I love my Sprintex have but about 3800 miles on it since February no issues at all

 

Have you noticed anything with the Sprintex that's not as good as the M45?
With the EWP does it run a thermosts? How does it go with engine warm up? I'm just not sure how the EWP would work on warm up with the thermostat closed.

 

What Pulley?

 

No thermostat control, It pumps water continually through the system, once you turn on the ignition, even if you don't start the car, it pumps.. Once the thermostat opens and the engine gets hot enough the fan turns on.. Thats it.

The OEM pump is always pumping too.. Albeit mechanical, via the SC pulley.
Pretty cool design Eaton and BMW came up with, if you ask me..
The pressure on the electrical pump is more than enough to keep the engine cool...

 

You guys running the Bosch 550 injectors? I assume so... I recall reading somewhere, I think on the ByteTronik website, that for those over 250 WHP, larger injectors might be the way to go...

 

Thanks Stoker. I'm running a 64mm pulley on the M45. I figure I'd run the same if I get a Sprintex which by the sounds of it would be awsome considering how happy everyone is running 70mm.
Cheers

 

With my setup, Sprintex w/ the 60mm pulley and the 550's, I was seeing about 80% +/- duty cycle at max, without the bottle.
Honestly for 99% of most users the 550's would be enough, to me this is one of the biggest reasons for going to the 550's over the 440's if your going to bother to do the "big" injector swap.

And as far as pulleys are concerned, the 70mm (69mm) will give you comparable boost to an M45 w/ a 16% pulley, but with the added efficiency of less drag from the Sprintex, the 64mm will be close to a 19% pulley in boost, but you won't get as much heat loss as you do with the M45/19% combo. My 60mm was giving me a consistent 20psi with my atmospheric conditions here in the mid-west.

 

Why at this point would anybody want to go with a SprinTex? Look at their track record on here, and compare all of those problems with the SprinTex kits for other makes... Its BAD Sprintex has a horrible problem with quality controll, or even quality in general!

This is reason enough for me to drop that S/C, and go back to a stock M45, which is exactly what I am about to do.

550's are great injectors and all, but in most cases the stock ECU can be real picky if it wants to run them good or not. Its not a problem with the tune, its a problem with the ECU itself.

This problem is also going to be addressed this summer on my car... Its not for everybody, or even most MINI owners, but if you plan on wringing as much power as you can from a TriTec, ViPEC makes sense. With far better mapping and control over the stock ECU, it also allows for mods that the stock ECU could never handle. Such as 1000cc+ injectors, HUGE throttle bodies sourced from other makes which are compatible with the stock wiring, and multiple built in fail safes.

To me Sprintex, is now a thing of the past, right along with Bytetronik, there is far better out there, with actual SUPPORT behind it. Not somebody that will banish you for making a mistake, then spend every chance they can ridiculing you on the forums, so they can look better.

I suspect those people will be chiming in shortly, with another jab my way... BRING IT! At least I am secure enough with myself and my choices to call a turd a turd.

 

Currently I'm running the stock pulley but don't think I'm gonna stay with it much longer gonna give the 60mm a try in next couple months

 

As far as the guy bashing the Sprintex I don't know your situation or what went wrong with yours or if u even have or had one maybe u got a bad kit it happens from time to time or maybe u somehow didn't install it correctly or maybe u didn't mod your car correctly to begin with I don't know nor do I care. All I know is mine runs great have no issues with it prefer it way better than that eaton 45 and if u can please stay out of the Sprintex owners page it would be great.

I believe if u look at the Mini Cooper in General u will find a lot of issues with the entire car and there are/were a lot of issues with mini coopers in general a lot of them are in correct maintenance and some are bad design issues look at the power steering pump issues we have. I think if u actually are running a Sprintex as u say and are going to go back to your eaton maybe u should just go to a different model vehicle.

 

A bad kit..happens from time to time does indicate quality control issues. I think it is important to talk about failures as well as successes on this thread. Why bash a guy for stating his experience and sharing his knowledge. post mordum analysis is valuable.

 

Have you seen the first post of this thread? I am the one who started it! The one who had nothing but praise for it when it was released. The first private owner to have the kit installed, before the 10 preorders even shipped...

Look at that post... Over HALF have had some sort of FAILURE, either with the kit/its components, or the engine itself... Things arent any better with the Sprintex kits in other markets, the Jeep guys are even at this point pushing for a lawsuit!

Facts are FACTS, they have problems over 50% of the time. Sprintex = wasted money for nothing but an inconsistent short burst of straight line power.

