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Whats up man. First off I wanna say nice Subie. Ive been considering a 2010 Rex as a mountain car for a while now after I have my MINI fun.

Im 17 as well. I can certainly say people DO mod these cars. Unfortunately many minis seem to be more about stickers and stripes than hi #s and aero (nothing wrong with that). I have an '07 Turbo, with very minor perf. mods. My buddy has a very modified '06 Rex and I keep up with him fairly easily, especially in the turns (although I beleive my car tends to run rich), just to give you an idea of what this car is capable of.

How much are you looking to spend on a mini while still being comfortable with your payments? If you are looking new, MINIs are 100% maintanence charge free. Means more $$ to put into mods!

As far as your question on hp/tq that depends on what model/year you are interested in. They certainly make for a great daily driver.

A Z is a great comparison to a MINI. I am still in HS, and I remember how people called my MINI a chick car, among other things. Everybody loved the stanced Zs in the parking lot. Some time later people came around to see what my MINI was all about. They didnt call it a chick car anymore after spending 10 minutes with it.

Cheers,

Bradley

 

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What year Cooper S are you looking for? 2002-2006=R53(supercharged) 2007+=R56(Turbo). I have a 2003 and have modded mine to a fair extent (Header, exhaust, intake, pulley, cam, sway bars, ecu tune etc.) I feel as there is a bigger selection and more aftermarket parts for the R53's. My car put down 215whp and I feel it is pretty quick, and if you do the above mod's and add a cylinder head you can usually hit the 250whp mark. At that level your up with STI's, EVO's, and E46 m3's. It all depends on what you are trying to accomplish, because there are many options for power as well as for handling. Look around the forum a little bit and you will find some pretty hopped up Minis and see what mods people are doing to gain power.

 

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Yea Cylinder head=$$$$, that is what prevents me from doing one. Its definitely a fun car little car. A cam is actually a pretty good mod to do when starting out. If I had known all the info I know now, my first mods would have been pulley, cam, header, inectors, tune. That will get you well above the 200whp point. This can be debated but exhaust doesnt add that much power and same goes with intake. Just to give you a some idea of costs, pulley=$120, cam=$315(around there), header=$850 (you can buy a cheaper obx header but you wont gain as much power as one from RMW or Mynes and ive seen people have problems with them), injectors=$350-400(i think) and tune=$350.

Edit:also I am currently going to school in Michigan and have my Mini up here and it is handling winter just fine with some snow tires on it. Lots of fun to e-brake slide it around.

 

Oh lord headers are expensive for this car lol. i got my headers for 200$ but then again i got them used.

Where are the cams located on the motor in this car? Is it a hard install?

 

Yeah you can get an obx header for $200, but if you look at the mynes or rmw header compared to the obx you will see why. Its a SOHC, and I think it took my mechanic 2-3 hrs to do the install.

 

What do you guys think about this?

http://washingtondc.craigslist.org/n...547514866.html

We're real cool with that dealership, bought 3 cars from them and had overall a good experience. I looked up KBB for that car and it was 16k I believe. I bought my suby from them i could probably talk them into giving me more for my suby.

 

Looks nice, the only thing about it I personally am not a fan of are the 16" wheels(I like the 17" version of those wheels-R90's), no leather, no heated seats(i use mine all the time), no fog lights (meaning not all the toggle switches are there, and it makes it looks kind of strange not to have all the switches), no xenons, no sunroff, no harmon Kardon, no auto a/c. These are just personal opinions, but the paint and interior look to be in good condition. I would get it checked out by a Mini dealership as well just to make sure it has a clean bill of health. If you look around for a little bit you might be able to find a car with all of these things for around the same price.

 

Here is a good starting platform
https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...ate/1220843623

Here is a built beast with over 250 wheel horse power.
https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...ct/8904/cat/12

 

Hey there -- if you get that car, I'll buy the 16 R90s off of you -- DIBS!

Best of luck finding the right car. It takes cojones to decide to go from a Subbie Rex-like, and pass up a Z to end up saying you're getting a MINI. I think they usually sell to different audiences!

The MINI will help you mature out of the car scene quicker than a Z will, for sure. Don't expect cars next to you to want to "race" a MINI, which of course makes it fun when you zip on right by them :-) OTOH, as I'm sure you know, a WRX STI or even a Z can always end up being tuned faster (0-60, straight-line wise) than a MINI, IMHO.

Last thing, you wanted blacked out -- don't get a red/white, that's just too different! (now, red black...)

