You just use the same A/C delete pulley as a standard A/C delete.

 

DG, much appreciated. Sort of nice to know that I'm not out those few bucks for that pulley, should I decide to go this route...

 

I'm in the process of deciding whether to replace my M45 with a Sprintex or not and the back and forth in this forum is great to read!
My main reasons for considering a Sprintex over the M45 is not so much for the power but

• Oil changes are easy
• lower boost temps at same revs (potentially saving on a better IC for a daily driver)
• electric water pump
• and as a bonus extra power

CO0p3r, in one your comments you mention that the Eaton isn't designed to be oil servicable. I believe you'll find that BMW say this but Eaton recommend the oil be changed every 30k. Same goes for the Getrag.

 

I'd like to see actual data showing you are getting efficient 20psi from a sprintex too. Sprintex won't warranty a kit if you change the pulley. What does that tell you about the kit?

 

Mini has denied warranty on cars for changing the pulley , what does that say about the car ?

 

So do you have a sprintex on your car?

 

That's simply not true. That's dealer dependent, not MINI dependent.

Some dealers void the warranty, some don't. Mine didn't.

 

This is correct, "Mini" officially says doing a pulley upgrade will void your warranty, engine as well as S/C, but so many people were doing or asking to do it they decided to do a "don't ask / don't tell" policy with their dealers.

Don't forget, Most if not All companies will void their warranty if you modify their product, OEM or aftermarket.

I'll see if I can dig up one of my old data logs.

 

Here's a screen capture from a datalog, top is boost, bottom RPM, and as you can see from the engine temp, this was a hot day. (All the data on the left is from the exact point where the first yellow line is on the left of the top area, for those not familiar with the datalogger)



The two areas don't match up perfectly, the start of boost on on the top screen is actually at the 3000 RPM point on the bottom.

 

I don't see Inlet air temps anywhere on your log. Where your cursor is at its showing boost was 11 psi and 3000 rpms. It was pulling timing also. I still would like to see some relevant data that proves what you claim is true. All the data I have seen by actual customers posted online shows them to be extremely hot with the smaller pulleys. Which stands to reason using sprintex's own blower calculator. You might want to go back and see what the temps are at 3,000 then move your cursor to 7000 and show those numbers. I think you will be surprised when you see the data and fully understand it.

 

No Jan I do not

 

Here you go, here's the values at 7000, I've even lined up the graphs on this one, and as I said, consistent 20psi.



And before you start screaming about values, this is actually an old and very early tuning log, before GPIC, and far from being done, all my later logs are packed up as not only am I getting ready for MOTD, but packing everything to move, so I won't be able to get to most of my stuff for awhile. (The whole moving thing is also why the car has been sitting for so long, not only did I not want to misplace parts, but the car had to remain portable also. Should be able to get back to my rebuild some time in June)

 

I've read through the install manual and it concludes with servicing. At a little over 90k miles it is recommended that the Sprintex get new bearings and seals. I realize that probably no one here is at that stage yet, but what are the options to make that happen? Are we able to purchase those items and DIY or must the Sprintex unit get shipped somewhere?

 

I started reading this thread because I am seriously interested in upgrading my M45 to a Sprintex before the drive gears in the PTO start to fail. BlwnAways posts have been great to read. They list the pros and cons that he's experienced and he discusses possible solutions to issues. Very helpful!
****'s Garage started off praising the Sprintax, but unfortunately had an engine fail due to


"The rod bearing for CYL#1 failed due to the abuse I have put the car through, lack of oil, and a unperfected tune".



As I continued to read through the thread ****'s Garage went from praising the Sprintex to totally bagging it out even though, according to the thread, he has had no bad personal experience with his Sprintex since starting the thread as his car has been on blocks. Also, the issues with the engine failure had nothing to do with the Sprintex but more poor engine maintenance and engine tuning.
If you modify your engine to make serious horsepower things break. So you upgrade them. Perhaps you've forgotten the issues that the M45 has and how much less power than the Sprintex you're going to have to get used to, even though you haven't had any issues with your own Sprintex..........

