My dealer is advertising a performance upgrade package they are calling the SS PACKAGE and I was wondering if you more seasoned modders think it's worth it. Following is what is included:

1. High flow air intake
2. 17% underdrive pulley
3.Single can exhaust conversion/tips
4.22mm rear sway bar
5.Slotted front rotors w/green pads
6. Short shifter
7."SS" badging (totally goofy imo)

They don't list the manufacturers used but I think the pulley and short shifter are Helix and am pretty sure Eric does the pulley install @ the dealership.
The intake is some open box design maybe helix as well.
In any case they are pricing this @ 2,095.00 which includes install. Any feedback would be appreciated. I am @ just over 1,000 miles and getting ready to start modding soon.

 

The dealer is offering this. Do they also warrant your car should any of these mods cause a problem? I'm just wondering if its better to just go straight to Helix.

 

You can do that stuff for way under $2k if you do it yourself. Nothing on that list should be "too hard" to do yourself, and save the extra money. If you would like to give money away, I'll be happy to give you my address! I need some stuf...

Seriously, look around here and you'll find plenty of info on those parts.

 

They warrant everything except the brake upgrade. 12 months/12 thousand miles.

 

That sounds like a good deal, esp if it comes with some sort of dealer warranty backing, but it also depends on which parts they use. Does "Single can exhaust coversion" mean the old one-ball mod? If you think Eric might be involved I say call him up and ask him about it. Where is this/what dealer?

 

I think that is fair, especially compared to jcw. A dme tune would really give it a sporty feel though.

 

I've researched these parts alot and it does seem that this list addresses the most popular mods. I do not plan on installing myself, and was considering it because of the dealer convenience and warranty factors. Although after reconsideration I think I will be going to Helix and having them do the work due to thier stellar reputaion. The fact that my dealer has Helix install most of thier pulleys tells me who is more capable.

 

Pretty sure it is the one ball mod. Dealer is Mini Of the Main Line just outside of Philly.

 

yea but if via the dealer gets you warranty and helix install then thats a win win.

 

Excuse my ignorance, but what could possibly be useful to warrent those items? The only thing I can see is maybe the underdrive pully, but that should run fine, and you shouldn't have problems.

And how extensive (if you know) is the warrenty? If you short throw breaks, will they replace it free of cost, etc.? I think it's overpriced, but also a nice buy for someone who does not want to install things, and still has the warrenty.

-Cody

 

A warranty on the installed items isn't really the point (well, not much of the point) - what's much more interesting is that the dealer might uphold the warranty on other things without singing the "you have mods so your warranty is void" song.

 

You sound surprised? How is this different than Towson offering a MiniMania stage (whatever you want) kit and they will warrant it (at least they said they would)?

Just get it in writing!

 

SS badging

The Chevy police will be after you, they own it.

 

Here, Here, well said, well put, my dealer won't even let me on the grounds with my car because of the mods I've done So to hear that a dealer is doing mods (maybe Yanko lives) would be way cool, someone who understands the MINI culture even if it's just to make a buck.

 

"You sound surprised?"

Yup, I'm surprised every time I read of such a thing. I actually got a hassle at my dealer (Tate) because I had a strut tower bar! They wouldn't do my free oil change at one of those in-warranty service intervals because the bar was in the way. They eventually relented saying "but we'll have to charge you labor because we'll have to remove it to do the warranty work." I rolled my eyes and said something like "whatever," but when they were done and I complained because they damaged the bar in the process, well, you can guess how well that went over.....

 

Tate may not be the best choice. Don't know how far you are away but its probably better to go to MOS or Towson ... mod friendly.

I find it unbelievable that they charge you labor for an oil change? Or the complete 10K service? How does the strut bar get in the way of an oil change???

This is actually very strange because I have, for example, a JCW strut bar ... would they have to remove that to change the oil??? The nuts are one time use only (I believe) so would MINI have a supply of those specific one time nuts and there is no way they could charge labor for removing a JCW part. Very strange

 

My dealer said they would uphold the warranty on the car regardless of the mods they've done. BTW, I'm wondering if my dealer lurks around NAM because they just called me and said that a car that has been recently modded with this package is availble for a test drive (owner must be getting a hefty discount or something). Think i'll go in tomorrow and check it out. I'll update my impressions.

 

Same thing happend to me, My radiator went bad on my 04MCS but I have an Alta light bar on the car, 4 lights 8 male/female connectors, 2 bolts. The dealer tells me he'll do the warranty work, but the light bar is in the way & he'll need 3 hours labor to R&R $400.00 hard to believe even harder to take, but at that point they've got you & there's nothing you can do. I guess the message is we don't like to work on mod'ed cars, so don't bring them here. My independent mechanic told me he could have done the whole job for about that amount. So it's FTD

 

Thanks, you're not the first to say good things about Towson - I may try them out. Funny though.....when Towson was new they had one of the worst reputations around. I guess they decided they needed to do something to counter that kind of buzz.....i guess it worked eh?

It wasn't the oil change. It's been a while and I mixed a couple things up. It was the time I took it in because I had the murky coolant problem. They said they couldn't "work on" the coolant reservoir.....

 

Just got back from dealer. They were nice enough to let me try a customers '04 MCS with thier "SS" package discussed earlier. My impressions were that the pulley and CAI are the most popular mods for very good reason. You can feel the car pull much stronger than stock. BTW, I drove a stock '04 MCS prior to the modded one to see the relative results since the '06 MCS is a bit quicker than the 04's. I'm not sure about the short shifter as it felt a bit heavy compared to stock. The rear sway bar definately added more response to the steering and I can see why this seems to be another very popular mod. The slotted rotors with green pads didn't seem measurably better than my stock set up but then again I didn't push it long enough to the point that the stock breaks would normally start to fade.On a side note I noticed a considerable lack of low-end torque in the stock '04 as compared to my '06.In conclusion i've decided that I'm definately going with the CAI and Pulley as well as the rear sway bar. I will probaly be replacing the stock exhaust in the future with something like a Supersprint or maybe Miltek depending on funds. All in all it was great for me to be able to feel the real life differences before taking the plunge. Props to Mini of the Main Line for hooking me up.

 

So your taking the plunge through the dealership? Or directly through Helix? Are the parts offered by the dealership in fact Helix parts?

 

Parts are Helix and in fact apparently installed by eric from helix at the dealer. At least the pulley is. I'll just be swapping the Helix CAI with the JCW due to its quiet nature under 4500rpm. I'll have to investigate how much Helix will charge for the install compared to the dealer.

 

I opted for the SS package at Mini of the Main Line. The only item I didn't take them up on was the slotted rotors. Peter indicated that they waited to offer this until they could be certain about the performance and reliability of the products. In '03 I had the pulley, short-shifter, green brake pads, sway bar and short shifter done piecemeal at Helix.....did the CAI myself.

The package was offered to me when I switched to an '06 MCS in February
and I jumped at it. I saw Eric when he came to install everything except the single can exhaust. He even re-loaded the GIAC tuning that he had installed
on my '02.....something you should strongly consider. The convenience and the fact that they offered a warranty made it a no brainer for me. All of this was done before I even had a chance to drive my brand new Mini off the lot. I didn't let them put the SS badge on, but plan to do it next time in for servicing.

These mods have the car pretty close to the performance of a JCW at less than 1/3 of the cost. I feel very fortunate to have such a competent Mini mechanic nearby to make this offering along with the dealer, possible.

 

go for it!

Matt

 

?Do it yourself ?

Not a wise idea !!! Let a true pro do it, can't beat the ease on the brain and price is reasonable