I'm curious as to what is possible with only bolt ons and software/firmware.

Just for grins....what is your next mod and what benefit do you hope to achieve?

 

AFC select will be my next mod and I saw el diablito tune 10 hp out of detlmans car in fifteen minutes! I have an intake, TB exhaust and pulley now. After the Apexi I'm doing headwork and a cam, but we want to see if the Apexi has the same effect on a mildly modded car as it did with detlmans.

 

Geez SpiderX, with all your goodies you should be answering the question not asking it!!! I just wanna ride in your car sometime.

ripley

 

The reason I am curious is that the last three mods are going on the car at the end of the month along with an AGS. I have aspirations of pretty good numbers but I wonder what others have achieved. I'll be honest so far I think my car , while I love it, is somewhat underachieving based on what others report on their dynos. As far as I am concerend I will be done with the engine after this....really. As far as a ride....I'm in Atlanta 404 277 7636 anytime...

Bob

 

Yeah...what's up with that?

 

At the end of the month with everything in and tuned I will post my dyno numbers.....for better or worse

 

Atlanta is a wee bit from Albuquerque. Maybe we'll meet sometime in the middle.:smile:

Sorry to hear you're not thrilled with what's gone into your ride. Hopefully the new bits will make the difference for you.

ripley.

 

I'm a real cheap opportunist, so I tend to run a few projects, slowly, in parallel. I never did a baseline, so I can't tell if I started with a strong or weak car. The only qantitative measure I have is my speed at the end of the front straight at Thunderhill (as reported by my speedo!). But as I get better, I carry more speed through the last turn, and I can't really tell what's an improvement in my sorry skills or a real power adder, but here goes.

Project #1. Exhaust. I'm currently running a one-ball. But even if it doesn't flow better, it lost over 20 lbs. I was thinking of getting rid of the battery box, but that's such a hassle, I'm gonna go the lazy way for now. I got a lower rear valence for a Cooper, and when the OBX headers are back in stock, I'll get me one and have the guy that did my one-ball do that, go 2.5" all the way from the header, and an extra bung for a wide-band. There won't be any fancy tip, but it will be stainless out the back.
Benefits anticipated: Improved exhaust capacity for better top end, reduced weight, and maybe some improvement in HP and torque, if I get the same results as the dynos on the OBX racing header thread.

Project #2. Brakes. Just bought the used Outlaw set from Marketplace for a good price. Have to put them on a bleed the system. They came with race pads, so I think I'll get a set that's better for street (I only do a few track days a year), and I have to machine the rotors (already in the back of the Mini so I can drop them off tomorrow). Only thing left is rear SS lines and pads that go with what I get for the front.
Anticipated Benefit: Wasted money for now. I did have brake fade with stock set up and EBC greens, but the little metal caliper bushings appeared to have cured it! But as I get better, and take care of the handling improvements I've made, I'll be able to take advangate of the increased capacity. The timing was determined by the price. Shucks, I hate it when that happens.

Project #3. Intake. Currently I'm running a HAI and Alta TMIC. Oddly, the TMIC felt worse, but the car goes faster, per my speed test above. Added over 5 mph to the speed I hit before turn 1. I bought a new '05 SC from a works conversion off Ebay. and I'm thinking of having it ported. I have an 02, the the 05 is an improvement anyway, but it's a big job, and I don't know if I'll go with the AGS or just optimize the stock TB-SC tube by hand and live with the HAI. Like I said. I'm cheap, well, kind of Who knows where this will end. I'm gonna convert my Xenon washers into an IC sprayer, I've almost got it all figured out. That will be a bit of electronics, and some rubber hose.
Anticipated benefits. More top-end. (that's what capacity adds), more power lower if things work out well.

Project #4. Suspension. Currently on a hold here and let's see where we're at. H-Sport springs, rear sport sway and rear lower ajustable rear bar. RDR camber plates. Lighter wheels and stickier tires. I just got the first real good alignment (el cheapo I had done after some parts changes was wayyyyyyyy off!), and I'll drive around on this for a while, and try to sort it out, but overall I'm not too sure I'm happy with the h-sport springs. Not sure if it's me or them.
Anticipated benefit. More speed through turns.

I think that about covers it. I'm real curious to see what you get with some fuel map tuning. You have every Mini owners wish list of add ons. One thing I suggest you try is to get a tune for pump gas, and one for race gas. I ran some 100 into the Mini at the track to make it about 95 octain, and picked up power for sure. I guess my MTH tune isn't really optimized for my mix. But I figured with some wide band logging, I could get to optimized maps. (Stealth project #5: High speed data logging) So, that's why I want to see what you can squeze out of your mix. Sheeze the only thing that hasn't been touched is the block! Are those pistons calling your name? Anyway, only thing I can imagine is that it's the tune on the car.

Good luck!