 

Yes, stuff breaks when you push the limits. If I wasn't running meth, my car would have probably let go well before it did. The outlet temps from the Sprintex are quite a bit higher than the M45, and nowhere near consistent making it near impossible to get a good tune nailed down, and meth is the only way to really try to control it. This is why every time somebody contacts me, I tell them first thing, go meth or suffer the with the problems you will have.

With the Sprintex you aren't looking at adding a ton of power, and there are better ways to add the power you would possibly gain with the twin screw. Like a good cam, or a header that is actually tuned for your power band. Both of those even if you combine the prices would come out cheaper than the Sprintex kit. Plus you would retain the consistency of the stock setup.

For me, I would rather have something perform exactly the same every time I mash the skinny pedal. Not have the car run great for 15 minutes, then have it drop power when it gets hot, then somehow pick some of it back up 20 minutes down the road.

 

If you're looking for a setup that is very consistent it sounds like you might be better off de-tuning your combination so that it isn't influenced as much by temp, humidity. The more you tune an engine the more susceptible it is to these influences.
There is no way you'll get the same instant and dramatic increase by fitting a cam and headers as you would a Sprinyex and again, a big cam is very much influenced by the climate. This isn't to say that a cam and headers is a bad setup, you just get very different power delivery. A blown engine will generally provide a torquier, more drivable, more reliable and lower maintenance package than a naturally aspirated engine making similar figures.
The Sprintes is also an OEM replacement, designed to replace the M45 on an OEM standard engine. Once you start making other changes you need to look at your entire engine package to make sure that everything is working in sync. It's rare that you're ever able to make a mechanical upgrade of a single part without having to adapt other parts to suit, if you want the package to work well.

Based on feedback from across the board I'm still very keen to get a Sprintex. Overall it seems to be a very effective package. I just need to make sure my engine which has done 130 000km is in good enough condition to handle the extra pressure from it.

 

I completely disagree. A cam and header will deliver far more consistent results given changes in ambient weather. An addition of a supercharger, like the sprintex, will only create more heat.

It's been proven that it isn't any more efficient than our current M45 designs. Can you make more more boost than an m45? Yes, I'm sure you can. Will a Sprintex Deliver equivalent boost to an m45 while producing lower AIT ? No, it sure wont.

Our cars are ruled by heat. If you don't have meth injection, you will be subjected to heat soak and a loss of power. There are mods that have less to do with heat production and will give you a positive delta regardless of ambient temp. A larger, less efficient supercharger isn't one of them.

I suggest anyone who is considering doing a Sprintex to look at other car makes that sprintex has made units for. Given proper research, you will find that it's not worth the trouble and has been linked to many premature failures.

As for me, I'm still on my stock m45 with a 15% redux. I have yet to see a replacement for our heatons . . Maybe the TVS that i just read about will be able to provide a true gain in drivability, reliability and performance.

 

I don't profess to be an expert on FI, superchargers and particular types, but from my notes over the years, from having read many articles, I was under the impression that Roots types, like our M45, "beat" the air the most; which translates to heat generation. With that, efficiency is compromised.

Twinscrew type SC's, compared to Roots are more efficient, both adiabatically and volumetric-wise. I just searched the web to confirm as I don't trust my memory (and even notes). Many of the sites are from manufacturers and vendors, so I won't provide those, but here's an excerpt from "Sports Compact Turbos and Blowers" - attachment.

More can be read here. This portion is from page 34 (scroll down)...

goo.gl/6dop3n

So, this information, to be polite, is very much contrary to the above poster's commentary...

Consistent, people who have the Sprintex are typically making more power, on less boost. This would also seem to indicate that it is indeed more efficient...

Clearly, the most efficient SC are the centrifugal types; and should be able to yield the most output. One can read about them in that link I provided above. This might be better in some applications. For down low grunt, which is what I most prefer with our 4 banger, the Roots or twinscrew types would be desirable. And, between those two, the twinscrew is more efficient...

 

Let your m45 car idle for 10 min and measure the AIT. Then have someone do the same with with a sprintex installed. If I remember correctly, Dicks garage did this and his temps soared on the sprintex car.

If the sprintex car will have a higher ait than the M45 car.

Let me know how you digest this.

