Just a question for you modding guru's

[MikeSA]

I just want to ask a quick question on what you guys think about reliability, longevity etc. on modding my Cooper S.

I have a 2003 (R53) Cooper S JCW. I want to add the following parts to the car.

Larger throttle bodies (old = 57mm, new = 63mm)
New exhaust header
Smaller supercharger pulley 17%
Lightweight crank pulley
performance air filter
Shrick camshaft
reprogramming of ecu
new wiring for the spark plugs (not sure what thats called lol)

All these parts are replacing what ever was stock on the car before the JCW tuning kit was installed. Do you think it is a good idea and how will it affect my cars reliability and lifespan of the motor? The parts come from a good source so they will not be rubbish.

Thanks in advance.

[thenextstig]

i personally wouldnt get the 17% pulley just because it overheats ur supercharger to much and the only way u should get it of u polish and port the stock supercharger

[MikeSA]

Thanks for that, but the JCW has a different supercharger versus a standard Cooper S. Does that help at all?

[thenextstig]

actually yes it does but im not sure if its a different supercharger just the stock one ported but yes now i think its a better idea :) anyway can you provide some pictures of your mini i would really like to see it ;)

[thenextstig]

lol srry for tht stupid smiley at the end of my last post

[MikeSA]

actually yes it does but im not sure if its a different supercharger just the stock one ported but yes now i think its a better idea :) anyway can you provide some pictures of your mini i would really like to see it ;)

Sure here you go.

http://i9.photobucket.com/albums/a51/MikeS277/IMG_3955.jpg

http://i9.photobucket.com/albums/a51/MikeS277/IMG_3484.jpg

[thenextstig]

wow this is really nice i love the color mine is just like this except a lil less dark blue and i have white stripes and white roof

[MikeSA]

Very nice! I see on my original post I forgot to ad I'm also putting in a larger intercooler.

[thenextstig]

o that is pretty good upgrade setup wish u best of luck with that

[tenfifteen]

I'd probably stick with the 15% pulley and leave the crank pulley alone, but that's me... I'm a little conservative on those things. Totally anecdotal, but I knew a guy who really effed up his R53 with a 17% and lightweight crank pulley. Could it have been something else? Sure... but you're really walking up to the edge with those mods. I just wouldn't feel comfortable at that point.

Btw, your ride is effing sweet. About the cleanest R53 I've seen.

[thenextstig]

which one mine or his lol

[MikeSA]

I'd probably stick with the 15% pulley and leave the crank pulley alone, but that's me... I'm a little conservative on those things. Totally anecdotal, but I knew a guy who really effed up his R53 with a 17% and lightweight crank pulley. Could it have been something else? Sure... but you're really walking up to the edge with those mods. I just wouldn't feel comfortable at that point.

Btw, your ride is effing sweet. About the cleanest R53 I've seen.

Thanks for your input, but the lightweight crank pulley I'm getting is just lighter, it will still be the same diameter. Remember my car already has the John Cooper Works 210hp tuning kit installed so I presume the supercharger pulley used in this case over the stock Cooper S has already been reduced 15% over the stock (thats just assumption)? What is your opinion on the other mods like the Shrick Cams?

Thanks, I like to keep it clean!

By the way, this is the tuning company I intend to order the parts from if that helps at all:
http://www.gtt.uk.com/parts.asp

[tenfifteen]

The stock JCW pulley is actually only 11-12% reduction, as I recall. You could probably get better information on NAM. The lightweight, but stock-diameter crank pulleys can also be a problem, but you're right, the bigger ones amplify that. Still, I'd weigh that against any potential gains.

I never went internals on mine, but those are definitely the tier-2 mods (head, header, cam, injectors), tier-1 being pulley, exhaust, intake. You've got a good list of mods there, it'll definitely be fast.

This was mine by the way (sold it for the car in the sig):
http://www.autoblog.com/2007/08/20/reader-ride-2002-mini-cooper-s/

[MikeSA]

I'm starting to wonder if I should go for the lightweight crank pulley? What could go wrong if lets say worse case scenario?

