So I've recently purchased a 2002 base MC. The HP is pretty low for me and I'd like to beef it up a little. I have no idea what parts to buy but I have about $1,000 to spend. Can anyone give me some ideas and tips?

 

First off, welcome to the world of Mini! Hopefully you'll be as addicted to your Cooper as the rest of us are to ours.

I've been looking into mods as well, and from the looks of things most people will point you to reduction pulleys (15%, 16%, or 17%) if you're purely HP minded. I don't have one on my MCS (...yet) but plenty of people on here swear by them.

I'll leave the majority of the modding advice to the pros, but welcome again! Don't forget to wave!

 

For the base MC you don't have the option to do the pulley. You are a bit limited I believe. Air intake, exhaust, and thats all I can think of off the top of my head. Maybe loose some weight (the car, not you ) Get rid of the run flats if you have them ect. I'm sure someone will chime in here that knows more about modding the justas.

Nik

 

D'oh; just realized he said it was a base Cooper. No supercharger, no pulley. Silly me. I'll go back to my 1st Gear shenanigans now

 

Intakes and exhausts are pretty much your only option for improving the horsepower on justas, unfortunately. This package here fits well within your mod budget. I just installed the intake included in that package the other day (My budget doesn't have room for a new exhaust yet) and got a modest but noticeable performance boost, especially at low rpms. (And I love the growl it has now when I accelerate hard!)

I'll echo the suggestion of getting rid of runflats if you have them. I don't know if they make you go any slower, but standard tires are much quieter and have a smoother ride.

Some owners go to extremes to reduce weight, like removing the AC or spare tire or the back seats or whatever. It's probably not worth it to go that far unless you only plan on driving your mini on the track IMHO.

 

I really like JCW Sound kit, its OEM and sounds amazing, HP is about 5 for it. Throttle response is better But its factory and fit and finish is great. Comes with 2 BMC light oil filter. These kits used to be much much more. Plus its factory JCW parts so added value there.

JCW Sound Kit -7/2004 Manuals and automatics

http://www.ecstuning.com/Search/18100399689/






Click link above for more pics


You can re-oil and clean the filters with K&N , its the same oil as the BMC oil.

http://www.ecstuning.com/Search/SiteSearch/99-5050/




R52 MINI Cooper ( NON S ) w/ JCW Sound Kit 7/2004+



Thanks

 

Sell that base and get on the Supercharged cooper.
Once you get bitten by the MOD BUG you will want more.
Trying to improved handling and power is addicting so i recommend getting the S.