aFe cold air intake

[combatc]

Hi, I just have a question for anyone with knowledge of the aFe or similar cold air intake systems for the MINI S. I have just ordered an aFe system for my 2006 s and was wondering if anyone has had any experience with this system. If so Please let me know how you like it or dislike it. How much horsepower does this simple mod give you and will I see an increase in fuel mileage.
Any opinion will be welcomed.
Thanks
David

[ScottinBend]

Not much increase in HP or mileage, just a bit better at breathing. And a much better engine sound, love that supercharger whine!

[combatc]

so it this worth the money to do? I heard it is better for the engine to have the increase in air flow? I did read on the website for afe that the claim that it will increas the horses by 10-15. and give it more torque. Is this not so? I am wondering what the draw is to these cold air intakes.
I am with you though I do love the sound of the supercharger.
Thanks again for your input to my questions.
David

[ScottinBend]

Better breathing is always good, but to really get the best benefit from the cai you should match it up with a couple of other mods. Namely a 15% supercharger reduction pulley, and an exhaust. You should see about 25-30 HP with those mods. To really get the best bang for your buck, get a "one-ball" exhaust done. Here is a link with an excellent description....... http://reviews.carreview.com/blog/mini-cooper-s-one-ball-exhaust-upgrade/

[combatc]

Thanks for the info, I notice that you have had these things done to your's. How long have you had your car and how long have you had the mods done? If you don't mind me asking. Also a concern of mine is how reliable these things are. Are they going to take my fairly new car, an '06 with very low miles and make it unreliable. I guess I am wondering if you have had any problems with your car since doing this. It is a daily driver for me and I can't afford for it to be breaking down all the time.
Thanks for your info and I am looking at the link you gave me now. I look forward to your reply.
David

[ScottinBend]

I have had the most of the mods since just after I got the car in Dec 03. I have had no problems associated with those mads at all. Mine is also a daily driver and these have really increased my enjoyment of my MINI.

These mods are actually fairly benign and shouldn't have any effect on your cars reliability as long as you get them done by a reliable mechanic. The pulley is the one that is the most difficult to do, but if you have a MINI club in your area I am sure they would be more than happy to recommend a shop to have it done or even volunteer to do it with you at a club event.

Another great source of info is at www.northamericanmotoring.com.

Have fun!

Scott

[combatc]

Scott,
I do have a question. since my mini is under waranty will this intake void the entire waranty? What did you do when you took your's into the shop for service? Will they say anything when it is time to do the scheduled maintenance? Like the free oil change and that kind of stuff? I guess I need to know this huh? I also looked into the exhaust mod. It looks very interesting, I have to ask did you have any kind of tune up done? I know when I changed the pipes on my motorcycle I had to rejet the carb. I know this doesn't have a carb but was wondering if there is some other thing that needs to be done if I change the exhaust?
Thanks again.
David

[ScottinBend]

The intake should never be a problem, the dealer would have to prove that the intake was the direct reason for whatever fault you may have. I had my intake done soon after getting my car and my dealer never said a word about it except "nice intake".....lol

You don't have to do any kind of tuning for just the basic pulley, intake, exhaust mods. You might want to get a custom tune later on just to get the most out of the mods, but it is not needed.

The only 2 tuners I would recommend to do any tuning on your car would be Revolution MINI Works in So. Cal. and Mynes Tuning in Arizona. They both offer the only true custom tune. They actually hook up a computer to the car as they run it on a dyno to get the most possible, driveable HP available. I had my car tuned by RMW about a year ago and love it. I am now at about 210 hp with a very drivable car that still gets over 30mpg on the highway.

[combatc]

thank you for being so helpful. You are a wealth of knowledge. I have found a muffler shop that said that taking the exhaust straight to the muffler not only would not be a prob. but also commented on how much it made since. they did not get the reason for the extra step in the exhaust. I told them to make it sound like a Brittish race car and they just shook their head. You have to understand I live in a rual town in North Carolina so if NASCAR doesn't race it they don't understand. I did irritate this guy the other day, he had a Dodge SRT or something like that. He paid a lot of money to look cool and go fast, well he thought I had a funny looking little 4 banger and so he took off up the on ramp to I40 and thought he would leave me. My MINI is stock and I kept up with him even gained on him. Hit 95mph before he backed off, when I went by him you should have seen the look on his face. Wow it is fun to surprize people that think it is just a cute little car.
Thanks again, sorry for the long story but had to share.
David

[ScottinBend]

Not a problem at all, what would we be if we couldn't help each other out.

Nice story about both the muffler shop and the Dodge driver, blown a few of those guys away myself.......lol.

[captpicard]

hiya folks, im new to all this so may be you can help me out -what is a afe cold air intake????

[ScottinBend]

It is a high performance replacement air filter for the MINI's. There are a lots of alternative intakes available.

[captpicard]

oh.....................thx 4 that, im slowly gettin my head round all these new things ;)

only had my 2005 cooper for 3 months,just gettin used to everything thats mini!!!!!

theres just soooooooooooooooooooooo much people seem to do to there go karts!

[ScottinBend]

Not a problem.

Enjoy the new car!