As I understand it, this port relieves crankcase pressure under boost conditions --- as you suggest. It also acts as a fresh air inlet to the crankcase when the rear port is functioning --- don't want the intake manifold vacuum to suck out all the air, just relieve pressure. Notice the "module" between on the turbo air inlet and the tranny side port --- I'm told by dealer techs that it's a heater --- to heat incoming air. Not much point in heating air going to the turbo.

 

Hmm, so there's always an issue near 0psi/inhg unless you have a vacuum pump? I'm interested in bypassing the valve cover's control over the PCV system and Indi's set-up looks good. I have 2 BSH OCCs now but installed inline of both stock valve cover connections separately. In my experience, they do nothing unless it's cold out. I like how they're run in series in Indi's installation.

 

Yes, it does look good. I tried something similar, just not quite the same. Didn't work at idle. Also, when connecting to the oil filter cap, even with an added baffle, the OCC filled up really quick. Maybe if I improve the baffle ---

Your "issue at 0psi/inHg" shouldn't occur often, and when it does, it shouldn't happen long enough to be an issue.

 

I'm interested in the evolution of the oil fill cap connection and why it's necessary.

 

That heater in the PCV outlet to the turbocharger is to prevent ice building up and closing off that hose. It can only happen in cold humid conditions but if it were to plug with ice, the crankcase could pressurize when the engine is under boost.

 

I made this connection in an attempt to relieve crankcase pressure when there is no vacuum created by air flowing thru the intake, i.e., coasting down a hill or slowing to a stop sign. Air flow is needed to create enough vacuum for this system to work. Sufficient air flow is absent under certain conditions. How much is "sufficient"? I don't really know, I'm still trying different things to minimize oil buildup in the turbo air inlet chamber --- oil from the turbo seal, not from the PCV ports. Indimanic might have the best plumbing system available, I have yet to try it for myself. There's also the possibility that my oversize turbo has too large an air intake hose diameter --- 3", for this system to work at idle RPM's --- higher volume = lower flow.

 

Another update --- just finished getting a revision to the manic tune --- max RPM for all 3 maps raised from 7.0K to 7.2K; map "A" timing changed to be less "aggressive" when WMI is absent; map "C" made slightly more aggressive. These changes were made because the original maps were based on data logging performed with a 50 - 50 WMI mix --- not the same as the recommended maps' 80 - 20 mix.

This revision was installed by Jerry, EuroTechs of Tempe, AZ while he was attending the MiniThunder VII event in Willows, CA. I was there to cheer on and support another Sierra Nevada MC club member. After install, I went to the dyno facility and got the attached chart. Since the maps want different WMI mix, we decided to leave the mix at 80 - 20 and add almost half a tank of 100 octane gas to my remaining 7 or so gallons of 91 octane. This is supposed to "play nice" with both map B and C. We were also told that the dyno previously used has been moved to So Cal and isn't available. The one we used is brand new but reads about 20 HP & ft/lbs lower for previously measured cars. My thoughts on this --- in this range, what's 20 HP more or less!

The first pull (red) was map "B". 2nd & 3rd were map "C". Note that all pulls were done with no fan blowing on the FMIC --- 3rd pull (green) was done right after the 2nd, and not much time to cool down. Car still isn't running to my satisfaction --- lotsa oil in the air intake system from an improperly connected PCV system. Compression is 155 - 165 and boost was 30PSI, just excess oil being burned. Gotta be screwing up what the ECU sees as AFR. Dyno guy measures it thru all the smoke, while the tuner reads ECU numbers, probably compensating for smoke. Chart numbers are from the dyno guy. Eventually, I'll get it fixed, but the air duct oil cleanup process will be painful.

Also gotta chase down a couple chronic codes relating to intake manifold leak and pressure check ---P2B72, P1255, and P2B64 --- especially when it's hot. Air duct system teardown is planned. Pretty sure one of the hoses has a bad seam, and the turbo is compensating for a leak. Maybe one of the MAP sensors has oil buildup or is defective? Gotta get my hands dirty again!

So, as nice as this project is going, it's not without problems.

 

Nice to see you got to go have some fun with your mini.
Keep on pecking away at it , it wouldn't be any fun if it was easy right ...lol
Have you performed and leak down check on her lately ? just wondering with the oil issue if your not blowing by some.

 

Congrats on your continued work on this project. You get a star for persistence. One question: why didn't you place a fan on the intercooler when doing the dyno runs?

 

Thanx --- is the star worth anything?

Quite frankly, I didn't notice the fan wasn't on. It's a small shop and I didn't wander around too much. Also, the dyno guy was starting to close up shop when I arrived --- business was slow, he was alone, I was the last customer, and it was close to the end of a long weekend. Weather was reasonable, so he probably figured he could squeeze in one more run --- there wasn't much delay between pull #2 & 3.

