Helix intercooler is an upgrade over poor OEM design, Catless downpipe maybe, Oil catch can again, is to fix a crappy OEM design.
Mods are things / changes that add power, increase handling, or upgrade braking / stopping power.
Mods like putting band aids on crappie OEM design flaws in my eyes that you are correcting on your own dime.
All stickers like ALTA and LXM are not mods including tribal stickers down the side of a car.
Shifter boots, Sift knobs are not really mods but personal preferences.
Big ugly 20 inch rims and "Eyelashes" are not mods, they are just poor life decisions.
Yes, I have heard about brand new headcovers/PCV being defective right from the factory, there were a bunch of them in early cars and in dealer stock but there was a headcover design change in mid 2009.
I drove the car for some time, before modding the PCV system for the oil catch can. It actually used a little more oil without the catch can, but I attribute that to the rings seating on a new engine. I added a quart before the first oil change. Now with the oil catch can, I use a pint or less per 5000 mile oil change.
Just because you are not using oil without an oil catch can, doesn't mean that the engine cover/PCV isn't defective, the defect only shows up when the back PCV hose is blocked up, because the flaw in the PCV is on the turbocharger side of the PCV, it doesn't open enough to fully vent the crankcase with the rear hose blocked. The low flow of crankcase gasses on the turbocharger side, under boost, caused icing at the turbocharger inlet. First, the factory put a small heater on the turbocharger end of the PCV line to the turbocharger inlet, that worked, but then they found the design problem of the turbocharger side of the PCV in the head cover and changed it on later headcovers.
Your car blew more smoke with the rear PCV vent plugged because your crank case pressure was elevated due to the restricted flow of the turbocharger side of the PCV system, causing oil to go past the rings into the combustion chamber.
The new ones have that extra pressure relief valve on the rear right? The ball rattled when I put it in and I checked the pcv line on the turbo side and there's oil film on there. Don't really know how else to check that it's functioning correctly but I'm fine just leaving it.
If you really want to do the catch thing right it should be a dual catch can setup without blocking the rear plug imo.
So in the end it is still better to have an R53 with a Supercharger and mod the motor and make as much power as you want depending on your wallet and have a reliable dependable car for years.
Or you can buy a 2nd or 3rd gen with a crappy N14 or N18 motor that has a poorly designed turbo, Carbon issues, PCV problem, Timing Chain issues.
* Lets not forget to mention if you modify / upgrade the Turbo or Engine the car is a constant nightmare. :ihih:
A R53 will be a little harder to find around me. But it brings me to my last set of questions
Would it he better to find and put a supercharger on a R56 then build from there?
Would a engine swap be a feaseable thing? Like the R53 engine into a R56.
But all in all what im getting from this is that a R56 engine is kinda meh, but a turbo back exhaust and a few safety mods like better intercooler, catch can and etc would be fine and a light tune? Because if thats the case i can focus more on handling stuff over a big turbo of i get this R56. Mainly im jumping on it for the price and its really low miles ($11k with 27xxx miles)
R53s are out there...the trick is to find one preferable still stock, with low miles, and do your modding then.
I was able to find my wife's bone stock S in 2012 with 26k and it is still stock but now has around 63k. She loves it and won't let me mod it, except for the strut tower plates to keep mushrooming down...probably a good thing since she doesn't drive fast. My R50 has been modded some [cat, '06 S springs, 3 hole rear sway bar, RMW tune, strut tower plates, and a cai]. I bought it used with only 2200 miles on it and it now has 63k. My '06 S was bought new and is modded for the track, the Dragon and other twisties...great car...118k...hope to keep it a long time.
The new ones come with a little red ring sticking out of that valve, this has to be removed and a little cap comes separately that needs to be installed. the old ones didn't have that.
You wouldn't want to replace a turbocharger with a supercharger. Superchargers consume a lot of horsepower as they are powered by the engine and they put a lot of strain on the crank and other components. A turbocharger is a heat engine in itself and gets its energy from the heat of the exhaust, putting little load on the engine. it is almost like free horsepower when compared with a mechanical supercharger.
Strain on the motor......lol kind of ofmthe motor was not built for a supercharger. That why you can't just slap a SC on an R50 the motor is not built with a SC low end. Truth is the glass like N14 & N18 could not handle a Supercharger. FREE HP is not Free when the car has a crap motor and can handle the 25 psi boost.
Why not just "spray" the car with a 50, 100 or 150 shot, oh I know the motor is glass like and will blow up.
The R53 motor is much stronger that either N motor period.
I know how they both work very well and would still choose a SC over a Turdblow everyday of the week for a MINI.
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