VERY much a newbie to mods on my 2010 CooperS, but can't justify trade-in for a 2012 JCW. so... i have read lots of great things about the Milltek exhaust power add (20-25 hp +/-). i already know what the JCW Tuning kit will do for my CooperS (up to 189hp). what I need to know is if I do the JCW Tuning kit AND get the Milltek cat-back exhaust do i get the 17hp form the kit + the 20-25hp from the Milltek (total of 37-42 additional hp)? sorry if this may be an uninlformed question, but any and all expertise can help. I am reluctant to do too much non-warranty mods as I can't afford to pay for problems that may arise (yes, they don't always, but IF they do...) so I wanted to try a factory kit and just one after-market mod, once I find out the actual return on investment. thanks for reading and I hope everyone loves their MINI as much as me. Cheers!

 

Millteks website shows all gain with a 200 cell milltek downpipe remember and that is Brit bhp not a whp #

You may pick up a few hp with the milltek downpipe back system but sure not 20-25 without installing a downpipe.

Spend your money on water/meth system or a forge/helix/tyrolsport intercooler and you will see great results with the
dealer installed jcw tuning kit.

 

^^^This is great advice. If you have the money for an exhaust then I'd too would use it towards a water/meth system instead. Cooler combustion, "steam cleaning" effect, and some extra HP for good measure. I wish I got it as my first mod to keep the carbon build-up off the intake valves.

 

the intercooler idea is something to think about, but i'm not sure i want that kind of non-warranty mod just yet. i'm not too car-savvy, and i am pretty sure MINI service won't do that install for me! once i am not covered, i will keep that in mind. as to the water/meth system, what exactly is that? (remember, i am quite the newbie to mods). thanks for the replies, s88 and 2009R56JCW.

 

It's a system that allows you to inject a fluid (usually water, methanol, or a combination of both) into the air/fuel mixture on its way into the cylinders of the engine. There are many benefits of doing this, and depending on your goals you can configure the system any number of ways. For instance, my main goal was to lower the combustion temperatures in the cylinders to hopefully increase the longevity of the engine. Water has the additional benefit of softening up the hard carbon that will build up on the intake valves of our cars (an unfortunate side-effect of direct injection). Methanol effectively increases the octane of the fuel which is really important for owners who live in places like California (like myself) who can only get 91 octane pump gas (unless you want to pay through the nose for race gas). It also evaporates extremely quickly which carries heat with it. So higher octane, plus lower intake temperatures equals some additional horsepower without even needing a tune (the ECU will automatically make corrections when it sees the lower intake temps). Furthermore, if you get a custom tune your tuner can create an aggressive map that will give you even more HP but in a much safer environment. And really good water/meth systems will include failsafes to further ensure the safety of your engine.

I'm very far from an expert on this, but there's lots of info both on this forum and other websites that will dive into the gory details if you're curious. I'm just passing along information that I've learned from really knowledgable people.

 

If water/meth or a intercooler scare you and you have your heart set on a jcw tuning kit ask the dealer order a factory jcw exhaust instead of the tuning kit exhaust.

With a factory jcw exhaust you will have one less cat(a little more power) and a much better sound compared to the tuning kit exhaust.