how can i make my mini cooper faster?

Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by PlayPlay on April 16, 2009 at 5:11pm

Hey Caleb, thanks for posting this thread :)

I was hoping that others would be able to contribute their thoughts on the matter. I'd say since you have an R53, that is the supercharged MINI, then the first thing that most people do for biggest bang for the buck is to get a reduction pully for the supercharger along with a custom dimsport dyno tune.

Most people opt for 15% pulleys as I've heard smaller ones may be harder to tune and that the gains in HP are harder to come by. You can check out http://www.altaperformance.com/products/list?category=16&model=8 and www.mini-madness.com and www.helix13.com to looks for the pulleys. BTW, you will also need a different supercharger pulley belt to work with the new pulley.

There is one guy/company that most people seem to swear by called Revolution Mini Works (RMW) who can do the dyno tune. They are located in California, but due to popular demand, they have been traveling all over the country to perform these tunes. You usually have to get on the schedule in advance to book a time slot for this.

There is another outfit in Maryland called Behe Performance that also does these dimsport dyno tunes. The racers who are loyal to his work swear by him. Some others feel that he is conceited and too secretive about his tuning techniques. He is also more expensive, maybe 50%+ more expensive, and does not travel around.
He tends to dislike folks who don't already know about tuning and/or question his work. On the other hand, I know of a couple SCCA champions who are his regular customers.

I'd say a pulley replacement and dyno tune will run you about $700-$800.

Some folks also opt to upgrade their fuel injectors at the same time to the OEM JCW 380cc injectors. I think the parts themselves run around $400. And some will also upgrade their cam shaft before doing all this as well. Maxicooper on here installed a Schrick cam before his RMW tune. RMW also makes their own cam shafts.

Alot of people just stop there as if you were to do all of the above it will probably get you 25-30 additional HP.

I hope to hear some other opinions from folks here.

▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by caleb kuck on April 16, 2009 at 10:09pm

Thanks for the suggestions!!! so then do you think a 17% pulley would be better then a 15% pulley? im not a mechanic lol so im still trying to figure this stuff out. but the guy who had my MINI before me done some stuff to it, so he might have already put a pulley on it but im gonna take it somewhere to get it looked at so i can know for shure. ive only had this one for a few months. but my relatives friends is known for tuning cars and stuff like that so i might ask him if he can check it out for me and maybe tune it.



PlayPlay said:

Hey Caleb, thanks for posting this thread :)

I was hoping that others would be able to contribute their thoughts on the matter. I'd say since you have an R53, that is the supercharged MINI, then the first thing that most people do for biggest bang for the buck is to get a reduction pully for the supercharger along with a custom dimsport dyno tune.

Most people opt for 15% pulleys as I've heard smaller ones may be harder to tune and that the gains in HP are harder to come by. You can check out http://www.altaperformance.com/products/list?category=16&model=8 and www.mini-madness.com and www.helix13.com to looks for the pulleys. BTW, you will also need a different supercharger pulley belt to work with the new pulley.

There is one guy/company that most people seem to swear by called Revolution Mini Works (RMW) who can do the dyno tune. They are located in California, but due to popular demand, they have been traveling all over the country to perform these tunes. You usually have to get on the schedule in advance to book a time slot for this.

There is another outfit in Maryland called Behe Performance that also does these dimsport dyno tunes. The racers who are loyal to his work swear by him. Some others feel that he is conceited and too secretive about his tuning techniques. He is also more expensive, maybe 50%+ more expensive, and does not travel around.
He tends to dislike folks who don't already know about tuning and/or question his work. On the other hand, I know of a couple SCCA champions who are his regular customers.

I'd say a pulley replacement and dyno tune will run you about $700-$800.

Some folks also opt to upgrade their fuel injectors at the same time to the OEM JCW 380cc injectors. I think the parts themselves run around $400. And some will also upgrade their cam shaft before doing all this as well. Maxicooper on here installed a Schrick cam before his RMW tune. RMW also makes their own cam shafts.

Alot of people just stop there as if you were to do all of the above it will probably get you 25-30 additional HP.

I hope to hear some other opinions from folks here.

▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by bambam on April 16, 2009 at 10:26pm

As with anything it all depends on how much money you have to spend. I have inastalled a couple of 15% pulleys and they seemed to noticably increase power. That plus a tuning remap would probably be the cheapest way.

Lots of people throw mods on without a remap but once you reach a certain point you are being counterproductive because everything isn't working together etc.

One thing I have heard lots of negative feedback on is the lightened crank pulleys. Some people swear by them and then some say they damage the engine due to loss of vibe dampening. I have no personal experience but would reccomend extensive research before you considered that route.

One more thing I have heard of is a sprint boost pack that is supposed to eliminate the throttle delay when you accelerate. Once again I have no personal experience but a friend says he had to relearn how to drive his car.

▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by caleb kuck on April 17, 2009 at 12:30am

thanks man!! yeah i just looked up that sprintbooster, and it looks pretty sick! cause the minis do seem to have a little acceleration delay...i will buy it here soon and ttest it out and tell you guys what its like...so can you have more then one pulley at a time? sorry thats probally a dumb question but i dont know a whole lot about engines yet! haha



bambam said:

As with anything it all depends on how much money you have to spend. I have inastalled a couple of 15% pulleys and they seemed to noticably increase power. That plus a tuning remap would probably be the cheapest way.

Lots of people throw mods on without a remap but once you reach a certain point you are being counterproductive because everything isn't working together etc.

One thing I have heard lots of negative feedback on is the lightened crank pulleys. Some people swear by them and then some say they damage the engine due to loss of vibe dampening. I have no personal experience but would reccomend extensive research before you considered that route.

One more thing I have heard of is a sprint boost pack that is supposed to eliminate the throttle delay when you accelerate. Once again I have no personal experience but a friend says he had to relearn how to drive his car.

▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by PlayPlay on April 17, 2009 at 7:11pm

hang tight...dont have time to respond right now, but i will get to it later when i can sit down lol.

im also interested in learning more about the sprint booster....curious how it would affect an already remapped ECU.

▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by bambam on April 17, 2009 at 10:10pm

Before I start doling out a bunch of info here is my disclaimer, I have 15 years of classic Mini experience and one year of BMW MINI experience so most of the info I know about the BMW MINI is simply from reading. There are many, many differing opinions out there. I am sure there lots of people with actual experience on this site but here is my two cents.

There ar basically two pulleys you can play with to increase power. A smaller supercharger pulley that basically spins the supercharger faster and the crank pulley that will spin all the accessories faster or slower depending on rather it is larger or smaller.

The supercharger pulley only affects the supercharger however the gas mileage will be affected and it requires jacking the engine up to install. There is a small group of people that think the increased RPM's will cause the supercharger to fail prematurely.

The factory crankshaft pulley is elastomeric to dampen vibration. Eleastromeric basically means that it has rubber and metal fused together. However they are heavy and the theory of the lightwieght pulleys is that they reduce horsepower by reducing the amount of mass the crank is turning and the amount of energy required to spin the accesories based on its size.

There are two very distinct groups out there. One who thinks they destroy the engine by eliminating the vibration dampening of the stock pulley and one who has installed them and says it has had no affect. I don't know which one is right but I will not install a lightened crank pulley without a signed disclaimer from the owner and my personal opion is that any horsepower gains are so small that the risk is not worthwhile for the average daily driver.

So best advice is due lots of research before you decide to change either pulley and make sure you are willing to accept the risk because any modifcation will always affect the engine and there will always be the chance that yours is the one that fails. Also verify anything you read on forums, including my stuff, by researching as many independent sources of info as possible. Engines and superchargers are expensive.

▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by PlayPlay on April 17, 2009 at 10:36pm

awesome message BamBam....thanks for the post! I can't imagine the lightened pulley would result in that much added performance...so perhaps the gain is not worth the risk.

Do you know if a sprint boost would screw up an otherwise acceptable ECU remap? Mine was personally done at Behe and this was before RMW started traveling around doing the tunes.

▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Brian N on April 18, 2009 at 7:42am

Here is the link to the SprintBooster site, http://www.sprintboostersales.com/whyitworks.cfm .
It looks like it basically boosts the signal from the accelerator to the throttle for quicker response.

The following are the basic faqs from the website.

SprintBooster FAQ

What is SprintBooster?
Sprint Booster is an electronic device that modifies the throttle curve for increased performance that makes your car "feel" more powerful. The stock system is designed for "smoothness" and fuel economy while Sprint Booster makes your car more "fun" to drive.

Why is SprintBooster So Effective?
Modern cars like the car use a drive-by-wire technology where the throttle is operated electronically instead of using a cable as in the past. This modern technology introduces an undesirable side effect of a slow response and less than impressive off-the-line performance. Sprint Booster overcomes this.

How much horsepower gain can I expect from SprintBooster?
Sprint Booster does not increase horsepower. Sprint Booster changes the throttle response in the low to mid rpm range where cars spend a majority of their time. As a result, your car feels peppier and more powerful.

Is SprintBooster a software product?
Sprint Booster is a hardware based product designed specifically for your car. It installs easily between the accelerator pedal module and the harness. Sprint Booster can be installed in about 10 minutes with a 5mm allen wrench. Your car can be restored to stock just as easily.

Why should I buy ECU upgrades if SprintBooster is so good?
Sprint Booster is designed to greatly improve the everyday driving experience. ECU upgrades have a clear advantage when driving on the track where you can continuously drive your car in the mid to high rpm range - this is where the horsepower increase really makes a difference. Sprint Booster is for the daily commute or trip to the store, ECU upgrades are better for track or competitive driving. Of course, there is nothing stopping you from adding this to your ECU upgraded car for an all-around performance gain!

Hope this helps some. Later, B.

▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by PlayPlay on April 18, 2009 at 7:54am

Thanks, B.

It's this line that I'm wondering about: "Of course, there is nothing stopping you from adding this to your ECU upgraded car for an all-around performance gain!"

I guess I'd like to know how it just tacks itself onto whatever ECU remap I've gotten before without blowing it away or jacking it up to some point which is not actually beneficial for the car/performance. And taking that a little further, I was thinking about getting my car retuned at some point by RMW....I wonder they would tune the car with the booster on first or without?

▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Brian N on April 18, 2009 at 8:57am

Hey L, From what I read it is a hardware install that only boosts the signal from the accelerator to the throttle. It doesn't sound like it would interfere with any ECU remaps that you have done. I wonder of you could email the manufacturer and check with them? Later, B.

PS see ya tomorrow

▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by PlayPlay on April 18, 2009 at 9:30pm

sounds like a good idea. I may try that. whats another 3- 400 bucks :) btw, there's a 30-day money back guarantee...

▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by lawmann on April 30, 2009 at 12:42pm

There are a few things you can do still, a 15% supercharger pully is one way to add about 20hp to your MINI. There are several schools of thought on the pully; they come in 15, 17, 19% and I believe a few sizes inbetween. One concern with a 19% pully is it causes wear on the supercharger/waterpump (waterpump is driven by the supercharger). Just do your homework before you decide.

Using a Unichip also will add a lot of get-up-and-go to your MINI, but this isn't a cheap mod at about $600-800. It is completely reverseable for those afraid the dealer will raise their eyebrows about it. Expect your fuel economy to take a hit with this though.

▶ Reply to This

▶ Reply to This

• ‹ Previous
• 1
• 2
• Next ›
• Page