I read that reducing the supercharger pulley to 15% is one of the cheapest and best ways to upgrade the engine (so I did). I want to know what else is fairly cheap and inexpensive? Are the Nology wires worth it? What about the Blaster coil from MSD? Would it really be worth over 1K to upgrade the header/exhaust? Who would you go with? Many thanks.

 

Yes, no, no, yes, no, yes, yes, no, but not necessarily in that order.

CAI would be up there next.....Wires, not so much. Header/exhaust yes, but if you're going in that direction, look at your upgrades as a whole--ie are you looking at Injectors, a head, header, cam down the road? If so, I'd look to find a system that's going to work/play well together, and a tune to finish it all off, otherwise you're going to be spending a bunch of money redoing things.

So best advice is to determine what your longterm goals are, what you're going to use the car for, put those in this thread, and you'll get more meaningful info.

 

Rog! I forgot to mention I already did the CAI and now looking to do something more. I use my MCS for daily use as most, but would like to pull up to another or another contendor and bring a smile to their face as I pull away. I don't want to forfeit longevity though as I plan on keeping Lucie for a long time coming.

 

Pulley, intake, JCW injectors, one-ball exhaust mod.........lots of folks are getting a very reliable 210-220 hp with just these mods and a custom dyno tune.

 

Are the 380-400 injectors worth the money or needed with a 15% pulley? I was listening on youtube all last night on different exhaust systems and can't really seem to find a liking. The OBX is priced nice and if it's just really for sound then the cheaper the better I would think. Is it really worth replacing the header as well. My old man told me it's risky considering the pain and suffering of trying to get an aftermarket to fit properly.

 

You will not get much HP from an exhaust system for the money invested. It all really just comes down to sound preference.

The injectors will give some additional headroom for the custom tune to use.

If you want to go all out, then the next step would be a head, cam, header, exhaust and you have to get a custom tune then.

 

K, thanks for the info. I just purchased a sprint booster last night as well and I should be installing it hopefully by next Monday.

 

Don't dismiss the custom tune. besides the pulley this is what can really get the most out of our cars. The canned plug and pray tunes can't do the same.

 

I reset the ECM yesterday to update for the few mods and driving condition since my last relocation, but the custom tune you think will be good huh? Where did you get yours? How much?

 

Don't waste your money on the tune until you have figured out what other mods you are going to do. Best to only pay for the tune once.

Do a search for RMW, Mynes, Way Motor Works. They all offer top notch dyno tunes.

 

Kool, hey thanks a bunch for the cost efficient info. As you can see I'm new to NAM, but it's really helping out. Thanks again.

 

check out this thread, should give you some ideas:

https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...-your-mcs.html

 

Getting the JCW Tuning Kit for the R56 also reprograms the engine software. CAI, Exhaust, and reprograming.

 

I have an R53 and R50

I just ran seafoam through both vehicles and my ducati 748 and what a difference. That stuff is far better then lucas fuel injector cleaner hands down.

 

 

I just read the info on the one ball exhaust mod and wow! What a great way to get your car sounding good for hardly nothing. This is great learning how to mod the car for little bucks. This forum is great and the folks are more then helpful. Thanks again all!

Do you guys think I could go to a local exhaust store (midas, local mechanic) that they would know what to do for the one ball or would I have to explain it?

 

Also, reading about the mods I'm doing Mike recommends doing the 550cc injectors. I was wondering what this will do to my fuel economy. What are others opinion on using the 550cc if I really don't plan on doing anything more then the 15% maybe 2%, CAI, one ball, maybe headers/cam, and SB. It said the 240cc (factory) injectors will work but be stressed. I'm cool with stressed just not broke.
Also, I'm not sure if all this belongs in a different thread and I should stop adding to this one. Again, I'm new and I don't want to make waves. Thanks again.

 

There are a lot of maybes in there....

If you're contemplating the other things, I'd go with larger injectors, 380 at the least. 550 will cover all the bases...

 

What do you think about getting the one ball done at a normal midas or local mechanic? Possible or defenitly not something their do.

 

Bigger injectors does not equal to less fuel economy... it all depends on how the car is tuned. All the cars with the 550's have reported BETTER than pre-tune fuel economy

For the R50, you shouldn't go more than 400cc (with cam, header, bvh, etc); for the R53, 550cc is able to support all the mods you can throw at it - including the turbo conversion. Remember the two cars use different injector plugs... and we carry Bosch OE injectors for both models (R50 and R53).

cheers.

 

Aight. Thanks Mike.

 

Get the one-ball done at a local muffler shop. If they don't understand what to do, just draw a picture.....LOL

If you are going to stick to the usual mods and be happy with 210-220 HP stick with the JCW 380cc injectors. No need to go bigger unless you are planning to go all out on the mods. The custom tune you get will be able to use them with no problem.

 

I called my local mechanic and he looked at me crazy but it's getting done tomorrow for $40. Yea, after a little research I dont' think the header/cam is the something I need nor the 550cc injectors. I'm just going to stick with the SB, CAI, one-ball, and 15% pulley. What do you think about keeping the factory injectors for the above mods?

 

They will be fine. Only reason I got the JCW ones was I do track days and they will perform better at prolonged high rpm's. Depending on the tune you can get the rpm limit can be raised, then it might be a good idea to get the larger (JCW) injectors.

 

Can you upgrade a Cooper R50 (non S) with the same JCW injectors?

Also is it worth upgrading to Iridium spark plugs + new blaster coils (MSD) and new ignition wires ?