I'm planning out my future power upgrades and am trying to get a handle on how much I need to budget for install (I've got very few tools, no good place to work on the car, not much experience under the hood, and a bit of an aversion to warranty hassles or I would try to DIY this stuff).

Planning on the following for my first round:

Alta 15% SC Pulley & 2% Crank Pulley
Milltek Cat back Exhaust
Ireland Upper & Lower Engine Bushings
Denso IK22 Plugs
Alta CAI (will do this myself if it seems like I won't get hassled by MA/service dept.)

The only future power upgrades I'm thinking about are a header (thinking Milltek here as well), DFIC, and a Unichip. Am I much better off waiting until I can swing the header at the same time as the pulleys/cat-back/bushings?

I'm thinking around 4 hours labor (maybe 5 with the header) for the install. Does this sound about right?

Would having an M7 USS already installed add significantly to the labor for the exhaust/header?

TIA

 

I would say anywhere from 4-5 hours is probably fair...but they will possibly be able to do it in 3-4 if they work fast. I know when I worked at BMW the techs liked to work fast and slack the remaining 1-2 hours of work (book required time BTW).

-Cody

 

cranks are a pita. and I did my pully for the first time in about 2.5 hours. so 5 i guess.

 

I had heard that the crank pulley could be kinda difficult. Also not sure if I like the idea of spinning everything else on the crank 2% faster (although I guess that's what the ALTA-Nator part is for)

Think I would wind up better off reliability-wise skipping the crank pulley and doing just the M7 16% or Alta 17% SC pulley?

 

If you have ANY concerns about warranty on your relatively new car, I woulod avoid the crank pulley like the plague. It will assure you of having no coverage for anything on the long block. The 17% is a better way to go IMHO. And this after having had the 2% on my car prior to the turbo. It just means you need the shorter belt.

As far as install time, I think you are about right with 5 hours. +/- 2 hours.

 

For all?

4 hours isn't enough!

If you wanna do a good job. If you don't care for the car you can do it in one hour.

 

Well, figure 2 to 2.5 hours for the pulley work. The car is already on alift, or on stands so the exhaust is literally a 30 minute job. The plugs are 5 minutes. The CAI is an hour tops. That comes out to about 4 hours-5 hours.

 

You change the exaust and header in 30 min?

Very good!

 

Cool, thanks for the info guys.

I think I will probably skip the crank pulley in the interest of cheaper install and (hopefully) preserving the longevity of my MINI.

I might feel a little bit sketched out by my MA at this point as he was trying to talk me into doing the crank pulley quite a bit when I have talked to him about modding in the past. I guess he could have just been looking for more billable install hours or genuinely thought it was a good mod. I'm probably just being paranoid...

 

The crank pulley is a rather iffy subject...the only advise that I can give is to complete as much research as you can before you decide to mod your MINI in any way!

BTW: Where are you in Cinci? And who is your MA (I worked at BMW/MINI last year)? Are you going to have the parts installed by the dealer?
-Cody

 

Looks like he is only planning catback in the first round. And yes, I would bet money I can do a catback in UNDER 30 minutes, subtracting the time to get it on the lift as it would already be there for the other work.

 

I'm living in the Columbia Tusculum area and am in the process of trying to sell my house in Pleasant Ridge.

I feel really bad but I am spacing my MA's name and seem to have lost his card (it's been a couple of months since I was last in for my scheduled maintenance). I want to say Sean, prolly in his mid - late 20's. He seems like a cool guy and I was surprised at the mod friendly tack they seem to have taken over there. When I was shopping for my MCS (last Jan/Feb) they seemed rather the opposite.

I'm planning to have the (to me) more involved engine and brake mods done at Cincinnati MINI, but am planning on getting my suspension (thinking JCW or H-Sport springs/FSDs/camber plates & RCAs/rear bar) done at Performance Alignment in Blue Ash if this won't cause too much turbulence at the dealer. I'm thinking I will probably self install the M7 USS and SRP or STB prior to getting the "big" work done.

Definitely doing alot of research on the mods I think I want (that's half the fun for me), and I'm seriously glad I got clued onto this site. It's been a great source of info and opinions. Think I'm getting my mod plan relatively sorted, now I just need to find some way to pay for it all. Modding a MINI seems a bit more expensive than my previous VWs ....

 

I agree, I removed my cat-back, welded a hole shut in my exhaust and put it back on in 45 minutes. That included jacking it up too.

 

I don't know that MA...it's been a year since I worked there, but if you go back talk to Todd Chumbly, he is the MINI advisor. I know him personally, just tell him Cody Meyer sent you. If you get anything installed at Cinci MINI, try to get it done by Nate, and tell him I sent you.

Lastly, I need to get my MINI aligned, and I live in Blue Ash...where is Performance Alignment at?

-Cody

 

Yeah like someone else asked, are you having these mods done at your dealership? Are they going to honor the MINI warranty if you do? Like on the supercharger even with the Alta pulley?

 

Just so you know that we are in Indianapolis, only a short drive from Cincy. We can do any mods for you MINI you need. Plus we stock all the parts. Let me know if we can help.

WAY
317.201.8670
www.waymotorworks.com

 

Will do, Thanks.

Performance Alignment addy/digits:

11551 GROOMS RD
CINCINNATI, OH 45242-1409
(513) 489-8500

Across From Blue Ash Sports Center.

Had a few friends get their set ups installed/aligned there and they come highly recommended by most who've had work done there. I've heard that all of the techs there work serious pit crew and/or race competitively.

 

I'll definitely keep you guys in mind. If not for install at least to save on shipping

I got the impression from the MA I was speaking to that I would probably have better luck with warranty coverage if I had the mods installed through them, but we'll see. Have mostly just BS'd w/ him about mods so far and didn't really get into specifics w/ him yet.

Guess I shouldn't really worry about coverage too much. I've only got another year and a half or so left on it anyway,

 

I honestly wouldn't worry about coverage....I don't think Cincinnati MINI will warrenty many parts...I would just either install them yourself or get it installed by a well known shop.

And thanks for the details on the alignment place...once I get springs I'll have to get it aligned there, I know exactly where it is! Thanks!

-Cody