I need more lights

 

The Black Magics penetrate the dark a bit better than the Xenon Headlamps, but the Hella 500 Fogs with the Hella Yellow Shieldz REALLY STAND OUT DURING THE DAY AS WARNING LAMPS WHEN FLASHED ON and in the Fog they are great

I have been mulling over in my brain(whats left of it) of moving the Fogs onto the bumper line. Put the license plate in the stock position with Fogs on either side.

 

You're talking about the pre-'11 right? The "newer" refresh JCW aero ducts?

How much do you have to cut them? afaik i thought the ducts fit in the same space as the "solid" portion of the lower grill.... Oo unless its cuz u have the alta, as it sticks out more (width wise)? I'll PM you about it...

 

Sorry, going a little bit off topic.

I just install my intercooler, I was wondering how do I reset the battery?

Disconnect the negative terminal or both? Right now I only disconnect the negative.

 

One side of the battery connects to GROUND (vehicle body, engine, etc), disconnect the other side, it should be RED.

Stephen

 

WRONG!!!!

Disconnect the negative side first ALWAYS! Connect it last ALWAYS if you also disconnect the positive...

All you need to do is disconnect the negative side. Protect the cable end so that it won't accidently touch the negative treminal. no need to disconnect the positive side.

 

You are correct, I did not word it quite right, way to big a hurry, my bad.

I too would remove both and definitely protect the ends from touching anything. I would electrical tape wrap the red cable/battery terminal connector so it does not touch anything. AND use battery plastic post protectors (like you get on new batteries) to keep something(like wrenches & screw drivers) from falling on the battery posts and causing really big problems. I keep a pair of post protectors in my tool box for just such times that a battery isolation/removal might be required.

There is a lot of power (Amps) in a 12vdc battery and I have seen them explode on more than 1 occasion.

Do you think it is necessary to reset the ECU for an intercooler install?

 

No, and I wouldn't even disconnect the battery for that...lol

 

I just found this. Look at post #18

https://www.northamericanmotoring.com...vibration.html

 

link appears to be broken...

 

Try this one Richard.

https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...vibration.html

Posts 18-20 by Helix pretty much tells Helixs' point of view.

 

That's the first I've heard about having to reset the ECU... It will do it by itself with a few drive cycles.

Then again, I installed a Jan tune at the same time, and I'm sure that resets any LTFT or STFT and any adaption...

 

I wish I could get a Tune, but the N18 ECU has yet to be cracked through the OBD2. That is a good Tune and gives you more HP/Torque and better fuel mileage (if you keep your foot out of it )

 

I did remove the negative first.

I did not remove the positive and everything reset, so removing negative will work just fine.

 

So what dose it matter if you remove the pos or neg? I have been doing electronics for a long time and have never had an issue with this.

 

It makes sense.

 

sorry to reboot this old thread but would I see any benefits or improvement with an aftermarket FMIC on an otherwise stock MCS?

how about an MCS w/ JCW Tuning kit?

 

the whole purpose of a larger fmic is to produce/maintain cooler intake air temps for the engine. the benefits aren't seat-of-the-pants noticeable b/c cooler IATs reduces the amount of bog that you would experience when ambient temps start rising. in other words, your car will be less slow than the same car with a stock fmic when temp goes up. the cooler intake air temps also provides a better platform from which to tune your car. i think to get the best use out of an AP, you want to have at least an upgraded fmic. i have an alta fmic and my IATs hover around 3° above ambient. not sure what they would be with the stock fmic, but i'm guessing a bit higher. hope this makes sense.

 

thanks for the reply. do you know if an aftermarket FMIC like the alta will throw any codes or lights on a stock MCS w/o any tune?

 

to my knowledge, none of the aftermarket fmics used by any member here has ever thrown a code, and there is no reason why it would. helix and alta are prob your best/easiest bets if you're looking to upgrade. i went with alta b/c i wanted a black one.

 

i want the alta cause i want a black one as well

 

Yes there are huge benefits to a larger FMIC even with the stock car or even just JCW tuned cars. Lowering the intake temp will make power on any of them.
I would suggest getting the Forge FMIC, it by far fits the best as it hast tabs to mount it to the factory location, and includes the thinner grill for earlier cars. The Alta is much heavier and hangs all the weight off the hoses, and doesn't fit near as nice.
If you need it to be black just get a rattle can of paint and put a light coat on it, but I will tell you that raw aluminum will not hold heat in as much as a painted or powdercoated one.

 

thanks for the input

 

All the aftermarket intercoolers log a code in the ECU, this is not a code that will be detected by your OBD II reader, but it is logged and stored in the ECU as a charge air pressure fault, if for any reason your engine was to become troublesome, and BMW MINI read this stored/logged charge air pressure fault, you could have a very hard time trying to convince BMW MINI that your engine trouble is not linked to the change in the charge air pressure!

 

i'm curious as to why there would be a pressure fault. is it b/c of the change in the volume of the fmic? it'd be surprising to me if the pressure change as a result of the volume would register.