Just wanted to say hi to everyone, this is my first post, but have been reading this site since December '02. Making a long story short, my family moved to America from England 15 years ago. To bring a little bit of home to America, my mother bought my dad, for Christmas '02 a Mini Cooper S. He loved the car, but due to the harsh ride, and 6 six manual in stop and go traffic, he used his other car to get to work. The mini became a weekend car for my dad and an amazing ride when i came home from University. I am really in love with this car and having read so many great articles written by the regulars like Randy, Andy, Ryelophile,(sorry if i spelt it wrong) macheese etc... i have gotten hooked on mods. I have followed the talk about the reduction pulley very closely, specifically in regards to the longevity of the supercharger and engine. It seems like the reduction pulley is relatively safe, as no one except for Andy has had a problem. (am I wrong?) Now, I really like the speed of the Mini and I know its purpose is not to be a drag racer, but my dad and I feel it needs more speed. I talked to my father and he actually seems interested in the idea of getting a smaller pulley. (I started the mods off with the HAI, showing my dad the graphs from andy.) My dad’s mini, has 8000 miles on it since dec '02. This car does not see a lot of miles and probably won't. My question to NAM is: Do i tell my father that the 19% is the best way to go, or should I use a bit more caution? I would jump on the 19, but I want opinions from people who don’t think the way of a 20 year old. Also what other mods, if my father is willing, should I go for next? I live in northern NJ, is Helix in Philly the closest place to get this professionally done? What is on average the price for the reduction pulley? Any responses would be greatly appreciated. Thanks again for great stuff in the past.


Cheers,
Jonathan

(sorry about the double post, i pressed enter by mistake)

 

For your goals, I'd do the 15% first, have it professionally installed locally
then finish off with an intake and exhaust.

Good luck.

 

Don't forget a bigger rear swaybar as it truely changes the cornering dynamics. I haven't done it yet...but lighter wheels and sticky non-run bricks also make a world of difference according to multiple posts here. Good luck and have fun.

 

Let Eric put the 19% on there for you. For general street use it is the way to go. If you were going to do significant track time you would then have to closely monitor the belt and tensioner condition. You keep the mental redline at 6,100 rpm. Mom and dad probably won't ever get there. You check the condition of the belt and the tensioner every few weeks. It takes about a minute. When you can't see the last hole anymore its time to change the belt. You should be doing this even if you have a 15% pulley as both tend to put more stress in this area. You will just be watching for belt stretch and wear. This mod is well worth the small additional effort and expense of an occasional belt change.

And most importantly, don't ever let Andy work on your car.

 

Jonathan,

Aloha and welcome to NAM.

If you are using the MCS for only street driving and don't redline the RPMs too much then the 19% reduction pulley alone would be good and give you low RPM boost which is what will make the most difference in daily driving.
You can still drive very sanely most of the time.

If you do go to Helix13 to do the pulley install (highly recommended) then you have the option to do a few other things that would really help get the most out of the pulley upgrade and don't really add that much more to the price.

19% pulley and smaller belt- about $400 to $450 installed-ask Eric for the Hawaii connection discount!
Keep the HAI for now but add a cat-back exhaust- Helix has both Borla Street and Race for very competitive prices (one hour labor). If you don't like loud exhausts the Borla street is pretty good at being quiet enough but allows for some power gains and works well with any pulley upgrade.

Another option if you are considering traveling to Helix13 is to install only a 15% pulley but add the GIAC chip to go along with it and forget the exhaust for now. Roughly the same cost, the 15% pulley is less hard on the engine, reliable and safe and the GIAC chip upgrade will work very well to add some torque with the 15% pulley. (GIAC doesn't have a version that works as well with the 19% pulley yet).

Another thing to think about is adding a rear swaybar (Helix13 has the RDR bar) and set it to soft or middle setting- that will help to reduce understeer with the added power that you'll have.

