You can host images through photobucket or something then hit 'insert image' on the post or you can also hit 'manage attachments' and add pics that way.

-Jorge

 

And this for sure fits in the R50? I was told there was no strut bar capable of fitting under the slimmer hood, but this one does seem to mount differently so it seems doable.

 

I have a 06 r50 and just spent 3 months in shop and replaced transmission and clutch and i ordered 2 different lightweight flywheels and neither would fit my car and i was told by clutchmasters that they couldnt guarantee the lightweight flywheel would fit my car and suggested i use oem flywheel with fx 200 clutch and it works just fine. so i would not try to fit light weight flywheel on r50 5 speed. hope this helps you out. i spent the extra money on a set of st coilovers. much better decision.

 

How do you like the FX200 clutch? And why the transmission replacement?

 

Jvsenerth,
Did you encounter any issues with your HID install? Did you need to install the cancellers?

 

You can tune an R50?
What will it improve, how, and how much?

 

First step to go fast with a R50 is improving the suspension and his geometry with better dampers or coilovers if you are going to do a serious b-road driving or track days, adjustable camber plates and adjustable rear control arms, and a complete set of good wheels and tires. In my opinion the best wheel/tyre size is 15 inches with 195/50 units. Also a right stuff of brake discs, pads, aeroquip hoses, and brake fluid or installing the R56S brake kit (larger discs and bigger brake caliper) with better pads and fluid.

I´ve tried many engine mods in our Cooper, but sincerely the best way to improve a n/a Cooper is swapping the gearbox for the R53 unit. By this way you can take better the rpm level due to its close ratios.

 

Why are 195/50/15 tires best?
Wouldn't a light weight 16" wheel with a wider tire be better?

 

No. In an underpowered car like the n/a Cooper (in all of cars but specially in underpowered) it´s very important the unsprung mass (wheels, tires, control arms, half of the suspension weight....). A 16" wheel is heavier than a 15" and a 195/50/16 tyre is heavier than a 195/50/15 tire. A 195/50/15 tyre is enough for hard cornering, stability, grip, and if you go for semi-slicks even is wider than necessary. Also there is the cheapest tyre available (at least here in Spain).

Wider tires and wheels are aesthetically nicer than 15" of course, but that´s all. For performance go for 15" or you´ll kill your engine with those heavy units.

 

Say I have 16" stock rims, and I switch to 17" rims that are lighter weight with a lower profile tire to keep the same wheel diameter. Won't I be running a lighter wheel+tire combo? Almost equivalent to an average weight 15" rim with huge rubber on it?

I'm no physicist, but this sort of sounds logical to me... anyone have the math skills to state some facts?

 

I got some lightweight 17 inch wheels and honestly, performance has not skipped a beat. The rise is also great with OEM size tires too. And yes, a cooper can be tuned. My tune and intake exhaust combo was perfect imho. Ten focus on suspension and weight.

 

I went from stock 16's to wider, lighter 16's with wider performance tires.
Now my stock wheels with 195/50/16 winter tires, I think they feel nimbler, but I get a lot of wheel spin and torque steer, I can't stop or turn on a dime like I can with my wider summer tires.

 

Of course it can be tune. In the Cooper we have sport camshaft, enlarged to 57mm throttle body, 200 sport cat and final exhaust, CAI, and a chiptune. I don´t think that there is no more than 120 cv (121-122 hp more or less) in the dyno. We need a personal ecu tune in dyno to tune it properly. The major gain is the swap to the R53 gear box and torsen type diff in my opinion rather than engine tuning.

In the One we have a custom camshaft, custom exhaust manifold, de-cat, a lot of work in the cylinder head with std. size valves, std. air filter, and custom ecu tune, and in the dyno it has 141,7 cv. (143 hp more or less), but these mods have been done by a profesional rally and racing team builders. Also we have a rally gearbox with close ratio and short final drives, and, wow, it´s really amazing.

 

Winter tires are just for secure driving on winter, with snowy or iced roads, not for sporty driving movements. With wider tires you can brake in less meters, turn in better, and won´t have many traction problems. Of course. But you will kill performances in B-roads or in a track season.

All of the MINI (One, Cooper and Cooper S) has got a very bad stock suspensión and traction problems. Main issue is stock set-up geometry. With different dampers, less anti roll bar at the front, and another camber, caster and toe angles you will notice much more better traction with the 195 tires. A torsen diff would solve the problem radically, but I haven´t be able to find a commercial unit for the Getrag 5-Spd gearbox. It can be made by order but it´s very expensive.