what is the best way to boost performance without spending alot of money. i heard cold air intakes and supercharger pulleys are good. i already have an exhaust. i was looking to buy a alta cold air intake but is it worth $200? i dont mind spending that if i could actually feel a difference. and can you tell a difference with the pulley? which gives your car the most boost, the cold air intake or the pulley, or other cheap mods? thank you.

 

Best bang for the buck is a pulley. A CAI won't get you that much, if anything, in performance gains.

Other than that, do a search. There are a ton of threads on the topic.

 

The pulley will hands down give you more performance than just an intake. Get it first.
We use the DDM Intakes they are great too, but you'll get the most bang for your buck from the pulley.

 

Pulley for sure... But the sound from a CAI is amazing! I have the Alta 17 pulley and CAI and have no complaints!

 

How much am i looking at to get a pulley installed? How many hours labor is it around?

 

call danny at www.minicorsa.com should be around 350 to 400 installed with parts(pulley, belt, plugs)

 

If you are in anyway inclined mechanically and can follow instruction and kind of know what you are doing with the right tools it will take you less than 4 hours. I did my first one in a little less than 2 and a half in my garage with an Alta pulley...

Good luck!

 

Pulley, CAI, exhaust, tune. Most agree this comprises a Stage 1 MINI. Do all your mods before the tune.

Other way to go fast is with an upgraded rear sway bar. That helps in going faster around turns.

 

I am just going to go ahead and thread jack here. I have the same question as Subby.

1) I hear the brand of pully does not matter yes/no

2) CAI I figure just take your pick... I can guess on this.

3) exhaust.. oh my. so many choices.... what would be the best choice here?

4) tune.... what's that? I live in a po-dunk town in the middle of BFE how do I get a tune???

 

1) I think all pulley sizes are equal, meaning equal performance in the beginning. Longevity of the pulley (being evenly weighted and not rattling loose) and ease of installation differ between brands though. I'm sure Way can chime in on this point.

2) Performance gains will be minimal. Again, ease of installation and how well the filter stays on the inlet hose will be major points here. Also sound. Foam filters allow the supercharger whine to escape with delicious results.

3) Try to balance torque and horsepower gains, or go torque-heavy. Many exhausts are similar, but here again sound results can play a major role in your decision. Listen to some YouTube videos of different brands to find one you like.

4) Hopefully a tuner can get out to your area if you can't go to them. I'm not sure what to tell you here, you might be SOL. Keep your eyes and ears open for an opportunity though.

 

absolute best bang for the buck is a pulley. the 2nd bang for the buck option is a custom tune. CAIs don't add too much power but its a nice to have. I picked up a Dinan CAI since it looks completely stock and it was significantly cheaper (under $130) than the others.

 

Not all pullies are equal. We use a complete stainless pulley so it will never wear out, or rust, or corroad. Also some of the brands have trouble being installed. Also you have to decide 15 or 17%.

As for intakes they all make similar power, again it comes to design you like and fitment, also how well it fits, and will last. We like the DDMworks intake.

As for exhaust this is something I recommend you check out in person at a MINI event. Everyone's ear is different so you need to hear it for yourself. Caution Magnaflow is extremely loud. We've had the best luck with the Stratmosphere system on the R53.

For Tuning, you'll either have to come to my shop, a tuning party, or buy our remote tuning module. If the remote module is what you get we ship you a programmer that you can use to email us your file and we modify it and email it back for you upload it. This way it will be custom to your car.

 

What is the cost for an R53 remote module?

 

Ours are $300

 

Great price and you can get a tune that's way better than anything else with it!!

 

I currently have the MTH tune for mine but I am making more changes and would like to get more power out of it. Do you guys adjust the DSC sensitivity? My MTH does this and now it functions like it should. I never have to turn it off.

 

When Jan did my tune in CT, he did adjust the DSC....it is sooooo much better now!! Not sure if WMW does....I'd be interested to hear so reviews though...

 

Yeah, I did speak to jan once about doing a tune and he said he could get more HP out over the MTH. MTH was one of the first tuners back in the day but so much has changed over time.

What to do what to do... Right now I am satisfied with how the car runs, but a better tune would be nice.

 

Biggest change with the tune was my car seems to run smoother....more tourque too. Basicly a Win Win. Good MPG...about the same when I drive normaly, maybe even better, but it just runs so much better, I'm happy!

 

There was a big difference with my MTH tune as well. The car runs much better and I love it. That being said, I am looking for a better tune but there are also so many other things that I want to do.

 

Friend of mine has almost an identical car with identical mods and he has the MTH, let's just say after Jan tuned mine, he wants a Jan tune very much...

 

LOL, the list above is a little different now. I bumped to a 17% pulley and have a one ball as well. That being said, I have no doubts that a Jan tune is a great tune. It is finding the time and money to get it done.

 

How exactly this works? What would be the total cost of the tune?