Better wait until I get home to listen to that !

I'm thinking CAI and 15% pulley.

Should I go Alta on both ?

 

Yeah I know I can't listen to it now either, darn.

I went Alta on both- and its been great! (V2 pulley)

There aren't too many mods where it doesn't really matter what vendor you choose, but the pulley is one of them. A Helix 15% will be basically the same as an Alta 15% in terms of overall performance. There are slight differences in the design, such as # of bolts, and the 'wall' (for lack of a better word) that is on the end of the pulley. I specifically chose the Alta V2 because the 'wall' is oversized.

EDIT- I think Alta calls it a 'belt retainer', from what I read on their website.

 

I'm a big fan of the JCW intake... plenty loud for my tastes, doesn't look like some sheet metal bandit got loose under your bonnet, and masks potential undesirable low-RPM throttle whistle sounds... Run mine with an AMSoil filter to get more sound and better flow - and it's easy to clean.

 

Yup. The Alta is notorious for having a loud whistle sound under slight throttle and low RPMs. Personally, I love it to death, and its really more of a personal preference thing. Any CAI you get will be about the same in terms of performance as well, as it won't gain you that much HP, especially on its own. However, if I were going to do a pulley, I'd definitely get a CAI.

 

Good info... thanks, men !

I think I'd prefer the JCW CAI... don't want anything too loud when you're in a convertible... the noise is loud enough already. That's the only reason I haven't done aftermarket exhaust on the converible (love them on our Coopers!).

 

JCW is a great choice!

As for sound, prepare yourself for the pulley! So did we convince you?

 

I'm 90 percent sure I'm going to do both those mods.

How hard is the SC pulley to DIY ?

 

I have no clue how hard it is to DIY...but if I were you I'd get it professionally installed. If you've been on the 1st gen. mods forum recently there have been 1 or 2 pulley install horror stories. If you get it professionally done you can go back to that shop and they would be glad to help you out if there is an issue.
You could go to...

1. Behe Performance (LDG)
2. Helix (where I got mine)

 

I had randywebb do mine during his pulley party. . 15% and CAI along with a Milltek exhaust is a must-have for MCS.

 

I've had a local shop do my CAIs and cat-back exhaust installs. They seem to be quite familiar with MINIs as there's quite a few in our little town. I'll have to ask them if they've ever done a SC pulley install, before I trust them with that job.

Ken... I don't think Randy Webb is going to be in my neighborhood any time soon. Or vice versa.

 

I don't know what kind of shop that is specifically, but a CAI install is in a different league than a pulley install. If they have done a few before I might go for it, but I wouldn't want to be the guinea pig.

 

Yeah, that's why I want to ask them if they've ever done one. If the answer is "no", they'll still be giving that answer to the next customer.

 

Watching randy do mine, I think the hardest(?) Thing is to lift the engine up enough to remove/install the pulley. It didn't look too hard to do. The other thing is making sure the pulley is installed flat. Randy used his mitsutoyo several times to verify. CAI and exhaust intalls are pretty easy.

 

Yeah, I don't even have a torx tool set and I still was able to install a CAI! (in other words I am not too good with DIY)

 

Yikes ! Lifting the engine ?? This is starting to sound like an expensive install.

 

Yeah, you can see the pulley on the passsenger side of the engine below the first IC horn. There's no way you could avoid not lifting the engine out, that I know of at least.

Pulley installs usually cost betwee $200-$240. ~3 hr job, flat rate.

 

That's not too bad. When ken mentioned engine lift, I was thinking more like 4 or 5 Benjamins.

 

That would be a bit excessive! This is why the pulley is usually referred to the 'best bang for your buck'!

 

Must be a pretty good bang when you combine the cost of the pulley and the install.

I read on one website that it should add about 20 hp. That's pretty impressive !

 

Wow... just did a google search on JCW CAI and found it for sale for $495. I was thinking it would be a little more than half of that !

 

Yeah...I think JCW CAIs go for ~$300...I might be mistaken though.

The Alta is about $50 less, but there are other CAIs that have a similar designs to the JCW.

 

i might do the JCW CAI later on...hearing that whistle is kind of a cheezy
feeling at times especially when you got regular folks driving next to you
with their windows down going 40mph.... squeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeekkkk....

is not very sexy. lol

 

The hotties in convertibles probably think that's you whistling at them, ken.

If any of them blow you a kiss, you know that's what they were thinking.

 

hahahaha... ive never had that happen before. well,
maybe once, but that was my wife so that don't count.

 

where is my replacement torque wrench!!!