I have a stock Cooper, what should I do to upgrade it for more performance? What is teh cost-effectiveway. I dont know much about this, but I feel like most of the stuff listed in here is S-exclusive...

 

In my opinion the best mods that can be done to a Cooper are Suspension/Wheels/Tires/Weight mods.

I'd start with a nice set of lightweight wheels and good performance tires...Yoko ES100s are a popular choice with MINI owners, Toyo T1s Proxies are also a great tire as well as the new Kumho MXs.

For wheels if you are willing to spend around 1200 bucks I'd get a nice light forged wheel like the Volks, Centerline RPMs, or SSR Comps. If money is an issue there are cast Knockoffs of all of these on the market but aren't quite as light.

For Suspension it really depends on what sacrafices you are willing to make. I would put a larger rear sway bar on and if you have the stock Sport suspension - not SS+ I would also look at getting a pair of shocks from a SS+ car that has replaced them with aftermarket components. This can go all the way up to coilover kits that are fully adjustable though for most people anything more then height adjustable is most likely a bit overkill. A set of lowering springs will give a bit stiffer ride and lower the center of gravity a bit.

For weight - well besides the wheels and tires that will save a bunch of weight and again depending on how extreme you are willing to go - I would remove the rear seats, relocate the battery to the rear and use a SLA battery(depending on climate), etc...but for the weight category you have to be wanting to go over the top to get some real good savings. A CF hood would also be a good choice to save weight on the front.

For HP/Torque mods the cooper dosen't have a whole lot of gains unless you are willing to do MAJOR work and spend MAJOR bucks....and would be more affordable to buy an S instead and tune that...but there are plenty of people out there though that don't want a Forced induction car or prefer the cleaner look of the Cooper so that may or may not be an option for you.

 

Welcome to MCO-

For the Cooper there are limited options- start with intake and exhaust if you like.

Intake- either drop in air filter, foam, paper or Green Filter (see Turner Motor sports) vs true cold air filter like Pipercross viper kit but the cost is much higher. Cheapest and still functional is drop in filter. Personally I like the Green filter ($44.21 for MC see http://www.greenfilterusa.com/) or a foam filter if on a budget.

If you want to spend about $549 for a exhaust and cold air intake package then consider
http://www.diamondracinggroup.com/catalog/catalog.html
The intake is the viper but the exhaust requires cutting and welding but other cat back bolt on exhausts run about $500-550 alone.
For cat-back exhaust for MC consider this popular choice
http://www.helix13.com/html/products/exhaust.htm

ECU chip can be upgraded but wait a little longer before doing as new products are in the works. Maybe check on the GIAC or shark injector later. Right now the gains are more limited (smoother throttle and a little HP) for several $100s.

Some MC owners have added a larger rebored throttlebody ($460 for maybe 4 HP and smoother throttle), exhaust header ($900 and more power maybe 5 HP but also louder exhaust noise),Pilo ignition upgrade kit ($140 for ignition coil/wires/ plugs), M7 Plasma Booster ($250 for slightly smoother resp and slightly higher spark efficiency). As you can see all of this adds up and are usually done after basic other mods are done such as suspension, wheels, or brakes.

Before you do too much read this thread and esp the note to Kazu from RandyBMC
https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...mp;topic=16198

Suspension-
All coopers whether MC or MCS can benefit from suspension upgrades but a lowered car means a slightly rougher ride so make sure you can live with that. If you drive only on smooth roads then it should be fine. If you want to improve handling in corners but not lower the car the best mod is the adjustable rear swaybar (many types for about $200-250 and takes about 1-2 hours to install). Adjustable to 2 or 3 settings from firm to soft and helps to stabilize and stiffen the rear suspension to allow for greater traction in corners when going faster. Does not affect the ride going straight ahead or in normal driving. Very good single upgrade.

For choices on rear swaybar read this first- check out the pictures posted by RandyBMC
https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...mp;topic=15945

Lowered springs are an option and there are many types- search MCO for more info-
http://www.webbmotorsports.com/suspension.php
A popular choice is H-sport springs which are progressively rated, $225, lowers front and rear by one inch. Improves handling in corners. Rougher ride than stock. (several hours cost for installation)
Other choices for about the same price Eibach springs (lowers car about 1-1.2 inches, name brand, closes ride to stock but still lowered and corners well), HR springs (lowers car about 1-1.4 inches, name brand, a little stiffer ride and more aggressive look- alex@tirerack.com like this one-talk to him by phone see tirerack.com)

A discussion (a little older) on spring choices for either MC or MCS-
https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...2&start=50

Lightweight wheels- basic sets for under $1000 lower weight which help with acceleration. Usually 16" cast alloy wheels are the most economic choice, give good performance, relatively light weight and good selection of tire sizes 205/45-16 is a good start depending on the width of the rim.

