ALTA Performance Feedback! (questions/comments)
So far everything I've purchased from ALTA has been great. I loved the SSK I used to have in my Cooper, don't ask my why I ever sold that thing instead of just transferring it to my JCW.
I only have one comment on the R56 intake I recently purchased. The silicone tube that's supplied that connects to the turbo inlet tube is a really bad fit. It fits fine on the inlet tube side, but the side that connects to the filter is cut at an angle that almost doesn't fit on the bracket at all. Maybe I just got a bad tube or something, but I have to keep checking to make sure it hasn't slid off causing a massive leak.
Other than that, that thing makes a wicked sound!
I only have one comment on the R56 intake I recently purchased. The silicone tube that's supplied that connects to the turbo inlet tube is a really bad fit. It fits fine on the inlet tube side, but the side that connects to the filter is cut at an angle that almost doesn't fit on the bracket at all. Maybe I just got a bad tube or something, but I have to keep checking to make sure it hasn't slid off causing a massive leak.
Other than that, that thing makes a wicked sound!
Thanks again and in advance for letting us assist you!
Chat soon!
Adam @ ALTA
I bought a CAI a year ago, and dealt with Ken. He was great, the hose I ordered in black was on back order so I channged it to blue and Ken kicked down some extra stickers . Keep up the good work, and I always reccomend your CAI to all who ask.
Great Service
I ordered the 15% kit from Alta for my 04 MCS last Monday and received my order on Thursday. That was quickest shipping ever to Canada! But i do have two comments...
1- next time please don't ship so quickly
I ordered the pulley puller from another vendor and didn't get it in time so I had a ***** of a time getting the old pulley out, had to grind/drill/dremel it...
2- I promised myself I wasn't going to go crazy on mods with this car but now i have been researching for the last hours what my next upgrade will be
any suggestions
1- next time please don't ship so quickly
I ordered the pulley puller from another vendor and didn't get it in time so I had a ***** of a time getting the old pulley out, had to grind/drill/dremel it...2- I promised myself I wasn't going to go crazy on mods with this car but now i have been researching for the last hours what my next upgrade will be

any suggestions
I ordered the 15% kit from Alta for my 04 MCS last Monday and received my order on Thursday. That was quickest shipping ever to Canada! But i do have two comments...
1- next time please don't ship so quickly
I ordered the pulley puller from another vendor and didn't get it in time so I had a ***** of a time getting the old pulley out, had to grind/drill/dremel it...
2- I promised myself I wasn't going to go crazy on mods with this car but now i have been researching for the last hours what my next upgrade will be
any suggestions
1- next time please don't ship so quickly
I ordered the pulley puller from another vendor and didn't get it in time so I had a ***** of a time getting the old pulley out, had to grind/drill/dremel it...2- I promised myself I wasn't going to go crazy on mods with this car but now i have been researching for the last hours what my next upgrade will be

any suggestions
I would still suggest the Cat-Back Exhaust, 2% Crank Pulley, Suspension etc. etc. Check it all out and let me know! Happy to help answer any questions for you pre- or post- purchase.
Thanks again and continue to enjoy the car and the parts!
Adam @ ALTA
Defective parts
New to Minis and you guys are not doing to well on the CS side of things.
My new accessport was defective (we discussed yesterday) and I was referred back to Cobb Tuning. Not terribly cool since I ordered direct from the Alta site. Cobb operator sounded like he was hungover as we went through some basic trouble shooting (yes, there were 9 pins in the connector, yes, they were all the same height, yes, I bought it new). After being treated like an illiterate highscool kid cobbling together used crap to put on my car, no, it did not occur to me to explain I was a development engineer in the automotive industry. Said operator explained I would be allow to pay return shipping on their defective part and they would turn it around in 24 hours or so, which puts me in the position of providing a $900 loan to them for a couple of weeks while they determine that yes, something is wrong.
My customers typically get a replacement part from me right away if there is a problem while I look into what went wrong with what they already bought. Just the way I see fit to do business.
I have a fair idea of the markup on these things and even manufactured with North American labor (which they aren't), the margin is high. I'll keep those numbers to myself, but I would have expected better service in return.
My new accessport was defective (we discussed yesterday) and I was referred back to Cobb Tuning. Not terribly cool since I ordered direct from the Alta site. Cobb operator sounded like he was hungover as we went through some basic trouble shooting (yes, there were 9 pins in the connector, yes, they were all the same height, yes, I bought it new). After being treated like an illiterate highscool kid cobbling together used crap to put on my car, no, it did not occur to me to explain I was a development engineer in the automotive industry. Said operator explained I would be allow to pay return shipping on their defective part and they would turn it around in 24 hours or so, which puts me in the position of providing a $900 loan to them for a couple of weeks while they determine that yes, something is wrong.
My customers typically get a replacement part from me right away if there is a problem while I look into what went wrong with what they already bought. Just the way I see fit to do business.
I have a fair idea of the markup on these things and even manufactured with North American labor (which they aren't), the margin is high. I'll keep those numbers to myself, but I would have expected better service in return.
Defective AP?
New to Minis and you guys are not doing to well on the CS side of things.
My new accessport was defective (we discussed yesterday) and I was referred back to Cobb Tuning. Not terribly cool since I ordered direct from the Alta site. Cobb operator sounded like he was hungover as we went through some basic trouble shooting (yes, there were 9 pins in the connector, yes, they were all the same height, yes, I bought it new). After being treated like an illiterate highscool kid cobbling together used crap to put on my car, no, it did not occur to me to explain I was a development engineer in the automotive industry. Said operator explained I would be allow to pay return shipping on their defective part and they would turn it around in 24 hours or so, which puts me in the position of providing a $900 loan to them for a couple of weeks while they determine that yes, something is wrong.
My customers typically get a replacement part from me right away if there is a problem while I look into what went wrong with what they already bought. Just the way I see fit to do business.
I have a fair idea of the markup on these things and even manufactured with North American labor (which they aren't), the margin is high. I'll keep those numbers to myself, but I would have expected better service in return.
My new accessport was defective (we discussed yesterday) and I was referred back to Cobb Tuning. Not terribly cool since I ordered direct from the Alta site. Cobb operator sounded like he was hungover as we went through some basic trouble shooting (yes, there were 9 pins in the connector, yes, they were all the same height, yes, I bought it new). After being treated like an illiterate highscool kid cobbling together used crap to put on my car, no, it did not occur to me to explain I was a development engineer in the automotive industry. Said operator explained I would be allow to pay return shipping on their defective part and they would turn it around in 24 hours or so, which puts me in the position of providing a $900 loan to them for a couple of weeks while they determine that yes, something is wrong.
My customers typically get a replacement part from me right away if there is a problem while I look into what went wrong with what they already bought. Just the way I see fit to do business.
I have a fair idea of the markup on these things and even manufactured with North American labor (which they aren't), the margin is high. I'll keep those numbers to myself, but I would have expected better service in return.
I bought on early, knowing that there was not a Canned Tuned for my 2001 MCSa, so I have been patiently waiting.
Are there serial number ranges for the defective units??
Stephen
New to Minis and you guys are not doing to well on the CS side of things.
My new accessport was defective (we discussed yesterday) and I was referred back to Cobb Tuning. Not terribly cool since I ordered direct from the Alta site. Cobb operator sounded like he was hungover as we went through some basic trouble shooting (yes, there were 9 pins in the connector, yes, they were all the same height, yes, I bought it new). After being treated like an illiterate highscool kid cobbling together used crap to put on my car, no, it did not occur to me to explain I was a development engineer in the automotive industry. Said operator explained I would be allow to pay return shipping on their defective part and they would turn it around in 24 hours or so, which puts me in the position of providing a $900 loan to them for a couple of weeks while they determine that yes, something is wrong.
My customers typically get a replacement part from me right away if there is a problem while I look into what went wrong with what they already bought. Just the way I see fit to do business.
I have a fair idea of the markup on these things and even manufactured with North American labor (which they aren't), the margin is high. I'll keep those numbers to myself, but I would have expected better service in return.
My new accessport was defective (we discussed yesterday) and I was referred back to Cobb Tuning. Not terribly cool since I ordered direct from the Alta site. Cobb operator sounded like he was hungover as we went through some basic trouble shooting (yes, there were 9 pins in the connector, yes, they were all the same height, yes, I bought it new). After being treated like an illiterate highscool kid cobbling together used crap to put on my car, no, it did not occur to me to explain I was a development engineer in the automotive industry. Said operator explained I would be allow to pay return shipping on their defective part and they would turn it around in 24 hours or so, which puts me in the position of providing a $900 loan to them for a couple of weeks while they determine that yes, something is wrong.
My customers typically get a replacement part from me right away if there is a problem while I look into what went wrong with what they already bought. Just the way I see fit to do business.
I have a fair idea of the markup on these things and even manufactured with North American labor (which they aren't), the margin is high. I'll keep those numbers to myself, but I would have expected better service in return.
I could have done the return process for you, but it would have lead to more time waiting on your end, since you would send the AP to me, and I would have to mail the AP to them, etc.
I'm sorry, I should have explained my reasoning to you.
I must have missed something. Was there a batch of "Defective Access Ports" that were shipped early on, from Alta???
I bought on early, knowing that there was not a Canned Tuned for my 2001 MCSa, so I have been patiently waiting.
Are there serial number ranges for the defective units??
Stephen
I bought on early, knowing that there was not a Canned Tuned for my 2001 MCSa, so I have been patiently waiting.
Are there serial number ranges for the defective units??
Stephen
There isn't a batch of "Defective AccessPORTs", this customer just had a problem with his individual AP.
We aren't ever planning on making the AccessPORT compatible with the 2001 MCSa, did you mean a different year?
Chris, thanks for the follow up. I think my main quibble is with Cobb Tuning at this junction. They don't seem terribly enthusiastic about their product.
To your points, no the ECU was never flashed and the car seems to run as normal (no CEL, starts). Looking forward to actually getting everything finished.
To your points, no the ECU was never flashed and the car seems to run as normal (no CEL, starts). Looking forward to actually getting everything finished.
This was a Typo on my part. It should read 2011 MCSa NOT A 2001, my error.
I assume that you are still working on a Map for the 2011MCSa engines/ECU's?
Stephen
Just another anxious 2011 (Countryman All4 S) patient waiting for an Alta doctor. Had a 2003 MCS with Alta parts all over it (exhaust, sway, intake, pulley, etc.) and never had a single problem with any of them. Good instructions, easy to install, worked perfectly, made a very noticeable difference. Now really looking forward to intake, intercooler, AccessPort, and exhaust for the Countryman S.
Same Here i bought the CAI, Intercooler, Accesport and I am totally in love with all their products. ALTA FTW.
I find it odd that I can buy some parts cheaper from Alta's vendors than direct from Alta. Even when I called Alta directly it was still about 15$ cheaper after shipping to deal with the vendor. I did purchase more stuff from Alta today using the Memorial day sale code but still the sway bar and tensioner stop I purchased elsewhere was not cheaper.
First of all I am a huge Alta fan, even stopped by your shop during our recent vacation to Oregon :-) Awesome products and service!
I have a 2009 JCW with the Alta CAI, Alta hot and cold side boost tubes, BOV spring upgrade and AccessPort running the Stage 1 tune. My question is about spark plug gap....
I recently purchased the BRSK-DR12YS plugs from Alta and have gapped them to .019 (Alta website says range is .018 to .020). But I have read many posts where it seems people are gapping these plugs to .028 or even .030 with seemingly positive results.
So, just curious about gap in general:
1) Is it an exact science or is it somewhat arbitrary?
2) Should the gap be different for a stock JCW vs a JCW running the AccessPort Stage 1 tune?
3) What are the upside/downsides of having too large or too little gap?
Any clarification would be appreciated, thanks!
I have a 2009 JCW with the Alta CAI, Alta hot and cold side boost tubes, BOV spring upgrade and AccessPort running the Stage 1 tune. My question is about spark plug gap....
I recently purchased the BRSK-DR12YS plugs from Alta and have gapped them to .019 (Alta website says range is .018 to .020). But I have read many posts where it seems people are gapping these plugs to .028 or even .030 with seemingly positive results.
So, just curious about gap in general:
1) Is it an exact science or is it somewhat arbitrary?
2) Should the gap be different for a stock JCW vs a JCW running the AccessPort Stage 1 tune?
3) What are the upside/downsides of having too large or too little gap?
Any clarification would be appreciated, thanks!
^^^Woodster: Thanks as always! Tech@ALTAPerformance.com will be up to answer this one for you ASAP!






