We can debate this one...degreed as a Chemist, minor in Mech Eng as undergrad. Employed as Materials Engineer.

Gets even more complex if you want to know what I actually do.



Anytime you insulate hot metal parts you run the risk of increasing the probability of failure. Everything is a compromise you need to weigh out the benefits vs the negatives, 50 / 50 may be fair. Although increased performance from a turbo you accelerate wear and failure probability anyway. So it becomes a question of what will fail.



The benefit is more complex than that, it increases the efficiency of the engine by lowering the engine compartment temperatures, and minimizing the energy losses by aiding in spooling the turbo.

To wrap an exhaust system yes, but there are far better ways to insulate the hot side of the turbo. an example:

http://www.cotronics.com/vo/cotr/fc_blankets.htm

I used a similar Alumina fiber blanket on mine, they are pretty common, and easy to work with.

Correct there is NO benefit or reason to heat wrap a supercharger, it would be detrimental and would cause premature failure.

 

oops repeat

 

Well, I DEFINITELY wouldn't put one on my current car. I was more saying if I owned an R56 I wouldn't.

 

Okay, guys--wrap or not wrap your turbocharger as you wish. The real point of all of this is to reduce the scoop-melting hood temp, right? Why not just put some insulating material on the underside of the hood?

What and how?

 

That only addresses the hood scoop melting, not the temperatures in the engine bay that MAKE the hood scoop melt. There are tons of commercially available (Not too expensive either) products out there that reflect heat. Just search for it in Google.

 

Nooooo, the hood scoop sees the highest temperature post operation, or at shutdown. Regardless of whether or not the turbo is wrapped. Once the engine is shutdown the heat is still trapped under the hood, that nice soft 110C mp plastic is gonna get hot.
This mod is strictly an in operation, or while moving effect.

The reason I heat wrap is because the benefit in incremental performance coupled with the other modifications is significant enough to be worth any potential down sides.

The mini is my toy, my idea of playing with it is to fine tune the performance side of the equation, while keeping it as reasonably acceptable as possible for regular commutes.

I truly do not pay very much attention to the hood scoop temperature, after a good long trashing I do leave the hood open in the garage just to help it cool off.

 

From my personal experience after installing the WMW wrap I can beat on the car on a hot day with the air on and the bonnet scoop remains relatively cool to the touch.

 

Sounds like an R53...

 

I just can't chance this one...I would eat it if I put a CAI in for $400 and it killed something, or a new ECU for $800 or a new exhaust for $500...but I can't just drop a little ole $150 for something to wrap a part in my car.....strange....very...strange if you sit and ponder it.

 

Yep, wrap the turbo, it fails prematurely...

~750 to 900 for a new bigger turbo.

CAI, or Exhaust f's up the engine...

~ 500 to 3000 depends upon what happened.

Once you start modding you risk having to fix broken things, I see broken parts as an upgrade opportunity, either way, mod your engine you are running a higher risk of something breaking. You may get lucky and be able to get Mini to warranty it, but then maybe not. Risk is risk, performance comes at a price.

 

First of all, you don't have to spend $150 to wrap your turbo and/or exhaust header. You can do it yourself for much less. Second, evaluate the risk of failure by assessing the stock components and whether you will be exceeding their normal and max. design parameters. If you stay within the limits, you probably won't fail prematurely. I don't know what the limits are, but I can tell you I haven't even come close with a full wrap and normal to spirited driving. If you were racing, running full boost with an Alta ECU for a long period, then maybe you'd be pushing something, maybe not. A turbo is like a turbine engine and they have amazing durability due to simplicity of design. Turbo blades aren't titanium, but they are still durable enough. Bear in mind that even with the best wrap, there is still a lot of heat that escapes, just not as much.

 

rustyboy was it you who offered to "datalog" some temperature numbers or something in a pre vs post wrapped MINI in the LA area?
I ordered a turbo wrap and it should be here this week, I'm near Long Beach and am willing to try and work something out since the before after temp numbers would be interesting.

I am adding the turbo wrap to MY list of mods that I wish would have come stock from the factory:

1. lowering springs and blacked out lower rear control arms
2. tinted windows
3. stubby antenna
4. turbo wrap (sure its debatable, thats why I called it MY list)
5. painted fender arches for the hypersport body kit
... more to come

 

i've had an 07 and now an 08 JCW and the difference is night and day on hood temperatures. my new car stays cool even after a long hard drive. something is very different. very nice change. i used to really worry about the heat.

 

Let us know when you figure it out! Was your '07 early, and your '08 (relatively) late?

 

maybe if you have some pics of each? I'm a visual person....

 

That is interesting. Two things, do you have an 08 JCW Convertible? Or an 08 R56 MCS, with JCW package added? That would help for sure. If it is an R56 MCS as was the prior, your early 07 car, may not have had the scoop un blocked from the factory.

Interesting observation. We look forward to more information!

 

Exactly, hence my question. I'd really like to know how much difference there is if the scoop is open. My friend's "open" '08 seems to be just as hot as my "closed" early '07.

I think we're just going to have to remove the screen entirely on ours, as some have done.

 

Certainly can't hurt. The other thing is the cars in general will run hotter under hood temps then lets say the R53, because of the turbo, the hotter cooler temps and general design. None of that is perse' bad until a problem results. However, anything that can be done to cool things (other than the turbo itself) can be beneficial.

 

Good! I like what your trying to do, but building insulation is not the right material. When fiberglass as you noted became denser it means as a building insulation it had already failed. As you say it might have worked, but I am glad you removed and replaced it with a more appropriate material.

An architect and motorist.

 

Any POSSIBLE chance that a warranty issue would arise if I pulled out the screen entirely? I'm pretty paranoid about warranties.

I even worried about sticking the "actual size" letters on the window.

 

I can't see ANY conceivable issue with removing that. I mean even if you drove through a sheet of water, it isn't going to do anything. So I wouldn't stress and go for it!

PS: Do the sticker too!

 

Oh, I put the stickers on. It was my first mod. The second was a pair of those strap doo-hickies that help you pull the seat backs up after they've been put down. I don't think the dealer knows about them yet...

 

HAHAHAHHAHA Nice!