Well E-Tech was a no-go due to lack of Mini tuning experience & the Mini Motorsport Centre couldn't fit me in for another week. After a quick call I was kindly fitted in at Minispeed (
Minispeed.co.uk | New Mini ) .
Took me an hour to get there but it was totally worth it for the customer service alone. After arriving at around 11:15 I explained that I had to leave by 3:30 to get back for 4:30 and I had the following list to be done:
- Fit 15% reduced supercharger pulley
- Fit 2% oversized & lightened Alta crank pulley
- Change spark plugs
- Give the car an oil service
Over a cup of coffee that was made for me I was given the timescales for doing the work (more time than we had if problems occured) & after a brief discussion we decided that the best course of action was:
- Let the car cool (45mins - 1hr)
- Change the supercharger pulley
- Test to see if the crank pulley comes of easily. If yes change it but if no leave it & move on to the service.
The guys at Minispeed didn't want me to be late back & it was great that they offered this course of action so as not to cause any unnecessary risk. They were very professional & also very easy to get along with. You could tell that they really enjoyed what they did & that they would take good care of any car they got there hands on.
So the end result was that the crank pulley didn't come off but the rest got done & thanks to Minispeed I was back home by 4:30 to pick my 2yr old up from nursery
Now the verdict........Wahooooooooo
It's not lightening quick (last car was an E39 M5!) but my god what an improvement in both response & driveability
I had a very spirited drive on the way home and right from zero all the way to 100mph the car pulls like a train (i didn't go any quicker) and in 6th gear you can feel the increase in torque. Where you'd maybe change down there is now no need.
Kinda makes you wonder why they don't come out of the factory like that
The guys at Minispeed commented on the pulley and were stunned when I told them how much it cost. They said it was exactly like the Alta one
The next big test will be on 22nd November as i'm doing an open pit lane trackday at Bedford on the full GT circuit.
Watch this space
MAFFA
