Kinda like the way the sound comes on at 4500, sorta reminds me of the four barrel coming in on an old muscle car....

 

Good point, I had an old dodge truck that used to spew black smoke when you laid into the accelerator and dropped the 4bbl into function. Best thing about the CAI is no black smoke and a zip-----bang feeling of power. Even if it is in my head.

 

Interesting stuff guys...

FYI - you can still get the John Cooper Motorsport CAI from minimotorsport centre, they remove all the components of the flap mechanism and replace the space with metal blanking plates...

The merits of this have been discussed above so its just a case of either matching your choice to your level of tune or your noise requirements!!

For me, I would like the flap to be open from 3.5krpm - that way it doesnt come in at cruising speeds but you can get a little more noise without burying the throttle quite so much

Just my thoughts

 

well the CAI is installed with flap in place. don't seem to notice any sound difference above 4500. Instructions say to program the ECU but they also include the JCW injectors with the instructions which I don't have.

Do I have to take this back to the dealer just so the CAI will work??

 

Nope. No dealer programming/flash required for the airbox only - just for the injectors. If you don't hear the difference, then either it's either not wired right, or the vacuum isn't connected right. You'll definitely hear the difference when it's working.

 

yep, it's very likely one of these two things indeed

btw, one other reason to leave the flap open is if your fingers are too fat / hands too big to get that damn vacuum hose hooked up. it just wasn't happening for me, so i have a screw in the vacuum hose end with the hose twist tied onto another hose. in my modded cabrio, i don't notice the extra noise. i do hear it when i get into it

 

having run it both ways, i think a post much earlier pegged it:

it is closed at lower rpm to mask the annoying intake whistle.

 

OK. All is well with the CAI. Flap opens more around 4800/5000. I was expecting a lower sound when it opened only to realize it's more of a higher SC whistle. Now I'm glad I left the flap in. Couldn't listen to that all day long.

 

Odd... that's a much higher RPM than it should be opening at...

 

Having a quiet intake for when one is doddling around is the number 1 reason to have a JCW intake. If one wants noise all of the time there are many other cheaper intakes that will accomplish that.

I love the JCW with intact flap.

 

Anyone have a sound clip of the whistle??? Im going JCM style but am inerested about this noise as Ive not heard about it from others who have done the mod...

Thanks.

 

Nope - but it's a whistle JUST LIKE a teakettle - at one specific point in the throttle - maybe 15-25% throttle. Not all cars do it. Cars that do it, ALWAYS do it, you just can't hear it with the OEM airbox due to the degree that it muffles the sound.

The snorkel for the OEM airbox has three Heimholtz resonators on it... I wondering if one is tuned to that frequency...

 

Cool thanks for that - does it mean that the aftermarket CAI's also make the whistle too?

 

The CAIs don't make the whistle. The throttle makes the whistle. The CAIs either mask the whistle (JCW, OEM) or they don't (all others). On cars that make the whistle, you can completely remove the intake hose from the throttle body and drive around your neighborhood and it whistles like a teakettle.... just don't do it in a dust storm.

 

Ahh I see, thanks. It will be interesting to hear the wistle when I get the mod done, I may well be reversing the mod if its too annoying for me!!

 

Not all MINIs do it, due to variations in the throttle assembly. Some of us are just lucky.

 

OK. Thanks for your help with this, fingers crossed for me !

 

Am hoping to get a dyno run done soon to see the comparison with/without the flapectomy to see how things change, if they do... will post up when done

 

Just reversed my flapectomy a couple days ago. I have to say, I didn't really notice any loss of power. I CAN hear my exhaust much better now though

 

That was me. I have all the parts for doing the mod, but the switch that I have which will fit in the blank next to the hand brake will only let me toggle between normal flap operation and always-on operation. I am still searching for one that will fit there and allow me to toggle between always closed / closed until 4,500 / always open. Need. More. Poles. If I can't find the switch by the time my broken collarbone heals to the point of easy install contortions, then I will just install what I have. I am 95% certain that it will work.

 

Got a run done after the flapectomy but because I have a GP IC I cant say if there was any effect at all - probably quite unlikely TBH - but with just the GP IC an ITG filter and the flapectomy I was running 221bhp not bad considering its a JCW 210...

Ive now got a Janspeed manifold so need all the help I can get to keep that SC whine in place - put the flap back in and Im not sure I would be able to hear the supercharger at all... Surprised you can hear yours as the youtube vid of your cars shows that your zoorst is very loud !! lol

 

Thought I'd give some new impressions. I had my car tuned by RMW back in June. Recently while cleaning my Amsoil air filter, i decided to try the flapectomy again, and this time I noticed a significant drop in power from 2500-3500 rpm, almost felt like the car was pulling timing, so after a while, I undid the flapectomy and notice that my power in that range was back to normal. My thoughts on this are that pre-tune, the car was so rich it could handle the additional air intake from the flapectomy, but post tune, it was lean enough that the additional air created a too lean condition.

 

I took mine of the other day. Took me about 5-10 minutes. Very easy job. The supercharger now screams louder But when i was removing it i realized that in the main air way to the air filter there is a snorkel that goes down. I took the snorkel of a WRX recently and was wondering if i can take it off my mini and if there is a part to replace the snorkel or intake snorkus remover. Thanks If posible can u send me the answer in a PM? or to my email? fico1991@hotmail.com