Hi. simple question... (03 cooper S)

I know that you can change the pulley on the superchargers to get more boost, mine has a 15% pulley.

but, does anyone put a small turbo on their cars in addition to the supercharger to eek out a little extra power? say, maybe 10 to 15 lbs? would it pop the motor like a balloon? I've put turbos on several Hayabusas and GSX-r1000's at 10-15lb boost on stock engines. i'd have to believe a mini motor would handle the same size turbo i used on the busas.

How much boost does the supercharger make with a 15% (and or 17%) pulley? (in pounds)

I'd like to be at 250-265 wheel horsepower, and i know there are tried and true methods to doing this, but i don't know what they are as of yet. people all over the forum shoot out these numbers, but i haven't found a specific "how to" list to accomplish 250.

i have stock injectors, aftermarket Alta intake and 3" Alta exhaust, a tune, 15% pulley, and probably some small things that i don't know about yet.

what's next... ? injectors and another tune?

 

Been discussed many times...
It's been done...
But issues...
Namely the ecu has issues dealing with turbo boost profiles...so you will need a standalone ecu...
Next plumbing for it....has been done, but tight, lots of custom work...
As for power...stock MOTOR can run about 18-19 psi...that seems to be around the limits I recall from years ago on NEW motors... Sure they are strong...but you can get there, no turbo..
But with a big valve head, decent header, tune, injectors and maybe meth, you can have a 250+hp daily driver...
So what you are thinking of is possible with the stock SC...
Depending on the exaust and head. A 15% makes about 15 psi, a 17% about 17...pretty close at sealevel anyway if everything is healthy... Less if ported of course...if you show more, usually it is due to a failing cat.
There was a product sold...twin charging kept the SC, and added a turbo...hard to make some but avoided the ecu issue...most were high strung garage queens...

 

Twin Charger R53 guide?

 

A 17% pulley on your supercharger should get you close to 17psi of boost......much easier than trying to install a piggyback turbo setup to get a little extra boost. The stock S is around 10psi, so that's a 7psi gain for not much money.

 

Thanks for all of the replies.

It all makes sense. I guess my next investment will be a 17% pulley in lieu of the 15 that is on there now. Only other question i have is if i will have to retune for it. The guy i bought it from said Detroit tune did a tune on it and apparently did the installation of parts on the car. I've been playing phone tag non aggressively with them to try and verify this.

But i do have 3" alta exhaust header back, alta intake alta 15% pulley stock injectors (the number printed on them shows as stock mini S) etc.

I suppose larger injectors wouldn't help much unless i swapped with a race head and more aggressive cam setup? And yeah i know all of these topics have been done to death, just new to the forum so havent taken much time to dig around, and most of the threads i found assume common knowledge and get off topic pretty quickly lol

I've already taken the back seat out of the car, 1, because it's pretty much useless, 2, to shave some weight off if the car. Honestly i have seen an improvement in performance just with that. I don't want to gut the entire car, and i already handed a 370z owner his man card the other day with this little guy, but, being someone who has owned half a dozen 400-500hp ls1 v8's, horse power appeals to me, and so does power:weight, So I'm always looking for more of either, however i can get it, i jist dont know much about
These engines yet and their capabilities. I will say though, that i was surprised to figure out that they are really no different than a motorcycle engine with an attached transmission. It could just as easily be a busa motor from the crank case to the valve cover lol. That's why my thoughts went directly to turbo.

Last question, what is the max output of the supercharger? Are there upgrade kits to change the internals to higher compression screws?

Or maybe a bypass valve upgrade which allows more boost before blowing off?

 

No, you won't need a re tune if you go from a 15% pulley to a 17% pulley. There are plenty of guys out there who go from a stock pulley to a 17% with a stock tune with no problems at all.

As far as the little mini motors go (let me get one my soapbox)....I think one of the issues with people easily making big power with them is finding someone who can tune them, or having the access to tune them yourself. Most all other "performance" type cars out there have a huge community of tuners, tuning software suppliers, and people who will help you out when it comes to tuning your motor, and getting a good safe tune setup for all kinds of induction setups (supercharger, turbo, nitrous, or a combination of all)........BUT....

.....for the Mini R53's (and MINI's in general), there just isn't the support out there that is needed for guys (who know how to tune) to start to experiment with them. There are a handful of guys around the country who have figured out the BMW DME's, and they know how to tune them....and have the software to do it...and they like it that way. That's it...that's your only option. Either drive your car halfway across the country to one of these few guys to tune it, or pay a bunch of money ($800+) for a remote dyno tune. When those are your only options, people are less prone to start experimenting with the "potential" power these motors can make.