 

Ok facts are facts I had a transmission failure at 65000 miles so have other people on here so are our transmissions a waste of money too. Moving components fail eatons fail a lot too are the people wasting their money by replacing or rebuilding them too. I have two r53s an 04 and an 06 the 04 has Sprintex the 06 has the stock eaton with a 17% pulley and the 04 smokes the 06 hands down the 04 with Sprintex accelerates smoother and faster and sounds better. And u got the first Sprintex that's awesome ask how many people who bought the first r53s how they held up.

 

I am sorry as an outside observer and one WHO HAS READ THIS ENTIRE THREAD, cbbarrentine you are just wrong!

If you read this thread it talks about things that people like about the Sprintex and problems they have had over all. DG's (also the OP) has had a problem with the Sprintex and the ByteTroniK/Mynes, and he has stated that. He has also tried to help anyone in this thread that ask a question that he can answer.

I personally agree with his decision to stay with an M45 OEM supercharger, and here is why:

The Sprintex, TVS, Rotex, BillBobs Super Blower etc all are after market kits that seem to be a little temperamental, I want more power but not at significant loss of the useability of the car. (DG's car has been down almost 3 years now).

The OEM parts Fail and so do after market, but almost all of the OEM SC that fail have a major amount of miles on them with little to NO maintenance. I personally have only seen one fail so far and I know of at least 30 R53/R52's first hand, there are what 5 or 6 Sprintex owners here and at least one has had total failure and two other returned under warranty.

I do not want to buy an after market computer to the tune of 2k$+ to get the performance out of my big dollar temperamental aftermarket SC.

I have almost 100k on my OEM SC and so far so good, and I have seen inside it and it still looks clean and produces 15 lbs of boost.

I can get a used but lower mileage OEM SC all day for 650$. No computer mods, plumbing or failed pulley tensioner to deal with.

So in closing the Sprintex directly in this case does seem like a cool enough kit, but I will say that it is just not ready for the mass market yet, and I doubt that it ever will be. DG had one fail and he had a bad experience with dealer/manufacturer and if that is the case I want to hear about it, and if you had or have wonderful experience I want to hear that also.

But dont tell someone to get off the thread that they started and that they are providing information that is valuable to all, cause you dont like it.

 

Thanks for addressing my question. I found the language I had remembered reading on the ByteTronik website sometime ago, and the 250 reference seemingly only relates to those using e85, but not sure:

"27. What do i need to do to run E85 on my MINI? At the bare minimum, you will need the 550cc injectors mentioned above. If your MINI is making more than 250whp on a DynoJet, then you might have to go even bigger on the injectors."

http://www.bytetronik.com/faq.html

One of the virtues of the Sprintex, at least for many, is that it allows for one to retain the A/C. I am however looking to ditch mine (A/C delete). I've had the dummy pulley for a while now, and was aiming to do the surgery soon, unless I decide to this SC swap...

What's involved with an A/C delete when using a Sprintex SC?

I like that Sprintex pulley swaps and belt changes are easy, seemingly easier than on the M45, as well oil changes...

At some point the M45 will give-up the ghost and / or the water pump too. Replacing those items or "upgrading" them to the Sprintex solution is not all that different, from a price-point perspective. The delta in cost with the performance gains achieved, makes it appealing...

Being in CA, CARB is very important, and Sprintex addresses that concern. I believe it's the only CARB-approved forced induction option for us. The stock OBD compliant ECU remains...

 

In all actuality, my sprintex hasn't failed YET, outside of the crap E36 timing belt tensioner that was adapted to somehow kinda be able to cope with the additional load of providing tension to a supercharger... This is the most common piece to fail, because it CAN NOT handle that amount of increased load! Period!

My engine failed due to a bad tune I did, based off the "advice" of Mynes, and a local tuner. Yes all my responsibility. My mistake, and my loss.

Do me a favor, if you say there is absolutely no issues with the Sprintex, and take their word and advertisements as gospel...

You are at Ft. Campbell yes? (I will be there in roughly 4 hours)
The Sprintex advertisements say it produces no excessive heat right?
Take your car to Clarksville speedway tonight, and after ONE pass down the 1/8th mile track HARD, I bet you can not hold your hand on the S/C for more than a second, because you can literally cook an egg on it after a drive down the block! Yet no excessive heat? Try the same with an M45, yes it gets hot, but not cooking eggs hot. Or for your safety's sake... Compare the two after the same exact run back to back with an IR temp gun...

