Hey all,

So I am a new owner of a '08 Club "S" (R55). It is bone stock at the moment and under warranty for another year and a bit. I don't have any real issues with performing modifications to the car, but in all honesty I can't see the need for me to go hog wild right off the bat. I will in due time, but I think some mods may have priority over others.

This is my first real turbo car that I have owned and I am still learning about them. I have read posts on NAM over the last week about everything and anything that perked my interest. There is something I would like to get some feedback on though...

I live here in Las Vegas where 110+ is pretty normal summer day. We are at the cusp of the heat wave, and I want to prepare as best I can for it. Now I understand that the car is probably 100% capable of dealing with the heat and performing fine as my DD, but I know that there are some mods that may help my car not work as hard. So right now, I am looking into a few options and I would like to hear what you think.

FMIC
From what I read, this seems to be the best bang for the buck when it comes to turbo performance and keeping it cool under stress. How will a FMIC help with the excessive heat I deal with here? Will it be a significant improvement, not just in performance, but in keeping the turbo / engine happy and healthy? Is it worth it for the costs? Will this void my warranty on certain or all engine components? How to dealers react to this mod during service appointments?

CAI
From what I read, CAI provide marginal performance increases and are more for "sensory perception" improvements. Fine, I understand. I wouldn't mind hearing a little more BOV noise anyhow. But can putting a better "sealed" CAI system prevent heat soak and better flow? Of all the manufacturers, the only real option I was looking at was the JCW intake kit from the dealer. (No interest in the full tune b/c I don't care for how the JCW exhaust sounds, although the ECU tune might be nice) I know the intake box is the same size, but switching to the JCW using a cone filter vs the stock "S" panel filter, will that help my situation any? If so, is getting the JCW turbo inlet hose kit necessary? Since it is JCW I assume there aren't warranty issues. What if I install it though?


OTHER OPTIONS?

Outside of throwing a bag of ice by my intake inlet each time I go out for a drive (used to do that when drag racing WRX's) do you have any other suggestions? I do have a budget for this first wave of mods. $1000 was what I was trying to keep it near. I am dying to get me a set of those R111 Star Bullet rims, but those are purely form over function. (But if you are selling any or know anyone who will, let me know ). Anyway, shoot me your feedback. Again, I know these mods aren't necessary, but eventually I will do some of them anyhow, and if doing them now before the heat of the summer kicks in will help the car out, that's fine with me.

-Z

 

Welcome!

I live in AZ, so I know how it is dealing with 110+....it sucks! Cars hate it lol

A FMIC is essential...however keep in mind that even if it was the world's most perfect intercooler, you are not going to be running any lower than ambient, which in our case is 115+ (especially on roads/asphalt). So the FMIC makes a shitty situation...less shitty. You should see the stock IC temps though scary hot. I have the Helix IC and usually stay within 10 above ambient.

I'm also choosing to run lower boost this summer, until I get a chance to install my water/meth kit, which will help with temps a ton. There is no need to be running 20+ psi when its 110 out...its simply too much heat.

 

JCW intake box is larger than the regular intake box as it extends upward so the cone filter will fit.

I learned my lesson on aftermarket cone filters. Then will fall out inside the enclosure leaving you with no filter. So I would not recommend changing it to aftermarket. Leave the paper cone filter in.

 

huh?!?

 

Huh, what do you want to know?

 

I've had both Injen and K&N CAI cone filters in previous cars and not once did either of them fall off/out. Are you saying this is a problem specifically with the JCW kit CAI, enclosed CAI systems, or just bad luck?

-z

 

^^^

 

I totally agree! I've had the Helix FMIC with a thermal dispersant coating for over a year now and even in blast furnace heat (+100) I'm usually only 2-3deg over ambient. In more "normal" weather it's only ~1deg over and in cool, damp weather I've seen it 1-2deg below ambient due to evaporative cooling. The Helix ain't cheap, but it will help maintain the power added from later mods a lot.

IMHO there's only 2 real CAIs on the market, the JCW and the DoS. I run the DoS simply because it can flow more air. I also insulated the air intake tube to help resist radiant heat from the turbo/engine bay.

BTW, if you're not familiar with why IATs are so important, here's the old formula: For every 1deg drop in IAT there is a power increase of 1-1.5%!

 

The DDM RAM air intake also brings in air from the functional hood scoop, as well as the m7 tuning one uses an open hood scoop for intake.

 

I have seen others fall out but cannot really comment since I did not live with those so I choose not comment on those. I have the JCW intake and the stock cone has two points, front and back of the filter that is secured. I have tried Alta and mini mania and both are not tight enough to the hose connect and they tend to shake loose. The JCW intake does not have a large area of the hose connection to clamp on.

 

Huh? No questions?

 

I was pointing to his question as he shared my question.

I'm really surprised the JCW or any other intake for that matter would come loose, as the DDM one I have has a hose clamp and I couldn't even pull it off with my hands if I tried.

