So I've been looking through the modification manufacturers over the last two months, and am wondering what the better products are? I've never modified a car before and know pretty much nothing about modifying besides what's common.

My first upgrade will be a SC Pulley and prolly pulley crank. I noticed that Madness and Alta offer 15% and 19%, whereas M7 offers 16%. Could I get some elaboration on the differences between these?

After SC Pulley, I plan to get intake, then exhaust.

So for intake...
M7: http://www.m7tuning.com/parts/produc...&products_id=4
Alta: http://www.altaminiperformance.com/p...sion-2-0-6-spd
Madness: http://www.mini-madness.com/index.as...WPROD&ProdID=9

I really like how Alta shows graphs, but I'd really like to know which one performs better.

And for exhaust...
Alta: http://www.altaminiperformance.com/p...aust-System-3-
Madness: http://www.mini-madness.com/index.as...ROD&ProdID=299
Milltek: http://www.stratmosphere.com/milltek_mini.htm

Looking for which one provides good power and deep exhaust note.

Any additional info would be awesome! I'm looking to do most modifications myself, unless I find them to be too difficult (pulley).

 

I have a 19% Alta pulley and love it. The CAIs and Catbacks are some what subjective and all of them depend on personal preferences. I am personally waiting for Alta to release their V2.0 with the oval tip. Make sure if you do the 19% that you get bigger injectors and a reflash or Apexi AFC controller. Their are two books that you should check out as well Supercharged! and Maximum Boost both by Corky Bell. They explain everything about superchargers and turbos.

 

I read on Mini-Madness that the 19% is ONLY for street use. I do some Auto-X and amateur rallies...

 

First try and set your goals. Are you looking for a track day screamer, a canyon carver, a cone killer for Auto-x or just a generally overall quicker ride. Also take a good look in the mirror, are you any good at driving, you'd be surprised just how much quicker you can drive when the only mod is a good Drivers School at a local road course. Tweaking the Mini suspension also is a great way to start on the slipepry slope of mods.

Once you can define your goals then we as a group can offer some good advice. Until then it's all just the endless chatter of everyone saying how they parts they bolted on are best.

 

best source for exhaust info:
deep notes can be had with a borla race!!! I run one and scare all the stangs in my area.
https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...ad.php?t=23789

CAI will most likely be very similar. the most important question when looking at one is how loud you want the supercharger, and if you prefer foam filters to oiled. I went with mini madness parts and really love um. I liked the 6 bolt pulley design, and the intake is quitier then a alta, and louder then a dinan or JCW.

I run my 19 HARD in autocrosses, and HPDE's. 15K after the pulley with NO problems. but I had lots o cooling mods before the pulley.

 

I love the Milltek exhaust on my car. It's got a good sound wiht no drone at all. I don't think the pulley brand matters as much as long as your buying one of the good brands. Randy Webb has a nice write up on his site about pulley size and his pulley is one of the best too. I have had the 15% webb pulley on my car for the past 3 years and it's been great. I have the Alta intake and I really like it. But it is load and some people don't like that about it. I have heard nothing but praise for the M7 intake as well. I would recommend going to a local MINI get together and see some of the options in person.

 

Okay. Good info, guys.

Well here's how it is:
I REALLY like hill climbs, canyon runs and rallies. However, there are NO events like that in my area that I can find (Boise, ID). The only events I can find are illegal street racing and auto-x with SCCA.

I love how fast this car can take corners on dirt roads, and how well it reacts when the e-brake is pulled.

I'd like to be able to create a car that has great stability when running tight corners, but with LOTS of push out of the corner and through the straights. And since the car has pretty good suspension as it is now, and since I'm not competing, I'd like to get the pulley, CAI, exhaust and possibly intercooler before I start looking at the suspension.

P.S.: OMG THAT ALTA EXHAUST NOTE IS GODLY!

 

Intercoolers are big money for little gains in the beginning of the mod game. I would do the first three and get some light wheels and non-run flat tires next. Huge Improvement!

