Bout.. oh.. I dunno, a year and a half ago I made the greatest decision of my life and got my 2006 MCS from the dealer. Being in the Aftermarket Automotive Industry I had full intention on modifying the hell out of this car for the fact that I'd like to believe that it was intended for such... the Mini is a fun car which has soo many options from the dealer to customise each one. And these aren't lame customisations like the Scion either... these actually make a difference.

So... here I am with three items on my desk. Kingsborne Spark Plug Wires, a Screamin Deamon Coil Pack and NGK Iridium Spark Plugs... and you know what, I'm not sure I want to put them in.

There are so many horror stories about basically every single modification out there from so many people here on NAM. And I mean... I am grateful for their experiences that they've shared with us all. But man... some guy's ECU got fried with an MSD Coil and Nology Wires, someone else posted about how a few weeks after gettin their SD Coil that it went bad and then Spark Plug Blowouts and needing some Helicoil repairs on a cylinder head... ohh man... it's a damned Greek Tradgedy for us all...

Am I just a wuss? Someone talk me into this man... I got my 16% and it's sitting on my desk at home... right next to my Ultrik Camshaft. And I've already been talkin to Jan about a Cylinder Head and Ported Intake Manifold... ohh man....

 

Have had all my mods on my MINI for over 50,000 miles, with no problems.

 

FWIW, I haven't seen any data/information that would make me want to purchase those particular mods (make sure you torque the plugs!)

I've spent waaay too much time here on NAM over the last few years, and other than ejected spark plugs, can't say that I've heard of the coil pack or wires causing any problem. The question is, are they solving any problem...


I have done a 15% pulley, CAI and rear bar. All noticeable, all happy.

 

spark plug wires don't matter much on a new car, color choice aside. part of me wants an MSD coil pack just to go with my red theme but like you said, there's no reason to run one.

one thing's for sure when modding any car - you've got to pay to play. if you can't afford a non-warranty repair, you have no business changing anything on the car. that's not to say you will have an issue, but it's on your dime if it does.

On a Subaru forum I'm on, a 17 yr old did a massive build...turbo swap, etc. He ran into issues and is concerned about warranty. Duh. You have none on the motor silly. 25+ lbs of boost and you want the manufacturer to cover it when it goes BOOM! because you had it tuned with a boost leak and then fixed the leak?

There are a few basic bolt-ons for the MINI that are no fuss and harbor big gains. 15% pulley, 19mm rear sway, and maybe an airbox or filter.

 

The wires I'm doing cause if I do something to a particular system I generally do the whole deal... I know that I'm not looking at any "noticable" gains with the Ignition system.

I've also been working on cars for the majority of my life, so the whole Warranty thing has never been a concern to me. It just seems that everyone has something bad to say about everything aftermarket. I don't.. so much need opions on the parts that I have, they were my decision. I don't quite know what I'm asking at this point really... just that man, everyone has a story about everything and I don't know if it's them going overboard or just truly a really bad part.

Scooby... do you retorque your plugs? If so, how often and to what setting?

 

but change your mod path...

Pulley... First for power. Save for a head and blow off the little things.

Front camber plates and rear bar for suspension...
Caliper bushings and better fluid for brakes. Pads and SS lines if you want to go a bit further..

Call it done and have some fun!

Matt

 

I have modded Wanda, my 2003 MCS, gradually to work with my budget and to feel the changes.

• 2004: started with a K&N Typhoon CAI in 2004 (only one that was CARB-approved)
• 2005: Alta 15% pulley and a Unichip
• 2006: plain-faced Brembo rotors for front & new OEM rotors for rear, Hawk ceramic brake pads, rear-sway bar, irridium spark plugs, and a Milltek exhaust
• 2007: 2% crank pulley installed and SS brakelines

I haven't had a single problem with any of the mods....and I have 73K miles on the odo, which means almost 50K on the Alta pulley.

Hope that helps!

 

I have all those on my MINI, no problems whatsoever! Go for it

 

Like Clo I've been modding my 03 as budget allows. Currently it has 15% pulley, CAI, iridium plugs, OCC, DFIC, Coilovers, Rear control arms, rear sway bar, strut tower brace etc, and I too have had no problems because of any of the mods. I check the torq on the plugs about every other month, and have yet to find one loose. I still have some things I would like to do.

I have over 165,000 miles on the odometer, of which 135,000 has been on the 15% pulley, more on the CAI, and a little less on everything else. I wouldn't worry about modding it too much.

Once you start its hard to stop

Nik

 

I already have my suspension done.. Coilovers, Camber Plates, Links, Bushings, Sway Bars... so on.. so forth. I already have Intake and Exhausts taken care of.. gonna have a head maybe in about a month or so. I just purchased tickets to Japan in May, so I got that outta the way and now am already well into saving for the head.

I'm trying to find in my origional post where I mentioned that these were my very first modifications... oh, that's right... I didn't.

Basically it went like this....

