Untitled

M7 Tuning is the ultimate MINI Cooper Performance Company. We innovate - not imitate. The best MINI Cooper parts available at any price! Engineered - Tested - Raced

[m7tuning]

The Beauty of An Oil Catch Can For Your 2002 – 2006 MINI Cooper

If you own a 2002 – 2006 Mini Cooper S you are probably well aware that it is prone to excessive oil vapor buildup within the intake system. The existence of the problem can be confirmed by removing the rubber boot attached to the intercooler.  Spray a little cleaning fluid into the tube (removed from the car at this point) and you will notice a large amount of oil in the run-off.

While the buildup of oil won’t hurt anything, it will affect the performance of the car. As the layers of oil build up they start affecting the efficiency of the intercooler. The intercooler becomes less effective at removing the heat from the intake charge and the end result is a loss of power and gas mileage.  In addition, the oil will eventually gum up the various sensors found in the intake system, leading to even more problems and reduced performance in the future.

To eliminate the oil fouling problem, a solution can be found in an aftermarket oil catch can.  The best oil catch can currently being produced is made by M7 Tuning.  Their catch can is made from billet aluminum and is available in a black powder coated finish or in the natural machined aluminum finish with a protective clear coat to help keep it look great.  It is equipped with an oil drain plug which also incorporates a magnet to remove any metal particles that may make it into the system.  Their catch can use a sight tube so you can easily verify the amount of oil in the can and drain accordingly.

Their kit comes complete with all required hoes, brackets and fittings specifically tailored for the R53 installation. The hoses are oil and heat resistant, unlike silicone hoses, will not discolor from oil that passes through them.  Also available on the website is a detail installation manual with plenty of pictures to make this an easy do-it-yourself project. To find out more about the Oil Catch Can system visit them at www.m7tuning.com.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=WUHY3k_BycQ

[m7tuning]

M7 TUNING NEW PRODUCT ANNOUNCEMENT! M7 EXTREME Control Coilover System

M7 TUNING NEW PRODUCT ANNOUNCEMENT! M7 EXTREME Control Coilover System M7 Speed, the ultimate MINI performance company, is excited to announce the release of their new EXTREME Control Coilover System for the second and third generation MINI Coopers. Jointly engineered by JRI and M7 Speed this system is 100% made in the USA. Each suspension unit is hand assembled to exacting specifications and thoroughly tested on advanced suspension dynamometers. By design these shocks are precisely valved for the Mini Platform and are very versatile making it easy to go from street to track with a few clicks of adjustment. There is an incredible 60+ clicks of adjustment! When compared to any other shock available on the planet, there are 5 key design elements that set the JRI Shocks into a category above all others: 1. 35% reduction in running and side loaded friction. 2. 50% reduction in breakaway seal friction or stiction. 3. 48% reduction of internal gas spring rate and rod force. 4. 30% improvement in hysteresis. 5. 30% improvement in response at high speed input frequencies. (Comparisons are against a new Penske 7000 series racing shock of similar build and size) Each and every improvement listed above means just one thing-MORE GRIP! And more grip means, increased speed, superior car control and improved overall performance. JRI makes the absolute best performance shocks in the world at any cost. Period. M7 Speed will never stop the relentless pursuit of examining, innovating, researching and continuing to be the best in racing and performance technology. If you want to win consistently, use the best parts available. Use the JRI/M7 Speed EXTREME Control coilover System! MSRP: $3499

[m7tuning]

Racing Your R53 MINI Cooper? You Need a Rear Chassis Brace!

    The late model R53 MINI Cooper is a very popular car.  Its size and weight make it an ideal candidate to go racing with.  Although the MINI Cooper is already a very capable machine, the factory originally designed the MINI to appeal to the broadest range of customers possible and in doing so left open a window to improve the handling characteristics.

Under hard corning the chassis on the MINI flexes. The result is less than optimum handling.  Back in the day one would install a roll bar to stiffen up the car. But that is a less than desirable option. Who want to cut up their interior and limit the use of their interior?

M7 Tuning Under Chassis Brace for the MINI Cooper

There is a simple solution; the M7 Rear Chassis Brace, designed specifically for the R53 MINI Cooper.  Besides the benefit of more predictable handling, the Rear Chassis Brace allows for comfortable use of the rear seats. Unlike a roll cage, there are no harness bars or cross members to remove to allow access to the rear seats. The position of the rear seats is also unaffected!

M7 Tuning Under Strut System for the MINI Cooper

To further stiffen the MINI Cooper, consider also adding the M7 Tuning Under Strut System and Strut Tower Brace. All three components are also available for the R56 MINI Cooper as well.

M7 Tuning Strut Tower Brace for the MINI Cooper

To learn more about the M7 Tuning Rear Chassis Brace and other chassis parts, please visit them at www.M7Tuning.com.  Improve the handling of your MINI Cooper. Order a Rear Chassis Brace today!

[m7tuning]

Why Your MINI Cooper Needs A Strut Tower Brace

The modern MINI Cooper is a wonderful car. MINI is owned by BMW and the BMW build quality is evident throughout the car. That said the car is not perfect.  One weak area involves problems with the strut towers.

