Ugh.

I can't take it.

For the second time this year, a Pulley Party will be within 4 hours of my home in Columbus Ohio (first Cincy, now MoTown in December).

So for a guy with a warranty to protect, what's the risk? Anybody out there experience major issues with Pulleys? Any blown motors (when there isn't also an oil issue)? Any fried superchargers or cooked valves? (Ryan, driving a pulley'ed vehicle into a ditch doesn't count).

I just can't resist. This car is sooooo cool, but I am getting a little tired of getting blown away by Hondas and Focuses (Foci?).

So, risky? Am I guaranteed a toe-to-toe with the service manager while looking at my blown engine, or is that just not going to happen. Not looking for guarantees here, just a little sense.

Thanks in advance!

 

Correct me if I'm wrong, but I think that the minimania.com offers an extended warantee for parts only (no labor) for any parts effected by their mods.

 

IQQ,

I was very much in the place you are.... about a year ago.
I was extremely concerned about warantee issues and the mods that were available.
I started w/ rims & tires....then air-intake...then...a few mufflers till I found the right one. All of those were non-warantee isssues as far as I was concerned.

At about 16K I figured.... IMHO...if something was gonna go wrong..it would have by now!!!!!
So...I did the pulley
My MCS has 23k on it now.... and of that I'd say I have approx 7k w/ the pulley on it.
I have had NO issues w/ the pulley and/or the Powerchip ECU re-map.
NONE!!!!

Looking back ..I should have done the pulley earlier.
I 'm glad I waited on the re-map of the ECU.... as earlier releases would have not given me the current re-map setup.....which just gets better.... as time goes on :smile:

Peace,
D

 

hey D

when would you suggest in your opinion is the ideal mileage to do the pulley?

i have 2400 on my car now...and i was thinking of waiting till about 10K

 

d-mini-ero is right. I started also with warranty friendly mods, intake, springs and swaybar. I believe for most of us that drive this car, the feeling is that it is so capable of more horsepower (torque). Because of this capability, and that the feeling is that more horsepower = more fun, the pulley/ECU mod is a must, and in my opinion a fairly "safe" mod. I don't believe the post that discusses 3 cars with a blown engine because of the pulley. But you alone must decide if the risk is worth it. For me, the pulley and ECU transform my MCS into something very special to drive. I have decided that if I do damage that is not covered by warranty, I will make the repairs in making the car into something even better (performance head, CAM, etc.). The MCS is a very fun car to drive out of the box, but the mods really bring out the best features even more. For me personally, I wasn't planning to do the pulley and ECU to sometime in the future, but Randy came to town and the rest is history (it was almost like it was my cars destiny). And after a track day two weeks ago, I don't regret it for a second. Good luck on your decision!


PS I did my pulley and ECU after the first oil service at one year and about 8k miles. The only issues that I have had with my MCS is some annoying rattles that have mostly been corrected.

 

I'll concur with other opinions.

I went the 'safe' route with exhaust, CAI, wires & better oil. But I had all of those mods IN the car on day 1.

When information about the JCW kit started to surface it became apparent that JCW weren't doing anything to strengthen the engine or transmission. These are the two area's that would most likely to be compromised by increased torque or power. ...If MINI & JCW don't see any value to reinforcing these areas then why should the rest of us be concerned?

There ARE a few differences between the JCW product and what we pulley-d folks have (aside from the "packaging" & 4.5K)... The supercharger does have a slightly different coating on the scrolls, and there is some minor head flowing/port polishing + the JCW/BMW blessed ECU remap. Neither the supercharger coating nor the headwork are considered to be 'worth much' in terms of performance improvement.

- JCW has a cat-back system - I have Magnaflow.
- Alta Pulley is for all intents & purposes the same dia. as JCW
- Differences between the EVOtech software & JCW? ...Who knows?

So the only significant difference would be the polished head. And THAT isn't going to make the engine anymore reliable.

So, your reliability shouldn't be an issue PERIOD.

I for one would recommend the ECU mod @ the same time as the Pulley install. While there's no conclusive evidence, I suspect it will lengthen the lifespan of your catalytic converter. ...and I got the ECU done AFTER I had the pulley.