Matt

 

i hope you are not looking for 1000hp!

with my current setup: scorpion exhaust, alta intake w/o hose, alta 15%, mth, grs tmic, these totalled out to about 184whp and 159lb/ft.... i do have a very small leak in my exhaust, but i dont think it'd make that much of a difference...

 

What do you define as a bolt on upgrade?

Are these bolt ons?
Schrick cam
ported and polished cylinder head (how about with larger intake/exhaust valves?)
polished intake manifold and Intercooler runners
larger front mount intercooler or water to air intercooler
Helix turbo kit for MCS?

Bolt on mods:
any intake
any cat back exhaust
any header
any larger throttlebody
any reduction pulley for supercharger
any larger crank pulley
any coilpack
any plugs/wires
any clutch and differential upgrade
any ECU software or piggy back software upgrade

 

Have 202 whp, 170 tq @ 82F run temp. No special spraying or fanning of IC. Normal assortment of goodies.

 

I love my car......I am not unhappy more curious. each mod I have done has added to the car and my enjoyment. My comment about underachieving was perhaps incorrect.

 

Wow, thanks for the detail......"now that's what I'm talking about" Will Smith. Lots of cool ideas. Thanks.

 

No, 225 - 230 WHP would be amazing but I am not counting on it. Eric from Helix says he has either never or rarely measured a non turbo, non NO2 car over 200 whp on his dyno.

 

All but the turbo kit I include as "bolt ons". The cam comes in the head from WMS and you just bolt it on. Really what I am talking about is non turbo or non NO2. I don't know of any bored, stroked or crank/rod /piston mods that are popular as I have almost never seen a reference to one....I wonder why?

 

Pretty strong!

 

Give us a little more lovin' than that - what is in your 'normal assortment'? Did you do a baseline run? TIA.

 

No baseline on the '04 MCS. Did not feel overly strong or responsive to begin with. Probably was similar to most other S's, a mediocre performing powerplant. But it is really strong now with a very flat TQ curve and it screams on top. This is how the S version should come from the factory. Engine mods are the same as other folks do...CAI, TB, header & catback, 19% SC, big TMIC, Ryphix #2, coil pak, plugs & plugwires, catch can, ECU reflash, larger injectors, headwork/cam & matched ported intake. There's only a little left to do at this point to squeeze out a few more costly ponies. But they are still there to be had. May or may not finish the job. Pretty happy with the car the way it is at this point.

 

Thanks for the details. Your car sounds really nice. Looks pretty complete to me. My "experiment" is to try and squeeze out those "last few ponies." I'm thinking I am nuts because the cost/benefit ratio is in question here and only the dyno and the grin on my face after it is all done will tell me if it's worth it.

Your post is very helpful to me because you have done a lot and your WHP number is pretty consistent with mine. Perhaps my car is performing as should be expected.......which is what I'm after.

Thanks again

 

Glad to help. Our plan is to also pinch those last few ponies. Probably this fall. We'll have to compare final notes/graphs. Until then happy motoring!

 

From the 60s, "RIGHT ON BROTHER"

 

I'm right about 205 whp with Franz's "race" map and below bolt ons. Getting close to finishing my ported head with stock valves. When that goes on, I estimate 215 to 220 whp. Custom GIAC or an Apexi could give me 10 more whp, so, I'll call "225-230 whp" the max acheivable with bolt ons. I've been told from a number of sources that the "schrek" cam doesn't get you much more.... might be wrong though?

 

Good numbers. Do you have 98 octane fuel available? Seems like getting to about 200whp is very achievable. Who is doing your headwork and will you get any before and after air flow numbers? Do you plan an after dyno to confirm your expectation for the headwork? I anticipate that your numbers after any further modifications are not likely to simply be additive based on what folks see at other level of mods. You are way up there already. Rather, I would expect like Helix indicates, it is fairly rare to get much above the 200 threshold. Good luck and please post your results. Thanks for the info. Ciao, e sti attento!

 

Eric is right about breaking the 200 mark. Pretty rare. I do my dyno's with an Auttera Dynoscanner with my palm attached to the ODB port. With accurate car data and atmospheric data, it will measure SAE WHP very accurately.

I'm doing my head myself. Nothing trick, fancy or scientific, just a good clean up and smoothing on the intake ports and bowls, then same with a good polish on the exhaust side. I don't have a flow bench available, so I won't have any data on flow. Exhaust bowls got the most attention... huge lump of metal in there that can be take out easily. All I have left to do is polish up the combustion chambers... but can't do that until I score some old valves to protect the seats. Once that's done then the head is going in the shop to be shaved flat, then on to the car. I will certainly post my delta.

I can get Euro 98 octane, but its really the same as US 94.

Agree that bolt ons aren't additive. Sometimes they work against one another, and sometimes, if you do you homework and get a little creative, you can get some synergy going and actually achieve something greater than the sum of the individual parts. We'll see...

My estimated MAX assumes a perfect combination of possible improvements... on a "strong" MCS.

 

Just curious, but when did headwork fall into the bolt-on category?