The following is an article written by Pablo Mazlumian from European Car Magazine. The original article can be found here.

Project Street S Mini Part 5: Update Part 5: Mini Mania's Stage 2 Power Upgrade By Pablo Mazlumian Factory supercharged cars are wonderful. More times than not, a hefty increase in power simply involves installing a smaller blower pulley to make it work harder and to match the increased, forced-inducted air with the proper amount of fuel by way of controlling the ECU. That's why we wanted to do a project on the Cooper S versus the base model-more power! The Mini Cooper S is rated at a modest 163 bhp, but we want a reliable 200 hp at the wheels. Where most Cooper S cars are known to dyno around 145 whp, a near 40% increase in power without getting into the motor should be classified as a remarkable feat. How quick would this car be? Think about it: at 200 whp our MINI would be roughly hauling only 14.5 lb per whp, compared to our Project M3 and Project S4 cars that started life at around 15- and 16.5-lb per whp, respectively. However, so we don't get ahead of ourselves, let's see if this can be done by starting with a simple pulley, intake, software and full exhaust upgrade. Several companies offer supercharger pulleys for this car, but we decided to try one from Mini Mania. Started by long-time Mini racer Don Racing in 1975, Mini Mania now offers a full range of products for both the classic Mini and new MINI, including motor, suspension, brake and aesthetic upgrades-everything else you can throw on these cars. It's obvious Mini Mania's roots and passion for racing are still present-by the time you read this the company would have co-hosted this year's Ultimate Mini Challenge at Laguna Seca Raceway. For Project Mini we ordered a full Stage 2 kit from Mini Mania, comprised of a supercharger pulley, belt, heat-shielded intake system, headers with catalytic converter and a dual sequential high-flow cat-back system-all for about $1,750. We opted for the software tuning option as well, which costs an extra $745. Starting off with the air intake kit, the system reportedly improves on existing designs for greater efficiency. It also uses the factory front grille air inlet and windshield vents to draw in air to the K&N filter. The exhaust system is a piece of work. We ordered one with a catalytic converter connected to it; however, you can order your exhaust headers without the cat. The exhaust header system is a polished, four-into-two-into-one design. Equal-length primaries ensure flow improvements and are also threaded for the oxygen sensors. Mini Mania reports that with this system alone a significant increase in mid-range torque can be had. From there the cat-back system, also known as the Mini Mania "S Performance exhaust," uses a twin sequential exhaust system, reportedly to free up more horsepower from the supercharged motor. The three-piece supercharger pulley has a 15% reduction in diameter compared to the factory unit, and is reportedly good for an additional 4 psi boost. This design allows installation of the pulley without a press, enabling easy pulley removal. Mini Mania rents and sells the special tool for easy stock pulley removal. The box of cool stuff was sent to evosport along with Project Street S for installation and testing. evosport's shop in Huntington Beach makes it an easy, one-shot deal to have the parts installed and dyno-tested, and the technicians there have been helping us out with several of our project cars. The company specializes in performance upgrades, tuning, installations and service for Mercedes-Benz, BMW and Ferrari. The evosport technicians installed the Mini Mania Stage 2 kit easily, giving us plenty of time for the fun part: testing the system on evosport's 248C Dynojet dynamometer. Just to be safe, evosport went ahead and monitored the air/fuel ratio to make sure we were always under 13.0:1. With the Stage 2 kit installed Project Street S spun the dyno rollers, registering 176.2 whp at 7000 rpm with 152.6 lb-ft of twist at 4000 rpm. Peak increases were a very significant 24.5 hp and 19.1 lb-ft of torque right where the supercharger whines the most: at 6750 rpm. Testing was done on California's 91-octane, ping-prone fuel. But the car showed only smooth pulls without any sign of knock or pre-detonation. After hearing the news, Mini Mania was somewhat disappointed, as the company had been dynoing around 185 whp with its Stage 2 kit. But it was the software that told the story. Right at 4500 rpm the car dumps so much fuel that the modestly rich reading of a mid-11 air/fuel ratio goes down off the chart-under 10:1-and stays there through redline. It's right in this area where the torque isn't quite as flat as it could be. When asked about this, Mini Mania's Ken Suzuki said that all of their customers had been seeing normal air/fuel ratios, with several peaking over 180 whp. After being asked to put around 50 more miles on the car, Project Street S's new dyno runs revealed the same problem, too much fuel. At least it's not leaning out anywhere-we're definitely on the safer side of that spectrum. Despite this, I was still excited to check it out the modifications. After warming it up properly, and within an instant of my first wide-open-throttle application, I was pleasantly amazed. The power increase was obvious throughout the entire rev range. and the car seemed to pull with total anger. The new sound of the considerably louder exhaust system and supercharger whine surely contributed to that sensation as well. Although the dyno showed the rich conditions, I couldn't detect any hesitations or sluggishness from the motor-this car hauls ass, and the motor sounds like it's still begging for more. In the meantime, Mini Mania will be looking into the rich condition from 4500 rpm-on, which should be solved by the time you read this. So far, we are only 24 hp away from the desired 200. Perhaps some custom yet mild tweaks are in order-stay tuned to see how we get Project MINI closer to our goal. Author's note: Special thanks to evosport for the install and dyno testing of the Mini Mania Stage2 power upgrade.