 

Yep, D put it nicely, I'm at 9k had my intake for a while, pulley and powerchip
for over 3k and really like them. now I got no problems, just know Im setting
on a rocket.

Kent

 

>>hey D
>>
>>when would you suggest in your opinion is the ideal mileage to do the pulley?
>>
>>i have 2400 on my car now...and i was thinking of waiting till about 10K

Hey Red,

Honestly that's a tough call.
Most people have waited a bit longer (although if I recall correctly 2mini's added the pulley after a couple of hundred miles and has had no issues).
Your a young man in school if I recall (law?), and prob have limited funds.
Keep that in mind in case you have to deal with any issues that may or may not surface. No one can fully 100%gurantee that nothing adverse will happen.

As I mentioned earlier IMHO its a safe/prudent move...but it's your money, your car & ultimately your decision :smile:

If you feel the engine is solid and are comfortable with the mechanical performance of your car currently..I'd go for it :smile:

Hope that helped :smile:

Peace,
D

 

I promise you that there are 3 cars sitting at Ralph Schomp with blown engines. All of them happen have pulleys, mine included.

Do I think the pulley caused the failure in my Mini? NO, it was low oil that allowed a rod bearing to get chewed up. They would not let me get my car serviced until 12k low oil and all. Their fault as I see it. However, I am probably going to have to go through a lenghty battle due to the fact that I happen to have a pulley.

The other cars have poorly tuned ECU's and were running too much timing advance. One guy was running 85 octane with the mods and his engine detonated.

Get the pulley it is worth it. You have to understand that if anything brakes that you may have to fight to get it fixed.

 

What is a warranty? Its the manufacturer betting nothing will go wrong with its vehicle for the prescribed period of time/mileage. If the manufacturer is confident in the quality of its design, and execution, it will make the warranted claim (36mo/40k to 60mo/75k) and guarantee that its vehicles will offer problem free service for that period and more. In today's market, the weak have been eliminated. Engineering standards today are lightyears ahead of the cars of 20, 30 or 40 years ago. It ain't gonna break. Get the pulley, get the pulley, get the pulley. You will not have a warranty claim due to the pulley (almost certain.) Drive to Motown, meet Randy, become a modder. Join the club. Ya want it, now do it.

 

From the info about air/fuel mixtures that Randy, Helix and Andy (among others) have posted, I don't think the pulley without the ECU is a problem. I think it's probably a better idea to get them seperately so you can really enjoy them and feel the difference. The pulley, as D said, is the silver bullet. By adding 15lbs of torque and shifting the torque to the left (lower RPMs), it totally transforms the MINI into a much more fun to drive car with great power in every gear.

Now if you're getting your pulley done at a pulley party, I can see the convenience and maybe even savings by getting the two together. But if you can help it, do it seperately. Otherwise, how do you know how much of an affect each one has? For example, the original people that got the EVOtech for the pulley got them together at a pulley party. Now powerchips comes out with their chip - is it worth switching to? B/c the pulley and EVOtech were done at the same time, you can't be sure how much power it gave versus the pulley.

I don't know but it's sort of fun doing one by one and noticing the changes. I did the intake first by itself amd it was great but had I done it along with other mods like the pulley, I would have never noticed the subtle change that the intake made.

Just my 2 cents...

 

>>...
>>I just can't resist. This car is sooooo cool, but I am getting a little tired of getting blown away by Hondas and Focuses (Foci?).
>>...

Guess what? Most modded MINIs will still get blown away by modded Hondas and Focuses. See Car and Driver Aug issue. You might get past stockers.

If your car is experiencing ANY problems with the engine.
DO NOT do any engine mods untill they get resolved.
In my case I took the conservative approach, I waited for the 10k service before
modding the car. My car is a daily driver and has been trouble free before and after the 15% pulley.

_________________
Battleship Grey Metallic/B/B MCS with every option known to man/BMW
- CD changer and NO problems

 

Thanks, so far, to everyone who has responded.

Any Devil's Advocates out there? I know all the 'against' issues, but nobody seems to want to take that side with any eloquence.

Somebody just say 'you'll regret it!' or something.

