Plus we have a crap load of suspension options as well.

Pete,

Your doing a great job! No worriez!!!

 

There is the question of what else can we do to our cars, but when we can't think of anything else and a vendor comes along and says that there is something that EVERYONE will want, that grabs attention! Sometimes as a business, you have to take a chance and just shove something into production and hope people will buy it! If you look at the M7 website, there is basically nothing there for the MC other than the flywheel that will give significant power gains. The suspension parts are great, but they are only there because they are interchangeable between the MC and MCS! While looking through different vendor sites, I passed this one over and filed it under USELESS for my MC because there is no focus on the NA engine. I would prefer to go through a local company like MYMINI that at least offers all kinds of Sh** for my car!

This is why you don't get any calls for MC products. Your site does not hint that you are interested in that market.

M7!!! here's a good idea! Put a note on your website after selecting either the MC or the MCC, if you are interested in parts not listed here, please call us with any ideas that interest you! This would at least give people the idea to call you. The last thing I want to do is b**ch at a vendor, but when they COULD have a lot to offer for the MC, but they just aren't setting things up so that they see any interest, a change should be made for all of our benefit!

 

There's tons of stuff for the Cooper, even if it's not as plentiful as for the S.

You can get
Intakes
Throttle bodies
Filters
Plugs
ECU tunes
Headers
Cat-Backs

You can go with custom work on intakes and heads too! So while this "the cooper is abandoned, poor us" stuff may play well with the cooper owners, the market doesn't support the position.

Anything you can do to the S suspension can be done to the Cooper as well.

The only valid point here is that not as many vendors offer as many different parts for the Cooper. But they are there, and I'm sure if more of you Cooper owners would buy the parts more of the vendors would sell and produce.

Matt

 

I'm only commenting on what I see on the website! Forget abandonment. I don't feel abandoned, if I had the budget, I could find TONS of performance stuff. But on the M7 website, all I see are injectors (too big for the MC) flywheel, data loggers etc...I see none of the things that you wrote down...other than the throttle body which as you said yourself will not have much effect without a head.

Like I said, if you look at their website and don't see much for the MC, then it is assumed that there isn't much interest. If they offer all of those things, then why not put them on the website? That's all I'm saying.

 

but you shouldn't beat up M7. At least they OFFER the TB. Why do the cooper owners think that pretty much every tuner or manufacturer isn't offering lots of stuff for the Cooper. Could it be a conspiricy, or is it the fact that while 50% of Mini sales in the US are Coopers, that most of those bought aren't bought with the plan to modify them. The market is speaking, and it's not the vendors that are doing it. It's the demand. It's just not there.

So Cooper owners don't have a "one stop shop". Well that's just too bad. Don't get angary at the vendors for nor serving your market. Go out and spend the money, do the leg work to find the offerings, and if the money flows, the markets grow.

The other thing to do is look over at Mini2 and Europe, where gas is a lot more expensive. I'm sure there are more Cooper offerings there than here, as the sales numbers are more like just 25% or so are the S, and the rest are the various flavors of NA motors.

Matt

 

So what we got here is a Catch 22: Vendors won't make parts until we show interest and we won't show interest until a vendor makes something. Most of us have already done all the little things. I will take myself as an example:

Intake - Done
Throttle body - I know people are happy with them, but for no HP, or torque and only the subjective better response I feel this is one of the last mods I would do
Filters - maybe I am missing something, but I thought that was covered under intake
Plugs - Done
ECU - Done
Cat-Back - Done
Header - Only one is legal in Cali as far as I know and right now I just don't have the money

The only other engine related mod I can think of is the head and as far as I know there is only one vendor that offers it for the MC. Otherwise it requires custom work (cut me some slack on this. I am not as versed on the topic as the good Dr.) I feel we are able to participate in the suspension upgrades only because the MC and the MCS share them. If the case was different I do believe the MC owners would be left out in the cold. And if you want to talk about MC owners pain in getting parts you should consider the MCc. I was the first, as far as I know to have a Cat-Back mounted on my MCc. And it took some creativity by my mechanic and consent on my part to make the part that was made for an MC work. Just look at some of the coil over set ups. Clearly states that not for convertibles.

