I'm going to be getting a 17% pulley kit from Way soon and I'm wondering what else I should budget for while I'm there. Tensioner, bushings, pulley tool? I have ~78,000 miles and I doubt if anything in the pulley area has ever been replaced.

You could do the belt tensioner here.

Is a pulley puller necessary or can I rig something else up? $70 for a tool I'll use only once seems like a waste.

Our recommendation is to always use the right tool for the job. If you don't you might possibly do some damage. You can always sell the tool afterwards or maybe someone on here has one you can barrow/rent. That being said, check out this NAM thread here for recommendations.

Thanks! So a new tensioner and pulley tool is all I should concern myself with?

Keep an eye on this:

http://www.waymotorworks.com/wmw-tensioner-stop.html

I didn't use the tool the first time, and a mechanic I worked with said he had plenty of tools to get that job done. We didn't get the pulley off, and put everything back together. I bought the belt tensioner and the pulley removal tool and made the job so much easier than makeshift.
I've used the belt tensioner tool twice since then on both my MINIs and keep it in the boot with a spare belt.

I'll look around the NAM classifieds for a tool. Is a tensioner stop actually useful? Looks like most of them rattle and they only do something when your entire belt flies apart correct? That doesn't happen very often.

I tried to order a tensioner stop a few months ago and found the vendor was holding back orders due to problems. They are a mixed bag. I gave up on it. Cheaper to just plan on replacing the belt a little more frequently...

I installed the one from Way and don't have any issues with rattling.
A buddy of mine bought a 2006 S and the first weekend he had, the belt broke. The tensioner did slam into the crank, and had a nightmare of a run around at the dealer. Basically motor overheated. The local MINI (BMW) dealer has management issues and had his car for just short of a month. They were saying the oil filter was the cause, but that's a whole different story. Ended up being a motor replaced. Could the tensioner have prevented it? Maybe or maybe not, but being a relatively inexpensive piece compared to everything else, doesn't hurt to have.
If I had that type of power loss, I know not to continue driving...

I would highly recommend renting the SC pulley removal tool, generic pullers don't work.

Unless you have failed components in the belt drive area there isn't any reason to replace things that aren't failed. The belt tensioner will show signs of failing such as, oil leaking from the shock or the bushings being blown out or missing.

I dont kno, I'd rather just drop the $100 on a new gates tensioner from rock auto and never have to worry about it.

The gates has crept up in price. ACDelco sells the exact same unit now ($90 at Amazon) Both are listed as part 38404 and have the stabilus damper and the same manufacturers marks.

Same story for idler pulley. Part 36168 gates $34, ACDelco $26.

Just look around..."freshen" stuff up as needed....
Look at the crank pulley...they tend to fail...but beyond that, just do the basics...belt, plugs (suggest cooler/JCW temp), a new tensioner if you want to save time later, and IMO a tensioner stop can't hurt...it might not help in all cases depending on the failure mode, but if you get a decent one, it MIGHT save you some $$ if the belt fails..... Then again, yearly belt changes and a recent tensioner might be better $$ spent.
At you miles, look at the wires, and the coil...it is likely the coil ends are corroded...clean them up, add some dielectric grease, and maybe new wires, and you should be good...might be worth it to change the pcv valve if it has never been done, often overlooked. Make sure everything looks good...the basics seems to be what get folks into trouble...things like previously failed engine mounts...the top passangerside one fails most commonly, but the tranny side mount can get sloppy and is often ignored.
Make sure your airfilter is clean...if a reusable one, DO NOT OVER-OIL IT...IT needs a tiny bit of oil...and in most areas, every 60,000 miles is OK...in dry dusty areas, maybe 2x as often.
And make sure your intercooler boots are in good shape...they get brittle, and crack...the oem rubber ones are actually pretty good, and are easy to put on...but don't look sexy like the silicone ones that some folks love, but can take THOUSANDS OF CUSEWORDS and pinched fingers over the course of an hour or more to connect....

Thanks for the tips, Zippy! I'm in the process of replacing my cracked intake boot (more of an ordeal than I thought it would be), so I've checked the air filter and intercooler boots. They both look pretty good. I replaced my coil pack a couple of months ago, so that's good. I'll probably grab a new tensioner and tensioner stop for insurance. I'll be getting Way's pulley kit, so that includes the new belt and JCW plugs.

You for sure need the pulley puller to do the job right and do it fast. Trying to do it without the tool is an expensive risk as just a couple months ago we had that happen and the guy had to have the supercharger replaced. Much more than what it would have cost just for the tool.

Our wmw pulley kit includes the correct belt and plug so you don't need anything else for it to work.
But you may want to check the bushings on the belt tensioner as they are what fails. We replace them with our delrin wmw bushings as they will not fail again and not be effected by oil on them.
http://www.waymotorworks.com/wmw-sup...shing-set.html
Otherwise you don't need anything else unless it's actually broke.

Looks like free rental of the puller too

Oh neat, that's good. Alright so my shortlist now:

- WMW 17% pulley kit (pulley, belt, plugs)
- WMW tensioner stop (is this still on backorder Way?)
- Delrin bushings
- OEM PCV valve
- Pulley puller rental from WMW

I can't see much of anything else from the top, so I'll just see how everything looks once I start taking it apart. I don't want to spend the cash on a new tensioner if I don't have to.

usually a long wait on the tool rental, ask them about it might be cheaper to buy one and just sell it after to recoup some of the cost.

Not really related to the pulley upgrade, but you could add in a cold air intake to let you hear that increased boost better I like the M7 intake and the alta tube. I have the full alta intake on mine and it's fine, but I think the M7 seals out heat a little better.

There's an afe intake in the marketplace now, it's a great intake.

I had already been planning on an M7 intake, they look very nice. I don't think the tube makes much of a difference does it? I just replaced my tube anyway.

well the larger diameter doesn't hurt.

Sure, but $135 sounds a little steep.

That's a great deal, totally sealed with a tube. The Alta tube alone is $100.