my mini had 137K when i bought it..after the standard run of engine mods...cai, 15% pulley and exhaust, i tried the VGS system to rid the drivability problems at low rpms....was a great improvement..thought I was a happy camper. I had already ordered a DT bpv as well, but it was just sitting in the corner of the bench ....i installed a "fun" gauge ( boost) this weekend and it only read about 10 at full load. wsnt sure if it was the gauge , or plumbing or i simply wasnt making the boost i thought i should .

so, I replaced my bpv today w the dt version....just came back from a test drive...WOW....making a full 15psi at load now. what a difference...i went back in the garage and looked at the one I pulled out...it had a gap of light around 2/3 of the circle in the closed position. So, I now know where my 5 lbs boost was going..I MAY have been able to center the valve and adjust it for full closure, and may have ended up in the same place, BUT I cant and wont complain about the cost..probably would need the valve replaced anyway with that level of mileage

thought Id share this with others > if this is old news, sorry....

didnt think adding the boost gauge would do anything other than amuse me, but in this case, it REALLY gave me a diagnostic that was valid

 

+1

My car wasn't driving right, and after discussing it here the community opinion was that my BPV was having issues. Ordered a DT valve, installed it this past Friday evening, and holy crap what a difference. In my case it had a gap around it, and the spring was also quite weak. It took very little effort to actuate the spring on my old one, and the DT spring was quite stiff.

 

if you adjust it to close fully it can get stuck. ( there is supposed to be a slight gap )
what probably failed was the spring ( either it was getting to weak or it simply broke )

 

Totally agree, just put the DT BPV on my 04 with 60k but bought a 45k. Didn't know I had a boost leak because I bought it with it. Did the BPV replacement on a recommendation and I easily got 3-5 pounds of boost back. Pulls so much harder in all gears now that I have my boost back. Best 120 bucks I ever spent.

 

I put in the DT valve a few weeks ago. My stock valve was sealing just fine but the spring broke. I also had done the VG mod. There was no boost increase in my case but the increase in throttle response was very noticeable. Boost comes on much quicker and earlier in the RPM's than it did before. This is how the car should have been from the factory IMO.

 

Previously I had adjusted my stock BPV to nearly fully seat so I wasn't losing any boost. That's a big part of any improvement. I tried the VGS and it worked in the beginning, but oddly enough the yo-yo started a while after I added the VGS & the computer adapted. Also some ppl report issues with the VGS & have set a MIL (error code), since the mod fools the valve into closing earlier (similar to the DT BPV). Snapping the valve shut so much earlier can result in a momentary lean spot when boost spikes & you can get knock or an over boost warning. Some Mini's do this, some don't. Probably depends on the condition of your MAP sensors & how the ECU adapts to them (yes the ECU adapts MAP sensor parameters, and throttle blade too) & which h/w s/w rev your car has.

When I upgraded to a bored & stroked engine in my Mini, I went to a DT BPV and I like it overall, but if anyone gets a MIL or experiences some odd behavior, your car may not like the sudden boost spikes.

 

I had to remove mine when I went with 10:1 CP pistons. Apparently its very hard to tune for in my application due to pinging.

 

is there a diy link for the dt bpv? thanks

 

Not really, just install instructions.

You could try to replace the spring & adjust the butterfly yourself, but Chad knows just which spring to use & how to do the adjustments.

And anyone who hasn't gotten one of these, don't think it's a rebuilt unit, it's a modified brand new BPV.

 

what's is the stock boost if you have 17% pulley? i changed the stock ones for the dt bpv, 17% pulley, jcw injectors, and crankshaft ati damper pulley. the car feels strong but i do not know if i'm hitting the correct boost/vacuum thingy. I can use the torque application and i can see that there is a vacuum/psi/boost gauge there. How should i see my boost? eg full throttle from first to third gear? thanks

 

My factory BPV was just fine, but I chose to go with the VGS mod because I wanted to see how differently the valve would function when "boosted" shut vs. being "vacuumed" shut under a pressure difference. I liked the mod, but I subsequently created a yo-yo condition at low RPMs. So I opted to get the DT BPV. Was well worth it. Like banzairx7 said, boost comes on quicker and harder. Yeah, I lose 1-2 MPG, but I'm not crying about it. Heck I lose more MPG anyway due to the increased fun factor.