So if I put a 19% on my stock tune with stock heat range plugs out in 100F Cali......I'm going to be fine?

 

are you a HPDE 11/10ths guy or the 8/10ths that they always talk about in the driving review sessions?

Matt

 

You forgot to mention altitude ! Haaa, ...
Who said anything about a 19%??

 

You said stock tune, not stock car. Just trying to clarify the information for everyone.
The stock tune with mods can be a crap-shoot as well.

 

OK guys going back to the spin, first of all the car felt strong until after the spin. It happened so fast that I am not sure if I did "both feet in" maneuver or not. I probably forgot as the car did stall after the spin.

I called the shop and they have already received the JCW head and it is already installed. Mechanic says the car starts but he will not do any further testing until getting the JCW spark plugs that were not in stock...that will not happen until monday.

I will ask if he was able to retrive codes and will ask what they were to share. He already used my injectors so I think it might be a little late now to send them for testing.
I will go to the shop on monday to witness compression testing and leak down tests.

And finally, what is consider acceptable results for compression testing?.

 

Cucho I hope you can get the codes. They are of some interest.

The best compression test would result with each cylinder the same, leak down should also be the same

 

Thanks for the info.

 

Thanks Alan...I bet you had a blast at TWS

 

I picked up my car on Friday. Compression test was perfomed and result was within manufacturer's specs.

I have not been driving the car hard yet as I am allowing the new head and valves to settle but I already feel the car as de-tuned. I will drive the car as is for 2K just to make sure NO issues arise, then I will install a cam and re-tune. I will get dynos (pre and after mods) to see gains...but all of that will be part of a different thread.
Thanks for all your help!.

Moderator pls close this thread

 

Just for grins.. would do MY OWN compression test... could you?? and let us know the numbers??

Just a thought..

Thumper

 

Did you inspect block/cylinders before mechanic installed head? If not, did mechanic say anything from which you could deduce whether he actually did anything to remove the rust from the cylinders? If not, don't ask him leading questions ("You did hone out the rust from the cylinders, didn't you?!!, And you wiped out the rust from the cylinders too, right?"), but see what he might offer by way as steps he followed to make sure no long term consequences of the breakdown.

I do not think a responsible mechanic would leave the bores dry like that so that they rusted like that. I suspect that iron oxide will cause accelerated wear of your rings, and if excessive and not wiped out of the bores, will wash down into the crankcase and get into the oil, with long term affect on the bearings. These wear consequences are long term and a warranty, is likely to be of little consequence.

IMHO you definitely should get independant compression and leak down test.

I'd get this all sorted out, and pre-breakdown performance back before you install more mods which could be blamed for subsequent failure.

I am not a mechanic, but I doubt there is any "break-in" required for new cylinder head. Improved performance should be immediate result of new cylinder head.

 

[quote=SteveS;2655912]

IMHO you definitely should get independant compression and leak down test.

I will follow your advise and get a third party to run compression test and maybe dyno numbers...I still have the dyno numbers prior to my custom tune so I will be good to compare both.

And yes, I already started stepping on the gas...and sure enough I got a ticket last nite

 

i swear hearing all these stories makes me more and more scared to do anymore to my car. I had a spark plug blow out on me last Friday night and it might not be covered under warranty cuz I had Denso IK22's in it when it happened. Now I'm wondering....do I have bent valves too? I'm not ready to spend any money on a rebuilt head when I only have 39000 miles on 3 year old car. And what if it was the tune? i really want one but its not worth risking all this. I just don't like the way these cars behave in general. I have a 98 Toyota Tacoma with 187000 miles on it and have had less problems with it (well I have only had one and it was a simple replacenemt of an air-fuel raito sensor at 120K more like regular maintenance) then my Mini has in less than 40K It has been a very problematic car and very unreliable. I had the flywheel, my speedo, pass seat airbag sensor, and brakes all replaced under warranty and now I have a plug blow out (never heard of that before on any other car) and need a hydr motor mount! Unfortunately its a blast to drive and I have so much fun it it. Damn these cars!!!!

Steve

 

The spark plug blew out do to LACK of maintenance!! The spark plug loosen up. It will start bouncing in the threads, the more it bounces, the more threads it destroys. Then after a time the plug will blow out of the head!! MINI's fault?? NO way!! It is the drivers/owners/mechanic/ maintenance shops... for NOT torquing the plugs!! or at least checking the plugs!!

What does it take to check the plugs once in a while?? You can NOT twist them in so tight they wont come out.. you have to check them!! Oh and the plug blowing out of an aluminum head IS common!!

YOUR issue?? Doubtful there is any damage. Yes the dealer CAN decline the repair as they are aftermarket plugs.. showing it wasn't the heads fault! Get a set of stock plugs from a friend and install those and THEN go to the dealer!!... Cheating?? come on it is a dealer.. they have been cheating for Decades!! LOL

Good luck!

Just me...........................

Thumper


edit.. just for you!!

 

Thumper - much respect - you usually speak truth and wisdom.... but your bedside manner is crap.

