Right now I have all the basic stuff...intake, exhaust, pulley and plugs. I want to build an all around well-suited car (for track use and comfortable driving). To round out the performance side of it, I was thinking of maybe getting a header and the Shark ECU program. Any opinions on that ECU mod? It seems like the best deal for the money.

 

Maybe crank pulley I did the 0% and the difference is incredible No added vibrations so far in 500miles.

 

i forgot about that. I may have to get in on a crank pulley party sometime soon


Also, you have the IK22's right? Did you gap them? I started to do that and I got scared that I was going to break the tip on the plug. right now they're at .026 or something...I'm assuming they need to be opened up to around .035. What's the best way to go about doing it carefully? The gapper I was using is that coin gapper, that you pull the plug around on the edge that increases in size...

 

Sometimes I find myself looking at my page of mods to remember what my car has: http://mdsbrain.com/mini/?page_id=9
I had Randy Webb install them and he said they don't need to be gapped.

 

Alright then. I guess that's taken care of. Now about that engine software? anybody?

 

Shark is snake oil. You'll be much better served with Unichip or MTH.

 

I don't have a laptop, or ready access to one, so I'm guessing MTH is out of the question. I just dont know if I want to spend that much for the unichip. do you have any justification for your claim?

 

None of your friend's can lend you theirs?

 

hmm, I either have no friends, or have no friends with laptops..

 

There is info on NAM as well as other sites regarding the shark. Do some homework before you buy.

 

Apexer,

Hey, Bob, Chad (Agokart ) and I are doin the BMWCCA driving school at Mid Ohio again this weekend, If you don't have anything to do, come on over, it will be a pretty drive too!

 

I think your off to a good start. If you want to improve your car for track you might want to look at brake upgrades then suspension.

The brakes are arguably the weakest point on the MINI. They tend to fade quickly on the track. Here are a few suggestions that I garnered from Phil Wicks.

• EBC Green Stuff Brake pads
• Braided Stainless Steel Brake Lines
• Super Blue Brake Fluid

Of course you'll want something to help with control in those corners, so beefing up your suspension will help too. I suggest starting with a rear sway bar (something I need to do myself).

I also highly recommend a driving school. I went to the Phil Wicks Ultimate MINI Driving Academy a few months ago and it was the most fun I've ever had. There's a class up the road from you in Kershaw on 11/13! www.minidriving.com M2C2 members get a discount

BTW, did you get that o2 thing figured out?

 

I forgot to mention, I have MTH. Better throttle response and it got rid of the stutter! I wish my car was together before you left the other day... I would've let you drive it.

I don't have a laptop yet but you can borrow my cable. I have a computer in my warehouse that I can drive up to and hook up the car.

 

1. No thread hijacking


2. Well, in my most recent lapse into mental retardation, I failed to recall that my girlfriend has a laptop. Pir8, thanks for the pointers and kind words. Tell my more about what you got from MTH, and what you've seen it do for your car. The stumble aspect I would love to cure, and you can't beat better throttle response, nor having friends that will let you borrow their 100 dollar cables I was anxious to see how your car reacted with it, but as you said, time constraints kept us from that.

Also, yeah, the light is off now. I got under the car, looked at the wiring and had a look at it under the hood, i think it was kinked up somewhere, after I'm guessing 5 restarts after I messed with the wiring, it was all better. Now that o2 sensor money can be put to better use.

I will also take brakes into consideration, as I would like to go ahead and buy all the new parts for the brake system at once and get it all taken care of it one shot. The sway bar is something I also need to get. maybe we can have another install day in December/January if anyone else is up for it. Let me know when you plan on getting the bar, if nothing else, maybe we can get meet up and do the two bars at once and the MTH stuff if I can get that by then.

 

Would love to except I'll be in Washington DC this weekend.