In case anyone doubts my motives feel free to check back through this thread. I was very supportive of the M7 and was looking forward to whatever they had in store. I never asked Peter to put out a time line. He did that of his own accord. In general I find their product to be of decent quality and work as advertised. I do however wish they would help me resolve the damn USS banging on my cat...

 

Keep in mind that M7 is complaining that there is no interest, while there is very interest shown for the MC on their website. I don't think ANYONE is complaining about lack of stuff for the MC. Worst case, get it from the UK. M7 has awesome stuff for the MCS, so they have tons of potential for the MC. I hope they change their minds!

 

Well, to say No one is complaining about lack of stuff for MC is inaccurate. I believe the revival of this thread is evidence to the contrary. But I am willing to humor people. I keep hearing: you can get MC stuff from Europe. Prove it. Here is a thread I just started: https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...04#post1282404

I hope I see something new.

P.S. Peter, since you are not going to make it, how about letting us know what it was going to be. No chance of losing business on something you are not going to produce.

 

start talking to local shops about the porting and polishing of flow paths and combustion chambers. I got my intake ported for $150. That's not much money, especially when one considers the cost of an Intake!

But like I said before, making power out of motors is a long honored endevor. Just because it's a Mini doesn't mean that the standard stuff doesn't matter. Increase flow, add fuel, and you get some more power.

The issues with Cooper parts isn't that they aren't there, but that they aren't all available from one location.

And there's a guy who posted here on useing the eRam to boost the cooper a bit. Not only are there "standard" parts out there, but there are some creative folks who have found ways to squeek more out of what they got.

I don't think the chicken and egg analogy holds. Supply of parts doesn't create the demand. It's just not there in the volumes it is for the S. So if a vendor has a chance to spend $5k developing a part for the Mini market, if he spends it on the S, he gets a lot more customers than if he spends it on the Cooper.

Here's an idea. Form a Cooper Performance Buying Club. Get a bunch of people (10 should get discounts, 25+ should get some developement) together, and act together. You can then get lower prices for what's out there, or maybe demonstrate that there's enough demand to justify some speculative R&D. It will work better than this thread at stimulating dev and sales for Cooper go fast stuff.

Matt

 

he does a lot of dev work for Minis for drag racing, and he's making a bunch of cams for his effort. If he can get 10 interested people who want a cam for the Cooper, not the S. He'll come up with one and get it to you for less than the cost of a Shrick.

Who's gonna step up? If you're interested, PM me for details.....

Matt

 

I modify stock components to include my own head porting. My only aftermarket part is a K&N cone-type air filter mounted directly on the throttle body. I post my do it yourself mods when they result in a performance gain. Nobody believes my results. I have never damaged the car by one of my mods. I have an '02 MC with a cvt. It was a slug when I bought it, but I knew I could work with this engine. Now my car is much more fun because it has better accelleration. You don't believe me, because I have no list of hotrod parts. But line up your MC with mine... You'll believe it when I check out. Keep waiting, my car just gets faster the longer I own it. There is no end to what you can do to make your car faster- it just might not be offered for sale. -Jeffy.

 

Talk to me after I pay my tax bill. And I appreciate what you are saying, but let's not move away from the original intent of this thread. Peter did come out of his own accord and said that he will have something new for the Coopers in 30 days. No one can tell me that he was going to dream up, R&D and manufacture something completely new in 30 days. So some part of the process must have been completed. If he and M7 decided to give up on the project - thats fine. But I see no harm in disclosing on what it was going to be. Maybe someone else is willing to carry the torch. Unless of course it's case of no one can have it if I can't.

And I appreciate your eagerness in this manner, but since you do not own a Cooper I dare say you interest is not vested. Additionally, I am sure Peter is more than capable of representing his own interests. And from having met him a few times and talked to him several times regarding other products it would seem like he would not get his panties in a bunch over a little chain yanking.

