Hi All:

I bought my first Mini last weekend and want to do some performance mods to it (already!). My car is a non-S model, have the chrome package, 16" 5 star wheels, climate control, 5 spd, and is liquid yellow (not my first choice, but price/condition/mileage was very good).

My questions are: What exhaust is a good bang for buck, sound IS important, l(ike to hear the exhaust notes)? I think I want to do the ECU and a cold air intake, but I see so many diff options out their, and from what I am reading on these posts, some say that all this work is not going to gain much in performance, some say it makes a big improvement - I guess it is all subjective. I think 140 HP is respectable in a non S car, that would be my goal.

I listened to the exhaust sound clips in the thread on this site, but all the cars were the "S" model. Is there any diff in sound? I think I like the Magnaflow (loudest?) but do not want that drone noise on the highway.

Can you folks give me you opinions/experiences?

Thanks in advance!!!

Denis
'02 Liquid Yellow.

 

Welcome,

I have a 2003 Cooper and shortly after buying it I installed a K&N Typhoon Intake. A friend of mine had a similar intake in his VW GTi VR6, I was certain that I'd love it in our Cooper...I did. The sound difference is...great! About a year later I came across a post on the Marketplace forum for a Rogue Engineering exhaust. It was installed shortly thereafter. I'm happy with it, but I don't think my girlfriend is too into it. We do quite a lot of hwy driving and it drones pretty badly, it doesn't bother me much though. Around town or on a mountain road, it sounds awesome!!

I tried to find a video clip for you, I saw one when I got mine...but I couldn't find the link. I think its in this thread...

https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...ust+video+clip

I think I have the link on my computer at home, if I find it I'll PM it to you.

As for power, from what I've read and what I can feel, the intake and exhaust combo gave me an additional 8 hp or so. My next mod will be an ecu re-map from MTH to take advantage of the increased flows.

I was planning to get the Helix exhaust instead of the Rogue, but the deal I found was too good to refuse. The Helix is apparently the loudest, but it offers the best hp gains. Helix also has a very good intake with the highest hp gains; if you haven't already checked them out, www.helix13.com

I'd suggest you do as much research as you can handle and learn from the experience of others, thats what this site is all about. I'm sure whichever mods you choose to do and the brands you choose to buy, you'll be happy.

Good luck,
B

 

www.whiteroofradio.com and then listen to episode #21. They are talking about preparing a car for next years Phil Wicks series. They give the best options. Borla will be the most expensive.

 

I have the Remus dual exhaust for the Cooper (non S), you can listen to sound clips on my website, I have sound clips comparing stock vs Remus.



http://xp.solidhelium.com

I love the sound, it is a tad bit louder than stock, but very addicting, I love how it vroooomms to the redline!

 

Hi and welcome.

I've had my car for over 3 years now, and amazingly - only two engine mods.
However, I'm pulling about 130hp. And after 2 mods, I think 15hp gain is actually pretty nice. I, too am going for the 140-150hp range.

What I have:

• Cobalt Air Intake (I don't think they make them anymore, but the K&N is just about the same, with a little more sound).
• MyMini Sport Exhaust: if you're looking for noticeable gains and nice tone, consider Pete. www.myminiparts.com He has two full exhausts for the non S. His touring system looks very nice, good gains but the Sport is a bit louder.

You can check out my review on the Sport exhaust here - Link

What I want:

• Headers - I'm now in the search for a good seat of headers for the non S. OBX sells theirs for just about $200 off ebay, but I've had mixed reviews on that one, so still searching until 100% sure.
• Throttle Body. This last engine mod (I think) should boost up the hp range from the 130 I have now to 140-150 (after the headers).

After those, I'm almost sure I'll also be wanting a ECU upgrade.

Hope this helps.
Leo.

 

Welcome and congrats on your car. After reading about the Mymini exhaust and talking with Pete for almost half an hour (the guy is really great) I'm ordering the touring version of the exhaust (see the thread here in Cooper perf.). It sounds like you would be happier with the sport version of mymini exhaust, or perhaps the Milltek, neither of which is supposed to have any drone. If you speak with Pete you might want to ask about the drop-in ITG foam filter - unless you are just getting the intake for sound - from everything I've read there isn't much to be gained from any intake on the Cooper. You might finally want to consider the MTH software.

 

xxTHIR13ENxx: If you are getting a TB for horsepower, than I would talk to some of the vendors. A think all of them would tell you that the HP gains will be minimal, and certainly no where near your anticipated 10-20. Most of the benefit will be in the throtle response.

As fas as CAI/HAI intakes on Coopers. I got a suprise gift for Christmas in the form of a K&N 57i kit. It was promptly installed the next day on my '05. I agree that it has improved the sound. But I have to disagree with most regarding lack of performance improvement. As far as I am concerned the difference is quite noticable and positive. The things I noticed are:

1. Much better throtle response
2. The power comes on at least 500 rpms earlier.
3. The car is noticeably faster of the line.
4. Much smoother power curve. It seems to get from 4,000 rpm to 6,800 a lot faster now.
5. Better power. Going up a certain hill which I drive everyday I now reach a higher speed than I did with a stock air box. (about additional 10 mph).

This is also noticed by my wife who drives the car half the time. Next mod will be MTH at which point I will call quits on the engine mods for this car. With an '06 MCS/JCW due here in about a month, I will have something else to play with.

 

Hey, yeah you're right. I mis-used the "mod list" there. The throttle body comes after the headers (probably), so the 10-20hp gain is the sum of both mods together. Hopefully.

It does sound as if I'm hoping for 10hp from TB alone, and yeah - that's gonna happen! lol.

Sorry for the misunderstanding.
Take care,
Leo.

 

Cool. Just didn't want anyone to be mislead.

 

5 Speed LY (second choice color) with 16" 5 spokes as well here
The only mod i've done is the Cobalt intake. Although i'd like to do moer, i'm not pushing for it...

But i can safely say that i felt a very noticible difference in power once it was installed. The best part is, i used to take all my friends and family out in my MINI when we went places, and they all thought "for a Cooper, this picks up pretty nice"

After the intake, however, i threw them back in their seats. Maybe it's all in our heads :P but it sounds nice too. I'd rather have had the K&N Typhoon, but i had trouble convincing myself to do anything to the MINI knowing it would start a never ending mod quest... so i jumped on the cobalt sale just for the heck of it.

Now, if only i could afford the magnaflow exhaust :P