Have myself an 06 cooper s and besides a full Borla Exhaust, i have made no other mods. I was looking at getting one of those pulley kits for like 120 bucks or so but the installation seems ridiculous.

I was wondering how many of you have one of these pulley mods yourself and do you think its really worth it. Also i hear 15% is better for a daily driven set-up as opposed to the 17%.

Also, any inside knowledge about the price of installation would be awesome- seems like the kit itself is cheap but the work is where it could get pricey. As i have no intentions of doing this myself.


P.S. If there is already another thread about these very kits ill be more than happy to take this one down but i did not see one whilst browsing!

 

Look VERY carefully....many cars have one, and the owner does not know...
The stock pulley is black, and is steel, hot pressed on...99% of aftermarket ones are held on with bolts, usually with Allen heads...
While I loved my 17%, I think if I did not have 93-94 octane on hot summer days. Then 15% might have done better.

 

The pulley really makes a difference and I wish I didn't wait 4 years to add one.

Not sure if it's worth it because I don't know what you'll be charged in time, or labor rate. Every shop has their own idea of how hard it is to install a pulley. I've seen estimates/times from 45 minutes to 4 hours in posts on the forum.

I would prefer 17% for street driving, but we only have 91 octane here so I went with 15%. I mixed 100 and 91 when I did a track day in the heat just to be safe. Most people don't recommend over 15% if you're going to track your car.

There are tons of threads about pulleys, on this forum and others. Just do a google search for R53 pulley

 

Question?
What do you consider crazy price for the pulley install? Is it a 4 hr quote for labor or a 1 hr?!
An experienced MINI shop can do a pulley in 30-45 minutes....heck, some weekend mechanics here once did "pulley parties" where 6-7 cars would be done in a row with the owners doing the prep, and the experienced guy doing the actual swap...price was beer and pizza....
My local mini guy was running a $180 special on used 15% pullies at one point...he had tons from when folks moved up to the 17%.....$180 was INSTALLED with a belt...was a bit of a loss leader perhaps since a pulley is such a gateway drug of sorts when it comes to modding.....

 

If you have the right tools, it makes the job easier. We have an article on our site that shows you the process if you want to check it out and see what all it entails. Says it should take the average DIY'er about 2 hours. We have some pulleys you can check out here as well: http://www.pelicanparts.com/catalog/..._pg2.htm#item6 Also, while doing the upgrade, it might not be a bad idea to replace your belt tensioner while you're in there, if it hasn't been replaced.

 

How many of us have a reduction pulley in our R53s? We all do.
A 17% is actually is a good application for street driving because full power is rarely applied on the street; not so much strain on the motor compared to track use. Like Zippy said, make sure you dont already have an aftermarket pulley.
Sounds like the OP really does not want to do the work himself. Gotta find a independent MINI shop (has to be a good one in Dallas), and as already pointed out, if billed more than an hour or so of shop time to put the pulley in, you are getting ripped off.
Get a 17% pulley kit, cold air intake, and a custom tune, you will be very happy with your R53.
Talk to Helix, Way motor work, Revolution mini, Mynes, Sneed (?) for a tune depending on what works for you geographically. Some tuners travel to different shops, or can email ecu maps (tunes) to your shop to download to your car.

 

What if you don't have access to a tuner shop?

 

YPUR car has wheels....You can always make an appointment and DRIVE to one....other option is to diy it or have a friend in a local club do it.

 

Not sure if I would risk it, but you can remove your ECU and send it to someone like Way, get it flashed and sent back. I would pay extra to send the ECU overnight both ways to reduce the chance of it getting lost in the mail.

Another option is to get a tool to upload the tune. They can email you a canned tune for your mods and then you can flash your car yourself.

 

That is an issue for a lot of people, was trying to suggest solutions, as was Zippy and RB. It is something everyone has to work for themselves depending on where they are. I would think there would be a good independent shop in the Dallas area (for the OP).

 

But no tune is needed for a 15% or 17% pulley....
The more a car varries from stock, the more it benefits from a tune....
About 70-80% of all Cars with pulley are untuned...tuning was not even available till the encryption was cracked around 2004....so many cars were untuned for a long time with lots of mods...
If you do a cam, or meth, a tune becomes a near necessity.... Go to bigger injectors, the same.

As for a tuner shop...think the question was one of the skill of the mechanics there willing to modify the car....
And getting a pulley installed on a trip to an event like the dragon or other mini event is not unheard of.....or simply a day or overnight drive to a shop for an appointment.
The pulley is generally pulled off with a MINI SPECFIC PULLER, a generic PULLER does not work. Period. Do not try it. If a puller is not available,it is often cut off with a cutting wheel...can be risky and time consuming....so the $75 for a puller, that can be sold IMO makes more sense.

 

Yep, an ECU tune isn't needed for a pulley. I misread the thread and thought the OP wanted one and thought a local shop was the only way to get one, hence the suggestions.

As Zippy said, any good mechanic can do the install, and make sure they use the proper pulley removal tool. The main issue with someone who isn't a MINI specialist, or hasn't done one before, is they're the one you end up getting a really long labor estimate from.

Also, don't forget to colder spark plugs and the correct size belt. Just a reminder in case you don't buy a pulley kit.

 

The pulley is by far the best bang for the buck mod you can do to the R53. We offer our kits with everything you need pulley, belt, and plugs. Anything more is unnecessary.
http://www.waymotorworks.com/wmw-pulley-package.html

It is by far the most popular mod for the R53, you'll love it

 

I fear we, or i (i'll take the hit here) may have scared off the OP, or others with the same question, with too much info and made things sound overly complicated. So, apologies for that, and let me simplify:

1. Buy a pulley kit. 15%, 16%, or 17% is fine for a DD.
2. Have a mechanic that has the experience (and proper tools) install the kit
3. Pay the man for his services.
4. Motor down the road with a big grin on your face as you enjoy the extra power.

I agree that the tune is not required; but a tune enhances this modification a bunch.
I try not to show bias towards specific vendors here (there are many good ones, and i have not tried them all) but..... see the preceeding post.

 

I've been lurking around for the past few weeks or so, and I've got to say.. There aren't a lot of douchy mcdouches on this forum. Everyone's nice and respectful.. An OP with a first post like this would have gotten flamed and told to go bathe in the essence of his shameful deed and rethink his life altogether in another forum. Not here though.

Classy. #jussayin

 

^Haha. Douchy McDouche.^

 

As Sheldon Cooper would say: "Sarcasm?" LOL