Motoringfile has a post about a BWM engineers response to engine ticking. Besides the “normal” ticking noises I still feel some of the “extra normal” noises are due to emissions related modes such as this previous post of mine related to the VW direct injection technology.
The 1.6 turbo in the new R56 MINI won it’s category for Engine of the Year. Read about it here. It was 3rd overall in the new engine category. It was 6th in the Overall Engine of the Year category.
When I purchased my new 2007 R56 MINI Cooper S I was promised a Multifunction steering wheel (MFSW) to be installed at a later date. This was generally stated as being around 30 days after delivery. Now that it’s been 60 days I’m starting to get impatient. I figured it was a small lie to say 30 and it would be more like twice that. However, after calling the 866-ask-mini number, they now tell me they think it will be two more months! On top of that they still don’t have the fix to the storage compartment that the car is supposed to come with. On top of that I still have not got the jack and tools that were supposed to come with the car, though my MA said he would get me those. And to top it all, ALL new cars are coming with all of these features!
I believe the new 2007+ R56 MINI startup noises are due to a similar mode that VW uses to heat up the Cats when cold starting. Here is a paragraph from a VW Document.
The 2.0L turbo operates in two modes. Cold-start conditions initiate a dual-injection mode for rapid heating of the dual catalytic converters. A quantity of fuel is injected on the intake stroke around 300 degrees BTDC of ignition, and the fuel distributes itself homogenously because of the long gap before ignition. A second injection, around 60 degrees BTDC of ignition during the compression phase, forms a rich mixture around the spark plug, which allows a considerable degree of retarded timing without affecting the engine’s stability. Normal mode and stoichometric levels begin quickly, when the catalytic converters have reached operating temperature, usually within 30-40 seconds.
So basically you get two firings of the injectors and some other funny stuff going on.
Just purchased R55MINI.COM, R56MINI.COM, R57MINI.COM, R58MINI.COM to eventually set up sites for FAQ and general help on the R55, R56, R57 and R58 model MINI Coopers by MINI/BMW. They are just parked for the moment.