It's easier and cheaper to build and tune a 900hp Chevy LS1 than it is to make a 250HP Mini R53 motor.......sad but true.

 

Correct me if Im wrong but couldn't you just add a 2% overdrive crank pulley like the ati super damper one to add more boost without changing your 15% sc pulley. Plus its supposed to be a great preventative maintenance buy.

 

Just recently priced this out after looking into a Sneed motor for my build
If I built the whole thing out of appropriate gauge 312 ss
Sourced the turbo from my collection
Bought a motec unit with my tradesman discount
Used oil return/ inlet fittings and line
Made our own front mount from cores I bought from a very well known shop
Made our own radiator
And ic piping
And sourced all the fuel needs.....
And spent many hours of my own time tuning the motec
It would cost my shop $6,231 to do it right +$4800 for Sneed motor....
Needless to say...I'm still mulling it over
Seems like a bit much in a bagged mini...

The advise about pulleys be it crank or sc is seriously good stuff...
Upgrade your head and injectors maybe even a cam and you can see more than enough power for dd with a proper tune.

 

Actually i was going to ask the same question, however the supercharger pully is a little easier to get to for one, and i dont necessarily want to overdrive the accessories by 2%.

My original (however unstated) thought was to add a 2% lightweight crank pulley and a 17% supercharger pulley, so it would be in theory 19%, then replacing the ac clutch and alternator with 2% underdrive pulleys so they are the same rpm, but i dont know if they make the accessory pulleys or not. And honestly i haven't looked at the car closely enough to know if anything else is driven off of the belt or not. I feel like the cams are driven off of an internal chain. I do worry about the tensioner doing its job adequately if i start messing with ratios too much. But im sure there is a solution for that by now.

I was in the middle of replying to the last comments when my phone died. I have to re-read them and respond

 

As for "soapbox", i understand completely. I had a later model bmw M series come through my old shop. The owner wanted a turbo install. Long story short, i called everyone in Texas trying to find someone who would tune it after the work was done (before i started) and, when it was all said and done, i ended up calling bmw in germany because i couldn't get the answers i was looking for stateside... what they said in a nutshell is "it can't be tuned... we don't want people messing with them and they run perfectly from the factory, so leave it alone!" ...... basically.......

So it doesn't surprise me that there isn't much out there for Mini tuning, however the M series was considerably newer than my 03 mini. But with that said, you dont see very many tuned Z4's and z3's either.. so, i do understand. And the truth of it is, when i bought this car, at the time, i didn't realize BMW made it, or id have likely not bought it. I hate bmw with a passion. But so far the mini hasn't been too difficult to work on aside from the compactness and lack of elbow room when turnig a wrench haha.

When i got it, i put the pedal to the floor and it suddenly started running like crap. I thought it threw the belt or a cam skipped a tooth or something. I turned around and pulled into firestone and had them run the code and it turned out ot had a cylinder miss. They wanted to charge me 350 labor plus parts to change the plugs wires and ignition coil because "it requires a $300 specific tool to remove the plugs" to which i called b.s. took it home, and did the job in about 15 minutes using an extension and a "nose picker" tool. Changing the plugs on this car is no different from a sport bike. If not easier because you dont have to remove a gas tank and an air box to get to them lol.

 

Yah, all of that sounds awesome. If i have the money to throw at a street car I'll do it, and im no stranger to blowing money on toys, but idk... i only paid 4800 for my car, and have already sunk another grand in necessary crap like W rated run flats (one size wider than stock), ignition, clutch slave cylinder, various sensors etc. Dont know if i can dump another 10 to 12 into it... i would be more apt to doing so if there were more track options out here. We have Circuit Of The Americas here but track time is expensive. Not sure if there is a mini race class out here ir not yet. And its my daily driver at the moment so dont want to tear it up.

 

RMW has a standalone ECU made by Vipec that is a plug in replacement for the ECU

 

I will warn you about the 17% pulley and the 2% over drive. that's spinning the SC at 19%, which the water pump is attached to. The SC doesn't mind the 19% minus the heat generated since we are so far out of the efficiency curve, but the water pump does not like spinning that fast, it typically cavitates the water. can be problematic for the bearings, seal, and waterpump.


I don't think theres been issues with the 2% ati over drive on the accessories. 2% isn't that much. the lightweight crank is also nice concept, but do you wanna run an undamped pulley?


with the 17% pulley, intake, and exhaust, I would hold off adding anything else for more HP, the stock 330cc injectors are maxed out at this point. I would either add some meth or get some 440/550 injectors and a tune. Waymotorworks, RMW, and Mynes all have remote tuning.

