I haven't done any mods to my 2004MCS, but I'm making a list that I want done sometime in the next month-or-so. I don't have any hard requirements other than I want to feel a real difference after they are done. Reading what everyone else had to say, I figured somewhere around 200HP (crank) is what I'd shoot for, but that's just a rough guess. Here's what I figured I'd add:

1) Cold Air Intake (not sure which one, yet)
2) 15% pulley
3) Miltek exhaust
4) GIAC ECU
5) Short shifter (B&M)

I wanted to get some opinions on this selection. A family member also insisted on the rear sway bar. He had one on some other vehicle and swears it's fantastic. I must admit I know nothing about them. I'd have to go with something that is good for everyday driving as well as the occasional track day (Englishtown Racetrack in NJ is opening their road-track soon, they actually updated their website with info on it!!!)

Anyway just wanted to see what people had to say. Again, I want to feel a difference following the mods.

-v625

 

Oh boy. Once you start, you'll never stop!

I've done the Alta CAI (with hose), Miltek CB and the Alta 15% SC pulley. I'd suggest you do the intake and exhaust together as it maximizes the air in-air out performance. I love the sound of the Miltek although the install was more trouble than it should have been. But that's a different thread on here somewhere.

The SC pulley will be the mod you can butt-dyno on the first time out. You'll just love that thing!

I've not done the ECU route, but did go to the Screamin' Demon coil pack, Denso plugs and nology wires. I'm still reading up on the ECU options and saving my pennies for a 2% crank pulley and tensioner stop.

The rear sway bar will tighten up the rear end, especially if you are planning on doing some track time. Might want to consider a tower strut in the front too if suspension is something you plan to play with. I'm sure others will have a thousand suggestions and thoughts.

 

Those are all great mods and you will love them. I am considering selling my Alta Intake and try out the new WMS intake but not sure on that yet. Also for the short shifter, I dont like B&M (take note this is my own personal oppinion). My friend has one and although it shorter than my Alta Short Shift (on the middle setting) its much harder to get into the gears. My Alta is easy to get into the gears. Might wanna reasearch that various short shift kits a bit. My mechanic who has a MINI has the adapter type short shifter like Helix sells for like $60 or so and he loves it, keeps the shift know high (in the stock position) but shortens the throw.

 

I've been hearing a lot about the 2% crank pulleys or the 0% with harmonic dampener (my SAAB had one). Why do a reduced crank pulley? What's the gain?

 

It's 2% larger, not smaller, and lightweight.

 

Well first off the only crank pulley that has a harmonic dampener is the stock OEM ones. The aftermarket ones do not have the dampener but are a lot lighter. This reduces rotating mass so the energy expelled to rotate it is redirected elsewhere. The 2% and 4% pullies will also spin the supercharger faster, so if you have a 15% supercharger pulley and a 2% Crank Pulley it acts more like a car would with a 17% supercharger pulley (the 15 + 2 = 17). There is a lot of talk as to using a piece without the dampener and the long term effects on the engine itself. Some people say there is no problem, others say that there is. There are many discussions on it.

The stock 02 - 04 Crank Pulley is about 9 pounds, the 05 - 06 Crank Pulley is about 6 pounds, and the lightweight aftermarket ones are just shy of 1 pound.

 

you will love and FEEL #2, #1 and 3 are a must to get the max out of 2. You should then be just shy of 200 bph. if you still are on OEM wheel and run flats, loose them, it's worth few hp And look into your IC options, it doesn't make hp but help not to waste them! The short shifter will not make hp but help use them better, and the sway bar will not make hp but WILL help handling them better

 

I had 1, 2 and 3 plus a 2% crank on my previous MCS and it was nice. When it was time to trade, I removed 1 and 3 and left 2 and the 2% and it was a huge loss in the butt dyno. I never got 4 as I was looking at the options but without 4 I was still having a blast.

I also had the swaybar and still do. The way I feel about it. The rear swaybar is to the suspension as 1, 2 and 3 are to the engine.

 

All of those are excellent and tasteful first mods and probably the most efficient way you can get close to 200 bhp. I would recommend the Alta CAI because IMO it's the best bang for your buck CAI.

