higher final drive ring / pinion set?

[JonH]

Guys,

Picked up my new S couple of days ago and though I love it, there's two things that I would like to change after run in:

i) final drive - first gear seems very tall indeed and rather than change the entire gearbox, does anyone know if there's a tuner which offers a higher final drive ring / pinion kit?

I'm already planning to go down to 16" to mimic the effect.

ii) flywheel - the rpm's between shifts takes eons to drop. Has anyone installed a lighter flywheel that doesn't rattle at idle (problems that I've experienced with an M3) and won't stall? (problem I'm experiencing sometimes with the WRX)

TIA,
JonH

[Hubert]

Hi Jon,

1) Mini Mania offers various final drive gears, but unlike BMWs, this is a very labour intensive task for a front wheel driven car, so it's going to cost a lot. It's rarely done. Yes, go for 16" would be a better idea if you insist, but difference is minimal, maybe 5% at most.

2) Why do you want a light flywheel so soon? I have no experience with light flywheels myself, but I would think that hill starts would become even more of a nightmare for this particular car. You might want to contact the local shops for advice.

I believe you should try lighter 16" first. IMHO, different cars have different upgrade paths.

Hope this helps.
Hubert

[JonH]

Hi Hubert,

Thanks for the tip. In that case, I'll probably leave the final drive till a later date (if I ever do it at all). Part of the reason why hill starts are so difficult is because the first gear is too tall, I think. Going up steep inclines like Old Peak Road requires slipping the clutch much longer than one would normally expect.

As for the flywheel, it's really throttle reponse which I'd like to improve. Added to that, the rev drop between gears just seems like an eternity (reminds me of my old A4 1.8T) but again, just a personal pet peeve - not too big of a deal after all.

Regards,
JonH

[Hubert]

Jon,
If you want the revs to whack up quicker, just get yourself a smaller supercharger pulley. Definitely best bang for the buck, and I've not heard of one engine failure related to this mod. Gives pretty much the same performance gains as the JCW upgrade, at 1/10 of the cost.
By the way, I would avoid going up Old Peak Road with this car, at all costs
Cheers,
Hubert

[chrisfb1]

I'm having the pulley done. but stay away from the flying wheel. It will give you a bit more noise on everyday driving. If you would like to take it to the track a lot or do autocross. you can do that, it gives you better performance.

Do not worry about the trans system too much. there are not mouch you can do about it except spend big money on it. If you really plan to spend some money on the car. Spend it on wheel, intake, pulley(15%/17%, too hot for 19% in HK) sway bar, short shifter or exaust.
It will give you so much hp than you can imagine on the mini.

Good luck.
Ohh.. dont forget, turn off the DSC!