And he might have wanted a 3rd run 'cause he couldn't believe the numbers he was getting. We (Jerry and I) made him a believer!

 

It's been a while since here. I read all the talk of positive CC pressure but if one plumbs into the turbo side of the cc breather, one gets draw/vacuum during boost. I did this as well as induce some air from cold side boost tube into the CC via the oil dipstick tube.(just a very slight amount) I just wanted to try it. Using a pressure gauge on the CC system, I never had anything close to 1 psi register on the entire CC system.
One note on Thumper; contacted him and discussed "things" I was very puzzled by his insistence that guide would not be worn at 100k?? Also his port work prices seemed rather high. I ported heads for years so I am doing mine this month along with a bottom end. Nicholas at Manic states Cat Cams are a great choice.
OBW; is your bottom end stock? The cams too? Thats a mucho amount of power.

 

Bottom end has been updated to off-the-shelf CP / Carrillo --- 77mm dia & 10.5:1 CR. OEM cams. Went against all recommendations when choosing the CR --- rubs me wrong to lower CR. So far, results are pretty good --- gotta wonder what the lower CR would have produced. I don't expect to ever find out --- this one blows up, I'm done!

Good luck doing your own port work. I believe Thumpers R56 experience has shown him where the "thin spots" are located, and his results are worth the added expense. You make a mistake and your end cost will be significantly higher. Altho, doing your own port work adds to the bragging rights.

 

Actually I stated to you that the bronze guides used in the r56 are great and we have not seen any excessive wear on them from the heads we had done.
However I do mic and replace when required. ( as each head is different)


Thumper

 

Good point. I feel he knows his stuff and documents it with bench flow testing.
Seemed like $2k for port work and cutting seats is quite high given my budget and have done it myself soo many times.
I'm sure I can get 20% more flow with modest contouring.
With regards to pistons, it seems the Mahle powerpaks are 10.25 which seems fine.
You running 30 psi of boost is pretty impressive and the fact that the bottom end has stayed together is nice to hear. I also like the fact that you are getting all this HP with OEM cams and I'm guessing oem valves too??

 

I have done several N18 (both gen) heads and you can be more aggressive than the N14 head. The N14 has some thin walls, that seem to pass the pressure test, but can fail, once on the car and driven. Lots and lots of extra money and labor mQubed Motorsport, Manic Tuning Dealer

 

Your head-work probably won't be as good as Thumpers, but any improvement should be noticeable and measurable.

I've read that the 10.5:1 pistons have a special shape dome for a good reason --- fuel mixing at idle. You might want to ensure your replacement pistons have a similar feature. Didn't Mahle produce our OEM pistons? If so, I doubt the 10.25 dome is similar. My CP version has an identical dome to OEM.

Just because my manual boost controller is set to 30PSI doesn't mean I'm always pushing it to 30. Actually, most of my driving is 10 - 15 PSI max, and that seldom happens either. With this kind of power, I don't need to drive it hard, especially with the Manic tune --- big improvement at low RPM's.

I don't know about the valves --- Thumper had the head twice, and as far as I know, they were only cleaned and ground / reseated, not replaced. Definitely not oversized.

 

I was under the impression CP pistons had a non OEM crown and the Mahles do??
Not too concerned with idle issue; quality or overlap and/or higher emissions.
Whats intrigues me is the HP you make with stock cams. I realize force fed motors can use less cam timing/duration but...to obtain those HP numbers with stock cams makes me wonder what some cat cams would do in there? Perhaps best not to run long duration given the boost levels. I peg my gauge at 24 psi all the time; at the track of course.
Nick at Manic like the stage 2 cams from Cat Cams and apparently has a nice tune for them.

 

CP offers two versions for our engine --- 9.5:1 & 10.5:1 It's possible the 9.5 version is a different dome, but I can assure you, the 10.5 CR & 77.0mm dia CP version is the same shape dome as OEM pistons.

Maybe someday I'll check out different cams --- Schrick vs. Cat, but I'll probably want really high lift, and need to relieve piston domes. Since I don't do machine work, that'll be an added cost and I don't yet know of any local shops to trust.

The few cam installations I've read about only claim about 10 - 15 more HP. Probably the lower performing cam versions, and stage 2 or 3 builds --- I don't remember details. This was before Manic was popular, so maybe he can get more out of them? The only difference between my last years 312HP and recent 361HP is colder plugs, higher WMI mix (80-20 vs. 50-50), a good shot of 100 octane mixed with my usual 91 octane, and Manic's stage 4 (map C). OK, different dyno too, but the tech said his new dyno reads about 20 HP & torque low. In this range, I'm not gonna quibble! Most of the numbers gain credit goes to Nick --- his stage 4 work is awesome!

