Once again, we are in need of Mr. Webbs broad knowledge to enlighten us as to which one best deserve our hard earned cash. The price spectrum is so wide too. Anyone care to compare? Randy, comments...please?

 

I will certainly have some comments after I have all three here to compare. I should be doing the Shark test in the next two weeks. After talking with Eric at Helix, I'm not sure when the GIAC will be available for testing. As soon as it is, I will be sure to do the eval on that as well.

Randy

 

For these chip upgrades-
Does any offer a bit more performance (for the price) in the case of an MC ECU upgrade vs that for the MCS?

Or- If you have the MC then the choices are :
Are all ECU upgrades rather limited? or
Maybe one of these might be worth the effort to install-all depends on price- roughly $300+

For the MCS- the question is- for the cost:
Is one ECU upgrade better suited to a fully modded MCS vs a moderately modded one.
Is there provision for selecting files that would account for individual mods added to an MCS?

Looking forward to the comparisons. New products likely to be still a month or two off- So I am happy to wait for now. With great interest of course. I would like the R&D to be fully tested and the products top notch before I buy.

 

Unfortunately, the Shark injector will not be available for the MC. Perhaps later but not in Jim Conforti's present plans according to Josh at Eurosport.

 

>>I will certainly have some comments after I have all three here to compare. I should be doing the Shark test in the next two weeks. After talking with Eric at Helix, I'm not sure when the GIAC will be available for testing. As soon as it is, I will be sure to do the eval on that as well.
>>
>>Randy

Oh, I can hardly wait...well....at least until the Detroit Pully Party


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Unfortunately, along the lines of what Randy said, I think you asked this question too soon. Time will tell. The powerchips looks great and it's available but pricey. The GIAC has incredible potential, IMO, but is still being tested and and price has yet to be determined although they are "aiming" for the $500 range. The shark has yet to be evaluated by anyone and apparently is just shipping out as we speak. I know I'm impatient too but hopefully we'll soon see.

 

curious to why no development for these products with the MC's?

can anyone shed some light?

thanks,
Danny

 

DC,

We did do development on the Cooper, and an upgrade from Powerchip and Webb Motorsports is available. Greater throttle response, and a gain of 7-9 horsepower. $490.

The reason there isn't that much going on for the Cooper is two fold -

One, the car is basically a hopped up MINI One form the factory, so a lot of the components are already optimized.

Two, The interest simply hasn't been there. There have been 10/1 ratios for customers interested in hot rodding their cars (MCS/MC). That said, I am considering getting a Cooper for development next year to see if there were products out there that were worth having, if Cooper owners may show more interest.

Hope that helps!

Randy

 

Eric (Helix) will be working on the GIAC chip for the Cooper after the MCS testing is done...

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>>DC,
>>
>>We did do development on the Cooper, and an upgrade from Powerchip and Webb Motorsports is available. Greater throttle response, and a gain of 7-9 horsepower. $490.

That was sort of the upgrade I was expecting. I have just been on your site and see no mention of this. I do, however, see a $720 ecu upgrade for the MCS with pulley.

So, how would I see this MC option for $490? You might be able to sell these to interested MC owners if they were aware they were available.

Thanks,

 

Great point - which is why the site is currently under upgrade. Very cool stuff on the new site - all of the new products, plus the new logo, customer cars, an order only phone line, online shopping cart (gasp), and another really neat feature that will be announced when the site is up. Look for the new site within the next week.

Randy

 

If you look at MINI sales, at least in my area the MC with CVT is a great seller. Can't keep it in stock at all. Given that most owners are using the car as a daily driver, they may not be interested in boosting performance but there are owners that want to do more with the CVT and don't want the MCS (manual transmission, don't like the looks, don't want the weight).

If I had to do things all over again an interesting project car might be the lower tech route of MC with CVT and then race it stock with lighter 16" wheels. Drop in intake, maybe a cat back exhaust. Stock sport plus suspension. Enough hardware to work but mostly drive with skill to get results. All else in mods can be done for appearance- aerokit, paintjob, stripes, etc. Or for feel and safety- seats, harnesses, short shifter.

Then as a stage two level- exhaust header, ECU upgrade, ignition upgrade, full suspension upgrade, stage 1 brake upgrade (could do that early). Could get HP up in the 130-140 range. Lighter overall weight. It would be a good car to drive- very fun.

Sounds like my next project car for my son.