 

AIT? I'm guessing you mean IAT. If so, I monitor it regularly and have logged it for years, including here on NAM. Testing of such and my preoccupation with cooling our charged air is what led to the creation of the DFIC years ago...

I think I can manage digesting this stuff, thank you.

DG's car clearly had some problems. Apparently he stated such here - that there were maintenance and corresponding tuning issues involved.

With that, using his car, at idle, to conclude that the Sprintex runs hot, is rather ridiculous. Screw type SC's run cooler than our Roots type. This is based upon design and both the technical literature and real world test support such.

If our MINI's can generate more power on the same and even less boost with a Sprintex, it's for a reason - less heat (more efficient).

One can choose to believe the data and what the experts say, or believe a guy on the internet saying the opposite.

Capisce, Mr. AIT?

 

So it may produce more heat.....so what? It also produces more boost and power, has an EWP and is easier to maintain. If heat is an issue upgrade your intercooler and / or fit meth injection.
Sprintex is one of the largest manufacturers of SC for factory vehicles in the world so they will have some issues. Did you do your research on the R53 before you bought it? They also have plenty of problems.
I wish you and ****'s Garage luck in your search for the ultimate Mini supercharger. Perhaps you might be better off getting an R56 with a turbo.

 

I want to know where all of these dyno graphs are, showing the Sprintex makes any more power than the M45? Even back in '09 when RMW was testing the Sprintex, it would do one monster pull on the rollers, then peeter out and make less, average it out, and that one good 5 second pull on the dyno doesn't matter at all... Well except to put it into peoples heads that it works better. Nobody ever shows the bad graphs, just the ones that can give bragging rights.

Yes if you idle a Sprintex car for 15 minutes or more, you will be looking at intake temps over 170 degrees! Why, the twin screw'd design compresses the air IN the blower, and compression equals heat... That whole "Every action has an equal but opposite reaction" clause... Its physics. That heat gets built up in the blower, the castings, manifolds, I/C, head, take your pick they will all get extremely hot. Once that happens, it takes FOREVER to shed that heat soak, especially when you continue to throw more compression and heat at it when the S/C starts moving more air.

Eaton's TVS blowers share the concepts of both the screw type blowers and the dinosaur roots design, giving better flow and more efficiency without the internal compression. Making less heat, less noise, and more consistency. They are coming to the R53's very soon as well!

What OEM uses Sprintex? Chinese OEM's... Off market vehicles that nobody hears about...
Who uses Eaton? Pretty much EVERY auto maker out there has used Eaton's M series blowers, they are even starting to use the TVS series...
Mercedes did the twin screw design a little justice with the Lysholm blowers, but even those are getting phased out for better.
Rotrex even has some well known OE applications on high end super cars that people actually hear about...

Who do you trust?

A manufacturer will tell the uninformed anything they want to hear, as long as it equals sales, and money in their pockets...

 

WRONG - Eaton is! Do some research. I am sure that Mercedes uses more M series Superchargers in one model year than Sprintex sells in 10 years.

If you like the Sprintex fine, but you have to accept that it is a small company making a boutique product.

 

So should the TVS rumor that we have heard about for the last two years comes about is the price point going to be two or three times the cost of the sprintex package or more ? We might be talking apples and oranges here .

 

Correct me if I'm incorrect, but RMW tested the sprintex and never sold it due to what ever factors they found, right?

They are also testing (and from what Ive been reading, developing ) the tvs system for the r53 platform. If they decide to retail it, in theory it should be more potent than the sprintex.

I for one, will be glad to pay for well tested, reliable performance parts. Isn't the moto... price, reliability, performance: pick 2.

Maybe the sprintex is the forced induction unit for certain customer base. I'm sure all the research will yield in perfect scenarios that there is a gain over the M45 and it's in theory efficient. However, real world testing has many more variables and will test said parts in many different ways. I for one, like being able to use my car at its potential for more than 10 seconds and not have to worry about extreme heat soak and power loss due to pulled timing.

I still think the M45 on our cars is s*** too. I'm sitting at 255whp in a 02 mcs. It's been that way for 25k miles and I really enjoy it.