When considering wheels you must get the correct offset. To learn more about this see this thread and read the posts by alex@tirerack and RandyBMC especially
https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...mp;topic=14882

Brakes- stock brakes are good. Upgrade to stage one brake kits with powerslot rotors, better less dusty brake pads- consider EBC Green front and rear or Mintex Red for street use, or Ferodo DS 2500 for track use. Stainless steel brake lines and better brake fluid improve pedal feel and reduce chance for brake fluid boiling and fade under track use. see http://www.helix13.com/html/products/brakes.htm

A note- for those who race in autocross - please leave your car stock and try autocross first then learn about the different classes of cars because once you modify your car you will be racing in a more difficult class. See your BMW club or SCCA local source for more info.

Well this is enough to get your started.

Bottom line-
MC or MCS can upgrade appearance alot, suspension alot, brakes some or alot, wheels- some or alot (but expensive).
The forte of the MC is lighterweight and handling. It doesn't really have the power potential of the MCS but it doesn't have the weight either. Small gains can be made with power for the MC but it will cost you. Stick to suspension and wheels- those always help but the ride can be rougher. Pick tires carefully- talk to Alex@tirerack. Intake and exhaust are good places to start but beware that the exhaust note will be deeper and louder if you change it. Keep checking on the ECU developments.

Finally check out the CVT for the MC- it's pretty good but you will need to learn how to drive a CVT if you want to get the most out of it. There are some known stalling/stumbling issues with the CVT traced to the computer in a minority of cars.

Good luck.

 

Here are 4 pages of Cooper owners discussing what we have done or plan to do...

Cooper Mod Thread

 

>>Welcome to MCO-
>>
>>For the Cooper there are limited options- start with intake and exhaust if you like.
>>

What a great write-up, Minihune! You da man.

I've got a promini air intake on my cooper and love it. So does Gabe Bridger and other MC owners. It is a no-no for doing the H class autocross, but definitely noticable gain in HP/Torque/sound = driving pleaseure for $200 or so.

I've also got a helix exhaust. More aggresive exhaust sound. Pretty loud... so much so that I had to insulate my car with "quiet coat" paint to live with it. Some gain in power, but don't know how much.

Plasma booster... I'm still evaluating this one. It does give me increased MPG on the highway speed, but not so much with in-city driving as I found out. Smoother engine? Yes, but you can do a lot of other things with $250. I got this because I wanted to be earth-friendly.

My next step is suspention mods, tire/wheel shopping, pilo ignition kits and/ or Randy's Denso spark plugs.

Good luck, and welcome to the Mini community.

Kazu.

 

Step 1.) Sell Cooper
Step 2.) Buy Mini Cooper S

Lots of hp gain in this mod!

 

>>Step 1.) Sell Cooper
>>Step 2.) Buy Mini Cooper S
>>
>>Lots of hp gain in this mod!

Who said anything about wanting a Cooper S?

 

wow. thanks minihune. that was fantastic. i'll post with whatever i start to do!

 

i didn't really like the appearance differences with the cooper S - otherwise i would have!
although i did love hte Dark Silver option

 

>>Step 1.) Sell Cooper
>>Step 2.) Buy Mini Cooper S
>>
>>Lots of hp gain in this mod!

I decided to buy a base cooper and use the 3 grand difference to mod the heck out of my MC. You can do a lot of mods with 3 G!!!

kazu.

 

>>>>Step 1.) Sell Cooper
>>>>Step 2.) Buy Mini Cooper S
>>>>
>>>>Lots of hp gain in this mod!

 

Off topic and typical reply, but here's one better

Step 1.) Sell Cooper
Step 2.) Buy Cooper S
Step 3.) Sell Cooper S
Step 4.) Buy EVO VIII or STI and dust everyone...

_________________

 

dandp makes a great point - NO MATTER what you do to your car - there will always be someone out there that has a faster car....people buy a car for more then just performance or looks or who makes it or needs and requirements....they buy them for a combination of these and others....for many people when they did this they decided that the Cooper is what they wanted...so there is great validity in wanting to modify it....people modify 3 series cars all the time...you could make the same argument that they should have just bought an M...but people don't always buy the M.

 

>>Step 1.) Sell Cooper
>>Step 2.) Buy Mini Cooper S
>>
>>Lots of hp gain in this mod!
Troll elsewhere.