I have an issue that I am wondering if you have heard of before. As you remember I am running a Sprintex S/C with all the upgrades 550 injectors, Bytronik tune etc. Car has been running fine . After sitting outside yesterday for 8 hours in the 1 deg. temps. I left work and started car fine. Drove approx. 300 ft. and terrible screeching sound started. Pulled over and visually everthing looks ok , all belts on but the screech is sounding like the super charger. The sound lessoned as the engine heated up but never stopped. Drove car home approx. 15 miles and it boosts and drives fine but still the sound. Ever heard of extreme cold killing a sprintex or any super charger ? If so why. Are the close tolerances of the rotor and housing in interference because of the cold and shrinkage of the aluminum ? I sure hope my Sprintex isn’t toast. Not sure what to do. Any thoughts ?

 

not to sound like a retard or anything but a while back my heater fan went out and it made a loud screeching noise coming from the passenger side of the car and i thought it was something horribly wrong with the supercharger too

 

I haven't heard off any problems S/C related do to the cold, used mine in all weather, did my original install in Nov.
Start listening with an automotive stethoscope to try. & pinpoint your noise, also check your belt tension to make sure your tensioner piston hasn't sized for some reason and its not just belt squeal, let us know.

 

Hi Guys,
I am sad to say I think the sprintex is blown. The noise is a awful rattle now and the gear box was dry. Where did the oil go? I spoke with Gary at Sprintex USA and asked if they had any trouble with extreme cold causing failures and he said yes but they have been with this unit installed on jeeps. He asked for a video of the engine running. I am waiting to hear back from him. Car was running fine and started and sounded fine after sitting outside 8 hours in sub zero temps. Drove it couple hundred yards and the horrible sound started. I am very unhappy with this development.

 

Sorry to hear this, let us know what they say.

 

The Jeeps have been having more than just that problem. You name it, its probably gone wrong with them.
This is the first MINI I have seen with this issue though. :(

(BTW, The Jeep kits use an S5-310 blower. Its Sprintex's biggest S/C. )

 

Hi Gang,
Happy to say Gary at Sprintex USA is sending me a new unit free of charge today. I can't be happier with his decision to back their product. I hope mine was a fluke and this unit doesn't fail the same or another way. I haven't been keeping up with this, but are most of the units on Mini's running dependably for 30k miles and longer ? Who has the most time on a Sprintex ?

 

What belt item number needs to be used when running the 60mm pulley? I want to get one ready for the sprintex swap.

 

Here:Belts:
69mm
Bando 6PK1415
Gates 060557
64mm
Bando 6Pk1410
Gates 060555
60mm
Bando 6PK1400
Gates 060550 (060551 slips)
Very happy to hear this, even though my car has been down for 9 months I still may have the most at 34k+, but don't know.
You said your unit was dry, I had heard of seal issues like DG mentioned, but again only on those larger units, I was changing my oil with every engine oil change just too be safe since I was running mine so hard, only took 10 min. after I made myself a special oil catch tray, so was NBD to do.

 

There has been many problems on Mini Torque with your pulleys if you search. It's a pulley not some part from NASA

 

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The Jeeps have been having more than just that problem. You name it, its probably gone wrong with them.
This is the first MINI I have seen with this issue though. :(

(BTW, The Jeep kits use an S5-310 blower. Its Sprintex's biggest S/C. )


Gary At Sprintex informed me that the Sprintex units that are used in the Jeeps is the same as the Mini S-210.

 

Just checking in here; I have about 12k to 15k on my sprintex (stock pulley) without issue.

I feel like the list of users at the beginning of this thread is painting a skewed picture of the kit and its user base. What I mean by this is simply that unless the charger mysteriously hurls a piece of itself through the intercooler and into your engine it is not going to cause engine failure all on its own. So for every "blown engine" on the list it either came down to user error or failure of an unrelated engine component.

