YESSSSS my time has finally come, to start moding my r53, ive been waiting for about 6 months for this day to come. Ive been following all these threads about what to mod my car with, but i want some educated ideas, about where to start? help.. im thinking a new Alta CAI, maybe an invidia exhaust, and a new pulley size, maybe like 17%.. anyone have any suggestions.....best parts/ better exhaust sound/ better CAI...thanks!!!

 

Woo hoo! First thing I did was performance wise was K&N cold air intake and I got rid of my run flat tires with 18" breytons + good rubber, now I will take care of some maintenance and then do the smaller pulley

Welcome

 

15% pulley; any brand is fine. DDM Works CAI; it's about the closest to a CAI out there. Invidia exhaust; very sporty tone and blued titanium tips to boot. Tune.

17% pulley is a bit high and may require upgraded injectors. You will also start dealing with heightened intake temperature issues. The extra 2% does not yield much more flow/HP until you upgrade the head and/or cam.

 

i agree with the ddm works cai, really they all generate about the same power, which ammounts to not much, but the ddm is a little bit of a better design. HOWEVER, personally id buy the alta again because it is the loudest and i LOVE the supercharger whine.
as for exhaust go with a stratmosphere, sweet sound, and it has the right amount of back pressure to actually give you more horsepower and more torque. 15% pully is a great option if you see the high rpms a lot, if you mainly see lower rpm range, just go for the 17%. (id recommended the way motor works pulley, so far it probably has the best track record on NOT having any belts shred or wear fast)

BUT by far the #1 mod you should do... IS BUY A BENTLEY MINI COOPER S SERVICE MANUAL!!!!
its the most helpful too :P

second thing is ditch the run flats and put a can of tire goo in your trunk with a pump.
from there, then id start moddign the engine.
and dont forget about brakes ans suspension, you cant give the car too much go with out some extra stopping power or handling or see youl get yourself into way much too trouble.

oh, and when you do push the car... take it to the track... cause you will get cause in the most random places...
cause after 1 T109 reckless and
1 ticket for 35 over around a 25mph rollover turn, i would know
and the money i COULD have paid for both of those tickets is enough for a HPDE event and about 5 other races.
(t109 was dropped though, no court even and expunged form my record, and the second the officer wanted to pick his kid up from school on his b-day 250 miles away and i was his only case [statie] so he dropped it from 445 and 6 points to 80 and 2 points
i took the deal...)

 

oh, and stay away from intercooler upgrades. they look really cool, but the stock one is probably the most efficient unless you track race the car, then its a close race with w2a, but for all intensive purposes, just stay stock on that one part. hood scoops to improve flow are not a bad idea though.

 

Send Matt Richter (Dr. Obnxs) a PM; some years ago he wrote a great article ("Five Things...") on R53 mods for MC2 Magazine that gives a good idea of how to approach mods depending on your objectives for the car (daily driver, auto-X, track, etc.). It seems the article is no longer available online, but Matt might be able to get you a copy (or at least provide you with a summary).

 

Feel free to give us a call and we'll help build a plan for what YOU are going to use the car for.

We offer a great pulley package, this would be your biggest bang for the buck.
And a DDM intake would be fantastic mods to start with.

 

Alta will probably have a sale on July 4th...I bought the Alta CAI V2 for Automatic for around $128.

 

congrats... start saving for mods...

 

haha wow this is why i love NAM, everyone is pretty dam helpful. i think ill go with a alta cai, even tho i live in CA, i just switch it back once a year. Cause everyone knows that the alta gives the best whine, and thats what i am looking for.
i love the low rpms. so i think ill go with the 17% pulley.
But thank you all so much, and keep giving me tips!!

 

if you like low rpms, and dotn mind loosing top speed and top end hp, the obx is actually not a bad header, but if dont improperly could cost you more than a custom aftermarket header ( i know this ohh to well) and if you do get one, get the stainless version, but before you do a header id do an exhaust. i didnt and regret this.
a tune will be the biggest thing you need to have done. id recommend mynes since your in California. he is an authorized dimsport dealer and an excellent tuner that will give you reliable power without throwing codes. ( remember to have it tuned only after you've done the bulk of your engine upgrades, and think about going to jcw 380cc injectors)

whats your spending and hp goal?
autox? tack? or just street tuned?

 

hp goal i want to get around 215...but not sure what i have to do to get there.

 

215hp isn't too hard to get. Start with a Pulley, intake, and exhaust. That is a great base to build from.

 

and i just want that sc whine, that everyone loves..with the ddm cai, is the whine loud?

 

Oh yeah you'll hear the wine. It may be a touch quieter than some of the open intakes, but the lid on it keeps more of the engine heat out for performance.
http://www.waymotorworks.com/ddm-int...per-s-r53.html