Finally with your heavy stock MCS wheels (esp the 17") you'd be better off with any 15" or 16" lightweight rims and non runflat tires. Tirerack.com offers many options like the Kosei K1 Racing 16x7.5" +43mm offset, 15 pounds $159 each or Kosei K1 TS 15x7" for $149 each +38mm offset 10.6 pounds in silver or light grey. Talk to Alex@tirerack if interested.

 

tell your dad you need about 5k+ for the Helix-PSIfi twincharge kit.

or you need about that much for the S.P.I kit. Also twincharge. Do it!

har

i'd go with the 19% if you're not going to be putting too many miles on it. Shouldnt matter, but you never know. anyways, 19% = cheap fun.

 

I recommend you take as much advantage of your Dad as possible and talk him into buying a turbo.

 

So the opinion of NAM so far is :2=15's 2=19's and two turbos (haha, dont think that will fly with my dad, although i wish). Minihune, thanks for the indepth response, I would love to install the rear sway with my dad. Hopefully a little father-son bonding, if he has time. I'm still not sure about the 19 or 15, i know the torque would be amazing with the 19, but my dad isnt into maintenance. I also wouldnt be home all the time to check out the wear indicator, albeit, I have probably put most of the miles on the car. The front tires are all but bald on the 16's S lites but the backs have no loss of tread, so we are looking for new tires. but i guess the question is for the wheel section. What are the average 0-60's for a 19%? would it beat a 545 auto? What if i went to a local mechanic for the pulley install? would that be a bad idea? well thanks again for the responses, i appreciate it

Cheers Jonathan

 

to start, i would never take a pulley install if they hv not done it before! it is labor intensive and there are things if done improperly could result in a damaged supercharger (and a hefty bill!) so take it to helix

19 is what i recommend as well, pair that with a sway bar and you would be great to drive the car... sway bar does reqire both sides be lifted so you might wnt 2 jacks to work with it...

as for tires... if your fronts are worn then sell the rears with the slites, they typically do fetch a good price, but isn't the s-lites 17' inch? or u mean the xlites, which are 16

 

Jonathan,

Generally it's safer quicker and less costly to have a MINI tuner do the pulley upgrade install. You want someone that can safely remove the old pulley and install the new pulley without messing up something else. A good MINI tuner can do the job in as little as 45 to 60 minutes but your average mechanic might do it in three times as long the first time he tries even with instructions.

Pulley parties are held across the country and if you can find one closer to you that might also be an option. The most traveled of the tuners is Randy Webb from Colorado. But he might be limited to what he can also install since he will be on the road.

Helix13 is a full service shop so more can be done if you wanted. For lower maintenance the 15% pulley alone or with GIAC software is bullet proof. You'd use the stock belt. The 15% pulley is pretty close to the JCW kit pulley size so reliability is very high.

Don't expect a tremendous difference in 0-60 times between a 15% and 19% pulley upgraded MINI. There are other variables that will also play a role. I'd estimate about 0.2 seconds on average difference. Where you might see more affect is 50-80 mph passing speed- the 19% pulley does really well in that area. And more so with a good intake and exhaust rather than the stock ones. 545 auto? The MINI has a 1.6 liter engine! Try getting 32 mpg with that 545 auto. 0-60 is not the MINI's strength.

You can certainly install the rear swaybar yourself. There are DIY threads on that on NAM and at Webbmotorsports.com.

For your 16x6.5" stock MCS wheels you can choose from many of the non runflat 205/50-16 tires. Tirerack.com has quite a few good ones but for basic street use with a blend of comfort, good ride quality, good wear- check out the:
Avon M500 (Ultra HP-summer tire) in 205/50-16
280 treadwear W speed rated $87 each
http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires....odel=Tech+M500
or
Avon M550 (all season) in 205/55-16 360 treadwear W speed rated $77 each
http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires....odel=Tech+M550
Can work in light snow

For more info call/check with alex@tirerack.

 

yeah, your right, its the 16's, so i guess its the xlites. i feeling that we'll just have to replace both, with the xlites, as i doubt my dad would want to sell them. I'll search to see if there is any Mini specific shops closer than Helix, although ive heard very good things about the philly establishment.


Cheers,
Jonathan