which belt to get? I read somewhere the regular ATI damper is a little smaller than stock. Just need to know if the regular 15% belt everyone is using is ok or will I need a slightly tighter belt to make up for the diameter difference of the ATI damper? I recall bookmarking some thread on a forum discussing belt lengths with a lot of math and examples, but I can't find it any longer, plus, I don't think it covered the slight size difference of the ATI vs. stock Again, I am not getting the 2% ATI, just the stock equivalent.
gates 535 from Amazon and if your tensioner is old or you don't know the last time it was replaced replace the tensioner also. Belt Amazon.com: Gates K060535 Multi V-Groove Belt: Automotive Tensioner Amazon.com: ACDelco 38404 Professional Automatic Belt Tensioner Assembly with Spring and Hydraulic Damper: Automotive
So same belt as standard damper, thanks, needed that confirmed. I have a new tensioner and idler pulley already waiting for belt and ATI, which I will order together with rear camber arms and downlinks. This car is putting me in the poor house ...and I haven't even ordered the coilovers yet. Need to do that tomorrow. I am still undecided between H-sport and Helix for the rear camber links... don't drive much, never in winter, so Helix probably. I like that you can get fresh bushings for the H-sport, though.
Give it a few more years, you'll see what the poor house really looks like. I am confused? Clarification - Knowledge requested.
I have Helix rear adjustable control arms and IE adjustable camber plates on the front. I don't have coilovers I have Eibach Pro-kit springs and Koni Yellows. I am Happy. Also I gained 10 HP on my Butt Dyno by putting the Helix stickers on my car. I have a graph somewhere.........
the difference: H-sport - poly bushings, can be rebuilt for $50 when they fail. Overall less accurate suspension setup with more "give" in the link. Reported to be highly reliable Helix - lighter, more accurate because no bushings. They use a "heim joint" instead, which is prone to corrosion. No info anywhere about "rebuilding" them, so I assume when done, replace the whole thing. Now with rubber boots to protect from moisture. I don't drive the car in winter, but it moist likely will become my son's Mini later this year and he will drive it in snow and salt... I am leaning towards H-sport, mostly because the car's future will likely be outside my garage and care.
The Helix ones Have a rubber boot around the joint to keep water out. I hate when water gets on my joint, the are very hard to relight!
Helix it is - mostly because we decided today that I am keeping the car we have and we'll get a different R53 for my son to beat up in the snow and salt.
I am not sure if I want to see that graph paper :biggrin5: Thanks for the schooling, always new things to learn.
I don't think you can make a wrong decision with either one of them. Both are good solutions and with proper care, either one will last a long time. Does your car ever see our Wisconsin winter? The poly bushing might be better choice if it does. However, heim joints are readily available items, so I doubt you couldn't replace one if needed. NOTE: Helix offers great products and service. They are a good group of people and they are active members of the MINI community. If that means anything to you.
The 0% ATI Pulley is the same size as stock, not smaller. Here is a good chart for belt sizes. MINI Cooper Gates Belts
Chad, the 0% ATI is actually about 1.5mm LARGER than a stock '02-early '04 crank pulley... I didnt believe it myself until a couple weekends ago. OP: You cant go wrong with either set of arms. It comes down to your personal comfort tolerance. The H-sport's are more comfortable for daily use because of the poly bushing, where the Helix is a more solid connection with the heim joint. Both are top quality and rarely fail. I have both upper and lower sets of Helix arms on my R53, and if I ever build up the Porker (R60) I will do the same, just because they are that good!
Myles, a pair of Helix arms and horsepower-adding Helix stickers are sitting on my kitchen table, next to an assortment of pulleys tensioners, gaskets, etc. Getting closer to install weekend. Still waiting for the BC coilovers, but I am probably not able to work on it until next week anyway.
had a few hours today to work on the car. Removed old damper. It was in good shape, and no leaking behind it, but swapped seal anyway while I was there. New idler installed, too. Lots of oil on that side of the engine, though, which appears to be all from the valve cover gasket (have one ready to go). I spent probably 3 hours around the engine with brake cleaner and rags to get all that gunk off the car that had accumulated from the leaks. Belt was stretched or worn - no hole visible in the tensioner. Ran out of time to do the tensioner, nor do I have coilovers here to install. I'll just do everything while the car is on jacks, so I'll leave it like this until the coils get here. Also have to do the crank position sensor O-ring, which is leaking quite a lot. Noticed that the plastic reinforcement of the supercharger intake plastic part in the hood rubs on the #2 plug wire - showing enough wear that I should replace. Anyone else run into that? I guess I could just file down that plastic ridge (L-angle towards one of the rear bolts) so it doesn't get that close to the wires, or maybe put a cover over those edges. I noticed my right front outside CV boot is slightly leaking, too - tiny specs of clean green grease on the squeezing from the outside snap clamp sits. There's very light grease spotting the inside of the wheel rim, which I cleaned about 500 miles ago. Guess I have to order a CV boot kit, or is this just not installed correctly and a tighter hose clamp will seal it up?
If it's leaking under the existing clamp, you may be able to fix it with a new clamp. Note if grease is getting out, then water may have gotten in. You might want to service the CV's in the near future.
If the boot isn't torn, sometimes it's enough just to put a set of CV clamp pliers on the clamp and tighten it up. They can loosen up over time as the rubber degrades.