I've got other mods too, but they aren't engine performance related so I never posted.

Also doing:

Replacing stock brake rotors with performance slotted rotors (front and rear)
Limited Slip Diff
Lightweight Flywheel

That's a nice Mini you have there! Very clean as well. I love the Miltek Tips.
Do you think the tier-2 mods will affect my reliability?

[thenextstig]

tenfifteen that is a sweet mini!!!! how much power does it produce i was thinking of the same setup except getting it in a pack from mini-madness.com
anyway i think if u get the camshaft(correct me if im wrong) but it will change ur idl quite alot make it sound more like a diesel/v8. and the lightweight crank pulley isnt a good idea cause i heard it screws up the harmonics of the engine

[MikeSA]

Wow I had no idea people were so against the crank pulley. This is what the website says on the companys website.

The stock item weighs in at around 7 pounds .The GTT item weighs just one pound! The benefits are similar to those experienced with lighter flywheels: i.e. better throttle response and free revving. However both unit cost and fitting costs/time are considerably less than those associated with lightweight flywheels.

Our design features 6 spokes (to achieve the required strength),a separate steel sleeve to achieve the correct interference fit onto the crankshaft nose, and a bolt on pulley wheel. As we've said before, an interference fit between an aluminium pulley and a steel shaft is poor engineering practice. This is due to the different expansion rates and also risk of 'picking up', a process where the alloy welds itself to the steel shaft when you remove it .This causes a lot of damage to the alloy part and makes a mess on the steel shaft too. Our pulley is HARD anodised to eliminate corrosion and minimize pulley wear. No other pulley gives you these important design features.

The larger diameter version gives the equivalent 'gearing change' to the supercharger of 'minus 3%' .This means they are best suited to Std, JCW or-15%cars .The latter two then having equivalent to ' minus 18% pulley' , without the risk of pulley slip normally risk associated with very small S/C pulleys. And of course you get the quick spin up too! These items are primarily intended for competition use.

[thenextstig]

:dunnowel than i dont know lol lots of ppl tell me to stay away from that

[tenfifteen]

What you'll frequently hear is that the lighter pulleys eliminate the harmonic damping induced by a heavier unit; that's a bad thing. Induce a funky harmonic into your engine, and you're going to seriously screw up some internals. Is it going to cause a problem in all engines? Maybe not... but are you going to see a gain that's commensurate with the risk? It's a mod that doesn't do a whole lot, as I see it.

Slightly better throttle response just isn't worth it, imho... but whatever you're comfortable with. No flipping way you're going to get close to the response of a lightweight flywheel with a crank pulley, btw.

Thanks stig... no idea how much power it made, but it was a helluva lot of fun to drive and it sounded great. The MTH tune ran a little rich, and I think a proper dyno tune would've made a big difference.

[MikeSA]

What you'll frequently hear is that the lighter pulleys eliminate the harmonic damping induced by a heavier unit; that's a bad thing. Induce a funky harmonic into your engine, and you're going to seriously screw up some internals. Is it going to cause a problem in all engines? Maybe not... but are you going to see a gain that's commensurate with the risk? It's a mod that doesn't do a whole lot, as I see it.

Slightly better throttle response just isn't worth it, imho... but whatever you're comfortable with. No flipping way you're going to get close to the response of a lightweight flywheel with a crank pulley, btw.

Thanks stig... no idea how much power it made, but it was a helluva lot of fun to drive and it sounded great. The MTH tune ran a little rich, and I think a proper dyno tune would've made a big difference.

Thanks for the in depth response. I suppose it does make sense. I'll scratch that one off the list then.

[catseye]

What you'll frequently hear is that the lighter pulleys eliminate the harmonic damping induced by a heavier unit; that's a bad thing......
My "guy" told me the same thing, which made me decide not to look further into that mod.

[w00ht]

I'd probably stick with the 15% pulley and leave the crank pulley alone, but that's me... I'm a little conservative on those things. Totally anecdotal, but I knew a guy who really effed up his R53 with a 17% and lightweight crank pulley.

