If I do the Stage 3 upgrade. Is the car still going to be reliable?

 

PATHFNDR,

In a nutshell, yes. But it all depends on what stage 3 upgrade you are referring to.
You mean the MINI mania stage 3 performance upgrade kit or suspension upgrades or what?

Reliability depends on what is in the stage 3 kit and how far you take it. Various vendors have their own versions of stage 3 mods for the MINI, usually the MCS.

Most times they are not too wild to affect reliability. If a knowledgable mechanic does the installation and you don't redline your MINI excessively you should be OK.

Naturally any stage 3 upgrade short of Dinan and JCW would offer NO warranty other than that of the mechanic for the labor and the source of the parts. Dinan is making various staged upgrades for both MC and MCS but has released only a few upgrades for the MCS so far. Dinan upgrades are warranted by Dinan authorized locations.

Did you have a specific stage 3 kit in mind?

 

What Stage 3?

No matter what you do, require before and after dyno runs. Choose Wisely!

 

typically, warranty for a hot-rod part or "Stage kit" with install, means that if one of the parts breaks, they will have another one installed for you.

coverage is unclear if that part in breaking damages other parts, not in the kit. those are most likely on your own lunch bill.

 

I apologize for not being more specific. I heard of a Stage 3 upgrade for the engine from MINI Mania and also saw one at MINI Monster, I think. It boosted HP to 250 or so, and they are working on getting 300HP in the future. That is what has me so stoked about getting a MINI. It has a cam, heads, throttle body, reduction pulley, remapped computer, headers and exhaust. MINI Mania says they are an authorized distributor of after market MINI performance parts, which leads me to believe that the factory waranty would still be valid with these upgrades installed by an authorized BMW dealer, am I being nieve? I have an S2000 now and I'm looking for a car that handles better with more HP, and still be a good daily driver. I looked at the Elise, but it would beat you to death as a daily driver.

 

To answer your question...


You can bet your *** that it won't be covered by the MINI warranty, no matter who does the install.

 

Depends on your dealer. With the mods you are talking about, I think you're on your own for anything engine or trans related. It'll never be covered. There are dealers that will deny warranty stuff for an aftermarket intake. The cam, head and ECU will most certainly avoid all engine related warranty stuff.

 

What about the reliability factor. I don't want to be constantly tingkering with this thing. I'm not so concerned about the factory waranty. I wouldn't do any upgrades until I'm certain the car is solid.

 

I just love how people still use the word "heads" when referring to the cylinder head of an inline-4.

Like "cams" I suppose on a SOHC motor. Ahh, we are indeed creatures of habit.

Marty

 

This is a tough question. You could do all the mods you mentioned, and then drive it around town as a daily driver, or you could take it to the track every weekend.

This is purely a seat of the pants response, but overall, reliability will be affected as soon as you start pushing 2.5 times more power from an engine than it generates in normally aspirated form. Even if you strengthen all parts of the drivetrain, you may have problems with the water pump, or air conditioning, or some other related item.

My guess is that reliability will be worse. But hey, what do I know.

BB

 

I can speak from personal experience. DO NOT use Mini Mania. Their parts caused me nothing but problems. A few examples...

1) They sent me ***2*** bad cylinder heads. First one was damaged (obviously NOT from shipping) and the second didnt have caps.

2) They sent me bad Shark software.

3) They sent me a bad throttle body

4) Their exhaust is poorly made and wouldnt stay on the hangers. Believe it or not it disnt even have nipples on it like almost everyone elses. Amazing what people do to save a few bucks. I had to switch to Borla.

5) Their reduction pullet worked fine but it is 3 peice a major pain to install compared to a 2 piece.

6) Thier sway bars are cheaply made. Their rear bar will NOT stay in place and slides side to side beacuse they, again, saved a couple bucks and didnt weld stops on it. Besides although solid, the ends are welded on instead of being one piece.

7) Their springs slam the car too much and are not progressive.

Trust me. You can do FAR better buying similar parts elsewhere from various vendors. Besides....Mini Mania is way overpriced.