...or am I going to just go kicking and screaming into the Detroit winter for my Pulley mod (and like it)?

By the way, I have modded already, with Intake, Exhaust, Swaybar, etc.

 

Ok,

I'll ask the tough questions.

What are YOU going to do if it breaks and they ask you to pay for some of it, not all of it, some.
Let's say a third. Do you have it ? Do you have alternate transportation while it's being debated, or for parts to be shipped from Brazil ?

If you can answer yes to both, GO FOR IT !!!

I am hoping to see what the car runs like after the stumble. Any chance of moving the party until after the stumble fix that is supposed to be coming in December? I could maybe save up for the ECU upgrade by then.

 

thank you very much for your input. i really appreciate it, and value the things you say. i will keep you updated on what i do. so far i am happy with the car, and with only 2400 miles i havent even opened it up yet. i have taken the car up to 4K and that was the highest..lol...so i might wiat till about 5K to see if i want to do the pulley, i am sure i will end up doing it.

and not really worried about the budget, starting in the stock market at 16 has its advantages :smile:
>>
>>If you feel the engine is solid and are comfortable with the mechanical performance of your car currently..I'd go for it :smile:
>>
>>Hope that helped :smile:
>>
>>Peace,
>>D
>>

 

I waited until 5k miles before putting my pulley on the first time. I figure this is a good point to know if the engine is running healthy or not, and won't self-detruct anytime soon. The Supercharger running within its' redline (even with the ECU-increased redline) is comforting, knowing I'm not technically hurting the blower.

[devils advocate] Once you drive your car with the pulley, you won't even give a crap about your stupid warranty. You'll want the ECU upgrade too, and then a throttle body, and then stickier rubber, and then a big-brake kit, and then and then and then and then!! ...whew, I hope you get the idea. It's addicting.

DO IT

 

hi big tim,
I am sorry to hear that you cooper is down, but you being a car guy(wrx and the chevy 360hp) you should know that is better to change the oil every 3,500 miles.

Thats what I do with mine, I have a cooper s 2003, alta pulley by Randy, alta intake and magnaflow exhaust and I drive the car very hard and sometimes street race when needed (when those ricers give you the look and think our coop is not up to the challenge).

I change the oil every 3,500 and then when the clock say's its time for sevice I go for the FREE oil change. The dealer knows that you went for service with low oil, and having engine problems is not because you have a pulley, they know that the wear and tear is because low lubrication on the system.

They are going to try have an excuse that you have a pulley to get out of the warranty, but you should fight that the bearing was defective or the engine had another problem etc. They would have to prove you that the pulley did that if not they will have to honor the warranty.

I am sorry to be a nag but that is my opinion and I wish you luck in your fighting with BMW.

Kepp us posted to what happend with your dealer.

Carlos in Florida

 

Hi IQQIMINI, if I was you i will put the pulley right away. I have a 2003 cooper s and Randy installes my pulley when my car was 4,000 miles and now have 17600 miles and no problems.

The idea when you mod any car specially the engine make sure that you always have oil and the coolant is full so there is not overheating.

Do not wait for the FREE oil change, because is to long and if you want to drive hard your car it will not be save for the engine. The cooper s with the pulley is fun to drive and you feel the difference.

Do any modifications you want and take care of your cooper like you take care of your WIFE.


cooper s 2003, pulley by Randy, alta intake, magnaflow exhaust.
Mustang 65 289 HIPO 4 speed Headers, side pipes no muflers etc etc........

 

Carlos has an excellent point; proper maintenance and good driving technique and your MINI will last forever, regardless of the mods.

 

I'd rather have a Mini garanteed to make me smile
than one waranteed not to.

hmmm, lol

 

I have the pulley,I was the organizer of the Cincinnati pulley party,and I would reccomend the pulley to any MCS owner.I have an intake,Quicksilver Exhaust,and throttle body, in addition to the pulley.The pulley offered the most bang for the buck.
If you don't rev your car over 5000;don't do the pulley.You have about 30HP you're not using already.Enjoy your car in the stock configuration,you have more HP on tap then you're currently using.

 

My Mini service manager had no issues with my pulley -- and he's the one who installed my CAI!