2nd Gen JCW Most liked posts in thread: New Mini Owner 2009 MINI JCW With A Few Questions

JAN tunes for a grand come with the programmer I think.

As for my R53 I could go higher HP but the cost is a little high. Below is a list of what I could do on a car with just about 100K miles on it.

Rotrex or TVS 900 $3 to $4 grand.

Custom Billet Crank $2,195
Connecting Rods $600
Custom Pistons $625
Race CAM $500
King bearings $300
ARP (all) $300
1000 cc injectors $500
ViPEC ECU (replace OEM ECU) $2500
Larger Throttle body $325.00
Labor $$$$$$

That's about 10 grand so why not just buy an RMW stroker 1.8 for $12 grand.

To me it's all about reliable HP.

If you want to smoke the WRX'S buy a used Porsche Cayman. :devil: and take a track driving class.

 

I've said it before, If your MINI has increased crankcase pressure and oil consumption with the rear PVC blocked, then you have a defective head cover/PCV. Headcovers can be bad right out of the box.

I blocked my rear PVC off and added an oil catch can 30,000 miles ago and my engine goes through a pint of oil in 5000 miles

 

Well designed reliable motors do not need catch cans.

 

My car is not unmodified, I just don't share everything I have done with it with the group

I will share now. The turbo has insulation wrap on the hot side, it has a BSH oil catch can with a BSH boost tap blocking the rear PCV port, Helix oversized intercooler, A two and a half inch catless downpipe, second cat removed from stock exhaust, Cobb Access Port stage one tune and a gage package with vacuum/boost, oil temperature, water temperature and oil temperature.

It has been completely reliable and hasn't seen the dealer since the turbo cooling pump recall.

 

I bought the car in May 2010, and installed the turbo wrap as my first mod in June. The insulation not only reduces underhood temperatures significantly, saving the plastic hood scoop from sagging, it increases turbocharger efficiency, keeps the pedestal bearings in the turbocharger cooler and keeps the oil feed line from developing leaks due to thermal cycling.

I work on industrial turbochargers all the time and they all have lagging (insulation) on the hot side. The only reason I can think of that they don't put it on car engines is cost savings and it will allow the turbocharger to fail a little sooner, which is good for the dealers down the line.

 

Dave I wouldn't say any of your additions would really be considered "Mods" except your flash tune. Most of what you have done is preventing failure of a poor motor design.

 

Have you ever seen a new defective valve cover come out the box from the dealer??

I know you love your catch can because it's on ur car Dave but you've likely never taken off the plug to see if oil consumption decreased. My motor uses zero oil now with the same valve cover as it had before the engine rebuild. Faulty pcv?

Your motor is in good health so the symptoms may not be as apparent. When my cars motor liked oil And was nearing roach level, the blocked rear plug symptoms were much more noticeable. I put the rear plug on and removed it several times and my car emitted much more smoke with it on, much more.

 

MCS02 - agreed, a E30 M3 is a great car. I had an opportunity to do a ride along in one at Sebring. It was a good time. However clean ones are super expensive now, not sure I'll ever be able to slide into one of those. Regarding the comment of momentum, couldn't agree more. I'm a turns/handling guy but do like to know the limits of the engine(s) when planning out the end goal. Learned a long time ago, better to start with the end goal in mind else it gets real expensive adjusting mid build. There is a balance of suspension, power, brakes, weight and like Dave.0 says reliability. I'm not a stop light/road racer guy. Leave that to other folks. The more I read the more it appears the R53 is the one to have to tune reliably and based on some of the other threads the parts for the R56 appear to be going up in price. Long term the F 2.0 BMW motor may take its place assuming parts can move from the BMW platform to the Mini (which at least internals I would expect can). Will research.

Dave.0 - thanks for posting the info on the build. I started looking at those parts. I didn't find the stroker motor on RVM's site, but that is not surprising. Pretty sure its a phone call. Sometimes I build the engines myself, sometimes its better to have someone due to time or special tools.

Guapish - thanks for the info on the tuners. Seems like there is a strong following of RMW.

 

For the RMW stroker motor you would need to call and speak with Jan.

Jan Brueggemann

(949) 464- 7691 (RMW1)

 

Proper maintenance.

 

^^^^^^ Lots of oil changes. ^^^^^

 

In your particular case you have an N14 (most troublesome engine R56's) Prone to timing chain/timing chain tension-er failure, water pump failure and bad intake valve coking amongst other things but those are your main issues.

 

I am always hoping my car has a Porsche Flat 6 under the hood. :lol::lol::lol:

 

What! A Helix intercooler isn't a mod? A catless downpipe or changing the PCV system and adding an oil catch can aren't mods?

You have a peculiar ideas about what is or isn't a Mod.