Just one guys opinion.

Chris Bryer

 

Thanks Marty for pointing that out. I just read what I wrote. Senility can be a good thing at times, for a good laugh

 

Rondor, Once you got everything working (assuming you did), was the car a rocket?

Who would you suggest I go through?

 

I would say that it is one of the faster cars around for sure.


I love driving it.

PM me....

 

if you're thinking extensive modding, maybe consider a twincharge kit?

they are claiming that the car has been quite reliable, but most people will be worried about the tranny (clutch mostly).

there is:

SPI (under the name TWINCHARGEDMINI i think, or something similar)
Psi Fi who i think is working with helix to sell the kit through them. but i think psifi has his own company. so i dont really know what the deal is.

M7 is going to have a twinscrew supercharger.

and then there is some racing team that just threw in a M3 engine in there. of course, they also had to redo the frame. but whatever.

i say put a turbine in it.

 

I like the idea of a supercharger, twin screws would be cool. As opposed to a turbo because of the turbo lag. Waiting, waiting, waiting, now the engine is turning on. No offense to anyone, but no thanks. Unless a twin turbo system eliminates that, I don't know.

 

PATHFNDR,
As an alternative to MiniMania Stage 3 kit consider calling Randy Webb at Webbmotorsports.com or Eric Savage at Helix13.com and mention what you what to do and how much you want to spend. I'm sure you could find some really good upgrades at half the cost roughly but you'd need to find a good shop to do the installs unless you want to drive to Colorado or Philly.

Dealerships vary on policy to honor warranty in modded cars. If the dealership does the install for upgrades and kits then some of them will warrant those items but most will not keep your MINI warranty intact. You'd have to talk to your dealership. If you service dept doesn't do these installs much I would not go to them since it would take more time and it would risk not being installed correctly- hence leading to more problems.

If you talk to Randy or Eric you can ask about any recommended shops they know near you for MINI upgrade installs.

 

I'm in Denver and if I'm not mistaken, Schomp will do the work. I heard the guy there is pretty good. Correct me if I'm wrong.

 

I don't know this guy Schomp, but if you're in Denver, you should definitely look up Randy Webb. I've seen him at two of the Pulley Party events, and I'd have to say

A) his work is top notch
B) his prices are fair
C) he is one funny bastard

BB

 

Here's one more vote for Mr. Webb!!!

I'll take Randy's 240 or so hp over their claimed 260 something any day. Also, there was much fanfare a couple months back about Mania's warranty. Well, look what Randy just released yesterday:

https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...ad.php?t=31831

That's backing! Sure he can be hard to reach at times, but when you get him, you will receive his quality attention. My 2 cents...

 

Feel free to stop by the shop, and I'd be happy to discuss all of the options. I do offer a warranty - and it actually covers the car at track events and if the install is done by me, any related component failure not covered by your factory warranty.

I stay away from stage kits because they remove the room to build based on what the car is used for and what the owner's preferences are for sound, looks, etc. I can build a car that will blow the doors off anything that the company you were considering offers - as proven at the West meets East event this year.

If you are close by, it is a no brainer to stopo in and have a talk. If you don't like the options, Schomp is always still available. We are off of Sante Fe just south of C470.

Hope that helps!
Randy
720-841-1002

 

Thanks everybody,

I'll go see Randy tonight after work and see what he has to say.

 

jinubob81Helix is out of the game they are trying to do there own thing but no news yet except they are working on it.
Psi Fi : Has there tested and finished his car.. Showing at the SEMA show in Nov. Will make kit avaible after.

Gimmeeee the power!!!

 

talk to randy for sure he is awesome and will take care of you. he is a stand up guy

 

If you were local we would love to snag you and do a duplicate of Rondors car but being that close to Randy Webb you definatly have to give him a shot. He knows what he is doing and you are " local " to him for follow up service etc. Good luck and welcome to the wild wild world of Mini modding

Randy T
Team M7

www.m7tuning.com