Thanks! Appreciate the qick reply!

Cheers

Roland

 

I just installed both the B&M short shifter and the Alta Sportone 2.5 exhaust this weekend. The resonator is FIRMLY clamped against the heatshield which is now basically sandwitched between the resonator and the bottom of the new B&M shifter housing cover. Every now and then, particularly at low RPMs I get a nasty vibration being transmitted through the shifter housing and up to the center console and shifter.

Would you please describe how to adjust the resonator down? With the support plate/bracket just aft of the resonator, I'm not sure how to do it.

 

agranger: You lost me a bit here but I want to help. I might be thrown a bit here. The shifter cover hangs down? That may need to be removed to move the heat shield up. Also, check that the center pipe is on the right way. Would be hard to do, but possible with the new design to get it upsidedown. The only other way to move the resonator down a bit would be to move the mounting support plate down, with using washers between the body of the car and the plate.

Might be best to speak to Jeff via phone. Our number is 503-222-MINI. Look forward to helping you more soon!

Thanks again for choosing ALTA!

 

Thanks for the number... I appreciate the help!

The B&M Short Shifter for '05 and '06 MCS includes a new cover plate for the shfter housing. It basically extends the shifter housing down an inch, so that it protrudes down into the exhaust channel. For the stock exhaust, there is no resonator on the back pipe, so this isn't an issue... you just bend the heat shield down a bit and everything is fine. With the Sportone, there is a resonator right under the shifter housing that extends up into the exhaust channel. These 2 new pieces are now competing for the same space and are causing some vibration issues. This is ABSOLUTELY NOT a design defect... It's just a problem due to the design of these 2 individual mods conflicting with each other.

I found a smaller diameter resonator that may solve the problem... That or I may have to move the resonator a foot or so downstream on the backpipe. I'll let you know how it turns out after Christmas.

agranger

PS: The sound from the 2.5" Sportone is HOT! It's agressive, but not overpowering. I also kept my off-throttle burble (that I love), so I'm quite happy with the exhaust. A great look and value! The install (barring my self-caused issue above) was a snap on my garage floor with 2 jack stands and hand tools.

 

SWEET! Thanks for the honest reply! Its nice not to see a client blame the "other" aftermarket part for the problem. PLEASE let me know with photos if you can. I will see if we can adapt our next revision to work with both. Want to keep as many people happy as I can!

Chat soon! Merry Christmas!

 

I put a nice flat spot in the top of my Milltek resonator so my B&M shifter doesn't contact it. I've run it for ~80K miles with no problems. I'm thinking of trying this with the Alta resonator, but would like to get Alta's opinion before I do it.

Steve

 

I've got that narrow resonator and some time scheduled with my local MINI mechanic after Christmas to see what we can do. I'll see if I can nab some pics for you.

 

Adam, if that's the case, you just might wanna wander over to the Europe Club part of NAM and check this thread out. As Ricky told Lucy, "Chew got som 'splaining to do!!"

Cheers!!

 

Will do!

 

I installed the 19mm sway bar about eight months ago and about one month ago it started to squeek. Now the squeeking is really bad. Is there a fix other than lubing every six months? Someone mentioned wrapping the bushings with Teflon tape. Does that work?

 

Before I do a wrap-up, I'll make a recommendation to MINI Bee and Alta can feel free to correct me... I made sure to buy a bar with bushing brackets that came with Zerk fittings so I could lube it easily when I rotate the tires every 5k miles. I don't think that it would be too difficult to get new brackets and bushings in a 19mm size that are fitted with Zerk fittings (grease gun attachment points) or drill and tap your current brackets to take a fitting (though the current bushing might not be shaped for the fitting).

I've also heard of the teflon tape wrap solution, but I though that Alta's bushings were already teflon coated/impregnated, so I'm not sure if it will help.

I also heard of people spraying the bushings with a teflon containing gun cleaner... I think it was called Breakfree. I think it comes in an aerosol can with a straw sprayer (like WD-40, before you loose the straw :P ) so it should be pretty easy to do with just the wheel off.

OK... my final resolution on the resonator issue.

A few weeks ago I installed the Alta Sportone 2.5 exhaust and a B&M short shifter (at the same time). I was defintatly having contact between the top of the resonator, the heat shielding and the bottom of the new shifter housing plate that came with my '06 MCS B&M Short Shifter. The Alta resonator is a nice part, but it's kinda big... it probably wouldn't cause a problem with the stock shifter housing plate, but the B&M is about 1 inch taller than the stock cover, so there is a problem when you try and combine these 2 parts at the same time.



On the left, you can see the new Vibrant resonator that I had welded into the system by a local shop. They removed the forward flange from the Alta back pipe, clearanced it to a 2.5" opening, welded it to the new resonator and then fitted the back pipe to the back side of the resonator.

On the right you can see the Alta resonator that was removed. The Vibrant resonator is easily 2 inches narrower in diameter. The new sound is a smidge 'poppier' (the burble pops a bit more when you lift off of the throttle), but the metal on metal vibration is gone and the system fits much better now. The exhaust tips tuck nicely into the facia opening where, before, they were hanging about 1" low. I'm also not scraping the resonator on speed-bumps now.