 

I can see how that would happen, the JCW stage 1 internal tubing is not designed to have a filter clamped to it as it is only made of plastic. In mine I had a flange mount K&N pod that fitted neatly in the box, hose clamped onto the internal piping. I was not happy with the clamp so I modified the cross piece at the other end by drilling a small hole in the triangular shaped section and using a self tapping screw to attach it to the end of the pod filter. That way the filter was clamped on as normal but I also had the other end stabilised well and it worked a treat.

I noticed the JCW stage 2 airbox has the same capacity as the stage 1 but it uses a flat panel filter instead of the pod. Normally a pod filter is an advantage because of the larger filter surface area but in the stage 1 box the pipe work is quite small in diameter with a few bends in it which will add resistance.

I tested this theory by mounting our stage 1 JCW airbox on our Mini JCW and driving it around a few days. I was not happy with it as it had lost some throttle response and the power did not seem as good with the stage 1 airbox in it. I then put the OEM airbox back in and things were back to normal.

I modified mine by sealing the the lower section of the box where the MAF attaches to the top (it is not sealed well on the stage 1 but is on the stage 2), removed the rubber seal between the two halves of the air box and used a flat panel filter instead (after removing all the internal pipe work of course). To me this seems to have an advantage of decent filter surface area, no internal pipe work and increased volume over the standard MCS airbox. So far this seems to work really well on our MCS and I have noticed an improvement over the JCW stage 1 airbox with both the stock filter and the K&N filter mounted in it. The throttle response feels better for a start.

 

Mutley,

Do you have a pic of your mod? Interested in what you did?

 

Which one, the mounting of the K&N to the cross piece or the mounting of a panel filter in the Stage 1 JCW airbox?

 

After modding and tracking them for the last three years, I am not surprised with anything Mini related.

Just wanted to make sure I answered your questions.

 

Power one of course... Flat panel.

Thanks.

 

Of course!

Unfortunately I did not take any pics but I can arrange some later if you need me too (not right now I am supposed to be studying).

If you look at the upper section of the JCW stage 1 air box there is a section on the underside of it that is held on by four small screws near where the MAF mounts to it and covering the internal pipe-work. You have to take this section off to remove the internal pipe work. You will also note that the entire top section has a mounting surface that seals against the rubber seal (or panel filter) mounted in the lower half of the air box. You need to remove the pipe work and mounts for the pod filter section, then using some silicone or epoxy resin etc seal the under section (the one held in with 4 screws) when you put it back together. This has to be done as in the stage 1 box the pipe-work is involved in flow, not this lower section. With this mod done this section will now be involved in the airflow. Once you have it sealed and everything is set, you can reassemble with a panel filter of your choice (I just used an OEM).

I would suggest if it is something you want to try and not sure you will keep that way, just use silicone to seal the section of the box that I mentioned. That way you can always take it apart again and put the pipe-work back in if you don't like it. I used epoxy resin so there is no way I could change mine back, not that I will because I like it

 

I would be careful of anything hooked up to the front hood scoop as a CAI. That will tend to collect large amounts of water, like going through puddles. I would worry about hydro locking the engine...there are post about this happening on Gen 1s that have the air intake just behind the grill, above the radiator.

The FMIC is a great idea...it will take some of the heat stress off the engine. Here is a thread you might be interested in:
https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...up-buy-11.html

The end of it has some info about how it can help.

 

The stock intake draws air from the front of the car next to the left headlight but I suppose it angles upward. I actually don't have the RAM air intake but the cheaper K&N style CAI from DDM with the open hood scoop and I feel it works great.

 

So wait, are you saying that the JCW stage 1 airbox with cone filter is not a good upgrade for a MCS?

 

I'd suggest almost any front mount intercooler, which will give you huge cooling gains over stock and run you around 700$. I would stick with the basic alta drop in foam filter which wont give you any heat soak like MOST intakes do and only cost 40$. You'll want to delete the intercooler muffler that traps in heat on the hot side, so i'd suggest a 1 peice boost tube or some type of intercooler muffler delete which can range from 50-130$. If you can handle the car being louder but want to power and reduced heat in the exhaust then I'd get a 3" catless downpipe and 3" all the way back with your choice of free flowing muffler. Catless DP are 150-300$ and I'd make a custom catback for alot cheaper then you could buy one. Also remove the factory hood scoop insert to help the engine bay get more air flow.

 

No, I am saying that the JCW stage 1 airbox is a good upgrade with the OEM paper cone filter. The aftermarket replacement filters does not fit well and can fall off since the attachment hose in the JCW airbox is not strong enough to support these aftermarket cone filters with only one attachment point. The OEM paper filter is attached securely via two points.

 

Gotcha, thanks for clarifying because I was thinking of upgrading before I get another dyno tune whenever that is.

 

Very basic error what your recommending, you don't want to increase the exhaust turbo down pipe (tubing) catless or catted diameter any larger than 65mm (2.55 inch) whilst running the stock KO3 turbo, you have to remember that the more the exhaust gases are allowed to expand, (large diameter tubing) they also cool and slow down, volumetric exhaust gas speed is critical to maintaining volumetric exhaust gas efficiency, (performance) and for this to work you need to maintain the exhaust gas heat all the way to the exhaust outlet tips.