It is well documented that the modern MINI’s have a problem with the strut towers, especially on cars with low aspect ratio tires.  When using a low aspect ratio tire there is less give in the tire and any heavy impact, such as a large pot hole, will cause the energy from the impact to be transferred to the shock tower causing it to mushroom.  Mushrooming can also be caused by many small events as well. Mushrooming is a term that is used when the metal around the top of the strut tower stretches from its original shape.

Once the strut towers have mushroomed you might notice the car pulling towards one side or the other. This means the car is no longer in alignment. Once mushrooming occurs, it may be impossible to properly align the car without repairing the strut towers.

The solution to prevent mushrooming is to purchase and install a strut tower brace with an integrated anti-mushrooming plate. The anti-mushrooming plates are made from thick plate metal and attach directly to the top of the strut tower. To add even more strength, a bar is placed between the two towers to prevent them from moving sideways.

Top quality strut bars with integrated anti-ballooning plate are available from companies like M7 Tuning. Don’t wait for the strut towers to balloon on your MINI. Order and install a strut tower brace system today!

[m7tuning]

The Importance of A Rear Wing For the MINI Cooper

The modern MINI Cooper is a fantastic handling car. It’s lite weight and compact and comes equipped with a very capable suspension. That said, there is still room for improvement. Under extreme lateral maneuvers, the rear end of the MINI can lose traction and start sliding. The best way to fix this problem is to add grip to the rear of the car. Adding grip is not easy. The simplest way is to add vertical load to the tires either by increased rear weight or aerodynamic downforce. Adding weight is not what you want to do to a racecar. So what do you do?

The solution is to add rear downforce by installing a properly designed rear wing. The wing works like an inverted airplane wing. By making the shape of the bottom of the wing different than the top, we can generate down pressure. While one side is flat, the other has a curve to it. As the air travels over the wing, it speeds up as it travels along the longer bottom surface and generates a low pressure area while the top flow generates a higher pressure area.  This creates down force on the rear of the car and on the rear tires without the negative effects of a weight penalty. The faster you go the more downforce is generated. More downforce produces more grip so it is a win/win situation. 

Not all rear wings are created equally.  Some are purely cosmetic and create very little down force, and in many cases slow you down and kill your MPG by creating tremendous amounts of drag. By far the best rear wing for the MINI Cooper is made by M7 Tuning. They offer a street/strip C-Wing and an all-out race version called the C-Wing Extreme.  Both are fully adjustable so you can trim them for maximum downforce or minimum drag or a combination of the two. For more info on the wings offered by M7 Tuning visit them at www.M7Tuning.com.

Besides being totally functional, the M7 Tuning C-Wing looks totally cool and will set your MINI apart from the other millions of MINI’s on the road. Take the handling of your MINI Cooper to a whole new level with a rear wing!

[m7tuning]

Products Designed To Make Your MINI Cooper Handle Better

Everyone is familiar with the cute Mini Cooper. While the car may be cute, it also has the potential to be a machine with serious handling capabilities. From the factory the Mini Cooper already handles pretty good. In fact, better than most compact cars. That doesn’t mean this still isn’t a ton of room for improvements. Let’s take a look at the handling upgrades being made for the late model Minis by the premier aftermarket manufacturers.

Strut Reinforcement Plate: The M7 strut tower plates are designed to stop the strut towers from mushrooming. These plates help keep the body stiff and the result is a car that responds better to the drivers input.

Strut Tower Brace: The strut tower brace is designed to stop the strut towers from flexing under load. This makes the entire body more rigid. The car will handle and respond much butter with a strut tower brace.

Under body strut tower brace: M7 makes the R56 Under Strut System that features 3 sections of bracing. There are 2 braces for the front and 1 for the rear.  They connect together to triangulate the bottom of the vehicle for much improved chassis stiffness. This improved stiffness will give the MINI better turn-in capability and will also greatly reduce under steer.

Rear Chassis Brace: When exposed to hard cornering the Mini is prone to chassis flex. This results in poor handling characteristics and the need for the driver to compensate. The cure to this problem is installing a rear chassis brace. The M7 Rear Chassis Brace is ideal for people who want the body of their Mini to be stiffer, but don't want to deal with the fabrication and installation of a roll cage.

Rear Control Arms: If you lower your Mini you will negatively affect the suspension geometry of the vehicle. The result is more negative camber to the rear wheels which causes poor handling and uneven tire wear. While late model Mini’s have the ability to adjust camber, the range of adjustability is limited. The solution is to use the M7 adjustable Rear Control Arms along with the H-Sport Front Camber plates.  The Rear Control Arms will allow you to customize your alignment settings to fit your personal style of driving.

Lowering Springs: M7 offers a range of lowering springs. Besides making the car look great, lowering a car lowers the center of gravity. This results in a car that stays planted on the pavement.

From the factory the Mini Cooper pulls 0.87g’s. With the many options available form www.M7Tuning.com you can improve on those numbers greatly! Keep up with the exotic performance cars by upgrading your Mini’s suspension today.

