Certainly!

The MTH Tuner is fantastic. Made a real and immediate difference and got better over the next couple of hundred miles.

I had the VGS mod on mine and I believe it improved the responsiveness of the car a bit. I took it off because I got a SES light on - turned out the SES light was due to the software problems with the automatics last year, but I've never put the VGS back on.

I believe the plugs made the engine smoother and just a tad peppier across the RPM range.

 

Sweet!!! I promise not to hit any curbs.

I'm not expecting a whole lot from the plugs and the VGS, but I figure what the hell. And as for the MTH -- it's definitely on the to-do list, and I am expecting a bit from that. Of course, that probably just sets me up for disappointment.

 

I've put a little over 5k miles on mine with a 15% pulley (and the other stuff below) and its been running great.

One thing to keep in mind is that if you plan on putting several engine mods on it may invalidate your extended warranty. I was informed that with a pulley, CAI, and exhaust I was ok, but if I add one more my car will be a 'performance' car and I could not add an extended warranty.

 

where did you get your dinan pulley? i know that there is a dealership on long island which will honor warranty work with dinan stuff...

thanks - drew

 

it was a leftover from someone hat got a dinan kit, but wanted a 19%. I got lucky.

 

I cant wait! I want to do it soo bad!

 

Randy Webb did my 14% pulley on my MCSa. I think he said it was about his 7th automatic. He did it at a Pulley Party™ here in LA and it was admittedly more involved than the manual. Because of the transmission orientation and such, he had to remove the passenger wheel liner as well to get enough room to work in there.

I've had my pulley now for maybe 9k miles and not a problem, and an amazing mod. It was also quite informative to discuss the various pulley options with Randy (he gives a great explanation on whiteroofradio) and the tradeoffs of heat, pressure, and efficiency with the various pulleys. The end result being that physics shows that 15% is about right for our engine/supercharger and larger pulleys tax the law of dininishing returns. At any rate, it's worth reading up on and drawing your own conclusions. Or talk to Randy at AMVIV about it (he's usually more than happy to talk your ear off!).

I haven't had any warranty issues, but my dealer has been very supportive of all the mods I have on my car. I had the ECU issues but that was cleared up with software, independent of the pulley, airbox, exhaust work I had done. If I had to do it again, I would have done it sooner.

 

i knew it had to be something like that... i called dinan and they said the pulley wasn't available on its own... you lucked out!

spoke with my friend at MINI today and have been told that the projected due date - aka this month - for the jcw mcsa kit will come and go - and that there will be more news in a couple of weeks.

if MINI doesn't put the kit out by end of april i'm going to helix and getting the 15%.... enough is enough!!!

- drew

 

No context (good or bad) for the "more news"?

This situation regarding the continual slipping of an availability date for the MCSa JCW upgrade is getting rather tiresome. Like you, I am starting to look really seriously at alternatives.

 

i really have no idea if its good or bad news...but the fact that i've now been waiting a YEAR for something which has been constantly promised and never delivered just ain't good... according to my MINI friend, the compan yis aware how many people want this and really do want to release it for the usa. i have heard that the problem lies in two areas, you can decide which you'd like to believe:

1. us emmissions. take it or leave it.

2. an issue where the engineers of the tranny are at odds with the engineers of the car regarding how the startup procedure is to be handled with regards to temperatures inside of the car at startup. apparently we're only talking a few seconds here, but perhaps that relates to the software and thus the emissions - beats the stuffing out of me...

so there you have it. i am giving it one more month - tops - and then its straight to helix for a 15 percent pulley. given that nobody has had any problems with that route, i am ready to throw caution to the wind and jump in.

- drew

 

Items 1 & 2 above are kind of tied together. In fact the whole emission issue is why I have been holding off going with a non-JCW solution to hp and ft/lbs. In California, they test after 6 years of the car first being placed in service on a bi-annual cycle. The emission control system is warranted by MINI/BMW for something like 100,000 miles/144 months in California - unless non-factory modifications have been made. If your non-fctory modifications result in the car failing the SMOG test, you basically own the problem (at least in California). I haven't seen much data on how mods such as a 15% pulley impact the SMOG test results, so I am hesitant to take the plunge and have been waiting for an official solution. However, I am not infinitely patient; so, who knows, I may just take the plunge on a Webb Motorsports Upgrade package #3 and roll the dice on the emission compliance.

 

hmm.... good point. not sure about that one, but here in new york i think its far less stringent... i am really hoping the jcw kit appears. as expensive as it is, i'd really like to have a full works car and the warranty.

the clock is ticking MINI.... are you out there?

 

part of the reason I got an MCSa rather than the MCS was because I thought the JCW was going to be released LAST feb - it just seemed like a no-brainer. I have to admit, I feel a little misled.

even if it does come out, at this point I'd be hard pressed to afford it . . .

my plan is to either trade for a used manual version w/ similar miles or go down to helix for a 15% and milltek (I have a JCW intake). truly my only concern with the pulley is how it might affect resale - if you plan to hang on to your car, there is no reason not to IMHO. remember the JCW uses a reduction pulley and it is fully warrantied. I talked to my SA, and he basically said it isn't a problem warranty-wise unless it can be directly linked to the problem. he said he has very occasionally heard of problems with the water-pump, but my guess is that this is with 17% and 19% pulleys. thousands of people are running pulleys with no problem . . .

drew, if you go to helix, be sure and post up on your experience - I may be doing down there myself at some point.

personally, I think MINI dropped the ball on this one . . .

 

to be honest guys, i'm done with waiting for the works kit as of right now. there is too much data pointing to a 15 perecent pulley being a-o-k for the mcsa. a lot of owners have done it, and i am gonna go for it. it just doesn't make sense to me to pay so much money for something i can essentially get for 400 dollars installed via way of a pulley. i have the jcw exhaust and air intake - the pulley will finish off the job. if the works kit ever does appear then maybe i'll upgrade, but i'm done waiting - enough is enough. months and months and months of being told it's almost here has lead me to this and at this point i would rather save the money, get the horsepower and if god forbid the supercharger flips out then i can cover a new one for far less than the price of a full works kit.

- drew

 

I just had a 17% put on Monday. It is absolutely fantastic.The tranny shifts seem to be even crisper with the pulley on.

 

makes sense to me - the transmission seems to work better under load.

 

Wow One month went by quick Good luck Drew - keep us posted

 

yeah...i just kind of lost it..lol.. gonna set it all up tomorrow - cant wait! at this point, the risk of doing it seems low enough and if i have to replace anything down the line it would still be cheaper than the (non existant) works kit!

 

Yah let us know after you go for it

 

Couldn't you get a whole motor for the price of the works kit?

 

well...yeah...but let's not even entertain that thought! [IMG]images/smilies/eek.gif[/IMG]

 

Hey Guys, just want to ask a silly question as mine is still standard MCSa.

What size is the standard pulley in the MCSa?

What is the +/- of the 15% or 17%?

Did you install via Dealer or aftermarket?

Cheers from Aussie

 

nike61 the size most people install on a MCS regardless of the tranny is the 15% pulley. That is why it is mentioned so much here.

Most pullies are installed aftermarket by a shop or company. Some dealers in the states do install MINI-madness parts though.

I had mine installed aftermarket just as all of my other parts. Or they were installed by myself.

 

i'll be getting my 15% pulley installed by eric at helix this coming monday. i also plan on doing a review of the entire process for motoringfile, so keep your eyes peeled for something at some point after next monday.

very excited indeed!

 

Perhaps but the labor for putting it all together would add up (actually I do think a new engine is more $).

Good luck NYCMini, looking forward to the write up. I like how you have it in your sig already