The sun finally came out last weekend, which gave me the opportunity to fit a couple of mods to my JCW.
I've only got a picture of the K&N air intake so far:
It was easy enough to fit apart from the detaching of the air flow sensor plug in the bottom left of the picture. Those things are tricky to remove and require serious pulling and twisting that fingers are not designed to do. Will also be interesting to try and detach in the future as it is now right up against the engine cover, but hopefully not something I will need to do.
Since the intake duct was off, it was straightforward to fit the Bluespark module, which needed to be connected to the boost sensor (similarly tricky clip to remove). I routed the cabling around the new intake housing and placed the module between the housing and the battery box. Frankly, a picture of a tiny aluminium box is not exactly riveting. Go here if you want to see the product: https://www.bluesparkautomotive.com/...-231-ps-petrol
Bolted everything back together and apart from the now exposed air filter, it looks pretty much the same as before.
Started it up and waited for any unexpected lights - some had reported Check Engine - but nothing untoward. Only difference was that the projected range had dropped from 401 to 330-ish miles (tank was almost full). Maybe it knew what was coming...
Blipped the throttle a few times and the 'whoosh' from the air intake is very entertaining. Almost like having my R53 and its supercharger whine back again. Closed the bonnet and went for a short test drive.
Drove through the village in Eco mode and the Bluespark on setting 3 of 5 (this can be changed by moving a jumper pin; to date, I've left it on 3, but will experiment with the other settings). First impression is that nothing has changed, which is good. I didn't want Eco mode to suddenly become Sport mode. It's still docile, throttle is damped somewhat, no pops and bangs and this is how I'll probably drive it most of the time.
Out of the village and the black diagonal on white background 'Infinity' symbol appears. Flip to Sport and immediately the car starts to surge. Drop from 5th to 3rd and floor it. Oh boy. The sound of the intake is one thing but the acceleration is insane. I haven't timed it, but counting 5 'elephants', gets me from 30 to beyond 70. I was expecting a lot of torque steer but there isn't much, at least not in 3rd. It helped that the roads were dry. Haven't yet been out in the wet. Seemingly the box will take a few trips to 'settle down'. And given the current situation, it may be a while before those trips are completed.
Will keep you posted.
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