 

Good stuff OBW; cams with port work is where flow really increases. Most cam manu. can only make claims apples to apples; a stock head w/ stock cams vs stock w/ their performance cams so flow is curtailed. Given the HP you have with a stock cams, my thought is to use the money elsewhere.., like dinner..haha
Any opinion on the oem rods? I hear they are good for 400hp. I also hear they make oversized OD bearing shells so they can be trued and used again.Might not be worth the risk though
Shyt... there goes the dinner...,

BTW what spark plugs are u using?
I found the Brisk to be the best. NGK 1422 were the only ones that worked. Several other models I tried misfired so badly....
Denso worked well too.

 

OEM rods --- couple of war stories --- back in '12 a guy called MINI_R56 built his R56 with OEM rods and put one thru the block almost immediately. He heard the same rumor you did. He got out of the Mini habit. Might be some of his old threads / posts still on NAM. Another guy in our Mini club had two Minis. The R56 model has a hole in one cylinder --- probably a rod, but it hasn't been torn apart that I know of. Lotsa details I'm leaving out, but bottom line --- don't build with them!

My rationale for choosing CP / Carrillo --- 1- they're matched at the factory, not me putting brand X with brand Y. 2- well known, reputable company, popular distributors, fair pricing, off-the-shelf availability. 3- others have used this combo successfully.

I tried Brisk MR12IS --- couldn't get them to work at high RPM's. Tried different gaps --- no help. Used OEM (NGK 5992 - now obsolete) until just before my Manic tune, then switched to NGK 1422 --- 1 range colder. I too hear Denso's work good, but haven't tried them --- yet.

Think about going on a diet, if you want to rebuild the R56 bottom end --- lotsa skipped dinners!

 

Well then rods for dinner sounds ok...,
1422 always worked but I found an insulator cracked once.
I sent a set back to NGK and they stated the electrode started to "blister" and warned me to change often. The Brisks ran great until they started to misfire; 5-6k miles
Pulled and found the electrode melted.
I cannot believe how sensitive these motors are to varying spark plugs.
Meth 80/20 will round off the dessert.
Does your 100 octane contain lead?
The Sunoco race fuel up here does which apparently will kill 02 sensors
I can see a redish residue on the sensors.
Wonder what all the racers do for this issue, if true?

 

Another option for colder plugs --- NGK 94290 ILZKR8A heat range 8. These were used by ThePenl in Greece --- another "bad' machine. I haven't tried them, or even checked price / availability, just thought I'd mention them. I pulled the specs from NGK's web site --- looks like they should be OK.

The 100 octane I used was from a pump at the track. I didn't pay attention to leaded / unleaded status. In the future, I'll get higher octane from the local VP distributor --- probably what the experienced drivers do. I'm currently working with the tuner to learn what I should / shouldn't use. Really enjoying the added street performance from the 100 octane mixed with my usual 91.

 

Its heated only to stop some type of hydro vapor lock some veh suffered from in cold climates. BMW had this issue big time. That area, with attendant moisture from the crank would freeze shut
That "inlet" only allows a very restricted amount of air in; at idle or decel (under heavy long protracted decel that check valve stop ones car from smoking like a train)
Otherwise its an outlet really.

 

Wait, wait, wait, wait....ThumperMCS is ol' Thumper460? Lol, small world. He's an old Ford guy. Used to (maybe still does) offer head/port work on the factory E7 fox mustang heads with some pretty substantial gain claims.

I think most of the Corral (mustang forum) guys poo poo'd his claims and I personally never knew of anyone taking him up on it though some may have.

I never doubted he knew his stuff but it's good to see someone here with some real world experience. I just never knew he made it into MINIs.

Back on topic, man, those are some crazy numbers on a streetable car. I bet that thing is crazy fast. Given the HP to weight ration, there's probably not much you couldn't keep up with or beat on the street.

 

I never met either one of these two "Thumpers", but from posts 4 - 5 years ago, both were posting at the same time --- ***460 has been based in FL, while ***MCS claimed AZ / CA as home base. Maybe someone knows for sure whether or not it's the same person?

Numbers are indeed awesome, but they don't tell the whole story. Big turbo with light flywheel means slow launch. This is OK for me --- loud launch attracts unwanted attention. Long, long ago, I did 3 days L.A. county jail --- speed contest. NOT GONNA HAPPEN AGAIN! Hiway 50 however is another story --- lonliest hiway in the country, and I live right next to it. Still getting familiar with Manic's stage 4 --- big improvement in launching, even with map "B", but still no tire spin --- at launch. Tire spin just before shifting to 2nd or 3rd is what I'm trying to get used to --- scary!