Okay, I've been daydreaming about mods for the past...well...ever since I drove my MINI home . I am hoping if I list the parts I plan on adding, someone would be able to give me some advice on alternatives (brands, etc) and about how much HP and MPG I am looking to gain from this mods.
I have an 02 R50. All stock. Would the following mods make a difference?
After adding these, would I need to readjust my CPU or anything?

1.) DDM Works Cooper air intake. (Or the K&N Cooper Typhoon AI)
2.) DENSO Iridium spark plugs (Or the Beru spark plugs)
3.) Megan Racing Header.
4.) Magnaflow or Borla Cooper exhaust? (Or another type? I am going to have to replace my exhaust soon anyway. It's rusting out at the tailpipe...)
5.) Alta Lightened Crank Pulley. Or another brand?
6.) Maybe a CAM later on.. I don't know.

I was going to begin with the air intake, headers, exhaust, and sparkplugs if they will even make a difference.

Any insight would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.
By the way, I found all these parts at http://www.outmotoring.com
I am probably going to be doing these mods 1 or 2 at a time...I must not get carried away now...

 

not sure of the answer, but, i do have an OBX catback Im trying to sell if you are interested...

Steve

 

Disregard, I missed that it was an R50.

That being said, my dad installed an AFE intake and it seemed to add a little power and response. It sure sounds better

http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x3s...elerating_auto

Of the R50 exhaust systems, I think the Megan sounds the sportiest, nice tone without being too loud

http://video.google.com/videoplay?do...exhaust&hl=en#

 

I drive an 05 R50 and the above may help. Without knowing your goals it's hard to say. There is very little you can do to add true HP to the R50. A Hi Flow Filter and Catback are good. I don't think a header without an ECU Tune is of much help unless you want more sound. BRISK Plugs rock in the R50.
Let me know if you'd like to work out the details of your mods to meet your goals and save money too.

 

Hmmm, how much is an ECU tune?
If adding "true" HP to an R50 is not very feasible, then I guess I won't worry too much about it. Anything I can do to add some MPG?
I'm trying not to spend more than around $800 for the time being. I figure a decent exhaust system will run me about the $400-$600 range.
I'm not trying to race or anything. I just want some extra MPG with sound and power being a natural by-product if possible.

How much will a Hi FLow filter and Catback run me apprx?

 

Just going to throw this out there. Might sound crazy, but its pretty reasonable.

If you're after power, I have no doubt that you could sell your R50 for 10k if you listed it a few times, add the 800 bucks you were going to spend on those mods, and pick up an R53 for about 11k with relatively low mileage (60k or so).

JUST AN IDEA

 

I have an Alta Hi Flow filter on special right now, just email me about it, and of the two aftermarket catbacks the Megan is the one I run because it's not as loud as the other but gives more sound then stock. Those two things might give you another 10-15 HWP but more then that you'll have better throttle response. However the Megan system is back ordered and I don't think it's going to get here before Nov 1st I hope by Dec 1st.

A set of BRISK plugs will help too.

A TSW Damper Kit will also help get the power you do have to the ground better and will "feel" like you added more HP without the cost of doing so. An ecu tune will run 400-600 depending on who/when/where/how. A header is a waste of money without a tune. Head and Cam would be nice but really need an ECU Tune to work well.

Just email me and we can work out the details.

I think the key to an R50 is suspension and brakes to help you maintain momentum when you need too.

This is also a good idea.

 

thanks for all the help.

I've made my mind. I am for sure getting the megan catback but will wait till winter is over and the salt is off the road.

As far as intakes...i'm stuck between the afe intake and the DDM intake. I've heard great things about both and are in the same price range. I've found the afe on autoanything.com for $156 even though I'd prefer to buy from a mini vendor. I'm just concerned about using and oil'd filter because I don't want to risk messing up the mass air flow sensor...
Afe has a dry version but it's gray and I think it's unsightly. Less performance with that one too.

I'll look into the BRISK plugs for sure. I'll probably get plug wires when I get those at same time as well as the damper kit.

I'll hold off on the header, cam, and ecu tune for now.

Selling my mini and buying an R53 would be a good idea if I wasn't still making payments on it and will be for the next 4 years lol. Thanks though.

 

I'd get in contact with AutoXCooper he'll take care of ya.
But agreed, its hard to get big hp outta R50. But do remember alot folks being happy with www.minspeed.net exhaust, which is going out of business.

 

it has a Temp & Manifold Absolute Pressure (T-MAP) sensor. Don't worry about fouled MAF sensors...

US R55/R56/R57 have MAF sensors.

Back to your regularly scheduled discussion.

Matt

 

BRISK plugs or NGK iridiums +1
Denso.......not so good by many reports..shame seems like they should be a good item...maybe just great marketing!!

 

and maybe they'd work well in a base Cooper, but in the S the tips don't last long.

