I will get the part number and any other info when I get it installed - with any luck later this week. I will for sure post all the info here.

 

Great, Thanks....

I'm sure the rest of us would like to fix our stupid sagging scoops.

Mark

 

Is it thicker? Carbon fiber?

I stopped in at our local dealer today and talked about this with one of the MAs. He says some of their demo's are wilting, too. Incidentally, he made the comment that the chrome scoops aren't melting, even though they are plastic, too. Wonder what the difference is.

 

It's very plausible that the silver finish is enough reflect the heat and keep the scoop from melting. With my painted scoop, it took a combination of exposure to direct sunlight on a 97 degree day and a hot engine to make it distort. The chrome would've reflected more of the sunlight and prevented the sun from adding to the temperature.

Has anyone here had experience with the turbo heat shield from M7? From an mechanical standpoint, it looks like the best solution to the heat issue I've seen, but I'd like to hear how it performs in the real world before spending $200 on it.

 

and it made a delta of about 15 F. Not a lot. That's because it's just a baffle and the heat is transferred via conduction. Hot air flows around the heat shields (M7 or stock) and rises up to the highest part. The wrap keeps the heat in the turbo and makes it hard for the air to contact the very hottest parts.

Matt

 

You're exactly right, it takes a combo of a very hot day and the heat from the engine to warp the OEM scoop. Those two conditions occur regularily during the summer here in the southeastern USA. Mine has warped after 2200 miles. Does it make sense to replace it with another OEM scoop which will be subjected to the same conditions?

Bottom line, Mini needs to properly and responsibly address this problem and have the scoops made from a material which will withstand these conditions.

 

So you're saying the M7 shield made a 15 degree difference in the scoop's temperature? Hmm, that's not a lot for $200. Has there been any issues with the turbo overheating after wrapping it?

Also, not to be too technical, but the turbo heats the air by conduction and the air, in turn, transfers that heat to the hood/scoop via convection. I was hoping that the M7 shield blocked or redirected the rising hot air better.

Yes, MiniUSA needs to start making the scoops from a higher temperature plastic. Either that, or give me a CF scoop, which seems to be more temp tolerant. It's an issue that I'll be making to my SA when I take my car back in two weeks.

 

but a lot of Mini owners are new to modding for performance. Turbo wraps have been around longer than the new Mini has! It's pretty tried and true hardware....

Yes, the temp difference for the M7 part isn't that much, but it also looks a lot better than the stock piece.

Really, if you want to start with a good foundation on modding cars for performance, check out the books reviewed in the reviews section. I posted a couple there that can give you a very good understanding of the basics of modding forced induction engines. While it's not as fun as posting on the net, it's a much faster way to learn the basics. Once you have those down, then learning from places like this the particulars for the car you're working on will get you where you want to go much faster....

I really have no clue why Mini isn't using a plastic with better thermal properties, or doing something better to insulate what has become a pretty non-funcional scoop. I'd guess that if change hasn't been done, then it will be done shortly. Spec'ing a new plastic has to be cheaper than doing all these warranty repairs!

Matt

 

No worries, mate. You bet there are a lot of people here that are new to modding. As for me, I've been working on cars since buying a '66 VW Bug in 1986 and I'm an aircraft mechanic by training. To be honest, I'm probably being too conservative about my worries about turbo wrapping. It comes from having the FAA looking over my shoulder whenever I work on a plane.

Good advice about learning how to mod a car, too.

Anyway, I've ordered a M7 shield. Looks nice, seems to make at least a small difference in the heat and easy to install. I like that.

 

If the problem is not addressed in the 2009 model year cars I will tool the scoop and make it by using a special polyimide resin that has a dimensional variation of less than 0.03% at 600 degrees F over 48 hrs.

If BMW corrects it for 2009 then we will be able to order the new ones at the dealer.

 

Now that's what I call heat tolerance.

 

The polyimide will sustain 900 degrees F in short term spans.

The current scoop is made of Polycarbonate GF good for up to 220 degrees.

 

220 degree tolerance would be consistent with what I've seen on my car, as well as most of the symptoms I've read on the BBS's. Thanks for the info.

 

Ok, Im going to jix myself... first day I got my clubman, I removed the scoop cover. Its been 4 1/2 months. Almost 9500 miles. All hot AZ summer. No warping

 

I noticed "someone" during the last DMC meet replaced the honeycomb in their scoop with a black mesh material. It's non-structural (as if it's needed), but it may be just the thing. ??

 

yes, Mike has come up with a real nice mesh cover for the opening. I am still monitoring the cars with the scope cover removed, ones that are partially vented, and mine with the rest of the holes dremeled out.. seeing if there is a differance... But yes, His mesh cover looks really good

 

so i guess partially vented scoops are being warped? Mine is like that.. 08/08 production... only have 300 miles and nothing yet of course. gotta put more miles and see if anything happens...

 

Yes, that's true. When a friend got an early '08 with the partially vented scoop, the first thing I did was (try to) hold my hand on the scoop when he showed his baby off at a local meeting. Admittedly my hand doesn't have calibrating lines on it, but it was scorched just as much as it would have been on my blocked early '07 parked next to it. And we're both about the same on the warp-o-meter (both slightly dipping).

In one of the posts--in one of the threads on this topic--someone mentioned spray painting a piece of expanded mesh. I don't know what it's called, but it's not much more sophisticated than chicken wire--just with smaller openings. He used flat black paint, and it looked as good as anything I've seen so far. Then again, I'm not a fan of carbon fiber unless it's on an F-1 car.

 

I stopped by MNS yesterday for a separate issue & exchanged some words with my SA about the scoop. I told him I didn't want it replaced until the fix was deemed to have addressed the root cause. I've no interest in taking my MINI to the dealership every 3months to have the scoop replaced. He did not mention anything about knowing of a permanent fix - so we're basically in a holding pattern until the MINI USA info gets to him or I get tired of waiting.

The optimist in me (tiny as he is) tells me it's an opportunity to play around with the idea of a contrasting scoop color (white).

 

I agree. My scoop warped this summer (2200 miles) and it just doesn't make sense to change hood scoops if the new one is going to warp too.

The real solution IMO lies with either a new material or some sort of shield which can be retrofited under the scoop. Mini should be able to come with something that works.

 

Yes, MINI SHOULD be able to come up with a fix, but WILL they? My car is half-way through the warranty (miles), and I'm afraid I'll have to have them replace it shortly. Granted it's not a big defect, but others who purchased from the same dealership had theirs replaced, and they looked very similar. Fortunately I live about 15 minutes away from the dealership.

It may be the only way to get MINI to deal with it once and for all. After all, other than putting pressure on them for even minor defects, such as those pictured, there's not much incentive for them to do so.

 

Im surprised they didnt blam it on the clear bra.. or your mirror caps, or maybe even your new custom wheels.. im so sarcastic towards them. Must be experiance

 

Hmmm. Good point. I've modified my car, too--installed those strappy thingies to help the seat backs go back into an upright position...

 

A point to consider here is the scoops aren't always warping. From my experience, they're warping from a combination of hot days, direct sunlight and hot engine. Mitigate any one of these heat sources (particularly once fall sets in and outside temps gets lower) and the scoops seem to be OK. My own factory ventilated scoop hasn't changed shape in over a month, since the day it first warped.

At least they'll be OK until next summer, at which point (with any luck) a more heat tolerant scoop will be availible.

 

I think the sun's heating effects has nothing to do with the melting scoop. Feel the scoop after a drive. Don't forget to wear your fire retardant gloves