Professor Enjoying the progress of this thread. Just curious the switch to smaller wheels. Is it a ride/comfort thing?
Had to add a JCW center pipe today. Mynes header with no cat and no resonator will kill the ears . But with the resonator its much better under 4k.
Mini has been doing well with the new mods, been to MOTD and several trips without any mechanical issues. I have it in my head that I want to do a strait exhaust and raise the battery tray. Just trying to find a way to use the OEM battery and still cover it up. Also looking to add a front splitter but not sure how I want to build that either. I want function for sure but subtle if possible. And for the hell of it...
Been a while but I am undertaking a new project this week. Keep in mind that my Mini is not tracked currently and I am just looking for a little better performance. So far the Thumper head and JCW bits feel great! I had planed to replace my gearbox with a later facelift with LSD. But honestly I dont see spending that kind of money currently. I am replacing my OEM open diff with a factory option LSD thanks to Beaner! He hooked me up with a fantastic deal on this unit. Now I know that the 900+ dollar options work far better but again, not a track car. I have all the items I need to perform the swap and started today... Started around 1:30 The patient The items needed. Gearbox case sealer, thread lockers, gearbox oil, OEM limited slip differential Start by removing the front bumper Removed the front impact beam Removed intake and electrical harness over the gearbox Place front into "Service Mode" for more work room. Removed throttle body and air inlet hose I always suspected a very small vacuum leak in the system. Turns out there is a small leak where these parts are melted / joined. Thinking it can be repaired with an epoxy maybe? Few steps ahead but the sub frame and axles are removed, tomorrow the trans comes out. Time so far is 4 hours taking time to clean and inspect items removed.
Reading about your exhaust--a word of warning: a straight pipe with a BVH, header, and cam will be LOUD!!! I tried this setup and it was just too loud, with too much drone. Without the split pipes, it's miserable. I ended up with a magnaflow muffler up front, 2.5 inch pipe into a 2.25 inch pipe into my old JCW twin cans (Brought them together just before the split for the JCW's, to keep it 2.5 as far back as possible.). This worked fantastic--still loud when you get on it, but civil around town and on the highway. Before, I couldn't even hear the radio on the highway, and the drone was so bad, I had to have all the windows down. Talking with people, unless you split the exhaust, be prepared for some potentially painful noise...
I owe you buddy . I got everything buttoned up a few moments ago. Going to shower, test drive, then post pics
Kind of dull on the images today sorry. Trans case apart with oem open diff. Removing ring gear from open diff. Ring gear removed. Comparing the open diff and the OEM LSD. LSD in ring gear and secured using Keith's instructions. LSD back in the case. No point in images of the trans going back in as well as the car assembled. I found no issues placing the facelift LSD into an early Getrag at all, went like clock work. Again this was a cheap and easy upgrade!
Yes its a GL-5 and the Getrag will function best with a GL-4 in my application. I picked up some Redline MTL locally