 

I like the Alta Intake, simple, effective, and loud! As for pulleys, they all do the same thing, so it doesn't really matter. I like ALTA's because it's black . There's been some talk that the M7 Pulley slips occasionally because of it's design. Most people also feel that after 15% it's just diminishing returns.

19 is "Only for street" because if you hit redline with a 19 you're technically cavitating your water pump (Not really cooling the engine anymore).

As for exhaust, they're all basically the same. If you get 4-5 HP, you're lucky. It's mostly the sound :-).

 

I pulled away from Mach V Motorsports in mine and Dan commented how insane my car sounded

 

I agree, I'm pushing 220 to the wheels and I have the stock intercooler . No sense in wasting your money on a mod that *Might* give you 3-4 HP. Get a head if you want some push, talk to Jan at Revolution Mini Works .

 

I don't live wherever ya'll live. Haha. I live in Boise, Idaho. =[

So 19% or 15%? I still don't understand...

 

 

It sounds as though successful competition is your primary goal. If that is the case, and autocross is your local flavor (even though it is not your favorite) then the SCCA running classifications should be very important to you. Learn everything you can about the classes available to you and THEN modify accordingly. (i.e., is a pulley of ANY size permitted in the class in which the MINI is most competitive?) The competition forums here on NAM might be another place to post questions about parts if you wind up focusing on SCCA racing.

Another important factor is whether you are going to do the work yourself. When I got my 15% Alta, it was the most "foolproof" installation due to its design. The pulley install most especially must be done so that it is properly aligned, or belt failures and/or slippage can easily occur. I don't know whether the Alta design still provides any advantage in this area. I am only saying that "ease of installation" might be another factor to consider in your selection criteria.

 

The 19% is great until you want to start running at high rpm's. It will spin the water pump faster than designed. Best overall size is the 15%.

 

Regardless of where you live, his head is one of the best designs out there. If you are planning on doing head work, call Jan. I personally wouldn't go past 15%. The extra 5-6 HP down low isn't worth snapping belts every 3 months and replacing my water pump at 50k miles . Not to mention once I get my tune going I'll be spinning up to 8500 RPM's, and there's NO WAY the waterpump would survive that jaunt with a 19% in place.

 

Stock ic with diverter should work alright unless you are going big big.

 

Agreed! I had a DFIC with the same mods and saw absolutely no difference. I actually lost some HP on the top end because of the pressure loss.

 

I've had a 19% for almost 2 years and bring it up to 7200 on a daily basis, never snapped a belt or replaced a water pump...weird

 

At 8500 rpm's, who's to say that with the 15%, it will either?


I know very few drivers who can keep their license long enough to live at redline anyway.

As long as you stay away from it in frequency, you'll be fine with a 19%.

 

We would agree that the 15-17% total reduction is the max for most MINI's without extensive ECU tuning, fuel injectors, intercooler etc. How you get to that varies of course. The 15% S/C and a 2% Crank does the best job of better belt wrap and has the added benefit of removing a ton of weight (ok a TON is an exaggeration:- ) to help improve acceleration and throttle response. The water pump has not been shown to cavitate at this combination, but you are running right at the RPM limit of the S/C. Again, we feel this is an ideal setup.

You can get more from this by adding a higher flowing Exhaust syste,m (there are several that perform this task really well, you may need to choose more on price, looks and sound than dyno results here.) Intakes help a ton (again we love ours, but other perform well too!) and an intercooler with catch can will keep boost temps cool. Finally, JCW or slightly larger injectors with a proper tune will really bring things together. The REALLY nice thing with the MCS is that you can do this in stages and not risk damaging anything in the car.

For example for looks, sound and performance buy your exhaust first, then add the S/C pulley, then an intake, then the 2% crank etc. etc. The only recommendation I have is that you get the injectors and the tune at the same time to prevent issues with idle quality etc.

Hope that helps a bit (trying not to muddy the murky water here) let me know if I can ever help with any other questions or concerns.

Chat soon!

 

Thanks so much, Adam. That helped clear up some questions I had. =]

 

Never a problem! Happy to help where I am wanted (and even in some cases when i'm not!-)