Hello all, I am new to the Mini world and have had my 2013 mcs for a year now. I've been researching about mods specific to the n18 engine and haven't found what I'm looking for. I see a lot of conflicting information and I'm try to iron it out...so here's the question..

I know its hard to answer, but how reliable are the n18s? I've read that compared to the n14, the seem to be more reliable with the new pistons and such, but who knows. I keep reading that people wouldn't do much to upgrade the mcs because the engines arent strong enough to hold much more power.

I find it hard to believe that the manufacturer built these engines that they are almost maxed out on strength to the amount of power that they come with. I understand they might not have been built for crazy power, but I wouldn't think small upgrades would "kill" it.

I know this is a completely different animal, but I owned a 2004 wrx with a 18g turbo 1000cc injectors, pro tune, etc. It was on a dyno and hit 305hp and 300tq. This was a "safer" tune due to the engine having 100k miles on it. Not saying that would've lasted forever, but It was reliable and never had any issues.

Reading these forums makes me feel that if you go past 220whp for example, that the mcs is a ticking time bomb! I understand it can only handle so much boost, but I can't believe bolting an exhaust, intake and getting an ecu tune would make these cars unreliable..

I'm speicifally looking at purchasing the kit below.

http://new.minimania.com/part/G2NMK1...-Cooper-S-2011

Has anybody purchased this? I've seen people with the quicksilver exhaust or the nm intake, but not these mods all together..how have they held up? Do you like the power and does it seem reliable? I'm looking for more of the fun factor rather than a racing machine..

Any help would be outstanding!!

 

I have a 2013 Cooper S. Mod list on my signature.
22-23psi on a big turbo. 261whp 271wtq on the stock rods/pistons/clutch.
These cars are pretty damn strong.

 

Wow that's impressive! How many miles have you put on with those mods?

 

40k on the car.
Put intake and exhaust within 2k miles
Intercooler and downpipe within 5k
JB+ piggyback chip within 10k
Stage 2 tune within 12k
Stage 3 tune with big turbo within 20k
So I been running stage 3 for about 20k miles.
I wouldn't stress about modding your MINI

 

Thank you for the uplifting replies! I was going to be depressed if everybody came back with "don't do it if you want your car for more than 50k miles". Sounds like its not so bad after all..

 

No it's not so bad.
I'm still looking at getting to about 300whp.
For you. Your most gains will be a downpipe and intercooler.
Intake will be nice because you will hear that turbo spool loudly. As if you had an aftermarket BOV.
People are surprised when I say I only have an intake making that noise lol.

 

Gotta love that sound! Nobody believed me when I said my wrx had the a stock bpv lol

 

I would not by the kit. Instead I'd get:

$600 - Intercooler - Helix, Forge, Wagner

$1000 - Methanol Injection Kit - Aquamist HFS4 from Howerton Engineering

$300 - $750 - High flow downpipe like the 100 cel Akrapovic or a totally catless one.

$800 - DME (ECU) Tune such as the one from Manic

This totals $2700 - $3150 a little more expensive than the kit but much better!


Later you can add suspension (coilovers or springs and rear swayer) and a larger turbo.

 

Wow that kit is expensive.
An ECU tune is the best bang for the buck on your N18, which can be done by mailing us your ECU or bringing your MINI in.
http://www.waymotorworks.com/perform...-cooper-s.html
Then for hard bolt on parts we use the Forge Intercooler
http://www.waymotorworks.com/forge-a...r-s-turbo.html
and an Akrapovic Downpipe
http://www.waymotorworks.com/akrapov...6-r57-r58.html
You can add the discharge pipe with the intercooler easily, but you don't need the air charge pipe as the N18 doesn't have the noise maker so save your money there.

Those mods will be nice and reliable gains, then you can add more later but a really good start without breaking the bank.

Feel free to call us if you have any other questions we can answer.

 

Thanks for your input! I'll look into those parts. Sounds like its better to purchase separate to get the best and necessary upgrades. Would people chose the manic tune over the nm? I no its personal preference but I've read good reviews on both.

 

The benefit of the Manic Tune is that:

1. It is flashed via the OBD2 port. The NM you have to crack open the case and bench flash it.

2. It has switchable MAPs that can be done on the fly. You can switch from the stock MAP to the daily driving performance MAP to the Race Gas track MAP.

 

A little clairification to this. While yes it can be flashed by OBDII, this can only be done at a Manic Dealer.

Just added that as to not confuse it with a handheld unit commonly used with the N14 engine

 

Understood. I'm not too sure there is anything near me so I would probably end up sending it out..not too big of a deal for me though.

 

There is a guy on here named Mario Kart that does Manic tunes, you might want to check with him. I know everyone with a Manic tune seems to love it.

 

Yeah thank you! He actually reached out to me and gave me some good info. It seems like Manic has the upper hand when it comes to "safer" ecu tunes. I'm happy to see most everybody is satisfied with Manic