 

TonyB, E85 cant properly be done on the OE ECU, the 550's will be running over 100% DC. Thats what caused my engine failure.

 

Thanks DG. The 250 reference I had remembered reading long ago was indeed regarding E85. I had thought it was just in general, ie pump gas...

 

(Apparently it took me to long to write this, but I'll leave it here anyway)

I also think that DG's opinions have a place here, as do others, without any negativity in these circumstances you'll never truly learn about a product fairly.

But from my recollection, DG never actually had a Sprintex failure (this is just from memory, might not be totally accurate), he had a bearing failure in the engine do to a self tuning error, I don't think he actually used his long enough to actually have much of a personal experience with the S/C itself, all of his thoughts are from research done when considering his rebuild and are from sources readily available to anyone who wants to put the time in to do so.
Biggest issue with most of the info with the Mini kits is that a vast majority off the Sprintex owners are actually not on this forum and a good deal of info is second or third hand, while still a good thing to have it tends to throw things into doubt, that's just the way it is, I wish we could actually get some of the negatives first hand from the people who experienced them, and that they would actually continue with there thoughts, the few things that I recall from actual users seem to be mentioned only once and not much follow through seems to go on.

"I've" had good luck with mine and won't go back, but that's just me, if anything I'll go forward to what is probably one of the best options for power, Turbo, but in the mean time I think the Sprintex is still a decent mid-point alternative, esp. considering there is no real "kit" for any of the other options at this time, Rotrex and TVS, at this time still don't offer the buyer a "buy it complete and install it" option like the Sprintex, and there's no way your going to get an efficient 20psi from an M45.

 

I am in agreement with you and It also looks like you are correct as DG said that the motor failed not the Sprintex.

I personally do not see the need for 20psi, but for the guys that do, I can see them being willing to make the switch.

I would still say that from what I have read here the Sprintex is the best Aftermarket option:

Complete kit
Works with OEM ECU/DME
Company seems to stand behind the unit with a warranty
Performs the same or better than OEM unit

Down side seems to be:

Some sort comings in the install ( O-rings and water hose)
Requires service
Requires a Tune to take full advantage
Fit and finish of the unit/kit seems to vary a bit

And the longevity of the unit for 100k miles is NOT tested to date, and that would be my biggest concern.

But in closing I agree that it is the BEST option if someone is selecting an Aftermarket Kit.

 

c0op3r, when you say "requires service", what do you mean exactly? I apologize if I missed it in this thread... I know an oil change is needed at times, but that's not uncommon, and needed in our M45 too.

A tune to maximize results is sort of the norm or expected when performing such mods, not just the Sprintex. Not sure I'd call that a negative, but understood though...

 

Yes that is exactly what I mean the Oil, it is expected to be serviced. And lets be honest, most mini owners dont do service very well. The Eaton was designed (noticed I said designed) to not have to be serviced. Weather it will actually need it or not is another debate.

Its a negative for someone or a company that is trying to sell a part to the masses to replace a failed OEM part.

If you go out and buy a different set of brakes for your MINI (common practice) you are not expected to re-tune the car.

For the Sprintex to be an option to myself and any other MINI owner that is not looking for a major increase in power, but has a OEM/Eaton that has failed or is just worn out, it is not a viable option.

I am not sure I am explaining myself well, for strictly performance I can see the 'Kits' but not as a OEM replacement that is just made better.

 

Thanks for the clarification c0op3r. Glad the servicing needed would just be the oil. The M45 has been somewhat a mystery in that respect...

I agree, that for the MCS owner who is not performance-oriented and has a failed M45, this might not seem all that appealing.

The Sprintex, like any mod impacting engine output, can best be served with a custom tune to relinquish more power...

Question:

Weight-wise, what is the impact of the SC swap? I imagine that the Sprintex SC itself is heavier than the M45, but the kit as a whole, possibly lighter...

 

Actual weight it's pretty much a toss up, gain a little with the S/C, lose a little with the W/P.

And yes, even as much of a proponent of the product as I am, I'll absolutely admit that needing an S/C and W/P at the time played a huge part in my decision to try it.

 

For me, just knowing that I'll be needing those items at some point, possibly soon, is certainly a factor as well. Given that there's a bump in performance, makes it enticing of course...

I'll ask Sprintex on any weight delta. On our nose-heavy cars and being quite weight conscious, I'd like to know...

Along those lines (weight), if anyone has input on a Sprintex without the A/C, what's involved, like maybe just a different belt, please do share...