2009 Mini Cooper hatch R56 mods
 

Hey guys i am new to the mini community i am in high school with a 2009 mini cooper hatch R56 and i want to do some mods but i do not know where to start i also do not have that much money and i wanted to ask if anyone knows anything i could use?

You'd be well-advised to spend your limited funds on routine maintainence, e.g. fluids, coil paks, plugs, filters, tires, etc...chrome don't get you home...

Look into a Sprint Booster. I made an interesting discovery that a Magnaflow manifold cat assembly unlocks a ton of power. That is not an easy task, but well worth the gains. Those are the main areas of fun when it comes to seat of the pants happiness. Adding a bigger sway bar, better struts, and sticky tires are the next area of happiness.

Better start saving up for a timing chain job, it's destined to fail. If you don't save that money, try spending on tools and parts so when your chain starts to rattle, you're there to replace it and put it all back together. I've owned and repaired plenty of these cars and I'm here to tell you, if your budget is limited then you better learn to get real familiar with fixing it on your own. Or else, before your mods get credited, you'll find yourself in a bind with problems to fix. The non-S mini's are much more reliable and easier to deal with, but the death rattle is still the same common issue. Also, be ready to work on that VANOS solenoid, too, much easier fix than timing chain.

replying so i can see further comments, same boat as a highschooler, but mine is a 2010. I've done the timing chain and replaced both vanos solenoids. I have the facilities to do engine tear downs. just curious.

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I'm with earlier posters, the best MOD on a limited budget (by that I mean less than 10K ) is excessive maintenance. These cars are a ton of fun to drive and nothing will spoil that faster than any one of the dozens of things that routinely go wrong with them.