I am looking for the best bang for the buck. I have decided that I am going to install the 15%, alta exhaust, and intake. What I have not yet figured out is the ECU. Has anybody had any problems with reliability or anything else because of the upgrades without an ecu change? I understand it adds hp, but I don't want to spend thousands on a rebuild. Any dissadvantages of a modified ECU? What are some ECU options that you recomend?

 

>>I am looking for the best bang for the buck. I have decided that I am going to install the 15%, alta exhaust, and intake. What I have not yet figured out is the ECU. Has anybody had any problems with reliability or anything else because of the upgrades without an ecu change? I understand it adds hp, but I don't want to spend thousands on a rebuild. Any dissadvantages of a modified ECU? What are some ECU options that you recomend?

gregsminis,

Aloha from Hawaii and welcome to NAM.

Best bang for the buck with no regard to keeping the warranty would be the reduction pulley for the supercharger. 15% size is safe. Alta intake with silicon hose and alta sport single sided exhaust are all OK.

No problems with reliability are known with these upgrades and running a stock ECU. When you are ready to upgrade the ECU then that is fine but there is no rush to do so at this time. Your MINI will run air/fuel ratio that is rich.

Rebuild? No. None reported due to these or adding an ECU.

ECU does more than add HP in fact that would be a minor reason to get it. The ECU controls everything and nearly all of the performance and engine functions. The ECU can be tuned with your pulley, intake and exhaust mods in mind. Your stock ECU will try to compensate for your mods but it has limits. Overall the ECU makes everything work better together, smoother, more efficiently, and with better torque and HP.

Bad side of an ECU mod? Price (many options in the $600-$720 range) is still high and modding will void your ECU warranty.

Search for the following ECU upgrades-
PowerChip
Evotech
Unichip
GIAC
Shark injector
One Click

Only the GIAC is still in development and has no release date but is rumored to be about $500 and has the backing of GIAC and a great history of ECU upgrades.

For easy of install- do it yourself, the One click and Shark injector is Lower cost and easy via the OBDII port under your dash near the steering wheel. About $400-500. The Unichip is a piggy back chip ECU mod that is also easy but a little more work (30 minutes) but higher price. $720.

Powerchip (see Webbmotorsports.com) is a solid performer in the $620+ range.
Evotech is also similar but slightly higher cost at $720. Both these are installed using laptop computers and a dongle cable that hooks into the OBDII port.

My advice would be to add the ECU last and do some of the other mods first but only after you have driven your MCS for at least 2000-3000 miles in stock form.

Of course the very best bang per buck has already been made. You got an MCS for $3000 more than the MC and that increased HP from 115 to 163. If you run your MCS stock I think you will do fine. Add suspension mods, appearance mods, intake and exhaust (lighter weight and louder exhaust note) if you want.

 

Thank you so much for the valuable info! So, there is NO problem running mods without an ECU upgrade? The car won't act funny trying to compensate for the mods, or run TOO lean or rich? I know what lean and rich mean, but if the mix isn't perfect does that only mean that the motor is not running at peak performance or can it actually cause problems? Thank you for the help-

 

MINI's always run rich... that's what they do. You will be fine without a ECU upgrade, but you will dig it if you get one. I have the Webbmotorsports ECU and I love it. Overall the car felt faster and MUCH more responsive.