1. I already know 06 spec cooper s crank pullies are lighter than 02-04 spec. I have %17 SC pulley and I'm going to get %0 ALTA light crank pulley. Do you think this combination is a good idea? Or should I leave the crank pulley as it is.
2. How many horse power do I get after OBX headers with De-cat and OBX exhaust ?
3. Which ECU program is the best?
4. Which CAI is the best?
5. Am I going to have any problems after these mods?

Thanks for answering guys, I'm new and little confused.

 

The stock crank pulley has a vibration damper for the main bearings built in. The Alta does not appear to have one - it's just a machined piece of aluminum.

This can lead to destruction of your crank and main bearings.

I'd forget any "upgrade" crank pulley, as the hazard is high, and the payoff is low.

 

Thanks Rick, I didn't know about the vibration damper. So you are saying %17 Sc pulley it self is enough?

 

This is contrary to what Randy has written on his site. Specifically, the Tritec engine was designed to run without the vibration damper and BMW just overengineered it. As to Payoff, he claims 7-8 HP with 15% pulley. Thats a tremendous bang for you buck bolton.

As to questions 2 and 3, NO ONE can tell you that. People may have opinions, usually because they have some part, but there is NO one Best of anything. Check out the Vendors shootout thread ...

Problems, no cat? Well the feds may be looking for you since that is illegal and you will be throwing codes because no O2 sensor.

Good luck

 

Randy is writing to sell pulleys, and one man's over-engineering is another man's safety margin. Has Randy tested hundreds of engines for longevity, as the BMW engineers do? Do you believe all the manufacturer's claims you read? If so, I've got some laundry detergent I want to tell you about...

Do you really believe you can recapture 7-8HP from reducing the weight of a small pulley by 6 lbs (only when accelerating, BTW, as there is NO HP gain when the engine is in a steady state, since the pulley is simply rotating, not being spun up)? In other words, do you believe that it takes 7-8 HP to spin up a 6 lb. pulley by 5K RPM over a 6-second period? For pete's sake, a half-horsepower lawnmower engine could do the job. BTW, the claim that it is like removing 100 lbs. of static weight is absurd.

If you believe that, you should definitely never consider buying an Alta supercharger pulley, as you can get one that is almost a pound lighter from Mini Madness.

If Alta were to provide dyno data for any of their products, they would be a lot more believable, but they don't.

In general, I figure that half of a manufacturers claims is perhaps believable. Even if the figure were believable, would that be worth a chance of destroying the engine to you?

 

Your points are valid. I said your original point was contrary to what Randy wrote. he claims to have tested for 25K miles.

I didnt claim if he was right or wrong, just what he wrote.

In general, I agree 100% that most of what is claimed is marketing. (especially in the case of one ECU upgrade vendor is WAY off base.)

Someone once told me NOT to believe 99% of what written about HP gains and to trust only the few who do it for a living. Yes, Randy is trying to make money. However, he is one one of the few I also trust not lie about his results ... besides the dyno charts are on his website. I dont think he is going to sully his reputation by posting invalid data.

is it worth it? Don't know. Its cutting edge and not enough data points yet to see the long term results. When someone destroys some engine parts, we will know.

I agree, its freeing up HP, not making HP, there is another thread here on that subject. Same as a lightened flywheel.

Bottom line ... I said it was contrary to what Randy wrote ... I didn't pass judgement on whether it was worth it or not Everything else we agree on.

 

I don't know where you found dyno results on Alta's site, but I sure can't find them for any product. In fact, when I called to ask what they had that backed up their claims for their IC and IC diverter products, they told me that they had never tried to actually test the increase.

After having had a close look at these two products, I can easily see why, as they are not, IMHO, well engineered.

Sorry if I sound a bit rabid, but it's easy to sound like one is flaming on the `net, and I get pretty annoyed at manufacturers who claim big increases for big prices, with no evidence.

 

OldRick, at the risk of sounding rabid, if you re-read the post you just replied to, you will know where the dyno charts are posted.

Steve

 

I must be dense today - I don't see it. I've been looking on Alta's site for info on Alta products. What URL should I be looking at?

BTW, here is a good article on the need for vibration dampers on crankshaft pulleys - a quote "...these power pullys are created and installed by people who do not understand some very important principles of physics."
http://dinancars.com/whitepapersFile.asp?ID=5

Bottom line is DO NOT install a lightweight crankshaft pulley without a vibration damper, whether it be from Alta, M7, or anyone else, if you like your engine - they don't know what they are doing, and haven't invested the R&D or testing needed to produce such a part.

 

Dynos are on Randy Webbs website. www.webbmotorsports.com.

Steve

 

Thanks - nice site. However, undamped crankshaft pulleys are still a really bad idea.

 

I assume you found Randy's dyno charts.

Interesting article. He has another good one on their about how to properly dyno a car.

I guess I would say that the vendors are on the cutting edge and we will see when parts start to break (if they do). If you want to keep your warranty, I suppose this is a bad move. If you dont care, then there are many people who go for the cutting edge. To each their own

 

Sorry to continue to contribute to a seriously derailed thread for the OP, but.... I believe the 7-8HP increase is from the 15% SC pully right? Not merely the change of the crank pully, am I correct? And "maybe" it is 7-8 HP from the Crank pully, but only if the pully is the 2% version, thus giving more boost to the SC.

Also, OldRick, I skimmed over your new post you made about Crank pulleys being a bad idea. All you seem to be doing is recycling an article or two that you have read, and laying it out here as if you've done some new amazing research to back up those articles. And I'm willing to bet those articles weren't focused on specifically the engine in the MINI, and more so on engines in general, correct me if I'm wrong, and please provide a link. It appears that a significant portion of Mr. Webb's sales successes have been based on him presenting himself as an honest person, and having a genuine interest in MINI performance. I don't think it makes sense that he would intentionally lie about a single part, such as the crank pulley, and jeopardize his reputation, when he probably could easily do without selling the crank pulley and be sufficiently profitable.

 

[QUOTE=Steeroidz] I believe the 7-8HP increase is from the 15% SC pully right? Not merely the change of the crank pully, am I correct?

No incorrect. They SC pulley is more like 15 - 20 HP. The 2% crank pully is an additioanl 7 - 8 HP, He says 8HP for a JCW car.

 

If you had read the sentence directly after the one you quoted, you would have seen I already typed what you typed =)

 

Not trying to present this as any new revelation, but for 15 years or so everything I've read on the topic indicates that a solid crankshaft pulley is bad for the longevity of an engine with a crankshaft. The SAE and the Mini engineers seem to agree.

I see no reason to doubt that this also holds true for the Mini engine, but as I pointed out earlier, one man's over-engineering is another man's safety margin.

IMHO, such a part is fine for a racer who expects to rebuild his engine every season anyway, but is a really bad idea for those who expect that their engine will remain in place for the life of the car.

 

You stirred up the hornets nest and maybe your right but realize, many people here tend to buy the cutting edge (eg. look at the 19% pulleys). To each, their own and peace ...

 

Who has tried crank pulley on their own car? Maybe it’s easier to get a comment from a person who really tried this mod.

Also, which SC pulley is the best for me without the crank pulley? %17 %16 %15?

 

Read Randys website. 15

Read this thread https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...ad.php?t=54503

The jury is out.

As to CAIs and ECU. There is not right or wrong answer. Do a search and you will see dozens of different answers. MTH makes huge claims yet the majority of people seem to go with piggyback comps like UNICHIP.

Dozens of CAIs, some with large "claims" Alta is popular but that doesnt mean its the best. The best thing to do is read and read and read and then make up your own mind because there is no one right answer