Matt

 

1.) DDM Works Cooper air intake. (Or the K&N Cooper Typhoon AI)
2.) DENSO Iridium spark plugs (Or the Beru spark plugs)
3.) Megan Racing Header.
4.) Magnaflow or Borla Cooper exhaust? (Or another type? I am going to have to replace my exhaust soon anyway. It's rusting out at the tailpipe...)
5.) Alta Lightened Crank Pulley. Or another brand?
6.) Maybe a CAM later on.. I don't know.

I have an R52 non S and here's what I did:
1.) K&N i57 intake
2.) iridium plugs, Kingsborne wires, and Screamin' Demon coil pack
3.) Miltek header/cat
4.) Miltek catback
these made small but noticable improvements in power and mpg.
5.) I considered the Alta pulley, but heard they might cause problems with vibration.
6.) I haven't made it this far yet.

 

I've rethunk my mod priorities. Since I'm not racing or autocrossing or anything like that so I'm going to focus more on daily driver performance for time being. So, no header or ECU tune, for now anyway. I still intend on the Megan racing exhaust. Either the ALTA drop in filter or the AFe intake. Thanks Matt for the MAF update. So, the oil'd filters won't cause any problems in an R50? If not, then my only concern is hot air making it into the intake. I know the afe and DDM have heatsheilds but I've heard hot air still gets in which kills performance.
Deffinately going to upgrade the ignition: Screamin' Demon coil pack, NGK spark plugs, Kingsborne pluge wires, and Nology ignition wires. Also, going to get the TSW Damper kit.

Humcmel:
Did you notice any difference in throttle response with the plugs, wires and coil pack?
What about power band performance? Like increased mid-range?

 

upgrading the ignition will do absolutely nothing for you. absolutely will not give you increased throttle response or better mid range. save your money.

spend that money on a CAI (NOT just the filter). The cai will at least give you some nice noise.

If I were you, this would be my list
-CAI (for sound, and a tiny bit of power)
-Exhaust (ditto)
-Damper kit
-19 or 22 rear sway bar
-camber plate
-ss brake lines

down the road maybe some coilovers

at the end of the day, you need to realize that there isn't a whole lot of extra power to be had via basic mods. with the above mentioned mods you will have a car that is really fun to drive.

Oh, and in response to post #13, the alta crank pulley isn't going to do anything for power or throttle response. but at the same time it won't kill your engine. the whole undampened crank pulley argument is ridiculous. there is NOBODY on NAM that has had a catastrophic failure result from an aftermarket pulley.

 

There have been a fair share where the pulley has come loose. I've also talked to some who service MINIs where there have been failures of the oil pump gear, all of which had aftermarket lightweight undamped crank pullies. Too be fair, the population of these failures is so small it may not be statistically relavent.

really, the best bang for the buck for the R50 would be camber plates and a slightly stiffer rear bar, then performance driving instruction. Won't sound better, but will get much, much more out of the car...

Matt

 

Yes I know there are tons of second and third hand experiences with crank pulley failure, but there isn't a single NAM user who has had one. And there are hundreds who have had good luck with them.

Completely agree with the camber plates, stiffer bar, and performance driving instruction. Oh and tires.

 

if upgrading the ignition will do absolutely nothing performance wise, then why do people do it?

What will a camber plate do for me? and when you say stiffer bars, do you mean a sway bar?

Are you talking about a "True" CAI or just an air intake such as Injen, K&N typhoon, afe, ddm, etc?

I'm deffinately getting the Megan catback once spring is here. My OEM muffler is rusting out. Not enough to be concerned about yet though but might as well replace it with something that'll add more to the car.

As far as driving instruction, I'm doing the PWDA at the Talladega Gran Prix on Nov.9. I'm really excited about that. As much as I want to get new tires for it, I'm just going to keep the RFs on and tear them up and get some all season tires when the snow comes.

 

People upgrade the ignition system because they don't know any better. Replacing the plugs to a colder range & higher quality plug is the best thing you can do for it. The stock wires and coil are pretty damn good.

 

Do you recommend the BRISK plugs over the NGK silvers? If I were to upgrade the plug wires, would Kingsborne be the best to go with?

What sort of difference will I notice with these upgrades, if any? Is there a benefit to doing adding these?

 

As stated in several above posts, new wires/a new coil will do ABSOLUTELY nothing for you. The stock wires and coil are great.

New plugs also aren't going to do much for you unless the ones you have now are fouled.

Spend the money on suspension.

 

Yeah, that's what I intend on. I do want to upgrade the air filter from the stock paper one though for sure. TSW damper kit. Then I don't know what.

 

For what its worth, I too have an R50. Ive not the wires (Kingsborne) andthe plugs (NGK) and what I found was....................nothing

I did put on an OBX exhaust and did seem to find a difference though that can be perception, maybe not reality, since it sounded great.

Sorry to be the bearer of possible bad news but it may be what it is, a great, fast car, that will never be like an "s"

 

Not true........I know of 3 owners who had problems with their cars and they all had solid crank pully's. Do they post on NAM, no cause there really isn't much here for them. Can the problems be definitevly traced back to the pulley.....probably not. But they didn't go back to them after repairs.

 

+1