 

Before you spend your money, do you plan on tracking the car at all? Auto-X road race? These could help guide some of your decisions.

Any of the the current CAI (you will learn they almost are all hot air intakes) are going to be about on par. Those with silicone hoses, it has been my experience, make a little more power i.e 2-3whp than those with the stock hose.

The 15% is probably the safest bet on the street and track. If you never ever plan on tracking it, I would go to a 17% on the street and toss in some colder plugs.

The Milltek, is a great exhaust. Most of the exhausts aren't going to make a ton of difference in power, but will be one of the best upgrades to your MINI.

GIAC, MTH, and many others, the sky is the limit. Consider where you can get it updated if you ever do future mods. Keep in mind, that the power you see with this may not be represented in actuall whp difference, most people report better drivability being the ticket.

The short shifter is a personal feel, I HIGHLY suggest driving a friends with one before sprining for it. I wanted one until I drove another MINI with one, and that was it for me, I stuck with the stock piece.

Something else to consider is the addition of a rear sway bar, aside from ditching the runflats, probably one of the best mods for the car.

 

You are going to love these! I went for the ddm intake because of the look and the slightly toned down (relative to alta topless) CAI, got the 15% and later added a 2% crank, & LOVE the Miltek Can't comment on the other 2 since I don't have them
This will give you a nice kick in terms of power upgrade, next you might want to start thinking about handling and lighter wheels and tires

HAve fun with it!!

 

What would these cost? Parts/Labor (approx).

Thanks

 

With labor, youre looking at somewhere around $1800 to $2500... If you do the work yourelf, you can save a bundle though...

 

$1800 bucks labor in CA? I basically had those identical mods installed in Tennessee at a reputable European car shop for $700.

 

How about just the parts?

 

These are approximations off the top my head, but should be quite accurate:

1. Alta CAI w/hose - $250
2. 15% pulley- $100
3. Miltek exhaust- $800
4. GIAC ECU- $325
5. Short Shift kit- $150

 

Half the fun of getting mods is installing them yourself. The satisfaction of getting your MINI back together and flooring it on its first run after a mod is like no other, especially if you did the work yourself.

 

To give you an idea of how much these would cost at our shop.

Pulley Install + Labor = $385.20
Intake (free install with pulley install) = $199
Milltek Exhaust = $695
One hour for exhaust install = $75
Helix Short Shifter = $60
Install for short shifter (half off when installed with exhaust) = $37.50
GIAC = $325

This would bring the grand total to :$1776.70 + tax

So you can expect the price to be in that region. The intake and short shifter are different prices, and I don't know how much your local shop would charge for install on a pulley, but it should be within this region.

 

Yeah the $1800 estimate would be parts and labor, like Alex backed it up with here with a price breakdown if Helix were to do this install on someones car.

vector, where are you from?

 

Yeah, if you own or have access to a lift. I *hate* laying on the floor, working under cars. I've done that for too many years. I'll pay to have my local indy MINI tech do the grunt work; air tools and a lift makes life easy. Anything above chassis level, I'll do myself.

Link anything, any of these mods are personal preference. Ask ten people and you get twelve different opinions.

Intake. I had installed the Alta intake and I didn't care for it. It was too loud - all the time- for me - the SC was screaming. Lotsa folks like them. I also didn't like the aesthetics or the mechanical design of it. I installed the DDM intake, instead. Not noticably louder then stock except when you 'get on it'. Looks sharp, IMO and very nicely made. Price is about the same as the Alta + top cover.

Pulley. Best bang for the buck. I have the Webb pulley. I liked the idea of the stainless pulley because it has the same expansion properties as the shaft it's going on. Others are made of aluminum. My tech doesn't like the M7 pullies on account of the rough finish inside the mountng hole, and the difficulty he's had with fitment compared to the others. Webb, Alta, Helix are all good sources for these.

