Definitely not ordering the OEM trunk (boot) monkey. The OEM monkey has a nice british accent and is also quite "proper", while the aftermarket one is much more relaxed and has a non-descript scream

Anyone have the JCW trunk monkey? I hear it adds only +2 more hp

 

creeker, what do you mean or am I slow? I am thinking about doing the One-Ball.

 

I think the point is he ended up spending so much on the one-ball it would have been worth it just to get a cat-ack system instead

 

MSFITOY-can I get the non laymans VGS explination of temps, and how bad the temps are? I want to determine my risk level.

 

This one I can't explain...maybe the Dr can fill in on this (if he get's around to answering my PM )...one reading (forgot the ambient temp at the time) the pre-IC temp was around 120-140F before VGS which jumped to 250-270F after installing VGS

 

While this maybe HIS least favorite MOD. We are talking about 160 Bucks! A true CatBack system start around waht 400 bucks and up to 1,000! If he is unhappy with the 1-ball it's not because of performance but I bet because of SOUND! The 1-ball delivers cost effective performance but falls short in the sexy acoustic deparment.

cheap header like OBX and 1-ball exhaust is a great system!!!! performance wise and dollar wise.

 

I like what SpiderX has to say about the fallacy of composition. I began my membership to the $10,000 club thinking it was all discrete, incremental and additive only to find that sometimes I went forward and at other times backward, sometimes in leaps and at times crawling like a crab. I have just recently begun to reap the rewards that come from putting together a system of mods that appear to work better together than separately. I think my single best mod was the BBK, and I think my most marginally effective mod was the Unichip, yet now I would not give up or reverse any mod I've done.

cheers,

 

I would have agree with both your assessments...My biggest standalone performance enhancing mods are:

1. Venom for no BS instant go fast (next best thing to TC or turbo)
2. Pulley reduction for easy 20 ponies
3. Megan coil-overs for unsurpassed handling
4. Rear sway bar for attitude adjustment
5. TDR wheels and Kumho Ecstas for weight reduction
6. Stoptechs for neck breaking brakes

 

I'm not so sure what he meant, but I really don't think it's the matter of a few dollars.

He spent $160 for the one-ball with install. A Milltek will run $660/670 plus install. That's more than just a little bit more.

 

I like quiet. With its very low resistance the 1-ball is one of the better performers and it isn't much, if at all, louder than stock when warmed up. (I've thermal insulated my CAI too, so the whole car is just about as quiet as stock.)

Also, my 1-ball is a custom welded job with a few *special* features that the exhaust specialist did by request:

He centered the exaust tips for me -- why MINI ever let them go into production off-center I'll never understand...

He welded a bolt-on flange a few feet after the cat so if-and-when I want to get an after-market exaust the bolt-on is ready to use.

He re-attached (welded) the unused muffler back onto (but not into) the system so that (1) it looks bone stock unless you lift the car and peek behind the heat shield, (2) it remains weight balanced between both sides and (3) it utilizes the stock exaust mounting system with weight and balance spread over both sides as it was originally designed. I know it's 20 pounds I could have shed, but it is sprung weight and for me it's worth it to have these features (especially in Southern California).

Also, as mentioned, the price was very right!

-- VBG

 

An interesting POV, VBG. Your options list suggests you chose everything to add weight to your MCS, and you don't list obvious weight saving mods like wheels, tires or brakes, so putting that dummy muffler back in to keep prying eyes from seeing what you really have makes sense. Do you feel the extra performance from the one-ball offsets the extra weight your car is carrying around? Without measurements much of this is subjective of course, it's just that I'm a weight weenie...

 

Exactly - for the same performance gains BUT it can still be his least favorite MOD.

I said before its an acoustic thing! You get the performance gain, you just don't get the SOUND thats were the 1-ball fall short. Oh and you don't get a new sset of sexy tips.

 

buying 3 sets of front and rear rotors and pads. i could have bought a set of brembo's by now.

 

That's actually a fair question and observation, Phil... In reality my goal is adding features without doing a facelift, not trying to add weight, but in many cases it probably seems like the latter is the case.

I'm still running stock wheels and tires and probably will continue to do so, as much to keep it looking stock as that it is a family (of 4) car and I don't carry a spare. As you know weight in the tires, wheels and breaks is unsprung weight which is the most costly to performance, but I can't see carrying a spare (at weight) and giving up seating room, nor can I justify giving up storage in the boot. So for me the stock tires and wheels are the best answers. So much so that I've recently purchased at a very nice price a complete, barely used set of s-lites and run-flats from someone who is getting lighter wheels and tires; this new set will be my new tires when it is time, unless I need to replace one due to failure over time.

