Installed yet another intake on my Cooper over the weekend. This one is the Monster MINI Force Intake (the filter itself is a K&N) One of the things I was interested in on this one was the air cradle it came with.



The cradle replaces the stock airbox, and is supposed to force the airflow towards the filter. I kept the resonator box on afterall for this reason.



Install was fairly simple, just a little tight space working to get the hose clamps tightened onto the throttle body.





Driving impressions:
Been extremeley humid in NJ the past week, and warm. Will affect performance to a certain extent. Car definitely feels like it has more pull @ 3000 RPM's, which is nice. No dyno numbers. Hard to compare it to the Twister, different type of design.
Definitely a very aggressive sounding intake, sound really starts kicking in at 3500 RPM's and above 4000 it's pretty impressive.

 

Hi Dan,

Well well, you got the Monster intake in there. Looks huge. Is it louder than the Twister? Any rubbing issues? Nice job!
BTW your sig looks slick, real cool, i like it alot
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I know there is intake of cold air froming from the front of the car routed to the monster intake area. But there is also passive heat in the engine compartment (try touching the strut bar after the car has been running for 20 minutes) which heats up both the air drawn into the intake and heats up the grey intake shield-try touching that to see how warm it gets. So how do you keep from drawing in warm and even hot air especially once you come to a stop?

 

Hey jivanivan - thanbks for the comp on the sig. I was able to fit the Monster in there better than the Twister - lays flatter. Tried ro make the profile as flat as possible, doesn't seem to be rubbing. I suspect with any of the aftermarket stuff for the Cooper there could be a rubbing issue. Definitely louder than the Twister, the growl really kicks in at 3000 RPM's. Between my exhaust and the Monster, my car sounds pretty sick. Also had the car in for my 25,000 mile service - dealer didn't say a thing about any mods.

 

minihune - I assume you're referring to the heat soak issue. Basically, even with the OEM airbox in there, it gets hot once the car is running. The shield does not totally seal the area around the filter and resonator box, plenty of room for air flow. The shield acts more as an air ramp to create directional airflow towards the filter itself. No matter what intake you put on a car, it's going to be affected by engine heat when stopped. If I open the hood right after driving - that area is cool. Everything warms up significantly once the car has been sitting still for a period of time.

 

I don't have a Coop(S now) but I did. I was up talking to my mechanic
yesterday. He has replaced 5 engines here in FL. that have had H20 sucked
into their intakes. Of course I live in FL. and we have had more rain in the
past two weeks than the number of different aftermarket parts for our cars.

 

2minis - thanks for the warning! How deep was the standing water?

Monster does make one for the MCS, doesn't have the air ramp though. They have MCS install pics on their site -

Monster MINI

 

He didn't really say. I am thinking it would have to
be up to the level of the grill though. Looking at the
air intake you can kind of understand how it happens.
He actaully showed me two blocks that had rods thrown
through. :evil:
I think until it gets to that level it wouldn't present a problem.

 

That looks very slick, Dan!

Oh crap....I'm not supposed to post in performance mods because I am a chick and I know nothing.

 

dandp--You finally got the Monster! The sound alone is worth the swap! You can cut the red silicone down. This will get the hose clamps closer and remove the hose that is getting stretched by the bend in the pipe. It looks neater and won't collect debris.

I've had mine on for roughly 18000 miles and have had no issues with it. I've driven across the country from colorado to boston in some horrendous down pours. If water gets high enough to get in the filter the engine would have sucked it the stock cold air feed as well.

So who else has the Monster?

 

6f7 - did a quick search to revive the old thread in my head...only took 5 months or so. After testing the Twister, I considered the K&N Typhoon, the BMC Carbon and the Monster. The BMC seems to have had some install issues and fitment problems, although BMC did say it should fit the Cooper, they only tested it on an MCS and One. Glad to hear you've had it on for that long - did you use the K&N cleaning kit on it for cleaning?

 

I like that intake. One reason, if you visit a local race shop you can buy a slip-on prefilter like:





_________________
-goin440

<h3><b>VOTE: MCO, good 2 go!</b></h3>
Cast your vote <a href="http://www.petitiononline.com/mco080...ion.html" target="_blank">now</a>!</h2></p>

 

>>6f7 - Glad to hear you've had it on for that long - did you use the K&N cleaning kit on it for cleaning?

Yep. I got a k&n cleaning kit from pep boys.


>> I like that intake. One reason, if you visit a local race shop you can buy a slip-on prefilter like:

Nice bike! My brother has the same intake on his S1 lightning. Does the prefilter restict airflow much?

 

No, if you look closely at the first pic you can see through it. Dirt oval guys like em cause the keep the debris out of the filter and they're super easy to clean (ever have bugs embedded in your K&N?). The flow may be slowed, but if you can tell the difference you might reconsider your career options. Plus, IMO, they look badass.

 

Two questions and then a comment:

What does this do to the car for smog cert issues??

And how does the price compare to other similiar mods available??

Not to be picking on Monster (well maybe a bit) but they are in my neighborhood (and I do buy stuff for the beetle from ABD, a sister firm) however their prices seemed a little on the high side when I looked last and then the fact that they basically refuse to link up to MCO makes me want to buy elsewhere... :???: :???:

 

TMGRobyn - don't know about the smog cert. Pricewise, I got it for $230 (they were offering a discount the day I called) That's comparable to other MC intakes (Twister, Viper) K&N Typhoon is around $200. Don't know anything about them refusing to link up to MCO - too bad, they could probably get some more business off of here.

 

goin440:

Good point--the airflow would not be effected in any noticable way. Thanks for keeping me grounded.


TMGRobyn:

I paid $139 for my Monster intake before they were even done being produced. They increased the price to $230 shortly after I placed my order.

The price of all the intakes are steeply overpriced! A friend just got a polished aluminum intake with a K&N style filter for his WRX off ebay for $24!!! Granted a real K&N costs about $40, but I'm not about to pay nearly or over $200 for 8" of aluminum tubing!

 

Dan, the Monster looks like a nice clean install. Have you noticed any improvements in low end torque? You know that's what I'm looking for.

Ditto the comments about your new signature. Very artistic.

Happy growling with your new intake.
Cheers,
Kim

 

:smile:

 

Harmini...the car definitely feels quicker off the line, and I've noticed when shifting I hit the power band quicker (not as much lag before hitting more torque) That's nice. The car pulls better at 3000 RPM's, and I know it's not the sound that makes me think it's happening. I still have the "special" intake sitting in my garage as well, but the Monster gets a little more power and the tone is certainly aggressive.

THanks on the sig compliments...

 

>>What does this do to the car for smog cert issues??

I sure you would still pass the test at the exhaust pipe, but you'll get snagged on the visual inspection.

There are currently not *any* intakes that have Calirfornia CARB certificatons. That includes K&N and AEM, based on conversations with their sales folks a couple of days ago.

I was waiting until someone got a CARB cert., but I don't want to wait forever. I'm probably going to get the MiniMadness cold air intake. It looks like it gives a decent HP boost, *and* it only takes 10-15 min. to replace it with my stock intake when smog check time rolls around. (Its a stupid game, but...)

 

Looks great.... and I bet it sounds great as well... Cheers

 

Hey dandp:

Any plans on dyno'ing the Monster intake like you did with the Twister?

 

6f7 - not sure yet about dynoing it. I am keeping it though. Just driving around tonight in the lower humidity and cooler air, I could feel a difference. I expected I would.