Not to unfairly point out R-Speed with this, but the kit HERE looks similar to their Cooper kit. And MUCH cheaper.

Couple of points about it:
1) They say it's for the Cooper S. Looks like it would work better with the Cooper.
2) The pipe is made of polished metal, instead of R-Speed's plastic. So, it would retain heat more. (However, wrapping it in inexpensive heat sheild should solve that.)
3) The filter manufacturer is unknown.

What else is there? If I could live with the above, why wouldn't I purchase this for $52.85 (including shipping) vs. $102.05 (including shipping).

Again, I am not trying to knock R-Speed at all, just asking.

-Rob

 

It does look like its for the cooper, but I wouldnt trust those kits from ebay. No warrenty, and you dont really know who your buying from.

 

>>Not to unfairly point out R-Speed with this, but the kit HERE looks similar to their Cooper kit. And MUCH cheaper.
>>
>>Couple of points about it:
>>1) They say it's for the Cooper S. Looks like it would work better with the Cooper.
>>2) The pipe is made of polished metal, instead of R-Speed's plastic. So, it would retain heat more. (However, wrapping it in inexpensive heat sheild should solve that.)
>>3) The filter manufacturer is unknown.
>>
>>What else is there? If I could live with the above, why wouldn't I purchase this for $52.85 (including shipping) vs. $102.05 (including shipping).
>>
>>Again, I am not trying to knock R-Speed at all, just asking.


>>
>>-Rob
>>
>>

This is a cheap kit in my mind.. and here are the reasons regarding this.

First, this is not a cold Air, there is no heat shield. Second, you do not know the brand of filter they use. I have gotten quotes on filters from tiawan, and the cost was 3.50 Yes.. I said 3.50. I had one of them, and they are actually rather restrictive, and have bad filtering capabilites.

If you asked me the results from this, I would say that you would probably loose power on the S with this intake because of heat loss.

I could be wrong, this is all opinion.

Thanks
Dan
Pilo Racing

 

Thanks for the reply, Dan.

I wasn't itching to buy it, just curious.

FWIW, I actually have a Cooper. And that was more my question since it looked sooo much like the other Cooper CAI kits.

-Rob

 

Well I bought one. Not because I thought it was better than any of the others but that I needed a metal pipe to tap my water injection system into instead of the jury rigged system I had with the rubber hose. And this was cheaper and easier than sourcing one locally.

I was very pleasently surprised.

The element is slightly wider and shorter than the BMP unit. The color of the filter material is identical to the BMP. If you hold them up to the light the porosity is indistinguishable. It does not seem to be oiled. You've got to do that!

It comes with silicone adapters and hose clamps to connect the downpipe to the throttle body. The pipe is chromed aluminium and tapped for the hose with a clean weld. The angle and the small silicone hose in the kit allows it to fit perfectly. God only knows what the bracket is for. Maybe to support the battery terminal. Haven't had the time to screw around with it.

There are no directions!

You must rempve the cold air snorkel so that it will fit into the box (without the top. It will not fit under the BMP heat shield.

I will be fabricating a simple 2.5" pipe to route the cold air intake closer to the filter element.

Performance? Well I had just cleaned my BMP and this unit feels a bit better. Maybe the loss of that silly corregated rubber hose was enough to make a small difference.

Quite frankly, if you don't have to follow directions to make things work this "kit" for $55 delivered is a steal.

 

Well for that price and the joy of tinkering it is quite a bargain for the industrious and creative would be semi literate pre-MINI tuner. And your MINI thanks you, too.

Sometimes you just need some good spare parts to do some work that might lead to something better.

Be a Ben Franklin and not a couch potatoe. Good work. You have stimulated the ecomomy once again.