After making a couple of posts and so on I keep getting alerted to make my first post so here goes another post to see if the counter works in this thread.....
Next stop Pm'ing the admins for help.....

.... wow it worked

Anyway I just acquired my 03 MCS in December and so far I love it.
My other car is a 2006 WRX that has around 320whp. I bought the MCS for the winter and such and I am beginning to like the Mini better all around. If nothing else it is far more civilized then the subie and corners just as well if not better. The one thing it lacks is POWER, I'm planning on fixing that shortly.
If anyone is local to Pittsburgh, PA let me know, Steve

 

Welcome More power..hmm....thats good

 

Hey man!!! Congrats on your new acquisition! I too had a 2006 WRX with about 307whp. Man, that was a fun car and I REALLY miss it.....

But I think we get spoiled with the AWD horsepower and no other car really compares, ESPECIALLY when its a FWD

So how do you like the MCS? (that's a Type S right?) I'm curious how much quicker the TYPE S is compared to the regular Mini..... But I think once you've experienced some good horsepower, you get spoiled and EVERYTHING seems slower

My last car was a 2005 350Z with a single turbo kit (about 390 rwhp) Now THAT was a pretty fast grocery getter....

 

Welcome Steve.
The company I work for has a division in Pittsburgh.
Good luck with your MINI

 

Well so far I haven't driven a non-S, although a friend of mine has one and
she recommended going with the S cause her husband always complains that theirs has no power.

Regardless of direct power differences I'm a forced induction kind of person...
I have had a naturally aspirated Forester and a Ford sport trac in the past and really dident like the lack of power and tuning available.

I will say that I am very spoiled with the WRX when it comes to power as I compare everything to it. Basically before I looked at a mini I was looking at 2002-2003 BMW M3's and I couldn't stand the lack or acceleration in them. With that said I couldn't justify getting rid of the WRX for an M3 so I traded the 99 Forester (150k on the clock and running strong) in on the 2003 Mini Cooper S with 65k on the clock.
I also don't invest in new cars, While I could afford to I prefer used as I don't want a warranty to deal with once I mod the car... The WRX is an R title I bought it in late 2006 rebuilt with 900 miles on it (that is as close to new as I get)...
Now to make the mini do 0-60 in 5 seconds like the WRX.
I'm thinking LSD and some NOS..... JK

 

Welcome, you'll find making power with an S isn't hard. Start with a pulley and the addiction will build.

 

Welcome aboard, no making power with an "S" isn't hard all it takes is money.