7 replies to this topic

[nickholland]

Hey all, I am running a 2000 reg Mini Cooper 1.3mpi with a K&N Induction Kit, and a full system exhaust to twin dtm exit.

I have noticed recently that the engine sounds a bit drowned (bit ropey), and performance is not as good as it used to be, I was thinking that the fuel may be running too rich.

I know that fueling is pretty much automatic through the ECU and all, but what might i be able to do?

Or any suggestions to what may be causing this problem? I might just take the car in to be serviced and see what they come out with.

Cheers
Nick

[cowboy]

when was the last time the car was serviced, and the k&n filter cleaned, this needs to be done on a regular basis

a good service is as good as an upgrade

[psycho mini driver]

if your car is running rich (you should be able to smell it very strongly) then check all your vacume pipes from ecu to the injection unit, some times the rubber elbows break and this causes big probs with fueling. make sure you find them all as i missed one after i thought id fixed them all.lol.

[nickholland]

thanks guys,
car was last serviced this time last year. K&N filter has done about 4000 miles, looks quite dirty. I will clean it.
Where will i find the vacuum pipes?

[Dan]

K&N's can do tens of thousands of miles between cleanings, especially on a road car and especially on an injection car which automatically corrects for the slight reduction in flow. The first few thousand miles of dirt actually make the filter perform better by making it trap smaller particles.
You certainly don't need to clean it any more regularly than you would replace the standard paper element, probably a lot less often really.

The vacuum system runs all around the inlet manifold and the engine in general. There is a steel vacuum pipe connected to the crankcase ventilation manifold which runs along the back of the rocker cover. Each end of this is connected to different parts of the vacuum system.
Also check your coolant sensor is working properly as these cause all kinds of fueling problems on injection cars.
Was the ECU reset when the K&N was fited? If not it may not ave re-calibrated itself.
Get access to a fault code reader (you can get cheap ones at Halfords) and the engine will tell you what is wrong with it. That is the good thing about injection.

[The Roadie]

Don't get a cheap fault code reader - their just poo. See if you can borrow or get use of a new Sykes Pickavant or Snap On code reader, easy to use and a million times better, nearly always right.

[nickholland]

no the ecu was not reset so how would i reset the ecu?

[Dan]

Now that is a good question! I know how to do it for the SPi, but I'm not sure if it is the same on the MPi. Check the Haynes BOL to see if it is in there, or try phoning a good Mini tuning specialist like SRE or MLM. On the SPi you need to pump the throttle fully in 5 times, fairly quickly with the ignition on but the engine not running. I don't think there is any way that is tells you if you have successfully re-set it or not. But if you do this it may erase any fault codes that do need investigating so you should possibly get it checked anyway.