what is the best product for an upgrade? is Water to Air intercooler better than the Air to Air intercooler ? (M7 DFIC or Maltek W2A IC)

Also, should I go for an over driven crank pulley/ alternator set (Craven Speed) or should I just use a 0% lighter crank pulley or no pully at all

people tell me that I don't know what I'm getting my self into with the lighter pulley... is that true?... I need some advice from you PLEASE...

 

it is said water to air is over rated ,though i'm on the fence ; i'm sure it's got it's merits on the track the dfic is all the rage now ,but one guy here did insulate his stock i/c to get better results so go figure. i'd stay away from the non dampening crank pulley but that's just me . but do gat a 15% s/c pulley and exhaust (full) and a nice cold air intake like the alta . this is an addiction so beware . luck .

 

Ca$per, bless you, hope you're well over there in Kuwait, but there have been so mnany threads on this subject, you'll really enjoy reading through them because there is a wealth of knowledge out there about mods, I've learned alot.

Do a search on the subject and start soaking it up.

paul

 

Yes I did read that subject on the DIY intercooler insulation, but still wanted to see if there are good figures for the Water to Air intercoolers if the money can be spent on hetting good products. As for the S/C pulley and exhaust, well, I already got a JCW kit on the car which has a nice cat back system and a good S/C, but I'm not sure of the 15% pulley and if it would work. the crank pulley issue is kinda strange for me coz some people say it's good and other complain from it, so I think I will do even more research on that. I did find that Rogue Mini Cooper S JCW Cold Air Intake is very good and the vendor claims that it will produce a 9.3 hp and 6.1 ft-lb gains (they have the dyno graph for it). the one thing I'm sure of getting now is the MTH stage one kit (header + program). this mini just keep making me go faster and faster... next summer I will do a full suspension upgrade with JCW big brakes and find some fine shoes for it. thanks for the advice though, your advice is a lot of help to me

 

Thanks pberry for the advice too, I started reading the different threads for under the bonnet mods and I can say that there are LOTS I am enjoying everyone of it and it's eating up lots of my time at work and home that's why I asked, and to be more honest... I really wanna get more ponnies out of the Mini so that I can use it in the winter for the tracks and I know I'm being impatient[FONT=Times New Roman][SIZE=3] [/SIZE][/FONT]about it. As you might know, the weather around here during the summer time is not the best to be racing I think it gets like 10000 degrees here just kidding. Anyway, this is way cooler than the Hummer H2 forums thanks alot... it's really alot of knowledge

 

The m7 DFIC seems to be hands-down the best air-2-air IC. However, in the environment where you are, I wonder whether water to air might not be better overall?

Have you checked out the British Mini forums? They may have some guys with more "raw" desert experience than most NAMers (Africa, Australia, Middle East?) Just a thought. Even though we have Nevada and Az, I don't know if they really compare with what you have there!!

Another item to think about, though, is the Alta top mount IC sprayer system. They have air to air, but they also offer a spritzer that should really work pretty well in the dryness you have there. It actually squirts the IC surfaces with water to improve cooling.

Good luck!!

Also, did your JCW kit include a SC reduction pulley? I kinda get the idea you got the car used with the kit already installed, am I right? The reason I ask is that I thought the "standard" JCW kit had a pulley that is about a 14-15% reduction compared to stock MCS? You oughta check with some other guys who have craptastik (JCW) cars before you spend money on a SC pulley if you don't need it.

Good luck again!

 

Thanks markldriskill,
the only thing about water to air that is worrying me is the water radiator covering the original radiator of the Mini and also the traffic stops heat. I think Nevada is pretty close to the weather here, I don't think that the British weather is anywhere close to ours . Moreover, I'm more familiar with the US system than the british or african one and have lots of friends there (having lived there for 6 years in Miami )

as for the S/C pulley.. I don't think that I will be getting that item but was more looking into the Crank pulley.

as for the Mini..you are right.. I did get it used, but it was a steal, I couldn't resist. I was going to get a brand new MCS when this Italian guy approched me saying that he wants to sell his 03 MCS JCW which is almost new. he bought a stock MCS and then upgraded with the JCW currently producing almost 210 hp and a full aero kit. the car had only 9000 miles on the odometer and the dealer was a friend and recomended it to me... I closed the deal for only $15K (the car even smells new ) and that's the whole story....

thanks anyway for the reply MD

 

man if you're driving in hot climates do look into the madness or moss oil coolers .

 

I personally love the lightened crank pulley. I had it installed about 10k miles ago and right now I'm sitting at almost 47k miles on an early model '03. It doesn't increase power by any means, but the throttle response is FAR better than it was in the past. Of course, now that I have the M7 segmented flywheel as well, you can't imagine how quickly the engine revs. It really makes the car feel very different, in that you can do a rev-match when downshifting with ease. I've always found the throttle response of the MINI in stock form to be very sloppy, so having the improved response is definitely a welcome change. The only problem with doing the flywheel is it's cost prohibitive, which is why I recommend the crank pulley since it really is quite cheap comparatively and the increased response is worth it. Fortunately for me, I have a friend whose father is mechanically inclined, so I was able to get the install done for free.

GotMINI