On some more points:
Leather -- don't worry so much, I gave it up; MINI leather is very thin, won't hold you as well in the turns.
No fogs cuz of the switches missing -- I'd imagine you would mod a switch for your goodies! (suspension switch?)
No H/K -- plenty of threads about that not being a huge deal, about recommending you replace the audio system yourself anyways (although plan on keeping the built-in head unit)
No xenons -- I love xenons, so I'm with you.
No sunroof -- well... for speed/stiffness you're better off. for rear passengers they might wish you had one.

 

Oh good info bro i didnt even realize half the stuff.

Those all make a difference, xenons, sunroof, leather, harmon kardon audio, and heated seats.

I want all of them! Those little things make your car 10x better. I cant tell you how much i hate subaru interior.


im either going to get a black mini, steel gray, or red/black.

 

I had a 98 Mustang GT prior to my Mini and I'm really glad I made the switch. The Mini was my first FWD car and I was a bit skeptical at first, however I have never had a car that was more fun to drive than my Mini. Thumbs up on your color choices

 

Thats how I feel, I think just the little things together really transform the car. I can't tell you how much I love the Harmon Kardon stereo system. None of these options are really essential but I think in the long run you will be happy to get a car with the options you wanted and like.

 

re: sound system I added an 8" sub to the base system and now it's even. For sure the HK system sounds better, but everyone (other threads) will tell you you're still better off w ur own speakers.

OTOH H/K means (I think on all model years?) that you get a tweeter slot on the A-rail, whereas I don't so it would be harder for me to get separate tweeters.

 

I agree; mine doesn't have all the mods, etc., but what she did come with, I absolutely enjoy: heated seats, sunroof, H/K system. What I call the 'creature comforts'.

I'm a little afraid of going 17" wheel-wise, though ... does that make much of a difference than 16"? I'd like to do a few things under her bonnet, tho, just a matter of $$$ and whether my job situation goes from 'iffy' to 'stable'. For now, I'm just tryna keep her on the road ...

 

The ride might not be as smooth (I think it more depends on the tires) but I like the look of the 17's better, it fills in some wheel gap and the 17" R90's have the bolts all around the wheel, which looks nice imho.

 

i plan on running 16x10 or 16x9 wheels

:D

should i go 16 or 17? and on stock ride height will there be rubbing?

 

Go for whatever you think looks best Im not sure what sizes rub and what doesnt...

 

I had the chance to drive a Z with bolt ons and it was also lightened a bit (carbon hatch/hood/doors), and it was deifinately quick, but nowhere near as fun to drive as my MINI. I havent gotten my MINI back yet from getting the head and Aquamist installed, but I can say it will definately put that Z to shame

Also I think a 16x10 might be a little too big, but at stock ride height you might be ok. I plan on getting a set of staggered BBS RS's that are 16x9 rears with a +33 offset and it shouldnt really rub at all, and I'm lowered on coilovers.

 

Great to hear!
anything near 16x10, 16x9 sounds good too. Low offset, wide tires, thats beautiful IMO.

 

That's cool that you're looking into a MINI. I came from driving SUVs. First and old hand me down Landcruiser, then a used ML320. It's definitely more of a daily driver than those. I used to hate driving whenever possible just cause it was never enjoyable.

I was looking into three different cars myself. The first was a 350z, next a BMW Z4, and lastly a MINI R53. Surprisingly those are all roughly in the same price range. The Z was last on my list. I just was never a fan of a car that looks too tuner-ish. The Z4 and the MINI are cars that still look great after years go by and they release more and more new models, IMO. Sometimes I wish I got the Z4 but then again I need a car that can hold stuff or extra people, although not much stuff or tall people in the back. And the the MINI is just as fast and handles well.

You can definitely get a better price. Let us know if you find another one that interests you. Just looking at the pictures, you can tell that this car is more basic that most cars out of the factory. It wasn't ordered with any of the factory packages from what it looks like. But try going will the 05-06 model if you can. MINI did a good refresh on the old model. They're a little faster on paper since I think they changed up the gear ratios, among other things. And also, I've driven MINIs that ugraded there suspension. This is what makes the car so much fun to drive. Upgrading the factory system only makes it better.

Good luck. It took me a good 3 months to finally find a used one that suit me well.

 

Yeah after doing research here im definely going to find one that has the whole package even if it costs more.

my specifics.

must be black, gunmetal, red/white or red/black.
HK
heated leather
sunroof
xenons
mileage wise what should i be looking for? Whats considered high mileage for these cars?

 

Couple of months back I drove a Cooper S and a 350Z and I gotta tell you the Mini was way more fun. Yes the Z has a macho street presence but the insurance will be way more at your age, the mileage considerably worse, in snow the Z will be hell, you can't carry jack-all in the Z... the list goes on.

...and BTW at your price point you're talking a R53, not a R56.