The only pieces that are actually made by sprintex, at least to my knowledge, are the end plates, intercooler horn, belt tensioner, water pump adapter, and intake tube. The core itself is an Opcon unit (same units Kenny Bell uses and briefly whipple) and the accompanying gears, seals, bearings, etc. I would reason. So considering the track record of both Opcon as an OEM supplier and Kenny Bell as another aftermarket company using the cores, I would have little reservation recommending a sprintex.

 

What kind of boost levels can I expect with a 19% pulley and 2% overdrive crank on a sprintex supercharger? I don't want to bicharge my mini but want to get as close to 300 hp. My motor is around 260,000 miles so it will be rebuilt before I just slap this on. I am thinking arp bolts everywhere, oem gaskets, maybe aftermarket head gasket if there's better. Aggressive yet daily driven cam, but I am unsure what other parts to replace. I will go with the best intercooler, even if it's a 1500$ water to air cooler. I will also be rebuilding my transmission and replacing my clutch. I want to keep around 10,000$ on the build. Am I able to meet my expectations in power under this budget?

 

If you have ten grand to blow build a stroker.

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using NAMotoring

 

What he said. ^

I would never bother with Sprintex again. And the one I have will be the first thing to go when it comes time to get my car running again.

 

And just stick with the stock supercharger and just have it rebuilt?

 

Personally I wouldn't do this either, IMO, of your gonna spend 10k, spend 5-6 on the motor & the rest doing a turbo conversion, more power potential, more reliable.

From what I've seen the Strokers have had a higher % of problems than most options. I love my Sprintex and will never go back to an M45, but for all out power Turbo is really the way to go. From the beginning that was always "my" end result, I went to the Sprintex simply as a stepping stone to get there, this was my plan:
-Stock motor, add the Sprintex, make more power, run it until the motor needs its rebuild.
-Build the motor, specs for the turbo, use the Sprintex until it was done.
-Turbo conversion with the built motor.
May not be the most cost effective overall, but allowed me to breakup the cost in stages, and feed the power monkey on my back a little at a time, plus do a little experimenting on the way.

Don't forget, I never claimed to ness. be all there.

 

Hi Gang,
Spent the weekend swapping the failed unit for the replacement unit Gary at Sprintex USA sent to me. The failed unit was covered in blackish oil inside and the veins where chipped and marred. The unit performed perfect for nearly 18k miles and failed after sitting in sub zero temps for 8 hours. Not sure if this is the cause but it is very coincidental. I didn't drive far after the failure but still had a lot of aluminum thrown into the intercooler. Good thing it was there to act like a filter. See pic attached of the failed unit. I just hope the new unit will hold up.

 

Damaged edges indicate faulty bearings. Seals has been broken because of faulty bearings and oil goes out.
I don't think that bearings damaged because ot low temperature.

 

1k On the sprintex!! Yay!! ")

 

I'm watching you

Need to see a few more success stories about reliability before I get one. That and money...

 

I'm lucky in the respect that i have a great "mini mod guy" "Steve" within 5 miles of my house, so pretty much anytime i wanna tweak the car, fix anything or just go get good "hands on" advice... All i have to do is pull in the shop!! I expect to get a full life out of the Sprintex! Besides the hiccup with belt, It's running great! (Touch Wood) I know one thing, i scared the bejesus out of a GT last night, he couldn't stay with me.. Ohh the Adrenalin!!

 

Installed mine in April of 2013, no issues yet. (Thought I had a little belt slippage)

 

Did you swap out the belt?

 

Yep! Swapped the belt and it feels better, but I wondered with so much surface contact thru the pulleys how does it slip?. There were no signs of slipping or excess rubbing on the old belt.
I think with the power I have (Not sure of HP#), I need a better Clutch Assy. The Valeo is nice, but I'm not sure how well it's performing with the Sprintex64, TPR Cam (soon 2b 1320CatCam), ACG, TPR2 Head, Mynes Tune, GP-IC, V2 Header, & JCW exhaust.

Anyone with 200plus feel any valeo clutch slippage?

One of my problems is that the Michelin PSS tires are so quiet, at times I'm not sure if I'm breaking traction or the clutch is slipping.