I'm picking up my Blue Meenie on Saturday, yay! They still need to add the fogs and stripes, but I took it out for a spin yesterday. I guess I didn't try out the AC on the original test drive, but it sucks a hell of a lot of power out of the engine. I could hardly get moving from a complete stop on an uphill with the AC on. It took forever to get to 10mph, but once I got moving it took off like a rocket. Is there a particular type of performance mod I should be looking at to help with the low-end (besides turning the AC off)?

 

Yes Two options:

* The JCW package if you want to keep your brand new warranty in tact.
* Aftermarket upgrades, like a 15% pulley reduction and new software for your chip. Voids warantee in most cases...

_________________
Happy Motoring!

 

>>Yes Two options:
>>
>>* The JCW package if you want to keep your brand new warranty in tact.
>>* Aftermarket upgrades, like a 15% pulley reduction and new software for your chip. Voids warantee in most cases...
>>
>>_________________
>>Happy Motoring!


Waitasecond. Is "Blue Meanie" an S?

 

flatfillet (that's a great name!), it isn't just the AC. See this thread on low end performance for an ongoing discussion about performance problems in new MCSs. True, the AC sucks power, and that's bound to make matters worse, but many of us with the current version of the ECU software (either via upgrade or by the fact that we have new cars) are experiencing "greyhound bus-like" off the line performance...and this has gotten worse with the advent of warmer weather.

Yeah, I know that by throwing money into mods (and perhaps killing our warantees) we can change the way the car performs, but it's ridiculous to say that this is mandatory if you want a car that doesn't drive like a bus off the line....and it's not what I bought when I decided to pay $22K for this car last year. :evil:

 

flatfillet, welcome to the MCO!! I'm sure you're going to have lots of fun here. Sorry I didn't spot you were a newbie when I first posted, sometimes I'm a little slow on the uptake

 

>>Waitasecond. Is "Blue Meanie" an S?

I hope it is. ops: Otherwise my words of wisdom weren't very wise

 

>>I'm picking up my Blue Meenie on Saturday, yay! They still need to add the fogs and stripes, but I took it out for a spin yesterday. I guess I didn't try out the AC on the original test drive, but it sucks a hell of a lot of power out of the engine. I could hardly get moving from a complete stop on an uphill with the AC on. It took forever to get to 10mph, but once I got moving it took off like a rocket. Is there a particular type of performance mod I should be looking at to help with the low-end (besides turning the AC off)?

I think the most important response is to bring engine revs to at least 2-2.5k rpm before engaging clutch, especially with AC. Once you get used to this, you can get off the line ok. However, the drive by wire throttle response is very slow, and further reduced by the AC.
See this other post:
stumble and AC
I don;t know if any particular mod will really help with the throttle response issue. Pulley and JCW, but both will give you some more low end grunt, but I do not think they will increase initial throttle at idle with AC on.
Cheers,
M.

 

I agree that the problem still lies with the "stumble" issue. With the A/C on at low RPMs you're going nowhere fast. The only thing to do is to rev high at takeoff as mentioned above and hope for a solution for MINIUSA.
I know it sucks, I total hate the problem.

Peter

 

I didn't think they were talking about the stumble. I thought it was just a general comment of the MCS's lack of low end torque coupled with it's high 1st gear gear ratio.

 

I have found that the pulley mod makes a big difference off the line - A/C on or off. It's noticeable, I can't imagine Freebird without it now.

Raven

 

Ravenwhyte: I second that in a big way. My MCS's drivability is really great - especially off the line :smile: !!

Regards,
Ron

 

It is sad that the A/C seems to use 40 hp and in stock trim its not very scary, but that what they make engine mods for and it is great to have this level of feedback as to what works and what doesn't from the owners . The pulley,ecu,intake,and exhaust and you will be happy with the power...ws

 

Hi, grade A Newbie here. Throttle response is more an issue of the weight of the flywheel vs. horsepower. Horsepower/Torque does give low end "grunt" however a lighter flywheel will key up much quicker. To be honest I like the rev to 2.5 on the tach before clutch engagement. All the lightweight flywheels i've seen are very expensive, labor intensive to install and at this point , to me, are just not worth voiding the warrenty. Just my 2 cents .

 

I got thinking about how to describe the difference the pulley makes. I wanted to be more empirical than "it feels better." Here's what I came up with:

A/C on Auto, setting 'LO' (coldest) - 1st gear from stop, ~1300 RPM, no appreciable lag from stop

A/C on Auto, setting 'LO' (coldest) - acceleration from 3k - 5k - 'feels' like it did prior to the pulley mod.

Hope this helps,
Raven

PS: ROn - I also have a PS/Silver w/black roof, do you think it might be the killer color combo?

 

Oddly enough I've gotten into the habit of turning off my ac at lights, once I'm at the front of the line of traffic I turn it back on. I think they need to find a better condensor (sp?) for the smaller engine.

 

I appreciate the feedback, and yes, Blue's an "s". It seems the verdict is basically go for the pulley. I like the flywheel idea too.
The dealership offered me a ridiculously low amount for my trade-in, so I had to cut a rather large check. I guess I'll be using the poor man's approach by shutting off the A/C at hill stops until I can sell my old car. Anyone want a 540i sport?

 

Good to see you back, flatfillet :smile:

_________________
Happy Motoring!

 

Yeah, they offered 12k on a 21k blue book. Maybe they were just dislexic?