Hi everyone!


I have a 2004 MCS (built on November 2003, so pre-facelift).

I really like that car, it’s my baby. I store it in a garage all winter long to preserve it from the salty roads and keep it longer in mint condition.

That car is completely stock (except for the wheels, but I kept the same dimension; 17 inches). I’m the kind of guy who likes to keep car stock. If you don’t like the car the way you bought it, then buy something else. This is the problem I’m living with! And I really admire you guys who are able to modify your car!

So. Here I am with my hesitation. I would want to give some vitamins to my Mini and I’d like the super charger to be louder.

Here a grocery list I did for next summer:
-Alta version 2 SuperCharger Pulley (15%)
-Alta intake combo pack R53
-Alta tensioner stop

There is 37000 miles on the clock.

I’m scare to dead to do those changes on the Mini… Not because I don’t have the skills to do it, but because it’s not oem parts… (How crazy am I?)

Is it good mods to start with? I don’t want to shorten the live of my Mini.

Thanks guys for your input

Mart

 

everyone will probably tell you the same thing.
intake to make it whine a little bit louder and give it more air
pulley to wake up the supercharger
I dont think there is 1 person on this forum that doesnt have something done to their car that isnt oem parts.
most dealers are pretty easy going and know that we mod are cars.
but some dont like it

 

The first two mods I did to mine where the pulley (15% from Helix) and the Alta intake. At the time the only tensioner stop available was from GTT and it was reported to rattle so I didn't do it at that time. Eventually I got the Detroit Tuned tensioner stop and it already saved my a$$ once, so if you do the pulley, definitely do the tensioner, whichever one you choose.

The SC will be loud with that combo, trust me. Although I have the silicone inlet tube from Alta which does not have the sound chamber that the oem tube has. You also hear a bunch of hissing sounds and a whistle sound at a particular range of RPM's from the throttle body, just normal sounds that are otherwise deadened by the oem setup. If you have the opportunity to listen to one before purchasing it, do it. Some people like the sounds, some don't. I'm guessing that if you like to usually keep stuff in stock form, the extracurricular sounds might not be to your liking, but who knows.


If I were to do it again, I would probably choose a JCW intake over the alta, but that's just me.

Do you plan to do this yourself? These are pretty basic and tame mods done to alot of MINIs, so I wouldn't worry about the life of your car too much. Maybe the life of the SC might be somewhat compromised, but if you only have 37k miles on an '04, I wouldn't worry about it.

I recommend you search older threads, there are PLENTY of similar threads and there is a lot of really good feedback throughout the history of the site. It will just take you some time to sift through them due to the wonderful vBulletin search engine.

Enjoy the mods, you will feel you have a new car all over again...

 

I agree with the others here. Pulley and intake are great first choices that will absolutely put a smile on your face.

Where do you live? As some member here might be close enough to give you a hand, if not just do the installs altogether for you. I'd help if you were in my area.

Have a blast!

 

I live in Saint-Hyacinthe. It's a town 30 minutes from Montreal, Quebec, Canada.

It seems the only question I have is how I will release the tension on the belt, I don't have the belt tensioner tool...

 

As onasled said.....check to see if there is a club or other mini owners in your area they may have the tensioner tool.

And have fun!

 

If you are planning on keeping your car a long time, invest in the tensioner tool. It will make belt swaps later much easier.

You might consider getting the JCW parts, since you on about OEM parts and all. The JCW pulley not as big of a reduction as 15% though.

 

First thing I did was get the ALTA CAI, and then a can of plasti-dip to cover some chrome things.

 

Only mod I have done are poly bushings.

Very happy with the way the car came out of the box.

 

Do it! After that, you'll say: I should have done it sooner. Don't forget to install a shorter belt especially at your present mileage. Add a 19 mm rear sway bar too and you'll be smiling for a long time.

 

get the 19% pulley, 380 injectors, and a GIAC flash. All can be had for under a grand (maybe even installed) and you will get a nice gain!