I'm trying to figure out the next round - probably the final round - of performance mods for my R53 & wanna get advice & guidance from my fellow first gen MINIacs.

Right now I'm running a 17% pulley, CAI, and catback exhaust. Reading thru the forums, it seems a new head, cam, injectors, and tune would be the next stage. Mine is a daily driver that enjoys spirited runs whenever possible. No track or autoX to factor in.

I can get a cam for ~ $350, JCW 380's for $450. With install & a tune, that's more budget friendly than adding a valve head to the mix, since heads seem to run $1K - $2K.

So, the question: would a cam + JCW 380s + a tune be worth it, a marked increase in performance worth the money? (I've also thought of just 380's + a tune, but a cam is pretty reasonable, price-wise.) Just trying to figure out the best combo of upgrades, valve head notwithstanding.

Thanx all!

 

Yes, the combination of the everything but the Head will give you a noticable difference, but before you do the cam & tune, add a header to the mix, any of them will be fine, you'll need it for the cam ro work properly + you will ABSOULUTELY NEED IT, if you do decide you want to progress farther by changing the Head and going to that "next" level.

 

My suggestion...
Get bigger injectors since you will be tuning....you WILL BE ABLE to use the fuel with the cam...
Jan/rmw told me I was fuel limited with just a 17%, no cam....and you might find other injectors cheaper.... Talk to your tuner.

 

IMO I'd definitely look into a header before you look into a cam and tune. You'll make the most of both of those things with a header, plus it would be a shame to get a tune beforehand only to end up adding a header later and eventually needing/wanting a new tune.

Personally I'm running an intake, catback, and 15% pulley with 380s and JCW tune and I'm happy (for now, )

 

Keep your eyes peeled, you can usually pick up some good used 380 injectors cheaper, saw some recently for $300. Not sure what cam you are considering but the Nitrostick NS1 can be had for $275 when you send in your core.

 

Thanks for the replies all. I've seen the Schrick cams, and Crower. I think the latter was a NS1, does that = Nitrostick?

As for headers, like many other parts, there's a wide range of prices, from $300'ish for Megan or OBX to $800 - $900 for RMW. I'm pretty uneducated on headers so forgive the rookie questions:

Is the difference merely due to better materials & workmanship (is the higher price valid or just a mark-up for a "name brand")?
Will a header make my exhaust louder? (I'm really happy w/my exhaust as-is and am not looking for more volume or tone.)
Can I use a "race/offroad only" header like the Megan on my car?

I have a catback exhaust, so even though the headers don't come with a cat, I'm hoping the system would be compatible.

I'd really like to get a custom tune from WMW, but as this year's budget for mods has been spent (and then some ), I hope to talk to him at the Dragon next year and plan on exactly what to do next.

Thanks again for all the advance help!

 

Typically the price differences in headers arises from whether or not they have a cat. Brands such as OBX and Megan do not include a cat, and are therefore much cheaper, however have an "off road/race" designation because you won't pass an e test using one (although I have read of some people who used spacers on their O2 sensors in order to not trigger a check engine light). If you want you can buy one of these headers and weld a cat in. I've never priced that out before so I'm not sure how much money you would save going that route compared to buying a header that already comes with a cat, or if you'd even save any money at all.

Brands that you pay more for such as Milltek, Quicksilver, RMW etc are street legal out of the box, but you pay a premium for them. To answer your question, generally speaking adding a header results in a slight change in tone and increase in volume.

 

+1. Buy 450's. The JCW 380's are way overrpriced, the 450's are easy to scale, cheaper, and allow you to grow rather than replace if you decide to go further.

Talk to your tuner before you buy ANYTHING. Not a big fan of the NS1, especially on an MCS; remember, modding isn't cheap, and you get what you pay for. Check around first--don't buy first, check later, have a plan going in rather than buying parts and trying to make them work together after the fact. Different parts have different specs, and an individual tuner may have more experience tuning a certain combination over another. Not to mention some aftermarket parts do absolutely nothing, or worse--actually sap performance.

Did I mention call your tuner before buying anything?

 

the prices deal with the inclution of a cat, which from some manufactures are expensive. Magnaflow sells cats for about $100 or when you put your new header in, you can cut your old cat out and have that welded in. or run catless which im actually planning on doing so long as im not stupidly loud. you will get more tone with a header, it will be more free flowing

running catless can be easy, the rear O2 can be ignored through your tune. or you can get a 90 deg spacer for the O2 sensor and it wont see any non catalyst flow through it

untuned you wont see a difference with the header anyways

the stock Cat apparently can handle up to 300hp

 

With a daily driven MINI, keeping the OEM CAT is the best solution (both in terms of CEL and exhaust tone). Since you already have a performance exhaust, the oem header would work just fine (unless you want your MINI to sound like a Honda on vtech).

With a SC mini, it is not necessary to get a retune should you decide to swap out the oem header for an aftermarket header down the road (turbo set up = most definitely; SC set up = not needed).

Custom tune is always recommended whenever possible. Way will be able to take care of your needs

 

I wouldn't waste my time with the NS1 or 2 cams. Just get the Newman street cam, it's the best one out there for a street car DD with no head upgrade. I agree about going with a header too, but unless you are willing to spend some good money for a good header, don't bother. I also would go ahead to at least 450 injectors to better scaling for the 17% pulley. Then a good tune and enjoy!

 

My 2 cents...
I done quite a few performance mods on my 04 MSC. OBX header w/Flow Master Cat finishing with an Invidia cat-back exhaust. JWC 380mm injectors, 15% pulley, CIA, screaming Demn Coil module. Each of thes upgrade provided incremental performance gains that may or may not be perceived behind the wheel. But there is one MOD that I have done that feels like I bolted on 20-30 horses, at that is the Sprint Booster. The Sprint Booster is a device that is installed in series with the gas pedal module and modifies the response curve of the overall electronic throttle. This device does not provide any "actual" HP performance gains only "perceived" gains. Off the line, the response difference is amazing and so much fun to drive, like a totally new car. You can always change it to the stock response with the switch but who would want to...lol.
I haven't done a cam, head or a tune yet maybe next year but for most "perceived" bang for the buck I would vote of the Sprint booster.

 

The Sprint Booster and the D1 Spec are both good products that 'operate as advertised'.

With our custom remote tunes, we can adjust the 'throttle response maps' to each owner's exact liking, and integrate that with the ASC/DSC settings at the same time... this eliminates the need for any 'throttle' devices...

And we recently added the "launch control" feature for all FA-Tuned cars.

See demo video below on Launch Control:

 

A remap via Mynes using Bytetronik is by far the best bang for my money. I have been modding my 04 R53 from 2008 on with many different header designs, intakes, and remaps... none compares to how well the car feels with the adjusted ABS/DSC settings and engine tuning.

 

wow launch control is preety sick