Vernon - I feel your pain... but I doubt you have any valve issues at this point... aftermarket plugs blow out on MINIs pretty frequently... as Thumper said, lack of torque... and it seems that some of the aftermarket plugs perhaps are threaded on the "small" side of the tolerances, which makes them more prone to loosen over time...

As for the tune debate.... the only way to know for sure is to collect good AFR/EGT data AFTER the car is rebuilt and BEFORE changing anything else... but I highly doubt it was the tune... too many other more likely culprits here... the simplest explanation is usually (though not always) the correct one... many, many of us running HARD on these tunes without these issues.

FWIW, some cars run well with few issues... I have 50K HARD miles, almost all with a pulley, quite a few with other significant mods, with only a ruptured CV boot and a leaky oil pan gasket and a leaky thermostat gasket - none of which are a big deal... need a re-tune now due to some additional mods I've added, but that's not the tune's fault, nor the car's fault...

Good luck with your issues. Sounds like, worst case, you may need a helicoil...

 

LOL Bed side?? Me??? lol

Worst case.. on the tune issue!! No power!! The cam chain will drop when the head is off... it is said that when it drops, it is OK and just pull it up and all is fine!! WELL... the chain can loosen around the crank sprocket, ( happened to us) and move 1 tooth!! IF the chain falls to the retard side.. the power will suck!! The engine will have all the sounds of befor... just NO power. Thus the need for YOU to run a fast and easy compression test!! IF the camshaft is retarded the compression will be down to 120 PSI!! SOOOooo... this is why I suggested that YOU do the compression test!! Oh when you have done it... dont forget to make sure the spark plugs are tight..LOL

Just a thought..

Just me................. the one with ALL the manners!!

Thumper

 

Seriously..... don't you think you should pay vendor fees?

There are many vendors who pay monthly for business and deserve to earn people's business

 

MAINTENANCE?! Are you kidding me? Like I said before I've changed the plugs on my pickup once maybe twice in 80K miles (yeah I know I need to change them again!! LOL) and I will guarantee on anything that if I was to go out there right now and try and take any of them off they will all be as tight as when I PUT THEM IN!!! I'm sick of people saying that they are coming loose because of user install error. I worked at a Toyota dealer for 2 1/2 years and have been in the car business for over 7 and I've changed plenty of spark plugs and none have loosened up on me. Its only now when I buy a German car that now this is an issue. I'm sorry to tell you but checking spark plug tightness is NOT regular maintenance.

Even if I had installed them with a torque wrench and did the anti-seize compound and blah blah, if I didn't further check them afterward then I still would have been wrong because someone would say well you still have to check them. Well if I installed them "correctly" and tightened them to specification, why the F should I have to then check them on a regular basis????? This whole German car ownership experience has been very confusing for me and now I see why only people who love VW's keep going back to them. I guess I'm just a Japanese kind of guy (even though my ancestry leads back to Germany???)

Paul thanks for the sympathy! If it is due to the threads are cut incorrectly on the plugs then I'll accept that but I know there were a few people on here that had it happen to them with the factory plugs as well.

Just found out a little while ago that the dealer isn't going to cover it under warranty. I understand why they're NOT covering it under warrant but I can't understand why they would not want to cover it under warranty! I really can't understand because of the amount of money that they can make off the repair. I brought them my old factory plugs and its simply just a matter of doing the repair and when MINI USA calls for the head back for inspection you just simply put the factory plugs in the head and send it back. meanwhile the tech bangs the job out in 6-8 hours and the dealership gets paid 15-17 from MINI USA to rebuild the head and the dealer pockets all the extra time. Happens every day in a dealership....not uncommon practice at all. As far as the helicoil goes I think I'm gonna try the TimeSert instead. Seems like a more permanent solution and I'm afraid of the Helicoil blowing out if I take the car to the track this summer along with my RMW tune I'm hoping to get soon.

Steve

 

Coming back to the name of the thread... What is the gain in HP/TQ from JCW head over stock head. Let's say if just to put JCW head instead of stock on a car with JCW CAI/15% pulley/JCW exhaust/JCW injectors/JCW ECU. I just want to evaluate it's efficiency in numbers.

 

Not worth the cost

 

So is his standard of ethics based on the misrepresentation he encouraged from someone else. Can you trust this person to be honest if he claims a return core is unusable? Does this mean it is ok to return a knowingly defective core to a head provider?

Kudos to Steve for choosing the honest approach regardless of where he places ultimate blame. There may indeed be slight of hand going on in the service side, but that’s not justification for lowering personal standards.

 

You're right, k. That justifies my stealer quoting me *9 hours* this week to replace a water pump that they can't prove is leaking, which they won't warranty because I have an aftermarket pulley. Even though I could replace it in half that time in my garage... and the warranty rate for replacing said water pump is 4.5 hours.... really encourages the rest of us to take the high road.

 

I know that I just want to know the difference in performance in numbers

 

Kudos to BC for being able to replace a water pump in 4.5 hrs. It takes me all of a long summer day (insert turtle emoticon here).

 

Everything takes longer in Texas. But it's worth the wait.