I have just acquired a 2003 MCS w/ 99K miles. I am considering a 15% SC pulley, but a tech that I trust has told me that he has heard lots of stories from MINI owners stating that a reduced pulley caused their water pump to explode...causing the car to overheat. Apparently the higher RPMs generated from the SC pulley, which he says also powers the water pump, have caused the water pumps to break.

Forgive me for what may be a terrible description of the problem; I am not a car expert - just looking to pick up some additional performance on the street. Have any of you heard of or experienced this problem yourself? I am looking into a 15% pulley among other mods, but I certianly don't want to sacrifice reliability on a car with 99K miles.

Any thoughts, insights, or corrections would be greatly appreciated.

First post - delighted to be here. Thanks.

 

nm

 

Search, search, search. It will become to be your best friend!!!
You should be fine with a 15%
Jack

 

I'm sure this question has been asked before and much more detail can be found, but sometimes it takes longer to search than to wait for an answer. In this case, the general finding will be that the water pump performance is not compromised by putting a pulley on, so go for it--install one-- and discover a little more about your little car (that could!)

 

The SC pully does make the Water Pump spin faster (Maybe a good thing not bad...)

But a 15% will spin 15% faster at the same revs.

If your not at redline all the time ... I really think the tollerance of duty cycle built into the pump is much more than 15%.

I would say IMHO most waterpump failure is due to poor cooling system maintance / or other issues ... not spinning it 15% faster.

Just 2 cents more of opinion ... I use Redline Water Wetter in every vehicle I own ... I am of the thought that this stuff really works.