Great advice. Driving events will always win out over potentially unnecessary bench racer mods. However, some mods ought'a be considered to get the most out'a the car no matter it's intended use. just my .02...
Given the lack of tuners with acquitted knowledge to tune the R56 I found the release of this tool to be extremely helpful. Aside from the attributes k-huevo pointed out, there are numerous Cobb Protuners for various platforms fully familiar with the interface and have years of tuning experience. As more of these shops purchase the Protune software for MINI the tuning market will open up to more regions. This will reduce the need for canned tunes or long waits for tuning parties. Performance wise it was the best bang for the buck mod I bought for my car.
I am old enough and have been involved in many different activities to keep all the acronyms straight. The military acronyms alone would drive a sane person mad as a hatter! As far as Canned Tunes go I would think they are better than no Tunes at all, if speed/torque is your goal. Stephen
This is true and has been ok as one of the only options available, but up-datable units like the AP are the natural progression of tuning for any platform. Right now all other tuning services limit the user to one tuners software and mapping. The AP maps are only limited to the amount tuners producing them. So if canned tunes work fine for you that's cool, you can still get them and not be stuck with one choice beyond spending hundreds again and waiting for some one to re-flash the ECU for you.
The re-flash by dealership and then resetting it back to the canned tune of preference might be easier than the custom tune option. Every time someone tinkers with the MODS then the custom tune is not as good as it was when the tuner did it. So far nobody has cracked the ECU, through the ODP, for the 2011+ refresh engines. When it does happen, and they get the bugs worked out, it will probably coincide with the expiration of my warranty. Then I get to crank up the HP/Torque a bit. The only MOD I have done so far is a 2.5" exhaust from first CAT back and I doubt I will do any more engine MODs except an AP Tune.
Yeah the 2011 folks kinda got screwed for the moment, but hey now you know what it's like to be back in 2007, except your engines a bit more reliable. I'd still toss a new FMIC on it too even if your going to stay lightly moded. The engine see's a benefit from it even if it's the only mod on the car. As a group, the AP an exhaust system and intercooler provide a safe yet effective way of making a few extra WHP all the way to an additional 40-50 with no issues.
You are correct! I forgot to mention that I have a Helix FMIC on order in the Winter Group Buy on NAM and it should be here in about a month (hopefully). When I install it I am also going to wrap the cold side charge pipe and the CAI from the grill to the airbox with a heat reflective high temp coating. Insulating Materials I think I can buy it for less $$$ from other stores, but you get the idea. Trying to keep the air as cool as possible is a good thing The biggest hassle will be pulling the front bumper cover off!
The materials used in the OEM intake tract are not very thermal conductive for one, and two, inlet air is moving rapidly enough where it will not absorb much heat while the vehicle is stationary, and nothing to matter within a few seconds once the vehicle is moving forward.
Black plastic not heat conductive?? I will have to get out the temp sensors and measure the surface temps in the engine bay. Thanks for the tip!
Measuring the surface temperature of the black plastic intake will tell you how hot it is but it won't tell you it's heat conduction. Heat conduction is how fast something will transfer the energy through a given wall thickness. The smaller the number the slower the flow of heat. The black plastic tube is either rubber or on the JCW it's HDPE. Here are some k values for some common materials. Polyethylene......... 0.42 - 0.51 k Aluminum............. 250 k Copper................ 401 k Carbon steel........ 43 k So you can see...... that black plastic tube is a good material candidate for a choice for one that slowly lets the heat into the air stream, versus say one that was made out of copper or aluminum as an example. That is why making the inter cooler out of aluminum or copper is a good material, since you want really good heat conduction.
Thanks for the engineering numbers! Looking at your shop in your "Garage" I can see that you have more than a casual interest in machine work I can't imagine what a copper IC would cost these day! The last time I tried to buy a copper core for a radiator the cost was through the roof. ALU is the way to go. Thanks again!
With the front mount you shouldn't see intake temps much higher then 100-110F. Your car should run pretty good when it's all done.
Looking forward to completing the FMIC install. A buddy has one he has not put on yet and mine is still in production @ Helix (Group Buy). So we are going to help each other wade through the instal together; He brews beer.....
I'm in the same boat actually with mine, it's just sitting here till I get the time to install it. Technicians life you know, my car always gets the least amount of love it seems like.
UPDATE: I finally installed the Helix FMIC. I believe it made a noticeable different in ZIP and also a bonus of a very cool throaty sound from under the hood! I left the OEM Intake Muffler in place after talking with the folks at Helix. Their comment about the muffler delete was "It makes very little difference". So, since it has mounting tabs on that muffler as well as mounting tabs on the opposite cool side of the IC. I figured the more mounting points the better. The way I sandwiched the IC between the OEM Condenser and the Quad Driving Lamp Bar's center mount there is no wiggle in it. I inserted a thick (1/8") piece of hard rubber between that bracket and the IC. Seems to work great! In this web site I generated you can see the rubber piece being captured by the top of that center mount and see it hanging a little past the bottom of that center mount, where it wants to interfere with the IC. Installation of Hellix IC, Mid-Mount Fogs, Trailer Hitch & Backup Sensors