That duck is slick !! Gives me a lot of ideas

 

Yes and no. like mentioned above the Forge sort of does that. I haven't tried it, but if the ECU is ok, then you should be fine. If it is JUST noise that you want, the intake systems do a REALLY good job (well I know ours and the near free one) of making that noise audible.

 

Good point!

 

Good point! While that part is NOT yet available online separately it is certainly available via phone. MUCH better than drilling the manifold.

Thanks for the post!

 

Wait I thought the Forge was just a noise maker?

 

Thats not good, that fluttering is called compressor surge, sounds good but its not good.

Jack

 

Correct me if I'm wrong, but the factory turbo is designed to recirculate air. If you install at VTA BOV without altering the computer programming, your engine will run richer (if I'm not mistaken), thus costing you fuel efficiency.

Any engineer types want to chime in on this?

 

It all depends on the engine design and how the turbo and its controls are designed. BOV valves are nothing new and used in racing all the time to make sure everyone has a level playing field.

The R56 has two pressure sensors on the pressure side of the intake system. It has one Air Mass Meter. The ECU is getting enough information to make sure AF is balanced. Especially since the BOV from Forge goes on to the electric value for boost recirculation. When the electric valve opens and causes the compressor side of the turbo to re-circulate the compressed air, the pressure to the sensors on the boost side already see a drop corresponding to the valve opening with relation to the amount of air pulled across the mass sensor. What happens with the forge unit is you are preventing turbo stall that you get with re-circ'ing the boost back onto the compressor. This also help save the turbos too since it is less stress. This aid in a much faster power recovery because the turbine is not slowing down. Again the computer is compensating for everything and hence no errors from the computers.

I can not comment on the Alta unit because it works on vacuum/boost pressure from the manifold and not via the computer controlled electric valve. Alta team will have to add their info.

On my R56, mileage has not changed under good driving condition, in some cases, gone up. Now when I race it, well the more the power, the more the fuel goes. But so far, the worst mileage is 27 MPG average and the best is 33 MPG.

Someone will most differently ask "well why did not BMW/MINI add it by default if it is so good" .... Well the major answer is NOISE. It makes noise and noisy cars do not sell well and can have issues on certifications.

When you race indy cars, BOV's are installed by officials only at race time and locked into place. Winning cars have their BOV removed and tested after the race to make sure there was no tampering. This ensure that no matter what you do the engine, the BOV will keep the boost/power the same across all cars/engines (just a FYI). Drivers listen to the BOV via an air tube going to their helmets, when they here the start of the faint hissing sounds, they back off to prevent the valve from opening thus keep the boost at max .....

Hope that helps.

 

Alta, any feedback?

 

I received my Forge BOV for my Clubman S... any feedback on how it performs? Is it just noise or are you getting some other advantages?

Warranty is not an issue right?

I'm waiting to install it because I read bad stuff like the engine running too rich .. etc etc

Thanks in advance

 

install it, it is easy enough to take off if you are worried.

 

I read something about powerloss ... how? what?

I'm sorry for these 'stupid' questions but I want to be absolutely sure about it.

 

Just put on a Intake and you will be happy with the noise the car makes without the BOV trust me.

 

we weren't

 

Am I missing something here? The R56 already sounds like it has a BOV when you pop the stock air filter off. Annoying as hell anyway. PShhhhhhhhtt pshhhhht pshtttttt every time you touch the gas.

 

The R56 does not have a BOV. It has an electric valve on the boost side for re-circulation and waste gate on the exhaust side. What you hear with the stock filter system removed is the electric valve kicking in but the boost pressure is not vented, re-circulated.

As for "Power loss", "Runs rich", depends who you talk to .....

 

I'm aware of how the system works, I was just questioning the purpose of installing a BOV on a car when it already sounds like it has one. The noise is 95% of the function of a BOV after all. Definitely hate that sound though, it'd drive me nuts after about 10 minutes of driving...

As for vent to atmosphere vs recirc, I don't have a stake in either. I'm a proponent of not changing things if they don't need to be changed. The system works fine to recirc boost, why change it?

 

I would like to hear some feedback about the people who have a Forge BOV on their R56 S or R55 S.

Who has one? What are your experiences?

Thanks in advance

 

morbius, do you have one?

I'm talking about this unit:

 

Yes, that is what I have installed on my R56 engines. Works well and very happy with it.

I do not want to start/cause problems nor get into a contest of minds but interesting statement from a person with a lot of mods. One can say the exact same thing for each of the mods that you Nice set of mods Nick !

As for changes, here is my belief. 1, it is your vehicle, do what you want. You are paying for it, make yourself happy. Life is short and should be enjoyed. 2, I restore old classic vehicles and the restore means put back to original. So in that case, everything is factory spec right down to every last screw. Nothing is changed nor should it be since its a restoration

BOV on street vehicles always seems to generate a lot of discussions for good or bad. Some people believe is it used for making noise and nothing else, others believe it has a purpose to aiding in power control. Yes they make noise, its a by product of their function ....

The question that I will ask is why would you want to take boost pressure and alter its state by opening a valve and passing the pressure back into the compressor ?? All that is being done is altering pressure by changing the volume of the pipe that boost if filling and feeding the pressure back onto the compressor. That is like taking the output of a supercharger and breaking boost by running a bypass vent back into the intake of the supercrharger. Yes the breaks the boost, but also creates forces on the compressor that can causes a stall effect. In the case of the turbo, you are having an effect on the speed of the turbine, not good if want performance.

I used the forge unit because I feel the R56 engine and it computer controlled engine is very well suited for it. If the forge unit was not able, I would have machined that exact same design myself in our shop.

The forge unit is not a BOV, its an adapter ring that turns the electric re-circulation valve on the turbo into a BOV by blocking a port and venting to atmosphere and the release rate is not adjustable, it is controlled by the ECU based on what is sees via its sensors. The alta unit is a full blown self contained BOV unit with adjustable spring rate and operates strictly on manifold pressure.

I am not endorsing forge over alta. I have used the alta style unit elsewhere due to other advantages, but have not used it on an R56 turbo engine. I just preferred to let the onboard computer and turbo do its thing in this case. The R56 turbo is well suited for the forge ring. To tune the hole sizing and porting on a forge unit is a real pain if you want that little extra something .....

My BOV's on normal street and highway driving make no noise that can be heard in the car with the windows up or down. When I drive my cars hard is when I hear them do there thing as they should.

Hope that helps and sorry if I have offended anyone, not my intend to challenge others knowlege. Just an old cranky italian engineer

 

Wow, that's a great post!

Thanks! I will install it ASAP

 

we installed ours/love it/end story

 

on the R53?

 

no....it is on my wife's R56. We both own Minis

 

Certainly not offended, just interested in information. 90% of the people out there that install BOV's do it for the PShtttttttt noise, and nothing more. There ARE legitimate reasons to install one, but all of my knowledge on that subject is based on reading.

I've never owned a turbocharged car, and honestly haven't spend much time researching the pro's and con's of swapping from a recirc valve to a VTA valve. I know it's a highly debatable subject (similar to the crank pulley debate). It just seemed that from the initial interest, most people wanted it for the noise. My post was clarifying that people understood that the same noise is present with the stock valve and an intake.

No harm no foul, just seeking to clarify .