Exhaust. I considered Milltek, Larini and Invidia. There are some instances that folks have had issue with the baffles in the Milltek and the build quality is decent, but not remarkable; most people are vary happy with theirs - I wanted something different, though. Larini is nicely made, but I decided against it on account of the poor experiences I've had with the exclusive dealer, MINI Works. Also the Larini has slip fit connections and then these are fastened with muffler clamps; I didn't like that setup at all - especially for a $900 system. I went with the Invidia. Beautifully built, deluxe flanges at all connection points. Nice, growly sound, cool looking titanium tips and - I got a terrific deal and A-1 service from Justin at JSC Speed (a NAM sponsor).

GIAC ECU. Good choice. I have heard but good things on the GIAC ECU flash. Only thing I'd like is to be able to re-flash when new mods are done or to re-flash should the MINI dealer over-write the flash. You'd have to go back to a GIAC dealer for re-flashing, so be sure yo have a place that's close to you that you're comfortable with. MTH would also be a good choice. You can flash this yourself, and it has some tweaks to help with the 'yo-yo' effect and also makes the DSC not as intrusive, as I understand it. Another options is to see if your MINI dealer will do the JCW flash for you, possibly for $100-150, if they'll do it.

Short shifter. I just installed the Helix short shifter, which is an add-on piece to the stock shifter. It keeps the shift **** at the stock heght, which I like. The B&M isn't adjustable and lowers the shift ****, so I ruled it out. You may want to consider the Helix or the Craven Speed part. The CS short shifter has a adjustment **** that permist adjustment of the throw from inside the car; nice feature. Any short shifter will increase the effort require to move the shift lever - and that effort insreases if the lever is shorter.

I hope that helps and doesn't confuse things with even more opinions.

 

Short shifters are a poor idea for any street gearbox as the stock throw distance always the synchros to work properly. This applies to the street and track use alike. Save the short shifter for a race box.

 

the pulley is definetly the best mod for the money. I don't know how good you are with tools but you might want to consider purchasing some jack stands and a jack or two, these plus some pretty common tools ie: ratchet and some wrenches and a couple screw drivers and you can do all the installations your self. Not ony will you save money by doing the work yourself but you'll also have some of the equipment required for other jobs. There are intstructions on the web for installing all the items you mentioned minus the flash. Even if you aren't mechanically enclined you can definetly install the intake yourself and perhaps you can find someone close who can assist you with say, the pully install (which seems quite scarey if you've not done/seen it performed before, but isn't as bad as you might think). It took me about a half year or so to build up the courage to install mine, but i'm glad that i did and feel much more confident in my skills, JUST MAKE SURE YOU HAVE ALL THE TOOLS YOU'LL NEED (you can see the instructions for installing the pully at minimania.com) Plus as someone stated earlier, there's nothing quite like performing an installtion yourself and the enjoying benefits of a job well done. just my two cents. Oh yeah, headers would be a good mod too, as that will be the bottle neck in getting your car to bearth better. Helix offers an obx header with a stock cat welded on for 300 bucks.

 

I live close enough to Philly that I'll be giving Helix a visit for these mods. I'd love to do them myself, but I totally agree that having a lift is a prerequisite. I used to do all my own work on my old '88 SAAB 900S, but it was because I needed to in order to keep the car running. I used jacks and stands and didn't really enjoy it. Especially considering the cold weather we've been having. You only need to nick or smash your hand once in 30degree weather to NEVER want to do that again. I've actually been looking at getting a lift for the garage, but since the wife thinks I'm crazy , she won't allow it.

I already have the B&M shifter, so I'll give it a whirl. I was actually going to do this myself until I read the instructions. They aren't "unscrew this" or "unbolt that". They are "pry in this direction", "pull this out", "more leverage may be needed", etc. Given the cold weather and my desire to NOT break anything, I'll let a professional with a lift do it.

I may consider the header. I'm not sure.

-v625

 

With labor... I really depends on the shop. I do all my work myself, but parts alone will be close to, if not above $1500

 

What are you saying the (long-term?) negative effects of a short shift kit are, then? Even like the Helix unit that attaches onto the existing bits and only reduces throws 20%?

Trust me – these things are A LOT more enjoyable (or at the very least less painful) to work on than old rusty Saabs.