Overall, I'm thrilled with the system. It's got a great sound and I definately noticed an increase in torque when I added it (CAI, larger intercooler & pulley already done).


http://vibrantperformance.com/catalo...85447198173b44

Again, this was not a flaw in Alta's design (though they might find that a narrower resonator would make for easier installs and possibly a better fit for future designs), but was a just part and parcel of modding a car... that mods are generally made to work with the stock setup and aren't designed to work with every other mod out there.

 

Sorry you are having an issue, and sorry for not getting to you sooner!
Could be a couple of things. Check that the bushing hasn't been installed crooked. This will allow the grease to go away far faster and thus make relubing more often. Also, check that the bushing clamps haven't been broken (unlikely but worth checking.) Also, be sure you are using the correct grease (Energy Suspension is recommended as it is sticky and won't weep away) and use a LOT of it! Finally, high pressure car washes can sometime wick it away as well. If you choose to go the teflon route, that is a-ok as well. But be sure the bushings are clean first. Remove all the grease etc. Then liberally wrap the bar in teflon tape or better yet teflon coated cloth mesh. (I am trying to source that right now.)

Let me know if I can help in ANYway at all!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

 

agranger: Thanks for the recap and I am glad you found a solution that worked on your problem. I have a question, how much has the sound changed with the smaller barrel? the reason I ask is we have tried that in house, and we felt it was too loud. BUT, we might use that in a "race" version vs. a "sport" version as an option. But I am TRULY interested in the feedback.

THANK YOU AGAIN!

 

Well... I'm in an '06 MCS and it's one of the burblier (is that a word) models out there. My car, in particular, always had a very prominent burble when lifting off of the throttle. Everything got deeper in tone with the 2.5" Sportone and the switch to the narrower resonator made each burble a bit more of a pop... especially with agressive acceleration in the lower gears (stretching into higher RPMs). I haven't noticed much of a change in sound in any other way.

 

Thanks for the reply Adam. I have been in touch with Energy Suspension and I'm going to try a set of their graphite impregnated bushings. I haven't been under the MINI yet but I'll check the things you described when I install the new bushings.

Thanks for your input too, agranger.

 

I have a question that has probably been answered in this thread or others on this website, so I am apologising if I am reposting this. Anyway, I ordered a 19% reduction pulley, which I am using for street, and more than occasional track use, relying on my car to get me home.
I would like to know
A) Projected life of superchargers with 19% reduction pulleys
B) The type of common failure of the superchargers (if they sieze or just stop creating boost) This way I can get an idea of the necessity of carrying an extra stock charger, since I would be losing all accessories and therefore becoming immobile should it sieze.
C) If a JCW injector or something more in the 440cc? range would be able to operate under vacuum operation (in the case of a failed supercharger) or would it be a better idea to take my stock injectors with me as a plan B?


When ordering my pulley, I have considered already all the worst case scenarios that could happen, so before spending money on a different supercharger, I want to see how well I could get away with the factory one, or eventually go turbo.

Chris

 

The real problem with a pulley larger than a 15% is the time spent at or close to max rpm. These smaller pulleys are turning the SC at speeds it wasn't designed for. The 19% is great for some spirited street driving. but nor a good idea for track use where you would be running at high revs for extended periods.

As for the life of the SC........not really known. They will seize when they fail and then you lose the water pump and possible engine melt down.

 

19% a very bad idea for track use. Heat is the killer.

 

YES I agree with the above. The NEAT thing with the 19% reduction is this immediate surge of power down low that simply can't be had in the other combinations of reduction. BUT (yea big BUTT) is that this is NOT recommended for autocrossing or track use. Sustained high engine RPM under load with the 19% can create more thermal load on the S/C than it was designed for. Yet if you use this for commuting, and occasional hard runs to redline, no reason for concern. I do STRONGLY recommend the use of the ALTA (or similar) intercooler, injector and ECU upgrade with the 19% as well.

The most common (and therefore reliable) combination these days is a 15% S/C and 2% crank. This blend really works well. Keeps the S/C at its upper limits, but nowhere near the meltdown concerns of the 19%. Again still best with ECU tuning and an intercooler, but not REQUIRED like with the 15 + 4% or 19% S/C only.

Hope that helps! Let us know how we can help in any other way!

Thanks scott and newbs for jumping in here to help him/her as well!

 

Another problem with using the higher 19% is the water pump starts to scavenge and your engine can over heat. I got this from a MINI lead tech. at Crevier MINI in Santa Ana CA. I was told by him all so that the 15% does it a little bit, but negligible, and to combat this in the JCW the gearing for the pump is different.

 

We have not been able to show cavitation. The water pump runs at a gear driven reduced rate, vs. the S/C blades. Common misconception though.

 

I'm not trying to start an argument or nothing like that , but if you spin the shaft faster that turns the blades, which all so turns the gears for the water pump faster making the water pump turn faster but you are still stuck with the same size inlet and outlet of the pump which is what causes the water pump to cavitate. This was what was explained to me which made since.

 

Why would the supercahrger pulley size affect the water pump? Also if this is going to be a problem, would a lower thermostat temperature help the coolant temp situation?

 

There is no difference between the stock SC and the JCW water pump gearing. But there has been some talk of the water pump being spun too fast when using the 19%, I have no data to support this other than anecdotal.

 

The water pump is driven by a set of gears directly off of the SC, thus the speed of the water pump is directly related to the speed of the SC.

It's not a question of higher temps, but of efficiency. Spin a water pump too fast and it becomes inefficient.