Ok, here goes. Let me start by saying that I have spend the past several weeks reading hundreds of pages worth of posts. I just traded cars w my wife, and handed over the keys to my tastefully modded Acura TL. Now I have an '06 MCS.

Love the car. Had a Miata before that I loved and find similar.

Anyways, here are my questions about the pulley that I haven't found specifically addressed:

Long term, if I do the 15% pulley right (with belt, colder plugs, etc), is there a concern about longevity? Will my sc wear out sooner? Am I putting more wear and tear on supporting mechanisms that may cost $$ long term?

Number two, and stemming from that, why didn't mini put this on the car in the first place if they are so great? I know they upsell to the jcw, but weren't s models initially available before the jcw models? Did someone crunch numbers there and decide we should live with less performance at the benefit of less maintenence?

Anyways, those are my two questions.

--Tim

Ps you guys are great

 

Those aren't new questions, but I'll humor you.

1. Will you add more wear/stress/etc? Yes, of course. More boost = more stress. Is it a *concern*? Not for most of us. As with everything in life, there are tradeoffs. There have been cars with 15% pullies that have done 100K+ miles, so it's not like you're looking at a rebuild in 50K.

2. OEM factors in numerous issues in designing specs. In addition to differentiation (aka JCW upsell), they also have to be concerned with gas mileage, emissions, risk, etc. So yes, the OEM diameter was one that gave desired performance metrics balanced with all their other criteria, including warranty and safety margins.

That, and aftermarket would be irked if OEM got every last bit of power out of the engine, because then they'd have nothing to sell.

 

Most folks have come to the conclusion that there is No noticeable change in SC wear to the end-user...they tend to fail from other factors, such as age, and oil leaking out of the seals long before they they physically get worn out...
As to why they were not from the factory...there has been years of debate...
The JCW did have about an 11% reduction, and a mildly porter head....bigger injectors and a new cai came along in 05....
Was it due to price point engineering, relilability rules, enviormentl rules, or desgin goals...I bet all the above...I'm sure the engineers mulled over the options with the bean counters for months....

 

Thanks. Now that we've had pulleys around for years, are there any negatives from people who have had them for extended periods? I read a lot of positives, but like to hear the flip side as well. Perhaps im a little cautious.

 

The mini tends to run kinda rich, so the 15% seems to lean it out a bit, making it run a bit better to most folks...
I got a 17% knowing would run lean at higher rpm's....so I got bigger injectors and a tune...but many run a 17 with nontune/injectors.
A pullied car does need more octane...93 is ideal, west coast 91 is kinda iffy..the car may run with the timing retarted a bit in some cases.....
A car with a pulley does build boost sooner, but also makes more heat, making it better for drivers who don't go to redline a lot....
Too much heat, and your car will run richer to cope, making less hp...
All this info is around...just look!! Good luck !

 

The only downside to a 15% pulley is you'll be driving faster.

Really out off all the superchargers I've had fail I'd say 70% of them still had stock pullies on them. And most the supercharger failures were actually from the rear leaking the oil out and eating the water pump drive. So I'm not concerned about the wear a smaller pulley puts on a supercharger. I've got customers that have put 100k on a supercharger with a pulley without failure. Go for it you won't regret it.

Now as for why MINI didn't do it. Who knows. Realisticly MINI has to build a large margin of safety into the engine for who knows what some idiot will do, so I'd say that's the biggest factor. I have no fear of a pulley causing an engine failure, we've testing and even seen the air fuel ratio with a pulley on the car and they are still super safe.

 

Thank you.... very well-informed responses that makes me confident. I think I will have to check out waymotorworks's website in the near future.

--Tim

 

His kit is great...everything you need....the tennsioner stop is a good idea, and the new belt is a good idea too...the fact he also loans a pulley puller (special for the mini and really needed) makes it a better deal...
WMW is a great place to deal with...I've done it both in person, and phone/Internet. They know mini's backwards and forwards!'

 

Way knows his MINIs. Go with one of his kits...you won't regret it.