:impatient Where under my hood can I check to see if i have a boost leak or a hole in the hose or something. My Mini doesnt feel as fast as it used to and the boost doesnt seem as strong. It is summer but it shouldnt hinder that much.:impatient

 

Where are you at?? maybe someone close by and look with you??

Yes air temps could really rob your power "feeling" .. the opposite extreem is the "extra power" you feel driving on a cold foggy morning - the MINI feels great there right?? .. So the opposite is the hot muggy day - loss of power.


Typicaly boost leaks are around the Intercooler boots, & throttle body. Plus have you modded recently that might have potential impact??

Good luck.

 

If any mods were done or any servicing that might be the first place to check.
I took my R53 into Mini of Manhattan and when I got back into it it was a bit sluggish as well. I took it back to them and they said it was fine that it was the "DSC" I wasn't convinced though and searched under the bonnet taking out the Complete CAI I had installed and I noticed that the clasps on the Throttle body were the source of the power loss.
The top clasp wasn't fully clamped down and the bottom one was completely missing.

If you are reading the thread about the ECU reset this might be relevent as well since this issue caused my computer to adjust itself so there was no damage done to the engine.

Hope this is helpful and if you haven't taken a look at the ecu link check it out when you get a sec.

Good luck

 

I live off of i 95 on the VA and NC border in a little town called Roanoke Rapids, NC. Can anyone help?

- My brother installed an Alta CAI on my mini. Did he have to mess with the throttle body when doing that?! Could that be the problem?

hmmmmmm. im upset now... I must leave.

 

I would check there.. The Alta tube is great.. but is hard to get a good seal around the stock throttle body.. What I find the best is to mount the intake tube on the throttle body first, then install the intake box.. Yes you have to shove around the intake tube a bit to get all the parts back in .. but if it holds during that .. it is installed & sealed well..

The other trick I like is to use a universal head on a socket drive to tighten the clamp around the throttle body .. since there is not easy straight path to get a straight extension to that area.. I use a 1/4" drive ratchet with a 6" extension then a universal connector with a 2" extension and then the 8mm socket.. It takes a little to get it on the clamp bolt.. but then you can get plenty of torque on the bolt to get it nice & tight..

Maybe that helps

 

is this for fixing the problem with out taking the intake back off?

 

My second approach .. can work without removing the CAI.. Probably have to remove the intercooler cover to get the hand space for the ratchet set I describe earlier.

getting clearer??

 

Did the CAI mod and the power loss feeling happen at the same time? I live near you in Greenville and I have noticed the very humid air we are(not) enjoying right now is making it less peppy, but it's not a big difference. Another thing to consider is fuel, do you use the same brand-if so what? and are you using premium?

 

(MDK) -

G-Vegas! Do you go to ECU? You need to introduce me to all the mini owners around the area so I can start coming to meets... It could be the air. Im going to check everything out tommorow hopefully.

 

If you remove the part of the intake that connect the Hoodscoop to the air intake ( NOT THE PART THAT GOES FROM THE THROTTLE BODY TO THE CAI) you can get better clearence and visual of the Throttle body, I found changing the clasps on the throttle body from the clips to the screw clasp made it easier as well to tighten.

That was really the source of the problem, at first glance the clasp looked closed, but looking closer I noticed it was not.
It had two positions the first was connected, but was still loose and I found it way to difficult to fully close it do to the amount of room one has to work with.

That's why I switched to screw clasps.

 

I went to ECU (I'm not saying how long ago-still in denial). Actualy things in eastern NC are getting started, another MCS owner in town and I are trying to put something together. There is a get together every 2nd Thursday in Raleigh that''s growing. I meet some people that auto-cross pretty regular last week at that meeting. I think there is an auto-x in Danville,VA this weekend. Check out www.tarheelminis.org for NC gatherings. There is a link from here as well. If you want, PM me your e-mail and I will send it to the guy working on an eastern NC meet. There are active groups in Hampton Rhodes,Chesapeak and Va Beach Va-they just put together a Guiness World Record convoy-we had 273 MINI/Mini's (new/classics) in a convoy that stretched nealy 5 miles-it was pretty cool to see that many in one place.

 

"we had 273 MINI/Mini's (new/classics) in a convoy that stretched nealy 5 miles-it was pretty cool to see that many in one place."

You have any pics from that, Would love to check that out also, must have been pretty impressive.

 

I do have some-lets see if this works..... click for larger image.

There is a thread in the events section with more-I thonk there is a link to a video as well. There were 274 that showed but one guy lost his keys and got left in the parking lot

 

Looks like good times, I'm in Jersey City wishing there were events like that near me.
I heard about the Mt.Washington rally in august and I'm unable to attend.
Kind of makes me mad.
The msot mini's I've seen together is 30...at the dealer!

I'm going to try and search out the video clip.