Has anyone changed the air filter? Would a K&N boost the intake/turbo noise? I love the car but it is so quiet. This is the first turbo car I have owned where I cannot hear the turbo. This is not a complaint rather...just something I would like to change. Sounds corny but coming from other turbo cars I miss that whistle and would love to hear my MINI whistle.

Yes... mine is an "S"

I would like to eventually install a blow-off valve to vent to the atmosphere but I need to make sure that will not affect my warranty.

Anyone have suggestions on how to get the MINI to sound more like a turbo charged car rather than a naturally aspirated car?

By the way, I am new to the board, I recently purchases a chilli red/black MCS auto and my wife bought a JCW 6-speed manual. Dark silver.

I have been on a few other mini boards but the membership/activity seemed to be rather limited. So far, this forum has a lot of good information.

-Chris

 

Mines gotten louder with age !

 

The hubby put a homemade CAI on my car with a K&N filter and some other assorted pieces from your local auto parts store - it did make the "psh" more noticable (we took it off for the winter and i missed it).

I have the Forge BOV and it's AWESOME... my service advisor knows I have it and didn't warn against it - so personally, I'm not worried about warranty.

 

Trade it for a Supercharger

 

Good you said that, I really do want to get an aftermarket blow-off valve as well. My wife and I actually met drag racing, I had a 97 Supra Twin turbo...upgraded to a T-78 6-speed and she had a 94 twin turbo auto. Both cars we ran the blow off valves and the shifts were a bit smoother.

I am going to ask the dealer if a blow-off valve will void the warranty. If not, that will be the next thing I purchase. I will probably get the K&N next month as well since they tend to perform well while catching a lot of particles.

Thank you for the input!!!

 

The MCS vents back into the intake, right? No venting to atmosphere? So an aftermarket BOV puts you back in the position of changing the amount of metered air, resulting in rich conditions between shifts. I can't imagine anyway that this would result in smoother shifts? I can imagine situations where Mini gives you a hard time if you have certain engine issues.

 

I just installed a DDM Works Street intake and my car whistles like there is no tomorrow! It also improved throttle response, seems like (from the butt dyno) it added a few xtra horses and my gas milage is improving.

 

I want to get one too, glad to hear you can hear the turbo whine, better milage too huh? that's a perk I like it cause you don't have to totally remove the stock airbox to install it. The only comcern that I have is my scoop is partially open, every other row is still blocked, Is it possible for water to get in during heavy rain, and get water sucked into the turbo.I've seen the effects of this on a generator, ugly too say the least

 

I have the Alta CAI and can hear my turbo quite well. I've had it on for about 5k miles now and so far very happy with it.

 

I don't think you could get all that much water in the intake, from the scoop, to make it hydrolock. It sits pretty far back and is pretty well protected and also the water has to travel over the piping hot exhaust manifold/turbo. You would have to go through some pretty deep puddles to do any damage, IMO.

 

Does the filter sit as far in as the pics make it appear too, did you go with the K&N or the foam filter ? Sorry for all the questions man

 

You have PM!!

 

The DDM Street Intake: http://www.waymotorworks.com/product...cat=328&page=1
Will give you a good sound and you'll really hear the blow off valve. Just installed another one today.

Note: DDM intake comes with a K&N filter, not the foam uni that is in the picture you see.

 

 

Good point about the blow off valve however, there is a block off plate so you should be able to vent to the atmosphere with no issues. Honestly, it is something I will need to do more research on.As for the DDM street intake, does anyone know if that will void out a warranty? I suppose I will need to ask the dealer but I was curious if anyone else has installed it. Worst case, I could install and put the stock back on prior to service.

 

No mods should void your warranty unless they are the direct cause of a malfunction! Check this out!

 

I'm new and already you all rock!Ok, so I started thinking about this post so I popped the hood...and took the intake apart. Interesting, direct air/meter to turbo inlet.Basically, easy way to get what I want entails removing the stock air box and fitting a filter at the end of the air-meter...boom...done :-)I just test drove the car with the airbox off and I could hear the turbo and the blow off valve...2 for the price of one. This is exactly what I have done with all my other cars. Also, it does not add any additional air or anything so no worries about going too lean, all this does is allow me to hear what is going on. I will post a picture of the "poor man's intake" tomorrow IF I can find the intake portion I need.BTW...turbo sounds excellent and the blow-off valve is quite loud! Car seemed to spool up quickly too. Although, I could tell open it was running a bit either rich or lean. I will test it out tomorrow...I have other tricks as far as the intake should it breathe too much. As far as water, the location is very high up so that should not be a problem unless you travel through water over 12 inches deep...which is not recommended in any case.

 

 

If your taking the DIY path, then here is a thread that may be of some interest to you

https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...ad.php?t=99615

 

WOW...funny you post that....I just figured that out tonight and put the exact same thing on my car.Pretty much rides the same except now I can hear everything. I would say the response is slightly better but I do not feel that I gained any additional power, if I did it must not be very much.I would imagine this to be warranty friendly however, the beauty is that I can put the stock intake on within a few minutes. :-)$20 not too bad! BTW...I went with a Cotton intake (one from autozone) why? They do not breathe as much as a K&N so it should retain a similar air-flow as the stock setup. The other thing I like about this set up is that the stock intake is still used so cool air is still coming into the bay. That helps on hot days keep some cooler air in. Again...thanks everyone! The car just became that much better tonight.