i have done my cold air intake and 15% pully along with the one ball mod . i would like to add more power . what would be the next step ?
i feel that the cost of cat back exhaust systems are way over priced and i would gain very little over what i have now.
i was thinking of a 2% crank pully but do not want to cause excessive stress on the super charger or over heat the cat. depending on what aftermarket site i go to they have diffrent opinions on sc pully sizes.
i just bought the car 2 months ago with the idea of getting back into slalom racing. (use to race honda crx's for 12 years)
any ideas ?

 

Well I have my own opinions about crank pulleys, however

Best bang for the $ is probably going to be an ECU tune.

However if you look more long term a head before an ECU tune would lead to a greater potential power. Of course you canalso always update the ECU tune.

If you consistantly do a LOT of high rev driving an improved IC may also be a valid consideration.

There I've answeredthe power question. The best bang for the buck out on the course is probably eat up the seasons end of AutoX and get in a final Saturday or two at the track with an instructor in the car. Always somthing t learn to shave a little time off and an AutoX is a good enviroment to find the limits of the car (where you'll probably find suspension tweaking and if you do the track braking improvement esp in the way of cooling) is where you'll likely want to expendthe mod budget.

Also remember there are a ton of FREE ways to significantly lighten the load, some more time comsuming than others.

 

I know you stated wanting to add more power, but you also hinted about slalom racing. If its like Autox in which your really not going past 2nd or possibly 3rd gear. (and of course if you havent done so alread) The next steps would be Tires and suspension. Simply because in those low of gears you should have more power than what they can put down at the moment. (ok well atleast mine does.) If your staying with the 15% the 2% crank is just fine. As you can tell from my Sig i have been running the 19% +2 for just over 4 years and as of Last month and 60k miles with the set up. I ran into my first problem in that #3 spark plug came loose and striped out of the head. (this I have been reading on is becoming common around the 70k mark).

Something else since you didnt state what year the MINI was. Only that you bought it about 2 months ago. If its a Pre 05. You may want to think about a tranny swap. The lower gears on the new Tranny will seem like adding another 10-20 WHP. also you maybeable to find the one with a LSD option if you dont have that already as well. The new Trannied car have been able to pull almost a car length on me from a dead stop and i have to play catch up from there on.

As for what Motor on stated.. I agree with him on those respects. ECU tuning is a great next step since you can get the car tune to where it will better suit the application you wanted for. As for Head vs tranny. If you already have the new Tranny then the Head is Great next step since it can be expanded on later as in tunning , Headers and Intake

Hope my rambling has helped alittle. Yes i know i dont come across that well in typing opinions but i try

 

Rear sway bar!

 

thanx for the info guys.
i am working on suspension as well , i have parts on order. i have my old tire sponsor that will be getting me tires for free.
as much as i would love to throw tons of money at the car ... i am just a average guy with a morgage/ wife /and 2 kids to feed , so tranny swaps are out of the question.

looks like you both agree on a ecu tune , what one do you recomend ?
i think i will grab a m7 2% pully as well.

 

Really, it's the best mod for the engine after the pulley. Sure it's not cheap, but this is where shopping around can help. Save the $, don't get a pulley for the crank, don't get an IC, don't get an exhaust, just save save save. Get the head.

I did one for under $2k with a bunch of cool stuff on it. Prices, as well as performance, vary all over the place.

Matt

 

I'll agree with most of what Dr. O said, but, price per Hp. a crank pulley I would bet is still cheaper, "hp per dollar" than a head, what you think? And since most of us have this "sickness" we will still spend the money on all these peripheral parts anyway, im try to justify what iv'e done . P.S. im putting on a 2% crank today lol.

 

Yeah +1 to the Dr.. Once you get a head all the little things add up much better.

 

considering the "avg. guy" - get yourself a tune and stop there. If you are located near Maryland go see Lucky Dog Garage or Emil on the West Coast.

 

Don't go with a 2% crank. Leave your pulley / crank at 15% because anything more can cause problems. Let me put it this way, JCW is just a 15% pulley (no crank change) and they are warrantied, so you can be assured that the 15% pulley is safe.

In terms of cheap mods your next step is definitely a CAI (cold air intake). The K&N filter is quite good, as is the Alta CAI.

If you don't want to go the "large expensive" route on your exhaust, I highly recommend the one-ball mod. It's cheap (~$100) and honestly the numbers aren't far off from the expensive catback solutions.

Lastly if you got the pulley you really should get the one-colder spark plugs to go with it, otherwise your car's throttle will be really twitchy in first gear (and for me it sometimes was even in 2nd gear). The NGK Iridium IX plugs are my recommended plugs. 4 of these will run you $60 which is a bargain.

From there, there's a lot more you can do but it starts getting (more) expensive.

 

Get a CAI and custom tuned software. If you have 2.5k a P&P head

 

Listen to Dr. O ... this has been discussed before

After the usual mods ... bang for buck?

Forget about all that bolt-on stuff that is mostly a means to separate you from your money and get to the serious work. Save your money from all that small stuff and build the engine from the bottom up. (so to speak)

 

I am going to agree with Mario. I gained 19hp and 10tq after my custom ecu tuning.

 

Custom tune is going to be my next step. Head maybe when warrenty runs out but not sure because then theres the cam, valves, etc... I ask a boat racer what I should do to my 60mph boat to make it go 80mph...He said to buy a 80mph boat, it would be cheaper and better...

 

ok you guys got me convinced on a ecu tune ..... i see the shark injector is the cheapest one around. would you recomend it ?

 

 

sounds like the shark is not worth its money , i think the unichip is over priced as well. anyone know of a place to get a custom ecu tune ? i live on vancouver island bitish columbia canada.

 

 

Figure out what "deficit" the car has which you would like to correct and go from there. You might want to hitch a ride with a good driver and see if just driving better or tracking the car will get you the excitement you yearn for. Check out

dpcars.net

and see what a basically stock car can do.

Personally, I think the handling is the real strength of the Mini, so I vote for the stiffer rear sway bar and then some performance tires. I use Falken Azenis on my stock x-lites and they, in combination with the stiffer rear sway bar, literally transform the car. They are good for street and track, so long as it doesn't rain much. (I'm in SoCal).

Be forewarned that modding is a very slippery slope. I have the RMW cylinder head and it transforms the car as well.

 

larger air box or unrestricted air intake.

 

If you're running stock wheels (such as 25 lb SLites), a switch to something light weight will benefit the car in terms of straightline performance, braking, and handling...

You can get 14-17 lb wheels for < $200 per rim new, or check the wheels for sale section here for some deals from members selling theirs.

Plus, a new set of wheels typically enhances the look of your car and personalizes it a bit for you.

For all the people saying CAI or air intake, please notice that in the first line, he already has it done...

 

i have done the intake , 15% pulley , one ball exhaust mod . i have on order a rear 22mm rear swaybar from alta , h&r springs , and i just bought a obx header from ebay for $165 .
i contacted a place over on the mainland to get a price on a ecu tune but have not heard back yet.

what about a cam ? i see mini-mania has one for around $400 dollars.

 

 

got this reply back from a place not to far from me.
The cost would be $452. To have your ecu flashed with GIAC software. Gains would be 18-20hp
is this a true expected gain for doing a flash ?