What to tune??

[rhys1501]

Hi,

I have a Mini Cooper S R53. Completely standard under the hood.

Although there is plenty of poke in the little pocket rocket, you can never have enough..

So i'm thinking of tuning it? What can I do that won't shorten the engine life or make it sound like a boy racers corsa?
i have looked at the Lohen kit for around £500 but not sure if this would shorten the engine life. And I have also thought if I am going to uprate the engine. Maybe I am going to need some better brakes?

Just wondering what people have done to their cooper s's and the outcomes.

Rhys.

[James]

General consensus is to get a smaller supercharger pulley first as they gets the most bang for your money (£60~150). I would also recommend a Miltek exhaust with some sort of new air filter (I just got the John cooper works airbox with an aftermarket cone filter so it looks more standard). Most performance modifications will probably shorten engine life in the very long run as it will be running slightly nearer it's limits but if you only do what's mentioned above and keep it well maintained it should be fine.

[cristo]

I think 825 rpm is a very low A, 874 is A sharp (B flat), and 926 is B, and so on.

[__kyle__]

ECU remap is an easy upgrade but you'll pay about £750 for a stage 2 upgrade wich will give you roughly an extra 30bhp and 40 torque! Or like james said reducing the supercharger pulley would be a good common starting ground.

[Floor-is]

Quote: Originally Posted by __kyle__ (original)

ECU remap is an easy upgrade but you'll pay about £750 for a stage 2 upgrade wich will give you roughly an extra 30bhp and 40 torque! Or like james said reducing the supercharger pulley would be a good common starting ground.

On of the best tuners in the Netherlands is "Beek Racing"

Quote:

Er wordt een 17% compressor pulley van Cravenspeed gemonteerd en gelijk wordt de multiriem vervangen. Tevens wordt de software veranderd door een aangepaste versie speciaal voor deze setup.

Cooper S stage III Software 170 pk naar 207 pk 17% compressor pulley Prijs: € 675,-

Rollerbank test: Na de software tuning kunt een vermogensmeting laten uitvoeren. Prijs: € 60,-

Montagetijd: Stage III: +/- 4 uur

Translation:
A 17% compressor pulley by Craven will be placed and the multibelt will be replaced. Also the engine-software will be changed by a special version for this setup.

Cooper S stage II software 170BHP to ±207BHP and the 17% pulley. Price: ±565 GBP
You can do the test on the stationary road for an extra 50 GBP

This all takes about 4 hours.

-
Personally I think you should replace the cold air intake, then the pulley and the software. But if you do the pulley, you will need to replace the spark plugs.
If you would want to go any further after that, you'll need to upgrade the brakes, the IC, the coils and you might want to consider the spark-plug cables. Next step: new camshaft.
We're talking 225+BHP now

[rhys1501]

Thanks! Il look into it and do some homework.

What is the pulley % standard? And which % do I go for? Are there different brands? Or companies?
Have you uprated the pulley James? Also does the after market exhaust give much 'in car' noise? As I dont want it being an annoyance.

Thanks for that (Floor-is) Do you mean a K&N or something first? Then reduce the pulley to 17%? Also... can you change the pulley at home? Don't want any extra garage funds...

Thanks,
Rhys.

[Floor-is]

Standard is 100%
JCW is 111% IIRC
Craven/Alta have 116% and 117%
M7 makes a 116%

117% gives the most boost

You'll need to be careful about one thing: if you tend to "redline" or hang around in the higher rev's a lot: take good care of your cooling! The engine will heat up (a lot) more then they used to do. If you're a high-revver, at least use the "cold spark" plugs and a (way better) CAI.

[rhys1501]

Thanks for the info!

I tend to try and not 'redline' my mini as I know its bad for it.
But as you said. If I get the iridium spark plugs and the pulley and stay below the redline all should be ok!

[Floor-is]

You can redline, just not for a prolonged time. If you'd go to a trackday, just throw it around and drive it like any idiot would. (As long as you don't crash it).

[MINIAC]

Quote: Originally Posted by Floor-is (original)

Quote: Originally Posted by rhys1501 (original)

What is the pulley % standard?

Standard is 100%
JCW is 111% IIRC
Craven/Alta have 116% and 117%
M7 makes a 116%

117% gives the most boost

Actually the stock pulley is 0% and the aftermarket pulleys are percent smaller

Reduction Pulley Sizes

Some people have fitted a 19% reduction pulley

Quote: Originally Posted by rhys1501 (original)

Also... can you change the pulley at home?

Depends how mechanically inclined you are ...

Supercharger Pulley Install

[Floor-is]

I stand corrected, you are right and I stupidly wrote it down all wrong. When it needs to rotate faster it should be smaller