Hello fellow mini owners, I just attempted to install my boost gauge on my 2013 Mini Cooper S Clubman and can't figure out how to get the hose through the firewall. I've done this before on many different cars, but the mini has me perplexed and a little frustrated. I have searched high and low and most of the posts are from like 2003 where it seemed a lot easier. So, I tried two approaches. First was to remove the 3 screws under the steering wheel so I could find the rubber grommet with all of the factory wires running through it. I cut a hole in it and put my finger in the hole to see where the wires came out on the other side, but I couldn't feel any other rubber only metal bodywork. Then I read that it is so easy to remove the windshield wiper cowl and go through there, so I removed the nuts on the windshield wipers and was unable to remove the arms since you need a special puller tool to get them off. So, can someone please tell me how I'm supposed to get the boost line through the firewall or is it better to somehow use an electronic boost gauge and tap into some wire somewhere???

I also read a lot of posts on the forums saying to tap into the grey and red wire for the power for the lightbulb, only there was no grey and red wire in my 2013 MCS. This is really frustrating for something that should have only taken an hour to install. I've bolted everything back up and just left the boost gauge installed, but it's not plugged into a boost/vacuum source yet and has no power to the lightbulb.

If anyone has done this install in the New Jersey area and is willing to help me get it done, I'd be willing to pay for it. Thanks!

 

Don't want to rain on your project, but almost everyone is using simple OBD II plug and play devices for engine data.

It's a whole lot simpler...than installing an old school vacuum boost gauge IMO.


Just a suggestion...but we all know what we want.

 

Cool, do you have a brand, make or model? Thanks!

 

The regular old vacuum gage is pretty easy. There is a rubber wire penetration on the firewall just under the tab for the alarm system, just below and to the right of the air filter housing, as you're looking at the engine from the front of the car. You can see other wires and tubing going through it.

Each windshield wiper is held on by a nut under a cover that just flips back. I used a little battery clamp puller to pull the wiper arms off, after removing the nuts, they come right off. Then you can take the plastic cowling off.

If you look down, under the wiper motor, you will see a round rubber octopus looking wire penetration plug, it has unused legs and you just cut off the end of one and push your vacuum hose and anything else you need to get into the car.

After pushing the vacuum hose through, get your head under the steering column and you will see your tubing pushing out into the drivers footwell, you might have to peel the carpet back a little to see the penetration.

I tapped the electric for the gage light off of the wire to the DSC button on the console, the DSC button has a light the dims with the dash lights, you can find which wire is the lamp wire by checking it with a meter and turning on the dash lights.

Here is a photo of my finished installation, I have a boost/vacuum gage, oil temperature, water temperature and oil temperature.



Dave

 

Well you have a lot of options…

I have a Nüvi GPS with Garmin Mechanic Eco Route, it transmits all data via blue tooth to my GPS https://buy.garmin.com/en-US/US/shop-by-accessories/ecoroute-services/garmin-mechanic-with-ecoroute-hd/prod38354_010-11380-10.html

Photos of my Nuvi system with eco Route, you can configure the screen to any 5 gauges you want, I have my Nuvi mounted on a ProClip.
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If you google OBD II Gauge(s) you will find a lot of systems...ScanGauge OBD II Scanner is used by an lot of MINI drivers, Torque OBD is a great system to use with cell phones and some companies like PLX and others making old school OBD plug in gauges but grossly over priced IMO.

 

Just to make sure, you took off both wiper arms and removed the drivers side wiper cowl?


Thanks for all of the information everyone!

 

Share some pics when your completed project whatever you decided to do, I have to admit DneprDave four gauge set up looks very sharp....

 

I got it installed and it looks and works perfectly!!! Thanks for the assistance. The best place to go through the firewall is behind the battery. That way you don't have to take the wiper arms off. I also installed the JB+... Does anyone know what the max boost level is for a stock engine and intake? I don't want to get greedy and blowup the engine with a lean A/F ratio. The JB came set at 50% and was reading 15 psi. I bumped it up 2 notches and am at 17 psi with no issues. I think the max before CEL is around 21, but will I be ok running 19-20 psi? Thanks again for the help!
You can see pics here. Http://www.flickr.com/thewenzels

 

I believe that boost cuts start around 21-22 psi but that doesn't mean it good to operate at those levels.

The DME uses load to set boost levels to meet certain targets. You'll notice that higher intake temperatures will make you boost higher to meet the same target. That's what's nice about the winter time, lower temps, lower boost, less stress on the engine... same power.

Here's a screen shot of data that I took today. I'm spraying 100% methanol into the intake. You'll see the intake temps drop and also the boost levels. (Intake temperatures are about 35F-40F below what one would have without methanol injection.)