 

This.

Jan from RMW also offers a 1.8l Stroker engine with M45 capabilities for around $8k, or you can use that platform to base it off a turbo build. Though, I don't think it'd need it tbh...
His builds make some serious power...

Salty alsohas the right idea.
You can check out RMW's site for parts, but he makes the best quality that I know of.

If you're looking for more power:
550cc injectors
RMW Big valve head
RMW camshaft.
Meth injection

That'd be the next few steps... With a tune, you should ideally be making well over 250hp. I'd replace components likely to fail as well but stock internals can handle a hell of a lot apparently? You'd only be looking at spending $3.5-$4k with the RMW parts, injectors, and Meth injection. P.S. You can purchase a 55gal drum of methanol off Amazon for $400
And people are apparently using windshield wiper fluid in exchange for methanol/water mixtures... because it's cheaper.

Also, turbo setups are costly and not worth the money. Twincharge setups used to exist where the supercharger and turbo worked together, but again money, reliability, and pretty much a waste from what I've read/been told. If I had the money to blow, I'd look for an engine swap or just look into Jan's parts @ RMW...

Also, quick question? Why the full Alta setup?

 

Last question first.. because it all came with the car

As for the meth injection, where are people installing it? I mean, what part of the intake system?

 

Thanks! And i knew that something, somewhere wouldn't like it haha.

And yah, i didnt think about the undampened part. For daily driving, not a good idea.

 

I inject my meth right here:

 

yeah just like that, typically the horn post IC. some have injected pre charger as well

 

Helix has a twin charge car they drove to the Dragon.. Can't remember what kind of power it's making.. I'd go the RMW route, BVH, Cam, Injectors, Header, Tune, and be around 260-270. Notice this is with the RMW header to get alittle more power then the quotes above of 250 HP, course also depends on which choice of cams you go with. They have 3 or 4 to choose from.. as with anything it all comes down to how much money you want to spend...

 

Nice! So, hey, does that jc works intercooler shroud really help? Or is there a different intercooler under it too? Ive seen aftermarket shrouds that claim improvements of airflow.

 

JCW shroud is the same as the S, just branded different. GP had the larger intercooler and shroud. I have the alta diverter, seems like it helps when I compare to everyone else IATs, but only marginally. a 3-5 deg difference typically, which equates to about .5% hp or less. which gives you less than 1hp and being $130.... about $150 per hp

 

The JCW ones are the same as OEM, but they have that sticker. The one I have in the pic is a GP intercooler and cover, same as OEM, but it has two more rows and is really the best one for these cars. Pretty sure some of the aftermarket diverters were tested as being better than the OEM cover, but I can't remember which ones were the best since I've had the GP for so long and there weren't really any offered for it at the time. If your going to spray meth, you'll get far more cooling from that than any intercooler or diverter though.

 

Are your meth sprayers constant feed or rpm specific via pedal switch?

 

I have an Aquamist HFS-3 system which is one of the best kits out there. Most people go with Devil's Own, Coolingmist, Snow's, or AEM, because they're cheap, but Aquamist is not even in the same class as those. It's controller taps into the fuel injectors and runs off the injector duty cycle. It also has a fast acting valve that sprays variably with pulse width modulation like a fuel injector. The controller on it allows you to control every aspect and it even has fail-safes that you customize so it won't pop your motor if it runs out. You can check it out here:

http://howertonengineering.com/mini/

 

+1
Great system...if you don't buy it you will wish you did....
And NEVER USE BLUE WASHER FLUID....EXCEPT to get home if you run out...
It is almost always made with hard water (look at the blue spots it leaves when it dries) and has other added ingredients.... The minerals will crystalize and Basicly TEAR UP YOUR MOTOR LIKE SANDPAPER....end result...low compression...much worse than running with no airfilters...
Some folks on Facebook/LXM talk about doing it..don't. It is a way to kill your car about as fast as pouring SAND, AKA MINERALS into your air intake, post filter....
And anytime I hear a person claim washer fluid is made with distilled water...let's just say they have been brainwashed by reading bad info again and again....
That having been said, DAVE-O, (philly area) banned on a few MINI sites has a 250+ HP daily driver, and has been very reliable...heck even has the stock cat welded to a RMW shorty header if I recall right, so no codes.....
While meth/water provides decent COOLING, running 100% or near 100% METH adds not only COOLING, but adds extra octane, fuel, and keeps your motors very clean.....
If I had to do it again, I would do meth on my MINI...total amount used in a daily driver tends to be small.....most report a couple gallons a month, depending on how it is setup.