No conclusion yet, I still haven't got enough info on both, Apexi RSM-GP and G-Tech Pro RR. It's a tough call though.

Also, I have to transfer the budget into something else.

 

Chris,

Maxi looked great and sounded even better . It is a very nice car and I look forward to seeing even more of it on the future runs !

 

Maxi and her big cousin, GP.



Maxi next to her cousins.

 

i had the jcw tuner installed at morristown in nj for $2000 very nice

 

That's a good price indeed.
Btw, is it the full kit?

 

...by the price, I'm guessing it's the R56 JCW kit.

 

yes, you can see it on Morristown MINI's website

 

Oh, I thought it is for R53.

Maxi can not use any of those kit then.

 

Has nothing to do with mod.

Here are some quick snapshots from yesterday.





The next one got slightly different light. I like the color tone though.

 

Got an appointment for the base run dyno. Would like the result to see the improvement after GP intercooler and Schrick cam installed.

Will keep update.

 

That's got to wait, since THE new update will arrive soon.

By the way, with the set up, the average mpg is a little better now. I have 27.0 mpg @ avg of 32 mph / mixed highway, local and rush-hour traffic.


Brake upgrade, updated.

Brought Maxi in for 30k check up @ Towson yesterday, I forgot to tell my MA not to worry about the brake, since I'm going to upgrade to JCW brake kit anyway.

It's end up, they inspected and changed brake rotors, pads and censors for me under warranty. By the time that I know, everything is done.

Good thing, its free.

So the brake upgraded project will have to postpone until 60k, another year or so.

 

And the Saga continue........

Phrase 2 will begin on Jan 16th, 2008.

Stay tuned for more detail.

_____________________________________________

Just for a fun of it.

 

I know what it is.

 

Hey Jay... Chris does a lousy job keeping his car mods a secret!

 

He just posts too often.

 

Hmm... I think, I might have to slow down a little bit.

 

End of Phase 1: 202 whp , 183 ft/lb, Weight-to-power ratio: 12.3 lbs/hp.

P-1 Engine Modification: JCW Intake, JCW Exhaust, JCW Injectors, JCW GP Intercooler, Helix 15% pulley, JCW belt, IK22 Spark Plugs, Schrick Camshaft 1st version, JCW ECU Software.
P-1 Suspension Modification: JCW Suspension, MM 22mm Rear Sway Bar, JCW Strut Tower Brace.

________________________________________


Phase 2 begins. Fine Tuning the ECU, result: 217 whp and 191 ft/lb of torque. Weight-to-power ratio: 11.6 lbs/hp.

After have all the parts in place and had fun with it for a while, it's time to continue the saga.

I went to Helix today for custom dyno-tuning done by Jan/RMW. I'm the first one who arrived there in the morning. We started with a belt swap, to make sure there wasn't any slipage which would result the loss of power. We decided to use NAPA 25-060-535.

We started the tune session by a baseline run. The number looked good, 202 whp and 183 ft/lb of torque. We all areed that it was a good start.

Jan spent an hour and a half tweaked the ECU parameters, made 6 or 7 runs, concentrated on every details and finalized the tune with the last ECU tweak which resulted: 217 whp and 191 ft/lb of torque.

For me the best part is not the peak numbers, I really like the gain all across the power band. That was awesome.

Jan mentioned that he could tweak it even more to make the number higher, but he wanted to keep it on the safe side. And I agreed.

From the mods that I have had and now the tune, I am very happy with the result. Better throttle response, better driveability in the city, much more fun on the highway.

I would like to thanks Jan and Eric and his crew at Helix for their professionalism, performance and their kind hospitality. For me, It was a great experince, perfect result and completely achieve my goal.

Here is the dyno chart:



One-week test drive report to be follow.

 

...so are you saying that you're not ever going to finish getting the JCW kit?

If not... would you like me to rename the thread again?

Maybe "Just a little fun... my way".

(Just teasing you Chris! It's your car, you do whatever you want. Heh)

 

Actually, I'm still looking for a JCW cylinder head. If it is at the right price, I will go for it.

The JCW brake kit will also be in the phase 2.

During phase 1, I really had good times. It's so enjoyable to watch Maxi got more and more mature.

At the end, I think I have achieved my goal of making Maxi a "fun street car". At 202 whp & 183 lbs (before the tuned), it wasn't bad at all.

 

One week test report.....

Still have a big smile on my face.

Maxi is so much fun to drive, feel very responsive on both city and highway. Throttle response is better as well. The car love to rev now, I can go high up on the rpm range without even notice.

Zero to speed limit is much quicker.

It's great to have useable torque of 165 ft/lb and above, from low 2k rpm all the way to almost 7k (gained all across the power band, see dyno chart for the delta character), with its peak torque of ~190 fl/lb between 3.5k to 5.2k.

Zipping through twisties, and keep the rpm at the range (3k to 6k), and I can feel Maxi is a different beast now. She just wants to go fast.

It's also a big advantage to have the rev limiter raised to 7,200 rpm, which make the advantage of the Shrick camshaft more pronounced. Torque curve doesn't drop much at all, around that extra rpm range. I love to be there all day.

I have the JCW shiftlight's redline set at ~6700 rpm. Now the readline is 500 rpm above that, the shiftlight keep blinking like crazy now.

One minor thing is a small dip around 5,800 rpm. I only feel it when shifted to the next gear, and the rpm drop into that area, especially from 3rd to 4th. Other than that it's very smooth.
Actually, Jan would like to take a look at it, but I don't have time to get up there last Wednesday. That will have to wait until the next time Jan is here.

Over a week & 800+ miles, I feel that every mods I have put onto the car works together in harmony now. Engine runs stronger, better response and loves to rev.

Thanks to Jan for the effort and time for an excellent job fine tuning Maxi. I really like impress with the result. Maxi, she is a big girl now.

And the result is a "Fun Street Car"

 

Chris,

What mods have you done with the fuel system? Do you have the JCW injectors? The '06's are supposed to have a better fuel delivery system than previous, but it might be something worth investigation. I got this information from Dinan, but have also read a lot here on NAM about the lack of adequate fuel at higher RPMs. I could be totally way off, but just thought I'd mention this. Glad to hear you're enjoying Maxi, now I'm anticipating when you get that JCW head installed

Edit: Chris, I just realized you already have the JCW injectors. On a side note, you should get a Boost gauge - very cool!

 

I have JCW injectors.

I have done all hardware mods project since earlier last year, piece by piece and ran by using JCW software. For me, the result was acceptable for the stock JCW software @ 202 whp, 183 ft/lb.

With JCW injectors, Jan is also more comfortable to raise the rev limit to 7,200 rpm. And the injectors are accomodate the cam well too.

The tuned smooth out the curve and has bumped up 5 - 15 ft/lb of torque throughout the power band. That is the best part.

 

Off the record, another goal has been accomplished.

I've just given a Mazdaspeed 3 a HUGE surprise, yes...

One down, 2 to go.

 

And coming soon ......... the big red thing.

 

Just got a new weapon set. in time for the autox season.



Team Dynamic Pro Race 1, 15" x 7".
Dunlop Direzza DZ101 205/50-15.

Ready to be abused.


Each is almost 10 lbs lighter than the VS-xx 18".

Can feel slightly improvement off the line, but not as crisp due to tall sidewall. (and doesn't look as cool)

Will see if it really perform better than 18" on the track, in couple of weeks.