Wonder if the eLSD on my car will cry whenever I get a tune...all that power lol

Then I gots to go mechanical!

 

Dang skippy!

 

Has anyone tried a manual boost controller and a air/fuel ratio controller? Or is it even possible with our cars? This was the method we used for Evo's.

On a side note I just got an email from RMW and they said they still don't have a tuning option for my '12 R56 Cooper S.

 

So these have a heat range of 8 ? Stock are NGK Iridium ILZKBR7A-8G.

There are a bunch of theads on this, mostly for the 1st Gen models. We have run into some difficulty locating an Iridium tipped NGK plug with a heat range colder than stock for the R56 S and JCW.

The ones you show are Platinum I believe.....

 

Yea same response here....very sad because I know Jan can make the most of the mods I've done to the car...plus he's driving distance from me =(

 

If I remember correctly, you had Way do this install for you? If you don't mind me asking, what did it cost? I'm considering it for possibly later this year.

 

Platinum vs Iridium isn't necessarily important. The common misconception is that Copper plugs are garbage, inferior to Platinum and Iridium. In fact, it's the exact opposite, they are the highest performing type of plug available, their downfall is that they wear out very quickly.

The mainstream switch by OEM's from Copper to Plat/Irid plugs was/is purely for longevity. Platinum and Iridium do not conduct electricity nearly as well as Copper (no metal really does), but the Plat/Irid is so much harder that they last way longer, so their maintenance interval is superb. This type of plug service interval became almost a necessity as overhead cam engines became more commonplace and the engine compartments of cars became very cramped. It makes it very difficult to change spark plugs on many different types of vehicles on the road. The easiest solution is the one they took. Find a way to change them less often.

There are a ton of articles online (google is always your friend) about copper vs platinum vs iridium... blah blah blah. It boils down to this. The job of the spark plug is to conduct... Conduct an electric charge to a predetermined point (gap) where a spark will occur, the spark being the source of ignition for combustion, and then conduct heat away from the combustion and into the cylinder head. The best spark plug would ideally be made of the best conductor you could reasonably use... Copper.

EDIT: There's also an article here on NAM https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...ark-plugs.html

All that being said, the fact that the lower heat range plugs are Platinum and OEM is Iridium isn't important IMO.

As a sidenote: On old vehicles like my 1977 Ford that have a carburetor, you most definitely have to run copper plugs. The excessive amount of fuel that those systems inherently deliver foul out Platinum/Iridium plugs in short order.

 

$950 + taxes. It was an all day install. Actually, Way is open 10-6. I got there when they opened and didn't leave until 7:30-8. It was the only thing his guy Jason worked on and he skipped lunch.

 

That's a SUPER DEAL! Way lists the Quaife on his website On Sale right now for $965 (normally $1299) Too bad Way's shop is like 11 hours away from me.

I don't know where I'd trust to have that level of work done near me.

 

The WMW Turbo Exhaust Manifold was almost as long (6+ hours). $600 install. I recommend both, especially with your upcoming stage 2.

 

Road trip!!!!

 

That's always a possibility... We'll see how I feel after I get back from driving Chicago to Myrtle Beach to Chicago next week. LOL

 

Manual boost controllers have been tried, they throw the Turbo Mini's into a limp mode. The ECU is calling for a certain boost pressure and when it sees a spike, it gets super scared and dumps all the boost. Then you get to see what driving an N/A Mini feels like. LOL

 

My ECU is en route to Jerry at NM. It'll be there Monday, and I'll have it when I get back from vacation Thursday. Excited to see what this Stage 2 is all about!

 

Lucky!


Can wait to hear your feedback on it.

 

So?????? Ready for a limited slip dif yet?

 

Haha I just got it back up and running Friday afternoon. I haven't really driven it much this weekend with the holiday travels. took the girlfriends car cause of her daughter and the mini not having a backseat, but it definitely feels good.

It's hard to quantify how much more powerful it is vs. Stage 1 because it's wheelspin vs wheelspin LOL.

I will be commuting to work in it tomorrow morning and when I open it up on the expressway I'll have a better idea of the gains.

But yes... I need to calm this wheelspin down with some better tires and then most likely an LSD.

 

Which one should I get for N14 engine? I am getting my DP this week and I want to make sure I get the correct one but there is like so many different version. O2 Spacer same as Mini Cat?

Griffin Motorwerke Mini Cat O2 Sensor Spacer $42
$16
AMS Vibrant Performance O2 Sensor Spacer $20
O2 Spacer $15
Draft Designs O2 Sensor Spacer $38

Which one should I get?

 

The mini cat ones have mini cats in them, the spacers do not. That's the reason for the price difference. I have one similar to the Amazon one for 16 bucks. It was finicky over the winter, CEL would go on and off depending on how I drove. It seems to keep it off more of the time now that the weather is getting above freezing: I suspect in the summer it will stay off. I have zero experience with the mini cat one, so I can't say about those.

 

If I understand this correctly (and I'd like any explanation that gets me there) if you swap out the down pipe to say a Akrapovic DP and even though that version has a CAT there is not an accommodation for the O2 sensor and thus you'll throw a code (CEL).

The only solution is either the Akrapovic Delete R or an O2 spacer; in either case they trick the ECU into thinking everything's all right. That being the case if I wanted to monitor the air/fuel mixture is that even possible with say something like a MTX-L: Wideband Air/Fuel Ratio Gauge shown here: http://www.innovatemotorsports.com/products/MTXL.php

 

Most all of the aftermarket downpipes have bungs for the rear O2's whether or not they have a cat. You throw a code because the cat isn't working according to factory specs, either because its high flow, or because it's non existent. Either way, the rear sensor is still installed in the pipe.

A wide band gauge is going to require an additional specific wide band sensor to be installed IIRC.

 

So now that I've got Stage 2 done, I'm looking at my mods list and I'm running out of things to do that I can accomplish is a day/few hours over free weekends. Hot boost tube, Koni FSD's, TSW undercarriage brace, and some other things are in my short list as of right now.

I'm thinking I'll get the side boost tube next just to delete the muffler and then make some cosmetic changes.

I'm gonna ditch the plastidipped head/tail light and grill trim pieces for the gloss black ones from OutMotoring and then just remove the dip from the gas cover lid. I've already un-dipped the hood scoop back to midnight black body color. The dipped ones rock chip too often with as many miles as I drive and they catch and hold wax and just don't look as clean.

I think I will keep the door handles and gas lid chrome. Partially for contrast but mostly as a humorous homage to all the "Don't touch my chrome!!!" classic car people out there who are sometimes hilariously cautious about fingerprints. With my car, it'll be "Only touch the chrome!" Haha!

Also, I still have yet to get to a dyno. Don't know if any of you have heard, but most of my city had pretty good flooding the past couple days due to crazy rain storms... It was 70 degrees yesterday. Today, right now.... It's snowing. Thanks, Chicago! That being said, rain makes my work super busy, so I've been swamped (20hr day yesterday) and haven't been able to setup a time/place to make some pulls. Hopefully in the next couple weeks.

 

I'm pretty much done. Maybe a boost gauge.

 

I've decide I'm going the route of the aeroforce gauge in a craven speed pod to the left of the tach. Expensive but worth it IMO. Turns out a guy in our car club has two in his 550whp CTS-V and he swears by them. Got to play around with them the other weekend and I'm sold.

 

Were you able to find a list of all the items available via the Mini OBDII...all the specifics I could find on their website was for US & Japanese cars.