mods (see sig.), is SUPER!! I'm seeing 20psi on 1/2 throttle punches in 3rd, IAT's only ~10deg. over ambient around town and 3-4 deg. on the highway. Quiet as OEM at steady speeds and no "boy racer" noise around town. Certainly worth the price of admission! :thumbsup: