What did you do to your mini today?
6th Gear
Joined: May 2014
Posts: 1,249
Likes: 2
Here's a simple "mod" - lower the steering wheel. Costs nothing, takes a second. (Find the lever on the left side of the steering column - not the turn signal, but farther down -- loosen it, pull the steering wheel down, tighten the lever -- while stopped, of course.) Maybe mine was up too high before, but somehow putting the steering wheel down lower makes the car seem more "go-kart" like.
Neutral
Joined: Aug 2013
Posts: 10
Likes: 0
anti sway bar clattering finally ended thank goodness
for almost a year i put up with a horrendous rattle and clanking on every little bump up front replaced the lower control arm bushings to no avail finally disconnected the anti sway bar on one side and its so peaceful driving again so i went from hating my mini to loving it again and just turned 100,000
6th Gear
Joined: May 2014
Posts: 1,249
Likes: 2
Are you saying the NGK JCW Plugs are better or Brisk?
I had to replace my struts/shocks, so I went with a set of four Koi FSDs. My originals were suddenly rattling over bumps, making the car feel cheap and loose. The new Konis cost me about $1500 installed.
Well, the sound is back to new/normal. The ride seems kinder and gentler but no obvious loss in handling, although this is hard to assess with snow tires on top of snowy roads. The real test will be when my summer performance tires go back on.
My original shocks lasted just short of 7 years and 70k miles.
Well, the sound is back to new/normal. The ride seems kinder and gentler but no obvious loss in handling, although this is hard to assess with snow tires on top of snowy roads. The real test will be when my summer performance tires go back on.
My original shocks lasted just short of 7 years and 70k miles.
2nd Gear
Joined: Jan 2011
Posts: 68
Likes: 1
Recently Installed Pulstar Plugs made by Enerpulse. They advertise 5,000,000 Watt spark obtained from a capacitor within the porcelain body of the plug. Haven't dyno'ed it yet, since RMW dyno tune, but feels stronger.
They are fussy in that you have to re-gap new plug to 0.025 and don't use a rubber sleeved socket because you will crack the thin porcelain. But do it right and be rewarded with more torque and power. Reason for lower gap is induction pressure can "blow out" spark and cause misfire under load. Sounds counter-intuitive if the spark is super high wattage, but it is due to shorter duration from capacitor release.
Factory claims 3-10% more torque and HP with these. And it really feels like it. Have been running Pulstars on the Mini (and my supercharged Buick) for 45K miles. These are the newest iteration, and they feel stronger.
Can't say I get much better mileage as The ECU will maintain AF settings to offset more complete combustion due to the plugs. But then you have more performance also. A cheaper way to get more performance than some of the other mods.
Sorry for the lengthy post, but you have to know what to expect when trying this type of technology.
2006 R52: 15% Pulley, CAI, DOS copper intercooler, RMW Dyno-tune (197 WHP) ATI SuperDamper, Pulstar Plugs, Koni FSDs, TSW X-Brace, Madness Tower Brace.
They are fussy in that you have to re-gap new plug to 0.025 and don't use a rubber sleeved socket because you will crack the thin porcelain. But do it right and be rewarded with more torque and power. Reason for lower gap is induction pressure can "blow out" spark and cause misfire under load. Sounds counter-intuitive if the spark is super high wattage, but it is due to shorter duration from capacitor release.
Factory claims 3-10% more torque and HP with these. And it really feels like it. Have been running Pulstars on the Mini (and my supercharged Buick) for 45K miles. These are the newest iteration, and they feel stronger.
Can't say I get much better mileage as The ECU will maintain AF settings to offset more complete combustion due to the plugs. But then you have more performance also. A cheaper way to get more performance than some of the other mods.
Sorry for the lengthy post, but you have to know what to expect when trying this type of technology.
2006 R52: 15% Pulley, CAI, DOS copper intercooler, RMW Dyno-tune (197 WHP) ATI SuperDamper, Pulstar Plugs, Koni FSDs, TSW X-Brace, Madness Tower Brace.
Last edited by RussWK; Jan 29, 2015 at 08:19 PM.
Alliance Member
Joined: Apr 2003
Posts: 4,101
Likes: 230
From: York, Pennsylvania
New plugs of any brand and correct spec always work better than really old ones.
6th Gear
Joined: May 2014
Posts: 1,249
Likes: 2
I added the brisk brand new and then decided to try the ngks a few days later it was like night and day of how smooth it ran
