I read on here that someone in SoCal was looking for a MINI to check out to start making throttle bodies, so I volunteered some of my time and went and showed my car and talked to the guy.

So here is what I happened. I showed up and the guy gave me a tour of his shop and the facilities he works in and telling me about his company. The shop was really impressive and have a large spectrum of stuff they design. He asked what the prices are for the throttle bodies I replied for a rebored one its about $400. He laughed and said his throttle bodies are cheaper than that and are custom made not rebored. We then went out and looked at my car he looked at the TB and said "thats what I was afraid of the car is drive by wire" He then took me into the shop and showed me a TB from a Ford 350 (I believe) inside the TB is a "Swiss Watch" of micro chip boards and small gears to run it. He said he usually doesn't make TB like that but maybe he should get into it. So I volunteered to see what response would be. Would anybody be interested in a ground-up throttle body?? This is a proffessional shop not someone working in basement (nothing against the basement workers). He said if there is enough response he may buy a TB and start working on designs. I have no affiliation with the shop and they are not selling anything yet, but this may be a good way to get new stuff for the MINI. espicially if we can get TB made new for less than a rebored one. SO IS ANYONE INTERESTED????

 

i think it is safe to say that the mini community is enthusiastic about the possibility of new products as long as they are proven. It is hard to commit to a product without knowing if it works and what types of performance gains it may offer.

 

I can only envision a few reasons why you'd want to build a new throttle body from the ground up, and none of them are either cheap or particularly effective.

What's wrong with a properly designed rebored throttle body? But regardless, if the guy had some tricks up his sleeve, I'd be at least interested.

 

I personally like the "stealth" look of the rebored TT, using original OEM German-made part. It would be interesting to see what a custom TT can contribute to the performace. :smile:

_________________

 

I agree with Ryephile. I think he will find that there may be minimal to no benefit, with a lot of headache and costs involved. I don't think it will have any benefit over a re-bored body.

 

I too would be interested to see what he would come up with. However like everyone else can't commit until I know what that is. I don't see why you'd want to reinvent the wheel unless he was going to convert the car to a cable linkage which is unlikely as that would require major changes to the car.

Paul

 

The only shop I know of thats make a custom TB from the groundup is Flowmetrics / F&B in CA and Bruce knows his stuff. Theres plenty of reasons to build from the ground up and its also fairly cost effective. That said, the rebored MINI throttlebodies are also machined in a world class facility that I've personally visited.

There is a great deal of care thats necessary in dissassembling and reassembling the "swiss watch" DBW mechanism and a great deal of money laid out in order stock these and thats where the cost is.

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Cheese

 

>>The only shop I know of thats make a custom TB from the groundup is Flowmetrics / F&B in CA and Bruce knows his stuff. Theres plenty of reasons to build from the ground up and its also fairly cost effective. That said, the rebored MINI throttlebodies are also made in a world class facility that I've personally visited.
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>>There is a great deal of care thats necessary in dissassembling and reassembling the "swiss watch" DBW mechanism and a great deal of money laid out in order stock these and thats where the cost is.
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>>--
>>Cheese
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Which throttlebodies world class facility are you talking about? The one that puts electrical tape and scratches them, or the one that doesn't?

 

>>Which throttlebodies world class facility are you talking about? The one that puts electrical tape and scratches them, or the one that doesn't?

The one that doesnt.

 

Two CFD (Computational Fluid Dynamics) screen caps from Floworks @ Flometrics.

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Cheese

 

Cheese

Bruce is who I talked with, a great guy who really knows his stuff. As for the headache issue from looking around his shop at his examples I think he knows what he is getting into. But if he can make a new one cheaper than a rebored one I would be interested in that. Like I said I don't represent the company in anyway. I just said I would check to see if there is interest. If not theres no love lost.

 

I'd be interested in seeing pressure drop numbers on a vehicle showing results before and after such a mod. I presume that a "new from the ground up" throttle body for a DBW vehicle would make use of the factory motor, gearing, and sensors?

 

Cool! Bruce is the man. I'd be interested to see what kind of magic he can work... His Magnum V8 products are works of art and are WAY more than just "overbored". He modifies the shaft profile, the butterfly shapes, etc...
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Cheese

 

Im definetly interested to see what this guy can do. If he can make something that performs no less than equal and costs no more than the competition, id definetly purchase one!

 

Im definetly interested to see what this guy can do. If he can make something that performs no less than equal and costs no more than the competition, id definetly purchase one!

 

Hey guys, I'm wondering what a throttle body upgrade involves. Reboring it, does that mean making it flow more? How come MINI doesn't make it as large as possibleor like you said macncheese, designing the shaft profile, butterfly shape, etc (i dont know how these affect anything) to be as efficient as possible from the beginning? I'm just trying to see how effective of a change a change in the throttle body can provide as far as engine efficiency and all that relative to cost. If it's going to cost, say $300, or even $200, but the difference cannot be felt, or maybe just barely, then why would it be worth doing? Yeah, i've always wondered about TB's, thanks. :smile:

 

better response, smoother excelleration, ~5hp...combine it w/ the alta intake and you will get a noticable change. Also, some people want every bit of hp they can milk out of our MINIs, regardless of cost.