I need to go Christmas Shopping for the GF for a few mods...her car is a 2006 MCS 6MT. The car is serviced and was purchased at Hassel in NY. I understand that pully and intake and chip are the most gainful mods but which ones? Has anyone had any warranty issues with these? (I drive an audi S4 Avant so I'm warranty paranoid). I was looking at turner MS and I see thay have a flash chip which seems very convenient to flash back to stock. How is this compared to the dinan and JCW chips/flashes? How is GIAC for Mini? As far as CAIs go alta seems to be the favored one...no? How is the dinan one? Are all pulleys created equal? Are there any installation reccommendations?
Thanks in advanced! And I've been lookign at some of your pics! Beautiful cars! My only gripe is the runflats (which are off come spring time).

 

Search, only you know best what you are looking ofr and there are plenty of threads on this.

90% of the aftermarket products are extremely reliable in their own right. Warranty is dealer and even day to day dependant for nil to heavy mods. JCW is the only bulletproof way to keep the MINI warranty, many aftermarlet companies will warranty their products.

 

I understand that...but I find that there are some mods that are "acceptable" and some tuner companies that are better than others and some formulas of products seems to work well. I'm at a loss in the Mini world!

 

Dinan would be the way to go if the dealer where you got the car is a Dinan dealer. It's pricey but it works & you have your warranty.

 

What about bling items for the interior and exterior that could help your GF "personalize" her MINI AND which wold have NO impact on warranty!!?

Could more "bling" than "zing" get you more points?

 

I have some good packages or individual peices that you can get the Holiday special on. Call anytime.

317.201.8670

 

Generally the best parts are M7 or ALTA in no specific order. I would recommend a 15 or 16& pulley, to keep your GF happy, but still have the reliable aspect (yes, I know other %'s are also reliable, just giving options).

Intakes are a touchy subject, as many produce different sounds, which your GF might or might not like. I personally have had the HAI (Hot Air Intake) and now an ALTA. The ALTA intake is awesome, but I liked the HAI's sound better, seemed more throaty. I'm still getting used to the ALTA, but I'm starting to really like it. It's deffinitly a lot higher pitched and louder than stock. I don't know how "into-cars" she is, but I know that ALTA CAI could annoy someone VERY easy.

-Cody

 

I'd look at an East Coast (Philadelphia) based Tuner, developer, installer... Helix.

Almost every "popular" mod mentioned here has a Helix equivalent and with a 2 hour drive you can have Eric installing the item, with ongoing support, warranty, etc.

I'd go this way: Rear Sway, CAI (check out Helix's, it an enclosed CAI), 17% pulley, ECU piggy back. Except for the pulley all can be reversed if needed.

Give Eric Savage a call or email, (he's in the vendor section) he will take good care of you...

 

Pulley - There are two types 4 bolt and 6 bolt. Doesn't seem to make any real difference - NAMers are running both successfully.
CAI - enclosed CAI box is getting attention today.
GIAC - I am very happy with the results - see thread "ecu giac upgrade".

See if you can find a local vendor - it facilitates if problems arise.

I just got ride of my runflats - BIG difference

 

We buy each other mods for holidays....we're both about the "zing"...but we also think that some "zing" is bling! Ie. wheels!

 

A top-notch gift for the holidays that makes for a more enjoyable drive and won't set off the warranty police: A Whalen Shift Machine!!!

It's heavy (makes for a smoother shift and easier transitions to reverse), it feels great and it has a positive locking mechanism (unlike the friction fit stock **** that kept coming off in hard turns). It also allows for customization (cool custom engraving possibilities)

Doug Whalen's site:
http://www.whalenshiftmachine.com/home.htm

A gallery of different designs:
https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...ad.php?t=79336

PS: Don't do the bead-blasted finish! (see post #15 in the gallery thread for my discussion of the bead-blasted finish)

 

You got that right. A second for the shift ****....... Polished w/ nothing works too.....

 

Than ks to miniguru@ way motorsports...he is extremely knowledgable and a true enthisiast!!!! He has helped me let the mods begin! I just need to make shure her car isn't faster than mine!

 

to your GF?

She must be great. Is she as hot in

Oh, sorry. I just kinda got carried away.

Have a merry Christmas, ruknd! And same to your GF, too!

 

Way Motorsports is a great vendor (excellent phone and email support) and Way is a hard-core enthusiast. He won the points competition for the US MINI racing circuit (the very long official name escapes me right now)! I'm running a rear swaybar that his group of hooligans installed at the Dragon.

Someone on his team drives a PW MCS with painted arches... how could you not love that!

 

Don't do that! Take the opportunity to show her how much you know about her with a full custom ****! This is a HUGE opportunity to win GF-points and remind her how much you care every time she changes gears... well... or you could bodge it completely and lose massive points... anyway, it's better than buying her a vaccuum for Christmas!

 

Thanks you too! I wont post pics but...she is active on ths My Space forums and spends some time on NE Motoring...she has a chili S with the chrome line package. That should give you some work. We lub S cars with rear doors and silver mirrors...mine just has 4 rings and two more doors !

 

.

 

I can't believe that I forgot about the motoringfile gift guide: http://motoringfile.com/2006/11/21/2...le-gift-guide/

or a subscription to MC2: http://www.mc2magazine.com/

 

Thanks! Done and Done!