From a get-up-and-go standpoint the car cooks pretty nicely. The insulated CAI, 15% pulley and 1-ball seem to work well together, providing tremendous pull from stops as well as easy high speed driving. I'm not a racer and really prefer to sight see over taking twisties fast, but I do like quick starts and the car can keep up with most of the other modded MINIs that I drive with in meets.

While the 1-ball may not literally add much if any hp, I do think I feel the reduced resistance; the car seems to respond more freely and smoothly to throttle. While I understand the biggest limiting factor in the exaust system is the exaust valves in the head, I'd be surprised if the 1-ball doesn't contribute positively to the air passage improvements that the CAI and pulley begin.

And, yes, I do like the idea of looking bone stock...

You may have read here in NAM or in the Mini Maniacs board (SCMM) that in Southern California, traffic and law enforcement watches for cars that are obviously modified for performance. It's true, I've seen it myself. In some neighborhoods people with suspect vehicles are regularly pulled over for whatever reason is available and then, just btw, inspected by a police department CARB inspector to see if there are mods in the car that can be used to send the vehicle to CARB arbitration. This is being used as a method to keep street racers out of the neighborhood as well as to produce local income. While I'm sympathetic to both of these reasons, I'd prefer not to be a target for this kind of inconvenience. Looking stock has been documented to be the best way to avoid it.

While the MINI service people are no dummies about mods and will definately know my car has some mods by its performance if nothing else, I also try to keep things moderate and balanced for them in light of their interpretation of my warranty. The CAI, 15% and 1-ball are all similar to mods that they themselves do, and they all deal with specific warranty areas that I'm prepared to deal with myself if there is a problem. I'm staying away from more involved stuff in hopes that I won't antagonize them, and I'm staying away from the track for the same reason.

Again, this is a family car; while I like to have fun with it, I don't want to take unnecessary risks.

-- VBG

 

Your description of your experience mirrors mine..... re the Unichip..... Josh Murray of Unichip did a "custom" tune for me....it really helped to pull it all together

 

SpiderX: I actually remember you posting about the "in car" tune some time ago. I called Josh and asked about it, but he seldom comes out to New Mexico...so it's really not an option for me. I am sending my Chip back to Randy Webb, from whom I bought it, to get a new header tune, with and without cat. I know these maps are canned, and sub-optimal but that's the best I can expect.
We'll see...
cheers,

 

Looks like Kalifornia cops are the price to pay for perpetual perfect weather...knock on wood but I've never been pulled over once in my Mini here in Motor City

 

I think I'm in the same boat - the Unichip will remain my least favorite mod until I can get a custom tune I guess...

 

I too have the UNIChip, and as it stands now, it doesn't score that well. However, I purchased the UNIChip with the main intent being the dyno tune, which I have not yet done. I paid extra, and willingly so, for this unique feature... I'm not in a position yet to judge, so I won't.

Of those who feel that the UNIChip is their least favorite mod, I wonder how many actually had a custom tune. I know that SpiderX and onasled (and others) were quite impressed with their custsomization.

For those with UNIChips and who have no plans for dialing-in with a dyno, then they probably didn't make the best choice for the money as the full capability has not been explored, and never will...

 

For the $160 I spent, I got a bit more sound, lost 22 pounds, and to me it sounds a bit cheap. If I could do it all over again, I would spend the extra $400 and get a real exahust with a solid sound that will add a couple of extra hp. I realize now that a one ball is not a good exahust platform for the other mods I will be adding to the car.

 

I totally disagree about the one-ball. It's by far my favorite mod. So easy, so cheap, and it DOES add performance, and I think it sounds great. Mine definitely sounds different than stock, especially from the outside. I've had many compliments about how good my car sounds. I love it! Should be even more awesome once I get my OBX header!

 

unfortunatley, as the mods go up the "plug and play" capabilities go down.... I had actually thought about being a Unichip tuner and spend my time running around tuning cars ala "pulley parties"......(I would need training.....who wants to be my first victim )

 

Hey, I've got the theft retrieval monkey & he realy loves throwing things off bridges. When passing a bridge ( ESP ) he gets excited, so I bought him a new subscription to Casino Gambling since his ran out last November. Now all is well...
Data says no HP gain.. Zip

 

having given this some more thought..... I think the ported intake manifold runners and snoots was one that I just did not get any real obvious benefit.....I'm glad I did it because I know it has been done....if that makes any sense..... I'm thinking it is a contributor to the engine finally coming together but at the time it was hard to see the benefit.....

 

Serious? Come visit me first