+1 This is pretty well covered over on the Mini specific sites.

BOT, The thing is I don't think you'll be happy with those mods for how much they are going to cost you. Does your car have all of the JCW parts installed? IIRC the early JCW options (at least what was offered to us here in the states) included a head exchange with different cams. Have you compared the schrick cams to the ones in your car? You may be swapping out apples for apples (IE the same lift/duration). From what I remember it seems most of your list of wants was in the JCW package... (I was seriously considering a JCW in late 03, but ended up waiting for an 04 VW R32)

The one mod I would do on your list is a swap over to the Miltek exhaust. I have the whole setup from the header back and love it. It sounds absolutely sick with just the right amount of burble!

Your car is absolutley gorgeous, I wouldn't mess with it too much :thumbup:

[MikeSA]

Hi guys,

Short update. I'm going to be going for the following mods.

RMW Tune
RMW Header
RMW Cams
RMW Head
ALTA 17% SC Pulley
440cc injectors
MSD Ignition Coil
MSD Live Wires
M7 Oil Catch Can
ALTA larger intercooler
Quaife LSD
Slotted front and rear rotors

I should be doing around 240hp hopefully on the dyno after all those mods.

[MINIMorgan]

Good to see you have changed the spec to some better parts :) Obviously you have lots to spend too ;) But I would expect much more than 240bhp! 270bhp maybe....

You will get a big torque increase from the 17% pulley, cam and head. Try not to get caught up with buying parts you dont really need and remember the MINI is about instant strong power delivery and not peak HP. Trust me you will feel worlds apart once you get all that fitted :)

And if someone screws up an R53 engine with a 17% pulley and a crank pulley then they shouldnt be allowed near one. I have run a 18% pulley and light weight +1% crank for 18months covering 25K miles with no problems. The R53 is bullet proof unless someone doesnt respect correctly fuelling it as even with its semiforged pistons, strong valves and oil spray a seriously pinking engine will blow.

[MikeSA]

Good to see you have changed the spec to some better parts :) Obviously you have lots to spend too ;) But I would expect much more than 240bhp! 270bhp maybe....

You will get a big torque increase from the 17% pulley, cam and head. Try not to get caught up with buying parts you dont really need and remember the MINI is about instant strong power delivery and not peak HP. Trust me you will feel worlds apart once you get all that fitted :)

And if someone screws up an R53 engine with a 17% pulley and a crank pulley then they shouldnt be allowed near one. I have run a 18% pulley and light weight +1% crank for 18months covering 25K miles with no problems. The R53 is bullet proof unless someone doesnt respect correctly fuelling it as even with its semiforged pistons, strong valves and oil spray a seriously pinking engine will blow.

Hi Morgan,

I look forward to getting all this stuff on, now to wait for the items to ship! I'll be posting regular photo's of the build process.

270hp.... I can't wait :D

[ScottinBend]

Nice set of upgrades!

You might want to consider the 15% instead of the 17% for longevities sake. The 15% is really pushing the envelope for the amount of heat the engine can manage and the only real benefit is a bit quicker boost, but at the expense of high RPM reliability.

When Jan does his tune you will also get a much less intrusive traction control and the rev limit is raised to about 7300rpm.

[MikeSA]

Nice set of upgrades!

You might want to consider the 15% instead of the 17% for longevities sake. The 15% is really pushing the envelope for the amount of heat the engine can manage and the only real benefit is a bit quicker boost, but at the expense of high RPM reliability.

When Jan does his tune you will also get a much less intrusive traction control and the rev limit is raised to about 7300rpm.

JSCspeed is really going to hate me - I've changed my order about 5 times already :eek: :D I'll give Jan an email and see what he recommends.

[beaner06]

mikeSA: i like your new list much better! although a noob on this forum, i've been around the MINI for a while. i tried several times to give you a detailed response, but couldn't post links due to low post count. i have a new in box quaife lsd w/ bearings. $900 shipped if interested. pm me if you would like the rest of my opinion.
greg