1st Gen R53 Cooper S Pulley upgrade and 4% overdrive crank?

Discussion in '1st Generation: 2002–06 R50, R53 & 2004–08 R52' started by Newbie6, Mar 26, 2016.

  1. Newbie6

    Newbie6 Member

    Apr 7, 2015
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    Hey guys I was thinking of doing some upgrades and have been looking to drop the pulley and an overdrive crank pulley. I'm curious if anyone here has done the 16% and the 4% crank pulley from M7 speed or would it be better to do the ATI super dampener 2% overdrive and do a 17% s/c pulley along with the spark plug upgrade...also is any tuning required with any of these options? I realize a tune will only help but are these cars able to take the upgrades without a tune or would I be making a recipe for disaster?
     
  2. 00Mini

    00Mini Well-Known Member

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    You're gonna be generating a lot of intake heat and have an unbalanced crank pulley which could cause some serious problems down the road.
     
  3. WolfGTI

    WolfGTI Active Member

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    Over spinning the SC that much is useless - you'll just be pumping overheated air into the car and pulling timing.
     
  4. Nathan

    Nathan Founder

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    15% and standard sized ATI makes a very good base to start. From there a set of 1 range colder plugs. Much more and you'll be wanting to get a tune too.
     
  5. Minidave

    Minidave Well-Known Member
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    You can do it with a much larger intercooler, but you'll also need a bigger/better exhaust, and I would think a tune is mandatory....because once you start exceeding the compression ratio the engine was designed for, the computer just dials back the timing like WolfGTI says. Law of diminishing returns.....

    Changing the crank damper to the ATI one is a good idea in general, as the rubber fails in them anyway.
     
  6. Newbie6

    Newbie6 Member

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    Well I have a cold air intake and something has been done with my exhaust I'm not sure what because I haven't got under the car to really see but the sound is better then stock. So no one is upgrading to a 17% pulley until you upgrade the intercooler then? I'm just curious to know more about what these cars can handle. I'm a guy coming from the modified mustang and Audi crowd so I've been pretty conservative with my mods for this car so far. I just changed the oil, trans oil, brake fluid, cold air, new front hubs, brake rotors and pads, coolant reservoir and electric fan, spark plugs. So pretty much proper maintenance LOL just wanting to know what mods I can do that is safe to make it a little faster
     
  7. Grizld700

    Grizld700 Well-Known Member

    Feb 2, 2016
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    Contact Jan. (Revolution MINI Works) You'll be happy you did. No one knows R53's better.
     
  8. Minidave

    Minidave Well-Known Member
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    Even a 15% pulley will give you a nice boost in power without changing anything else, but that coupled with a good tune will be your best, safest and most cost effective bet.

    Superchargers are different than the turbos that you may be used to.....
     
  9. Grizld700

    Grizld700 Well-Known Member

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    And when I say that, I mean don't spend money until you talk to him.
     
  10. Newbie6

    Newbie6 Member

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    Well my mustang is Saleen supercharged and I've dropped the pulley a lot and my mustang has been highly modified so I understand superchargers pretty good and my Audi is the S4 with a 4.2L V8 and is NA. So 15% is good without changing anything else then, how much crap do I have to remove to remove the old pulley and change the belt out then?
     
  11. Red Bull

    Red Bull Active Member

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    People upgrade to 17's, but usually not in combination with a larger crank pulley... disregarding the fact that the "stock" ATI pulley is actually about .8% larger than the stock MINI pulley. Non-dampened crank pulleys are not recommended by most, so the ATI is probably the best choice, or the PRW gel filled pulley if you want to save some $$.

    What octane gas is available in your area, and will you be tracking your car?
     
  12. Newbie6

    Newbie6 Member

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    I have 93 in my area and I always run it in my car. I don't think I'll really track my car but I do like playing around on the street and going for some spirited canyon drives and just want a little more go under my foot. Also what tune do most guys run, I feel like their has to be a little better throttle response. I know a lighter crank pulley and a lightened flywheel would help with that but I've heard guys saying they get a better throttle response with a good tune but they never say what tune they get or anything. I'm in Maryland and I don't really know of any shops that deal with Mini in my area??? So a email tune might be my only option unless I find a shop near by for tuning
     
  13. Dave.0

    Dave.0 Helix & RMW Powered
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    Stock ATI damper and a 15% pulley is the way to go to start with. When you want more power, and you will, contact Jan at RMW for a Big Valve Head, Better CAM, 550 injectors, header and custom Tune for your car.

    After that the only thing left to add is a Meth kit. If you want even more you have to buy a custom built RMW 1.8 stroker motor. 300 WHP and up easy.

    It all comes down to money.
     
  14. Newbie6

    Newbie6 Member

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    Awesome thanks for the help everyone! I'm pretty new still to the Mini world and just wanting a little more hp and tq to play around with. I would say most of my money has been in the mustang and my Audi, just feel like the mini is being left out of the fun LOL
     
  15. Nathan

    Nathan Founder

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    We are very good at helping you spend your money. :D
     
  16. Newbie6

    Newbie6 Member

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    Ha ha well that's good, I would rather spend my money on stuff that will work instead of just doing what I want and blowing my car up because I'm used to mustang logic LOL
     
  17. ZippyNH

    ZippyNH Well-Known Member

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    You might want to look at other kits elsewhere...different ones than the m7 kit imo....going much above the 17% reduction can cause serious issues....if you run very low rpm...can be ok...but not fun....the fact they are selling the combo is a HUGE red flag and a joke IMO.....just selling parts cause they can....and burning up motors in the process....going to 17-18% reduction about the max....some did do OK on 19% but lower rpm guys...folks who rev needed fuel injectors and a tunes.
    also if you do a 4% reduction on the crank...you will over-spin the alternator, and need a NEW PULLEY FOR THAT or over-volt everything, and burn out the ac pretty fast....just a BAD COMBO IMO

    When it comes time to tune...a drive up i95 to philly would be my suggestion to visit helix.....
     
  18. Newbie6

    Newbie6 Member

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    Good info and yea I was kinda wondering why they would sell a kit with an undamped crank pulley. I'll probably do a 17% with colder spark plugs and maybe get a tune here in the future just wanna do more research before I do anything to wild!
     
  19. Minidave

    Minidave Well-Known Member
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    It's not too hard, but you need the tool to remove the old pulley - make sure it's a stock pulley too, if it's a JCW the tool won't work - don't ask me how I know! :eek:

    You basically remove the belt (need a tool for that too) remove the motor mount bolts and raise the engine up, pull the old one off and put the new one on.

    I like the Craven speed pulley best myself.....
     
  20. MCS02

    MCS02 Moderator
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    Go with the 15% pulley. I have a 17% and do not think I have gained anything. I can't remember the numbers but last time I checked I had a pretty high heat rise. With the 17% pulley I really think I need bigger injectors, they are in the future along with a tune. Also like everyone has said ATI crank pulley is the way to go but get the stack size.
    The Dragon is coming up, it's a great place to meet folks and there will be binders there to talk to. A lot of people preorder the parts and the binders will install them for you at the Dragon.


    Dave.0 the local Meth pusher :lol::lol: but then agin the Mistress is one hot Mini
     

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