176 whp and still climbing Cold air intake system Installed, the heat shield uses the hood to seal off any hot air when it is closed. The equal-length header system can be purchased with or without a catalytic converter, and is intended for off-road use only. We chose one with the cat. The polished cat-back exhaust system starts out from the catalytic converter and. ...finishes off to a dual- tip polished muffler. Mini Mania's exhaust system was a really good fit, and displayed a nice, four-banger roar at WOT. The exhaust tips aligned well with the rear valance. They're not too big or flashy, and look like they could have come on an even sportier Cooper S model. The supercharger pulley includes the belt for the proper fitting. This little pulley was what was mostly responsible for the power gains we saw. On evosport's Dynojet 248C the car had us reaching for our ears when it hit 4000 rpm. Mini Mania Stage2 kit vs. Baseline Even though the software supplied Project Mini with too much fuel from 4500 rpm-on, the car still saw impressive gains over stock, with a peak 24.5 horsepower and 19.1 lb-ft gain at 6750 rpm.

Part No Applications: NME2030, NME2032, NME1032, NME5011

Article Date: Jan 23, 2006
Car Accociations: NEW_MINI
Hits: 3763

Order and Shipping Information

Worldwide Shipping Charges
Shipping Address Policy
Worldwide General Shipping Information
Shipping Schedule
When Will I Get My Order?
Entering APO/FPO Addresses
Backorders

World-Wide Shipping Charges

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Shipping Methods appropriate for your destination are displayed to you during order checkout. Once you've decided on the items you'd like to order, consider how quickly you would like to receive your shipment(s), evaluate the shipping cost displayed, and choose a shipping method.

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Shipping charges are calculated at time of shipment based on the actual package weight and dimensions. In some cases, we may not have weights or dimensions in our computer system for one or more of the items you ordered. In this case, shipping is not quoted. The amount you will be billed is the carrier's standard charge. We don not charge any handling fees. The cost of shipping your order will be sent to you in a confirmation email message at the time of shipment. No action is required on your part.

Shipping Address Policy

When you order product using your credit card we initiate a process to check the address information you enter to see if it matches the address that your credit card issuer has on file and matches your billing address. If they do not match then the issuer of the credit card will not approve the transaction 100%. This is because much of credit card fraud occurs by having products shipped to the address of the person who stole the credit card instead of to your address – the billing address. The fraudster steals the credit card, orders products and has those products shipped to the fraudsters’ address and you don't know anything about it until you get your credit card bill.

This works great for those people that have products shipped to their home address and their credit card bill is also mailed to that same address. But some people use a PO Box or their personal credit card to order products for business. In those cases they want the product shipped to their office but the statement (billing address) is still being mailed to their home address or PO Box. This normally would be a rejected transaction because of the two legitimate, but different, addresses.

The way to get around this is with an Alternate Shipping Address. You can add an Alternate Shipping Address to your credit card so that orders will be accepted at both addresses. The alternate shipping address does not have to be your business address but is used here simply as an example.

Simply use the toll-free number on the front or back of your card to contact your credit card company and create an Alternate Shipping Address which is simply a note on your account authorizing purchases that are delivered to a destination other than your billing address. With the Alternate Shipping Address feature in place you can have credit card orders shipped to two different addresses but your credit card bill will continue to be mailed to the original billing address.

Add the Alternate Shipping Address to your credit card account before placing your order. After your credit card company has updated your credit card account you can then order products with your credit card and have them shipped to the alternate shipping address you have on file with the credit card issuer.

* Please note that on your initial order items must be sent to the billing Or ‘Alternate’ address as registered with your credit card company. See this Policy for more details or contact our sales staff at 800-946-2642.

Mini Mania, Inc. primarily uses FedEx, UPS and the US Postal Service to ship orders world-wide, each of which may be available only in certain areas. Truck freight items may be shipped using our choice of a variety of motor freight carriers. The customer pays shipping costs unless stated otherwise.

When choosing a shipping method, remember that carriers charge considerably more for expedited delivery. Expedited delivery also generally requires the package be signed for at the time of delivery. Check with your selected carrier locally if you or your authorized representative may not be available to sign for the package at the time of delivery.

For some destinations, we offer the choice of Mail (USPS). While often less expensive, remember that items shipped via Priority Mail, while insured, are not always reliably delivered and cannot be tracked. By choosing Priority Mail, you accept responsibility for your order once it leaves our facility.

Customers outside the domestic United States should exercise particular care when selecting a carrier or expedited shipping methods. If in doubt, consult with your potential carrier for information about shipments to your country. Import duties, local taxes, customs charges, etc. are the responsibility of the customer. If Mini Mania is invoiced by any carrier for import duties, local taxes, customs charges, or similar fees, the customer's credit card on file will be charged immediately for these fees, and an invoice explaining the charges will be sent to the customer.

