Just swapped the inerds of the WMW DIV for the ones in the Audi/VW unit that's for the 2.6L turbo engine (P/N 06H 145 710D). Read about it in NAM and had to give it a try if for no other reason then to get rid of that rubber diaphragm in the MINI valve. Read some of the claims of what it would do, but was a little doubtful. WRONG-O! Everything is just as they said. Turbo lag is basically gone with no hiccups on hard up-shifts. No more burps when I hit max boost (~20psi) and boost comes up much faster. Engine braking is now spot on with no delay at all. Also, it's very quiet. The biggest surprise was the change in throttle response. It is now silky smooth whether I'm puttering around or hammering it. Every aspect of driving has changed for the better, IMHO. The only drawback is that pulling the valve is a ROYAL PITA. At a dealer the part is ~$110 in these parts. Europarts.com carries it for ~$70. Here's a pic of what the Audi valve looks like taken apart. The housing cannot be used on the MINI, only the insides. Takes about 2min to swap the parts.
Great to know. I just ordered one along with 2 others from this town, so we did a 3-way split on the shipping and saved a bit. I thot the 3 bolts weren't that hard to take off. Any special tools req'd?
This mod is simply put Awesome. For some people it may be a disappointment though. Why? Because they will loose the nice hiss on release. It also smooths out the car so much that it almost seems like it is slower. I feel like the car lost power because it is less snappy but the power is still there, boost is higher and it is almost instant now. A cool thing about it is how fast you can do it!
Realized I kinda glossed over a few things with my post on this valve swap. First is that the pic don't mean squat if you've never seen the internals of the OEM valve so here's a pic of one. Look carefully and you'll see the differences in internals and housing. I've read posts claiming you can do the swap in 20min. HA! First you have to get the coolant overflow tank out of the way, disconnect the brake vacuum line and then remove the intake air tube from the turbo and get it out of the way. All this just to be able to see the valve! It's held on by three 5mm Allen head bolts. The 2 in front can be reached by putting a 6" extension on the bit and can at least be seen. The backside one is blind and you have to feel for it. Took me forever just to get the bit into the bolt head. To make matters worse, BMW decided to put about a cup of Loctite on each bolt! Takes forever to unscrew them 1/4 turn at a time. Another thing to beware of is losing the bolts down in the catacombs. I've still got 2 down in there somewhere from the first time I did this. Good Luck!
It's not necessary to purchase a new OEM diverter valve for this modification, only the VAG unit, and at low on-line prices for the VAG piece it's a bargain compared to an alternative aftermarket Forge valve. The O-rings of a Forge diverter valve also must be lubricated at 10-15k mile intervals, no maintenance of the VAG/MINI hybrid is required. As an alternative, there may be an application where the all-metal body and stiffer spring of the Forge DV has an edge, as yet TBD. The photos aren't working. Photos of this conversion are available here. The lower rear bolt can be seen by looking over the valve rearward. A magnetic wand will help retain bolts while removing, and right angle long needle nose pliers are good for inserting the bolts in the holes to start.
I know about the pics. They were there in the preview, but gone when I sent it. That's never happened before. Also, the font used for posting changed yesterday, too. This site is weird! :frown2:
Fixed the image. I made some changes to the site yesterday and I'm still working through a few issues.
Just an update on that VAG diverter valve I put in. Had a club run this AM on some of our favorite twistiest roads and it was a real eye opener. Almost certainly because of the smoothness in which the boost now comes on, and how fast, I could power out of tight corners much sooner then ever before. I could close on whatever MINI was ahead of me with what seemed like little effort. Kept remembering the old race driver's dictum: Smooth equals Quick. I'm having waaaay too much fun! :lol:
I have noticed an big decrease in fuel efficiency since I did this. I swapped the original back in to see if my suspicions are founded.. More to come.
After a month's general driving with a club run thrown in, I haven't seen any real change in mpg with the VAG valve. Leaving in 2wks on a +5K trip that will be a better test. About half in the Rockies and the rest on the Great Plains with Interstate avoidance whenever possible. Following pretty much the same route as last year and still have my data from that trip for comparison. Getting back 1st of June and will let you know what happens.
Ok, seems like my MPG is back up where it was before. I have had on the last 2 tanks about 7mpg less than with the stock DV. Anyone want the VAG DV? I'll box it up and send it US flatrate for $60. Any takers?
Just returned from my 5K jaunt and there was no significant change in mpg at about 32mpg for the trip and I didn't spare the whip. Never saw any loss of boost when pulling +7000ft passes in 6th gear either. The VAG valve stays in my MINI!
Hey Dwight, I own one of the valves sold by Way. Much better then stock. Would I see an advantage here? and I'm assuming i could hybrid Way's unit rather then my stock one? Sorry just realized you upgraded Way's unit and not the stock one...Thanks!
Boost does not equate to power in all cases. It has a proven leak in its closed position.The computer can control the waste gate to help build boost, but pressure is leaking back into the intake from the DV. Although it's beyond an efficient level for the boost being made, the top end power will stay the same as the turbo is being spooled and the target boost is met. Low-mid range power however suffers as it takes time for the turbo to basically over boost to over come the leak. As a result the car is actually slower and is why it feels smoother. Several people have made post in similar threads confirming this. I even had it and can tell from first hand experience the car was not was strong. At first i was impressed as it did quiet things up a lil and shifts were smooth, but it didn't take long to notice the performance loss. I'd advise sticking with the JCW, 2010+ MCS, WMW DV ( all the same ) or get the Forge unit.
Only when thought of in such plain terms is it a contradiction. For any given boost level the turbo has an RPM level in which it hits what is considered the most efficient speed for that target. When all things are working right it should maintain its relative efficacy up to it's max efficiency rating. Think of it like blowing into a drinking straw with the other end sealed. You will pressurize the straw pretty fast and with little effort. Now if that same straw had a pin hole in it what would happen when you blow on it? It would take more effort to bring it up to the same pressure level and maintain the level as the straw that is sealed completely. In the the case of the VAG DV the leak is like the pin hole. It's not so great as to throw codes and such, but its large enough for the target boost level not to be met under normal conditions. The ECU will in turn close the waste gate off enough to spool the turbo faster to meet the goal it normally makes at lower speeds. This is like the extra effort needed to pressurize the straw with the hole. What happens as a result is that the turbo basically ends up just pushing more hot air as it is spinning faster then it is required to under proper conditions to meet it's boost target. As most people know hot air is not known for helping build power. Also since it now takes longer to spin the turbo to it's new speed it will take longer to build power. Hence the loss of power from basically introducing turbo lag and increasing the temps of the intake charge. Now it is not a HUGE power loss but it is noticeable and can be felt. The feeling of this is actually what people believe to be redeeming qualities when in fact their car is just slower.