For the JB+ what type of fuel are you using to support turning up the dial? You're probably not going to run into AFR issues, but you can easily run into pre-dontation issues if you don't have sufficient octane. I'd be hesitate to run over 18psi without custom maps. Also with the small size of the MCS turbo your making a lot of heat after 20psi.

Currently I'm at default 50% on the JB+ and will probably stay there.

 

Thanks for the info. I only turned it up a tiny bit since the stock JB setting seemed pretty much the same as stock. I'm running 93 octane. I used to run methanol injection on my old Srt4. So I should probably leave the boost at 17 psi for now then?

 

Using 93 octane I would keep it at the factory default 50% or twelve o'clock position. You said previously that you moved it two notches, would that be the 2 o'clock position? I would be very hesitate to run it at that setting without better fuel such as mixing in a few gallons of E85. The boost is not the only issue it's the timing advance you need to worry about so you don't pre-detontate the crap out of the engine. This really becomes an issue as summer approaches and temperatures increase.

Before I added meth injection, I ran my car for two weeks in the winter using 32 oz can of Torco (estimated ~100 octane) with the JB+ at 80% (3 o'clock position). The car was definitely more beastly, but I got nervous and turned it back down. I would mix in E85 but it's not readily available where I live.

 

E85 is better fuel? I thought that was crappy bio fuel that can corrode aluminum engines? Anyway, so I will lower it back to 12 O'Clock even though I really don't want to. lol I want to now know what I can do to keep my car running the way it did on the one pull I did with the current settings. It responds like I think it should. The 50% was not impressive at all, but I guess I was expecting more of an in your face difference with torque.

I'm guessing you mean better fuel because it doesn't combust on its own as easily since it's more like kerosene compared to gasoline? I'm not a fuel expert, so a short non-scientific answer will suffice. But man, does the car feel like it's awake right now. I wish I could just increase the boost without advancing the timing. I have the aFe CAI and the Alta manually activated BOV/recirc valve installed as well.

Oh, one last thing. The 17 psi was only the initial spike. It falls off to maybe 12-13 psi toward redline. It doesn't hold 17 psi to redline. I don't know if that's normal since I haven't had a turbocharged car since 2007 and forget.

Thanks for all of the info so far!

 

You'll notice that boost will typically spike right way and also when you shift gears then it will taper down like you said. This seems to be normal. At least this is what I almost always see when I do acceleration runs, i.e 1st, 2nd, 3rd gear. Not so much when I do 4th gear pulls from 2500rpm (reference data chart above).

I used to think ethanol was terrible but it's actually great for power. The DME can accommodate for blended mixes of ethanol up to approximately 30% or E30 which is about 3 gallon of E85 mixed with 10 gallons of 93 octane (which could contain 10% ethanol). IF you mix more you need to watch AFRs because you could start running lean, the DME can't add enough fuel (called fuel trim)

People have been mixing gasoline and E85 with no problems for years in the MINI and BMW worlds (and many other car manufacturers).

Ethanol not only raises the octane but importantly is burns much cooler than gasoline.

I believe the best of both worlds is ethanol mix in the gas tank and methanol spray in the intake.

Here's a great thread by Minniehaha:

https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...d-ethanol.html

In the thread I commented about AFRs reported on ODB2 style gauges would not be accurate which is technically true it turns out not to be important because our cars measure lambda which is independent of fuel type.

I think that you will find 80% or 3 o'clock is the best setting for the JB+ if your fuel will support it. Any higher and the car feels unstable (as reported to me). This is for the MCS and not the JCW or GP.

I'd suggest to research a little about mixing E85 and then maybe venture back into turning up the dial but slowly. Also setup a system to monitor different parameters such as AFR, and maybe timing (this is troublesome to actually monitor). The easiest route is via the OBD2 port and a smartphone and app. Such as torque for android or dashcommand for iPhone. That way you can log and review it later, it's to difficult to pay attention to all that stuff when you're driving.

 

Cool, thanks a lot again. So much great info. So JB+ says something like if you are using less than 91 octane you should turn the dial down. Since I'm using 93 shouldn't I be able to turn it up a tick??? I realize the warmer weather will make the air thinner, which may cause detonation issues, but I am not sure what the impact would be. I need to find a shop in NJ that can do a custom tune for me. Any ideas of who might be able to do it out here on the East Coast? Thanks again!

 

I went out this morning to turn the JB back to 50% and noticed I only turned up one tick not two. FYI.

 

Are you running with the stock DP? If so you may want to idle your engine a couple minutes before shutting down. There is a lot of conjecture that running higher boost causes the cat to heat up a lot more, and if not allowed to cool by idling the engine, your turbo is bathed in overly hot environment eventually causing oil leak AMD failure.

JMHO

 

Copy that. It's like a manual turbo timer. I always let my car cool down if I've been running it hard.