Hey guys as you may or not know, i just got my r53 and i did havea few questions.... being up in NH i do fancy myself some snowboarding so i need a good roof rack that isnt going to destroy my roof what do you guys recomend?

2nd since i am wanting to tune this mini and i am up in NH will the CAI be affected by snow and or rain coming into the vents?

and how does the reduction pully affect gas mileage? this isnt too mucha concern as it is curiosity

cause i was thinking of getting the CAI and catback now... then in spring when its a bit warmer to do the pully, head, injectors, ignition

 

2. No, rain/snow should not affect anything.

3. It can improve MPG if you are light on the throttle but with a pulley and intake, you will be compelled to be heavy on the throttle. Lol.

 

i do sometimes have a heavy foot, was just curious tho, i know an exhaust and intake will improve as long as im not screwing around

 

Under normal driving at part throttle, your mileage will be ever so slightly decreased. Here's why, the bypass valve is open so you are not pumping more air into the motor (which should give you better mileage), but the smaller pulley is causing a greater parasitic load to be put on the motor by way of the belt. When driving on-boost with the bypass valve closed you should, all other things being equal, get better mileage because of the compressed air providing more molecules of oxygen, and thus more energy per fuel volume consumed. However, the roots style blower has poor thermal and mechanical efficiency. The faster it spins, the more energy it takes to spin it. Moreover, that energy requirement is in an exponential curve so it gets more extreme the higher the blower's RPM climbs. Your smaller pulley is taking more energy from the motor to spin at a given RPM.

I don't know which one of those two competing forces wins but the bottom line is your mileage is going to be worse, because you're going to drive it like a maniac.

 

You should be fine with most cai's....at one point there was a few older stock cars were were granaded by water injestion, but have not heard of one for many years. I have a mostly enclosed dinian unit, and all is good...if you are worried, then a jcw or other enclosed style cai might be better than some open ones imo...and they do help keep the heat out.
For tuning, you will be going to mass or ct...I have had most of my on diy, mechanical stuff done at Greasysgarage down in worchester mass, about an hours drive for me in the nushua area...tune was done at a tune event in norwich ct a few years back..there is a tuner now down in mass....might think of the name later!!
Pullley and cai asap imo, then exaust for sound as soon as you want it.....
the other stuff you can kinda ease into.....and a tune is kinda like the final touch!!

 

yea i was leaning more towards the alta intake or something equivalent... i want the noise

 

The alta style...more open, so it does make more sound, but for me, it was a compermise....more noise is nice in town, but i went with a more tame intake to keep highway cruising from getting annoying. When you have to pick an cat back exhaust, same thing....the cheaper single sided ones drone, and the better, more $$ miltecks/stratous are nice with your foot in it, but tame, nonricy in cruise.
just keep in mind, many mods that improve hp byond the basics can actually make the car less fun....since they can reduce tq down low where you use it on the street, and moves it to higher rpms, where it is near redline, fine on the track....some things like a cam can be picked, better mid or high, and porting a head is generally a gain, but a big valve head tends to move the tq band up...so choices are abound, but 210 hp is easy, more with a head, cam, and meth injection, safely...
Good luck!! Keep us posted!!

 

keeping it for the street is my goal, and i seem to like the tone of the borla and the megan cat backs

 

Where ya at in NH? I live in Weare, and work in Nashua.

 

Live in Dover, work in Barrington

 

I have the Mont Blanc roof rack for mine. It's very good, but it did scratch my roof a little, or rather dirt got underneath the rubber feet and did that. I think that will be a problem with any rack you buy. You just have to either take it off and clean the rubber feet and/or put a few small pieces of clear vinyl under each of the feet.

As for CAI's, you should have a problem with any of them. I live in NY and have the Dinan (looks stealthy and stock), and never have problems with rain or snow getting into it. If you have the cash, get a 15% pulley and colder plugs at the same time. They make a HUGE difference.

 

i would like to get the pully at the same time, but its too cold right now to do that work and i dont have full access to a garage... that will happen in the spring

 

You don't need to be worried about getting snow and that in the intake. We recommend the DDMworks Intake as it will fit the best, makes good power, and won't rust as it is stainless. We've seen several rusty Altas when the powdercoat flakes off them. But I've got an Alta in stock if you really want it.
As for exhaust. The borla sounds good but everyone that comes in the shop is allways cracked at the welds, and leaking.
Check out the Strat Flashpoint catback as we are going to have them $50 off.