Finally found a reliable shop to do walnut blasting in Chicagoland!

A little background: I have a 2011 R56 with ~47k miles. Lately I've noticed the idle seems to jump after a cold start, and one day it even threw a check engine light. So I took it to Patrick MINI and here's what they found:



****. The dreaded carbon buildup.

Well, I asked them how much it would cost to do a full cleanup of the intake valves: $900.

They didn't specify if it was a media blasting, or just pouring some chemical into the engine. I didn't bother ask.

After a bunch of research into walnut blasting (and subsequently seeing that there's no way in hell I could do it myself ), I decided to take the plunge and look for places around Chicagoland that offered this service.

Most shops I called wanted to pour seafoam into the gas tank, and didn't quite understand why this won't fix our problem. No fuel is ever sprayed onto the intake valves with direct injection. Most shops still wanted about $200-$300 for this service (even though it wouldn't do anything).

I finally came across a post on a BMW forum talking about a place called A-Spec Tuning:

http://www.e90post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=823424

I noticed in the thread that many seemed happy with them, and best of all: They knew what was needed to fix our carbon buildup.

Anyways, I gave them a call, and setup a time to drop off my car.

Since they had never done a MINI before, it took a little longer than usual (They had my car for 2 days, but state that with this experience, they could do one in about 4-5 hours now).

As a test, I also decided to put my bone-stock MINI on the dyno and see what it made before and after (not expecting any difference, but hey...they got a dyno, why not?)

Here are the dyno results:



Before HP: 164
After HP: 168

Before Torque: 177ft/lbs
After Torque: 195ft/lbs (Not actually accurate as it was a spike at the beginning. But overall you can see it's about 10ft/lbs difference.)

We actually saw a small increase! He did warn me that this could be to outside factors (outside temp, engine temp, dyno error, etc). But hey..I'll take what I can get.

Here are the valves. Not as bad as I thought, but still pretty bad (Before):









And after (Nice and clean!):









As you can see, they did great work! And the best part is that all this costs only $300. If you want to do a dyno run, add $100.

These guys are top-notch, and very friendly. I've been to shops where they talk to you like you're an idiot and they're doing you a favor. These guys are the complete opposite of that. They got a nice shop, and from what I've read, a loyal following. At the very least, they'll be seeing me some more.

If you think your MINI is suffering from carbon buildup, I highly recommend these guys:

A-spec Tuning
533 Lunt Ave
Schaumburg, IL 60193

630-825-0333
sean@a-spec.com

 

Great proof of why cleaning carbon is very important if not for reliability issues, FOR PERFORMANCE!

 

Also should note about the dyno: After getting my car back, after a few miles the check engine light came on. Pulled the codes with my Garmin and found these two: P1774 and P1775. Seems these are related to the wheel speed sensors. From my research, it happens if the front wheels are spinning, and the rear wheels are stopped (Just like they would on a dyno). Drove it about 10miles, the light went off and hasn't returned.

Did give me a little scare though

 

Wow $300 for carbon cleaning, I paid $800 and would like to know where in SoCal is a trustworthy shop for my Mini!

 

a friend in SoCal had 2009 mcs carbon cleaned under warranty.

 

One of the best things about this experience is that you found a shop you like, it's really nice having that for the stuff you don't/can't do.

 

Agreed. It's so hard to find a good, reliable shop. Especially one that has good pricing.

 

Thanks very much for posting this, I live in Chicago and purchased my mini from Patrick. The fuel treatment/cleaning they(dealer) offer for $250 seemed like a gimmick. Its reassuring to have a place that knows what's going on.

 

Yeah it is. I plan on taking my car to them every 30,000-40,000 miles for the cleanup.

 

Man, I was just in Schaumburg/rolling hills (or meadows-dont remember) like 3 weeks ago! Bit of a drive from KC, but if I end up back there, just might need to stop by

 

Gio's Automotive in Santa Clarita did my walnut shell cleaning for $300. He was a BMW/Mini Master Mechanic for 15 years before opening his own shop. I was very happy with his service.

 

That's only an 1:35 minutes away with no traffic. Definitely going there when I need another carbon cleaning! Hell I could have had two carbon cleanings by now with $200 dollars in my wallet, no more Mini service for me!

 

I did the carbon remove using the strip instructions posted many times on the net, but instead of using walnuts i used Mr Muscle (No fumes) oven cleaner. Just wiped away the sticky black gunk with a screwdriver & rags. Took about 4hrs as i'd never done it before, next time will be about 3 hrs. Super easy job apart from the nut under the inlet manifold.

Cost was Zero cause I already had the oven cleaner

Tab

 

Just an update. Car has been running great. I've seen a 3-5mpg improvement in mileage on average fill up. Car also idles much better on a cold start. Before it would jump around a bit, but is much more stable now.

Anyways, I wild definitely recommend getting this done to your mini around 35-50k miles.

 

Motoring Magic in 1000 Oaks will do it and get you a rental car if you need one

 

wow! I just bought my mini and i was looking for a place to do a walnut blasting. I was searching for days and this place is just 5 minutes from my house. Thank you so much!

 

Crap, I just moved from Schaumburg to Newport Beach!

1:35 without traffic, gotta love LA!!!

Seriously, I just turned over 50K. How critical is this process??

 

Blast from the past...

But what are the "strip instructions"?

Thanks...