So I feel that my mini and I are ready to take that next step in life. I've been trying to do a lot of reading about this and I have learned lots I feel. In order to make the jump I'm going to need to start spending some money. My end goal is bvh/cam, header, etc. I would love to have a 250hp car but I realize that is a high goal. What I am asking for is any advice on what steps I should take in this journey? Which mod should be first? Should I go a step at a time or do it all at once? What parts might I need? What sort of knowledge should I know mechanically before making this kind of commitment? What has your experience been with the mods you have performed? Will I be putting too much strain on my engine? What can I do by myself? What should be done by a professional? Am I missing anything? I want to be as involved as I can when it comes to enhancing my mini. I don't want to just pay somebody to make me go faster. That is why I am attempting to be as informed as I possibly can. Thanks ahead of time for any and all feedback I receive.
Your going down a slippery slope man.....:lol: Just look at my garage! Actually, have you installed a pulley yet? That is your starting point, best bang for your buck. Then the real spending begins. Head, cam, tune.......ect....ect...
The first thing you should do is check the health of the engine. Do a compression and leakdown test just to be sure you have a firm foundation to build on.
For 250 you need a healthy motor.... 240ish is more common....gets to be the limit for the internals from most of the posts i have seen, and the stock clutch. 200 hp is very common....and pretty easy....and if driven right is pleanty imo...heck spend $1000 on driving skill improvements and better tires will let you be better overall. My take...for the same $$ you are talking, i would hit 220 ish, then also do brake and suspension mods....would make for a better, more well rounded car. The mini shines in the twists and turns...so hp is not where the biggest gains are to be made...unless you just want to brag about hp!! You can do that too!! No complaints here!
PS Remember, when a modder says 200hp, that is to the wheels...so a tuned 200hp car is faster than a fsctory 210 hp car, since a manufacturer measures hp to the CRANK, not to the wheels...and there is a heafty loss to tge drivetrain and accessory items.
Here is a quick list of what has been done to the car. Alta 15% SC Pulley Alta CAI Alta air diverter Magnaflow cat-back Polyurethane lower engine mount Bilstien Suspension Hotchkiss 25.5mm rear sway Polyuerethan control arm bushings 17" gunmetal BBS rims Wilwood 4 Piston Big Break kit up front w/ slotted rotors Upgraded Slotted brake rotors in the back I will look into the health of the engine hopefully next week.
You can get to around 210-220hp by adding larger injectors with the mods you already have and a custom tune. Stay away from Madness when looking for a tune. RMW and Mynes would be the best choice for a tuner. I have about the same mods and I am at 210+ with a RMW tune.
Since you already have a 15% pulley get the health of your motor checked like Nathan said. I don't know you milage of maintainance schedule so can't talk about the health of your motor. If it was me I would get larger injectors and a CAM and a Dyno tune and see how you like the bump in power. If its good for you then you can stop, it wont be.:devil::lol: You should see about 225 HP. If you want 250 HP + you will need to buy a BVH and a header and get a retune. Depending on who you choose to tune your car you should not have to pay for a full tune again. I would only use ALL RMW PARTS and have Jan tune your car. But hey that's just me and my car has been perfect for many years without any issues.
When choosing some parts, they are truely compermises...like cams. a race cam will make lots of hp at high tpms, but it might not be as fun on the street as a more common milder "street cam". Same thing for pulley sizes, some are better fown low, like the 17%, but others are better at redline (jcw). imo if the engine is healthy, look at a head, injectors, and a cam, then custom tune...a header if you really want the max power...then pray the stock pistions/internals hold. Big hp = big strain on the motor.....things break...be ready. Clutch and custom "race" upgraded cv joints should be on the list if you do the above. the BVH, as opposed to ported and polished is just like a cam....better at high rpms, not quite as fun by many accounts on the street... like a race clutch....usually fast engaging, and short life due to the agressive compounds ..... Decide how you drive, and want to use the car....and build it from there...a race ca on the street is not newrly as much fun as one might think....
How does it work getting a remote tune by RMW? I'm unsure of the process I guess. What size injectors should I upgrade to? Are injectors something I have to put in at the same time as I'm getting my tune? Or can I put them in then go get a tune? Any suggestions on a shop to get the tune at in Oregon?
The only size injectors you can run without a tune is 380...they WILL NOT SUPPORT your goal....limit is about 220or so HP. So you need bigger injectors..so done on the day of the tune is usually how it is done,,,limited driving with some, is ok..but very rich...with others, car is best not driven...since you want big hp...you most likely will be getting 550cc inj. Best way to do the remote tune is you get the "tool"...go to a dyno show with a computer...do a test run...sent the run and download the current tune, send it to rmw... He will send you back an update..you update it, do a run...go back and forth for an hour or so...and when done...you have a custom tune. Dyno time $varies, but about $100. Can be done on the street, BUT dyno tunes are generally better...they are repeatable many times in a row. Lots of places on the west coast....sure somebody will chime in...a weekend trip to CA might make sense....so you do not need to buy the remote tool.... SOME shops that do mini's regularly MIGHT have the ability to do it, no tool...a big $$ saver.
If you contact Jan at RMW he can let's you know about any shops he works with in your area for a remote tune. I have a street Cam and its perfect for the street. Contact « Revolution Motor Works
I hear that there is a risk that my ECU will not like an aftermarket cam installed. If that is the case will a tune fix it? What are the signs that it doesnt like it? Is a tune necessary to run with a cam? I know it is always beneficial to have it tuned in order to achieve max performance. Are there any other things that I may be missing?
