Hello All!

I ran into a problem I just cant figure out yet. I purchased a black mini cooper, 2007 S. It has an alta catback, hks ssqv. I loved the way it drives. I purchased this car from 2 siblings that drive very aggressively.

I purchased another one, a gold 2007 r56 S (pretty much the same car, but with options like bluetooth and 10 speakers) This car is stock and was driven by an older lady (very conservatively i would guess)

This car is noticeably less responsive than my black one with the mods.
The black car I first bought is a lot quicker, pulls harder in every gear. In fact, with the black car it pulls in every gear very consistently. The tires can hardly keep traction in 1st. (perelli pzero 18 inch rims)

The gold one, does not pull as hard. seems like it takes a while to boost. This car has falcon ziex 17s

So I removed all the mods I could see.
•hksssqv
•alta exhaust
and put them in the new gold one, thinking that the the mods are causing the black car to be faster. NOPE.

So i thought the black car had the throttle converter to make it feel more snappy, I checked under the pedal, NOPE.

I looked at the pipes from both cars, it looks the same, except for the hks ssqv.

I have since installed an intake (vip) into my gold car, but my black one (now bone stock) is faster... Although the gold one is louder, and I can hear the turbo spooling

my question:
1. What am i missing?
2. Does our mini really learn different driving styles?
3. Is my ECU chipped? are there any markings tuners put on? Are these ECU swappable? or will I not be able to start my mini?
4. How can i reset the ECU? If it really does learn different driving styles.
5. What else can I check for?

NOTE: the black faster mini has a louder engine note than the gold slower one.

Thanks for reading!

 

This is the real variable, because with the N14, it has to be driven hard to keep it internally clean.
If the previous owner never put their foot into, and never got the engine hot enough to burn off crud that can stick inside the intake valves, the car can be sluggish.

Check for carbon build-up on the backside of the intake valves.
Grab a scanner and scan for any and all fault codes.

Maintenance, fuel grade, and getting a starting point on replacement parts like plugs are something you need to consider.
The car may have been subjected to regular unleaded, where the ECU pulling timing to run the lower octane without pinging or knock.
Put in some super premium, and drive like a bat out of hell; the ECU will adjust timing due to the knock sensor and can 'wake-up'.

But more than likely the car was baby'ed to much that it just needs a couple of good aggressive hot-runs to "clear the cobwebs".

- Erik

 

Thanks for the reply, I'm currently driving it very hard for this tank of gas, gonna try to do spark plugs too. Seems like spark plugs need a special wrench, different than the b16 Hondas I'm used to... Btw what's the air cylinder behind the intake manifold? Seems like it goes into the firewall, I took it out to see what it was and it seems like it does not let air pass is that right? What is it for then?

 

You'll need a 14mm, 12-point spark plug socket to remove them.

Are you referring to the 'noise maker' that's attached to the intake tubing and runs to the firewall to create engine noise in the cabin?

- Erik

 

It's just a noise maker? Lol that makes sense since air can't pass trough. I guess sound can pass through? Haha

 

Yeah there is all kinds of factors that affect performance. There could be carbon build up, one car might have been treated better, and the most important is that some cars run different from the factory. Get the carbon cleaned out of both of them and take them to full stock and that will tell you which one is better.

 

The goldie is probably clogged up with carbon buildup. If you drive like a bandit everywhere, Auto-X, or track the car a lot the problem is not nearly as bad. Take the intake manifold off and take a look down in the ports!

 

+1 to the carbon build up theory. But I too wonder if the black one has an ECU tune, especially if he notices a dramatic difference with the throttle feel.

 

I think it might be an ecu tune, the engine itself sounds different on that blackcar. I'll remove te intake manifold to see, would there be much build up of carbon? The car has 45 k on it.

I'll do plugs this weekend. What bran do u guys use?
And don't have to buy a new gasket if I remove te manifold?
Oil still looks. Added fuel cleaner to tank of gas. Just bought an intake... Anything else I can do for a quick tune up? Seafoam? Is it bad for our mini? Fuel filter? Thanks guys!

 

Have hooked up a ScanGauge or a boost gauge to see what amount of pressure the turbo is pushing?
That would be a sure-fire way to tell the ECU was flash / programmed.

You may be surprised how much gunk you'll find...

Use the OEM platinum or iridium plags, nothing else.

It's good practice to always replace any gasket that you open up when it comes to engine building.

You can do SeaFoam, but a carbon build-up removal by removing the intake manifold is much more effective.

That's part of the fuel pump assembly in the fuel tank.

- Erik

 

Bluefox, Thanks so much for your detailed responses!

I downloaded the "m meter" for the iphone. It measures g-force. I know its no where as sophisticated as dyno's and such, but the results are consistant. I took 3 runs with my black car, and it measured .4g's lateral max. When I didnt punch it as hard, it measured .2 g's. The gold car measured a max of .3 g's after 3 runs of me flooring it.
I just wanted to confirm its not just my butt dyno.

Its a good idea to hook up a boost gauge. I'll look up what a scan guage is and try that out. Also, after i order the plugs and gasket, i'll do some surgery on the intake mani. I'll skip the seafoam and fuelpump for now.

Thanks! i'll keep us posted.

 

THe black car is tuned and the gold one isn't. I's that simple.

None of the "mods" make the car faster. Tuning the ECU does, no matter what other mods you do...

 

Richard I think u are right, next question is , is the ecu swappable? Or does the immobilizer make the swapped ecu not work?

 

Not swappable by you or me...lol Mini might be able to, but I doubt they would.

 

My guess would also be software. Did you check for any boost leaks? A great investment if you are gonna drive these MINIs hard is to get a Boost Gauge kit. It may be a little pricey to get it for both cars but if you plan to have both modded its a good investment. You will see the difference in max boost if one is tuned and the other isn't. For now try to figure out what gear and rpm range they feel much different in. You could always grab a friend and both of you guys rip them at different ranges .

 

After purchasing an accessport. I hooked up both to see boost. The gold one is slower because it runs max 12 lbs boost. The torque is measured at 56nm I think. The black car is running close to 16 lbs. the torque is 62 nam!