[m7tuning]

Increase the Power In Your Supercharged MINI Cooper With A Pulley Upgrade

If you’re one of the lucky ones that own a supercharged 2002 – 2006 MINI Cooper you know the joys of driving a small car with lots of power. But like most gear heads, you are never satisfied with the factory horse power rating. If you’re looking for an inexpensive and easy-to-install solution for more power, we have a recommendation for you; a smaller diameter supercharger pulley.

So you may be asking yourself; how does a smaller pulley increase horse power? The answer is pretty simple. The pulley at the crank (the driving pulley) is bigger than the top supercharger pulley (the driven pulley). Therefore the top pulley will turn “X” more times for every one ration of the crank pulley. The smaller the supercharger pulley, the quicker it will turn in relationship to the engine rpms.  In short, the more rapid turning of the supercharger will create more boost and that translated directly to more power.

MINI supercharger pulleys are available in several different ratio’s, with the smallest, safe boost level pulley being produced by M7 Tuning.  Their supercharger pulley is 16% smaller than the factory pulley and is about as small as you want to go before making major additional internal and external changes to the motor.

Don’t settle for factory horse power numbers.  Install an under drive pulley on your MINI Cooper today!

[m7tuning]

Invest in a 180 Degree Thermostat For Your Mini Cooper And Reap The Benefits Of A Cooler Running Motor

As a MINI Copper owner, you are probably well aware of the under hood heat issues associated with your car. In many extreme cases, the excessive heat can actually warp the hood up to a 1/8th inch or more, not to mention the negative effects the heat has on your engines performance.

There is a quick, easy and inexpensive way to lower the under hood temperatures. Change out the factory issued thermostat for a cooler thermostat. The factor thermostat is rated at 195 degrees and you will want to replace it with a 180 degree thermostat for the best results.  Note: A thermostat cooler than 180 degree will set of a variety of faulty engine codes.

 In tests done on a MINI with a 180 degree thermostat the following improvements where seen:

  Factory Thermostat

180 Degree Thermostat

Change in Temp

  Fahrenheit

Celsius

Fahrenheit

Celsius

Fahrenheit

Celsius

Intercooler Manifold

98 F 

36.6

70

21.1

-28

-15.5

Upper Coolant Hose

190

87.8

179

81.6

-11

-6.2

Supercharger at Pulley Shaft Housing

178

81.1

160

71.1

-18

-10.0

Head at Thermostat

174

78.9

153

67.2

-21

-11.7

Idle w/ A/C On

214

101.1

185

85

-29

-21.10

Coolant Temperature During Hard Driving

212

100

180

82.2

-32

-17.80

The lower temperatures are going to help the motor produce more power, too.   Cooler air is denser than hot air. That means more air and fuel is going to enter the cylinder on each stroke, and when ignited, will make more power.

The only company that produces a 180 degree thermostat for the MINI Cooper is M7 Tuning. To learn more about M7 Tuning visit them at www.M7Tuning.com.

Invest in a 180 degree thermostat for your MINI and reap the benefits of a cooler running motor today!

[m7tuning]

Get the scoop on a Hood Scoop for your MINI Cooper

Get the scoop on a Hood Scoop for your MINI Cooper

You’ve seen them before.  MINI hood scoops that look very different from the stock hood scoops the MINI came with when it left the factory. What prompts owners to upgrade their factory hood scoops? Where do you find these scoops? Are they difficult to install? Let’s answer these questions.

There are a couple reasons a MINI owner may choose to upgrade their hood scoop. First, they permit more air to enter the engine through the larger opening in the scoop. More air into the motor means more power. Second, the additional volume of fresh air helps drop the temperature of the air feeding the motor. This is especially important on a turbocharged or supercharged engine. Cool air means more power. Third, an aftermarket scoop provides a much more aggressive look to the front end of the car.  

The leader innovator in MINI Hood Scoop manufacturing is M7 Tuning.  They make hood scoops for both the R53 and R56 models. What I like about the M7 Tuning’s version of their hood scoops is the fit and finish of their product, along with the test proven engine performance gains. They are manufactured from high quality, hand laid and hand finished fiberglass. There are also available in a carbon fiber finish, too. The fiberglass version of their scoop comes ready to paint and is designed to fit into the factory mounting holes without any modifications. They are very simple DIY projects that any owner with minimum mechanical skills can install. They offer a number of good looking high performance scoops:

M7 Extreme Hood Scoop – This scoop comes with a very aggressive look. It provides max air flow and feeds cold air directly to the motor.

M7 Vortex 1 Scoop – This scoop is more aggressive than the stock hood scoop (less so than the Extreme) and comes equipped with vortex generators placed onto surface of the scoop to enhance airflow.

M7 Ram Hood Scoop – a less aggressive version of the Extreme Hood Scoop.

M7 DFIC Baby Scoop - The Baby Scoop is designed to take air from the front of the car and channel it under the M7 DFIC. This helps to lower the under-the-hood air temperatures. It does not feed air directly to the motor.

If you want to increase the performance of your MINI engine while at the same time differentiating the look of your MINI, look no further than a hood scoop from M7 Tuning! To learn more about M7 Tuning and their selection of hood scoops please visit www.m7tuning.com