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Most orders phoned in to Mini Mania before 12 noon Pacific Time are shipped the same day; orders received later usually ship the next day. If you must receive your order by a specific date, please make this clear when placing your order.

Most Internet orders are processed the next business day and are shipped within 1-2 days.

If there is more than one item in your order, we will ship your items as they become available.

Depending on availability, your order may be sent in more than one shipment. You will be charged shipping for each shipment.

You may choose to contact us by phone or e-mail before placing your order in order to ascertain availability.

When Will I Get My Order?

For Ground shipments, see the maps below for approximate delivery times. For expedited shipping choices, please see your chosen carrier’s web site for details, terms and conditions. Note that in all cases, shipping times do not include the day the order ships, weekends or holidays.

UPS Ground Delivery Transit time Map for Domestic Customers

FedEx Ground Service Delivery Map

Entering APO & FPO Addresses Correctly

Having trouble entering an APO or FPO address on our order form? Following these steps should help:

• Enter the recipient's full name and address in the relevant fields.
• Enter "APO" or "FPO" in the City field.
• Enter "AE" in the State/Province/Region field if the recipient is stationed in Europe, Canada, Africa, or the Middle East. Enter "AA" if the recipient is stationed in the Americas. Enter "AP" if the recipient is stationed in Asia or the Pacific.
• Regardless of where the recipient is stationed, select "United States" from the Country drop-down menu.

  Following these steps will ensure that you're charged the correct shipping amount and that your order will be delivered in a timely fashion. All shipments to APO/FPO addresses are sent via U.S. Priority or First Class Mail. We estimate 5 to 7 business days for delivery once the order has been shipped; however, some destinations may take up to 21 days.

  
  
  
  
  
  

  Backorders

  We endeavor to stock most of the items we sell. The automatic shipment notification email you receive will identify backordered items and indicate the approximate date we expect to receive the item at our warehouse. Be sure to contact us if you wish to cancel your backorder to avoid unnecessary shipping and restocking charges once your backordered items are shipped.

  
  
  

We will match the published price of any US supplier* -- even their current sales prices! If you find an item advertised at a lower price, make a notation in your online order, call or email us your price match request (see terms and details below). We'll sell you the SAME item at the SAME price! If you've already purchased the item from us, we'll even price match (for store credit only) as long as you contact us with your request within 10 days of placing your order.

This offer is restricted to identical items offered for sale in writing or on the web. When making your price match request, you must provide us with a link to the competitor's Internet URL for the item, a copy of the written ad or written quotation, which must include suppliers part number, description and price.

Price Match Terms and Fine Print

We may choose not to price match in some cases; here are some reasons why:

• The competitor's product is not an exact match (identical manufacturer & model) with ours.
• The competitor with the lower price does not have the item in stock at their warehouse.
• The competitor's total price (including shipping, handling, rebates, taxes, etc.) is higher.
• The competitor's product is used, refurbished, reconditioned, or a display model.
• The competitor is not selling in US dollars.
• The product is a clearance or closeout item.
• The item is not found within the first 10 items listed on major search engine results.
• The competitor is not manufacturer authorized or has advertised below the manufacturers minimum allowed price for the item.

* Qualified U.S. Suppliers are established businesses that routinely and regularly sell the item to be matched from an established physical storefront or warehouse.

While we endeavor to maintain the accuracy of item availability, descriptions and availability, we reserve the right to correct errors. We reserve the right to choose not to honor this offer.

How to Request a Price Match

Place an order on-line and leave a comment at checkout. Provide the competitor's name, part number, item description, URL link to the exact item and the competitor's price anlong with your request to price match. If we agree to match the price, your order will be processed at that adjusted price. In the event we cannot match the price, we will notify you by email. We will hold you order for 3 business days.

Alternately, you may call us with your request. We'd love to talk with you. We will generally respond to price match requests within one business day.

SHIPMENT PROBLEMS?

Claims for missing items or error in shipment must be reported within 5 days of order receipt .

BACKORDERS

We endeavor to stock most of the items we sell. For Classic Minis, parts are frequently in limited supply and are difficult to keep on hand. the automatic shipment notification email you receive will identify backordered items and indicate the approximate date we expect to receive the item at our warehouse.

Be sure to contact us if you wish to cancel your backorder to avoid unnecessary shipping and restocking charges once the item(s) you’ve ordered is shipped.

Some items are made available on a Special Order basis. These are typically items with very low demand that we choose not to keep in inventory, or items that are custom built or built to order. These items are ordered from their suppliers solely to fulfill your order. As such, these items require a 100% non-refundable deposit at the time the order is placed (power-unit orders require a $1,000 deposit before work begins). Because of the nature of Special Order items, your order cannot be cancelled once your order is accepted and deposit taken, nor can returns be accepted once the item has shipped.