1) Intake and Exhaust.
2) Coilovers and Sway Bar.
3) Bushings and Motormounts (Took this step after my OEM motormounts took a dump)
4) Carbon Hood (Took this step after a tire on the freeway did my front-end in.)

Where I'm at now...

5) 16% Pulley. Got the Colder Plugs to compliment the pulley, the coil to compliment the plugs and the wires to compliment the coil.
6) Camshaft was a Christmas gift; not putting it in until I get a Cylinder Head, which is my NEXT Purchase.

See? I'm not all THAT crazy... it makes sense... somehow... maybe?

 

On your concerns about the spark plugs...when you make more boost, you put more pressure on the plugs. If you're running a 16% pulley, some would recommend that you run 21 lbs. of torque on the plugs instead of the 18 lbs. that is recommended for the stock pulley. On the coil...if/when my goes out, I will try the MSD with MSD cables. I've got 55,000 miles on my '04 MCS, 25000 on a 15%, cai, cat-back, alta tmic, custom tune, and NGK 8 series plugs (2 steps colder) = 202 whp = 5.9 0-60mph.

 

but I haven't seen ANY DATA that shows that wires or the coil do anything for the car, and the one colder plug range makes sense, but I also haven't seen any data that it's required or beneficial.

There are a couple of schools of thought on the plugs...
1) Run as cold as you can that don't foul. This is the easy way to go.
2) Optimize using a) real tools (spark duration for gap) and b) hot-rodders tricks (Color for heat range).

Matt

 

What you don't see is the 100 or even 1000's of folks that have mods with no issues. NAM would be a boring place if all we did was post.

Modded car, runs great, 100,000 miles, no issues.

 

Yep, on 2nd MCS previous one was totaled, but not before 110,000 miles about 60,000 miles on mods no probs.

I have GP now and going this route suspension; rear sway (done), maybe lower springs cause JCW not low enough, I'd like RED springs though, reinforcment plates til I save enough for camber plates, and brakes; ss lines, pads, ATE super blue (done), and not sure if I can put metal bushings on JCW brakes? Then save for a spare head to rework.

 

I understand your fears....
And I think gnat hit the nail on the head here. Forums tend to attract those with troubles looking for solutions. Most people don't post every time they add issue free mile to their pulleys and other mods.

That said, somethings are higher risk than other on two levels....
The degree in which one departs from the factory engineering, great benefits to be had, but if caution is not exercised and research not done, one can cause many unforeseen troubles or inadvertent power loss. this tends to be the cause amongst the heavy modders and it is commonly understood it is possible to over mod a car, esp. without an end plan or goal in mind. Every new toy, may look good in the engine bay, but not run well if it doesn't work with the other mods.

Also, and I think this is the more common issue, the degree of the difficulty and quality of the install. sometimes this is someone not planing out the install well enough, sometimes its a shop in a rush, sometimes its a person who gets in over their head, and a lot of times its a simple step over looked that means something doesn't get done right and it breaks or causes trouble.

Think it through, use some judgment, and you can have a lot of fun with these cars in both the tinkering and driving department.

 

When things go bad people complain, when everything is fine no one says a word; hence all the horror stories, there are far more success stories out there. They just haven't been documented.

 

Aww man... see... that's what I needed to hear.


I stem from the Aviation Industry... so I'm very By-The-Book when it comes to installation and upkeep. I sleep with my torque wrench by my bedside...

Being in the Automotive Industry, I should of already come to terms with the fact that people are more likely to report the bad than the good about any product out there.

So... thanks guys... what a swell bunch, the lot of ya. Specially the Good-Doc; he's never steered me wrong... well, once... but he just didn't know.

But.. yah... so, Torque Specs on the plugs?

 

Best of luck to you! I've been eyeing this MOD myself, so I'll be curious to see how it turns out for you.

 

Plug torque= 20 ft.lb. (27Nm). I check my Denso IK22's every few months and have never (in four years) had a loose one.

 

I agree 100%

The last mod I did that turned out great was filling my tank with 93 for only $45.00. LOL

 

Live by this: "If it ain't broke, don't fix it". You may not have the fastest track time, but you will drive to work on Monday! BMW spent a huge amount of time and money setting that car up. Drive it like they designed and manufactured it, stock, and enjoy it. When the warranty expires, see how you feel about the mods. Just my ten cents worth...it's your money, it's your time, it's your car.

 

I appreciate your ten cents, I truly do... but... stock?

 

Only problem with my mods is that the ALTA header sits more on the left side of the tunnel, which leaves no room for my o2 sensor.

-Cody

 

Done all those mods and a few more with absolutely no negative issues, if your car is in good running order now there no reason for it not to run a little better and with more power. Got for it you'll be glad you did.

 

This works to an extent but my first mods are going by the philosophy of "If it's going to break, stop it." So my first two upgrades are concerning the possible mushrooming and engine mount problems my car may get at some time. And besides, the whole point of modding the car is to make it fit you better, if it doesn't work for your needs stock, isn't it a little broke?