It all depends on what cam you get and who tunes your car. The stock ECU will work fine with a "street" cam. Mine as others has been running great for years. Give Jan a call and he can answer all your questions. He has been selling parts that work for years and has tuned many Minis.
Remember... The purpose of a cam in increased valve duration....the longer they are open, the more fuel you can pump/suck in. Imo, once you spend the $$ on a cam, it is 100% time to tune, or why use the cam? You will suck more airnfuel in, and push out more exhaust, but the cost of a tune is small compared to a tune, and the gain pretty marked. Remember, the more modified the car, the more you need to tune. often a car with many mods will have drivability issues that a tune fixes...the stock program is pretty good at keeping the car running, but once mechanical items are changed, it is more than just an extra volume of air going in and out....the duration of when the injectors can run on EACH cylinder becomes longer with a cam...a BIG help with higher rpms, where physically there is less time to get the fuel in.....also another reason bigger injectors are used (and another drawbak..big injectors sometimes have issues at low fuelflow...uneven idle, and sgressive cams have a lopey idle....). Like i said before...compermise... A race car is one thing...a high hp high tpm beast....making hp ABOVE 5000 RPM, a daily driver tends to do better at the lower rpms, and almost as good at the upper end...but trades it for better low end go...think parking lots, traffic lights, and in town cruising at 40 mph at 3000 rpm, not 6000 rpm two gears lower..... Relilibilty is a similar concern .....you mentioned "strain" in your first post...so relilibilty sounds like is important to you. If so...good luck...swapping out pistons for custom ones is $$ but needed ensure reliliblity at higher hp numbers, as are valve train items, like different springs to allow higher rpms to get a bit more hp with a higher redline...but more risk of blowing a motor....an extra 200 or 500 rpm for the redline gets a bit more power to brag about on the dyno...and it might be useful on the track....the extra risk and $$ on the street ...not so sure. Let your wallet decide. Many folks take what they have, and build s decent hp, knowing THEY WILL BLOW IT UP, so plan on building a new motor to drop in...sometimes having it ready to go.... The reality is, what are your goals/needs wants BEYOND the mine makes more than yours 250. You CAN get there with enough $$, BUT is it your only car, your daily driver? Or your weekend toy? Hate to ask, we all dream about buileing the perfect mini/car, but reality is most of us have limits in life, and if YOU KNOW TGE LIMITS WHEN YOU START, YOU WILL NOT HAVE TO DO SOME THINGS 2x and save same serious $$$$.
I could go on for hours about what parts and why, but come up with a plan, know your budget and stick to it. You can have 10K into a motor very quickly, but make sure you do all the needed steps. put a clutch and LSD in the car and get them all broken in and make sure the control arm bushings are ready for the HP. then find the head you want to go with, injectors, tune (the car has to be tuned), pistons and rods, header, maybe a cam (it is true some cars can not run them). Buy all the parts then install them all at the same time. which brings me to who is doing the work...your self or a shop. you need to have someone that knows what they are doing. there are tricks when building an engine that you can not always cover. you get the right build and it will last for forever, you get the wrong build and in a year your doing it all again, which usually means your wife said sell the car at that point. Homework, the right parts, and the right people and you will be fine. Chad Detroit Tuned
You can run a street cam without a tune. Repeat: you CAN run a street CAM without a tune. This whole thing about you can't replace a cam or upgrade the cam without a tune is complete BS. You can replace your head with a BVH add a street cam and run JCW 380's without a tune. I did it and drove my car for over a year without a tune. You only really need a tune when you upgrade the injectors to 440's , 450's or 550's because the motor will run pig rich and eat O2 sensors among other things or you upgrade your cam to a race cam. You do and must have your car tuned to run a Grand AM race style cam but not a street cam. Like I said I ran my street cam and BVH and street header for over a year before I got my car tuned. On the day of my tune I installed my 450's at the shop and the tune tied everything together and the car became even more alive then it was untuned. Now don't get me wrong the parts I used may not be the parts others use so your results may not be the same as mine. I paid for the best and that's what I got. Proven and reliable results year after year, Dragon after Dragon, Dyno day after Dyno day with no motor rebuilds. Cheaper, inferior and untested parts may cause anyone not to have the same proven performance results with reliability that I and many others have achieved over the years. Happy modding everyone and remember its not Uber expensive if it works day after day year after year. All my parts are by RMW and they were installed by Eric at Helix.
This is a link to what I did, it's wordy but it's all there, especially the remote tune: http://www.motoringalliance.com/forums/cooper-s-engine-drivetrain/9998-head-header-cam-installation-results.html What I didn't mention in that post but should have is that the shop went over the engine with a fine tooth comb before we did any of this. I ended up just south of 250HP on an unforgiving dyno on a horribly hot and humid day, but numbers are just that--I wasn't shooting for a specific number, just a significant bump in HP and torque to be able to get the car respectable at Road America. I was aiming to keep up with S2000's; I wound up keeping up with M3's. I have a track video on here too I think, from either RA or Blackhawk--the car is blazing fast now, it's like an entirely different car. Still entirely streetable, but just a totally different animal on the track now. As for the cam, my idle is set higher to accommodate it, car runs just fine down low, I've never stalled it. And now it pulls hard in the higher RPMs, which is exactly what I was after, and where my car generally spends most of its time. Injectors are easy, but if you're doing a cam, and you can swing it, it'll be much cheaper in the long run to do the head/header at the same time, especially if you're having someone else do it.