Edit: I just reread your post. I am not really interested in a drag racing cam. But if your pal is willing to do something that is more street/track oriented I would be interested somewhere down the line. Disclaimer: not wiling to be anybody's test mule. Just can't afford it.

 

[ I am sure Peter is more than capable of representing his own interests. And from having met him a few times and talked to him several times regarding other products it would seem like he would not get his panties in a bunch over a little chain yanking. ]


This is really what came down on this product...

I got a hold of a Cooper (no one I know has one) and the guy was down on the idea of of having me do some short term test fitting of the parts
:(...........ring ring sorry my girlfriend won't let you touch her car..

Next guy Eh hmmm my wife won't let me...

So if you are in Los Angeles and I can use the car for a week I'll be
up to talking again, and you'll get a free part or two.

Peter
M7 Tuning
562-608-8123

 

I am afraid I am in the same boat as the other "test subjects". I am willing to let you put parts on my car, but I can't be without it for a week. Unfortunately I have to work for a living. But feel free to let me know what you have in mind. I.E. is it something you can do and I will test drive it? Or do you actually need to keep the car for a week?

 

but business is like life, and the best laid plans.... You know the rest. Peter has been a stand up guy in the Mini community, has done lots for many people. And if given the chance (and the market) I'm sure he'll do his best for you and yours!

The guy who will build the cam gets his kicks from drag racing. Read between the lines and you know who it is. Or just PM me and talk to him about what he has to offer. Don't just assume that if he likes drag racing, that's all that he knows how to do!

Buy or not, contact me or not, like I said, I have no horse in the race. But don't let that fact keep you from meeting someone who is willing to help out.

Matt

 

Matt, I do know who you are talking about. While I have great respect for what he does, I do not share his vision.

Slightly off topic. In an odd way, I think the MC owners are actually more rabid than the MCS owners. Follow me on this. I actually own both so I can offer a two sided opinion. The MCS owner naturally buys the "performance" upgrades because they bought the more powerful version of Mini. But it's the few fanatical MC owners who believe that there is still a lot to be had with an MC. It's that more with less feeling. And a few of us try to get it. Some day I will get the head and the cam and the header and I will have the meanest baddest nastiest MCc. But one step at a time. So you can't blame me for egging some of the vendors on to see what they can come up with.

*This is all written under the influence of 2 bottles of wine and a six pack of Amstel. As such all statements can be retracted at a future date if deemed incoherent at such time.

 

Wouldn't it have been easier / more productive to say that in the first place instead of "there's no market for Cooper parts"?

 

Sorry but as a whole the market is still not there, and believe me we sell
close to a million dollars worth of MCS parts a year. I would be shocked if
we sold more then 20k worth of uppgrades for the MC. I do have a fairly large customer base in Asia and Europe , so I will try to do something more
for the MC....

Peter
Team M7
562-608-8123

 

Personnally I think that their is more than enought parts out their for a MC, its just that the parts may not provide a huge HP increase, they are geared more towards response. I have pretty much completely built my suspension and am looking into building up the engine and drivetrain, here is what Im looking to do

-port\polish, port match cylinder head
-cam
-ecu
-throttle body
-plugs
-wires
-crank pulley
-flywheel
-clutch
-LSD
-rebuilt tranny possibly lower final drive

I think all that on top of what I have will make a pretty nice car. I think a problem with many of the MC guys on this site is that they are trying to build their MC into something its not. The personnality of a MC is to be lightweight and quick not fast like a MCS. I have burnt myself out trying to find HP from my MC and I have just come to realize its not going to happen so I am now building a monster MC. And if you you cooper guys are not feeling happy with the money to benefit ratio of the parts out their, do suspension work and challenge a MCS at the autocross coarse, their it comes down more to driver skill than machines, I know I have rubbed it in the face of MCS owners that they got bet by just a MC.

As for this bashing on M7, I dont see why it allways seems to be M7 that gets bashed for not selling MC parts. I think those guys are great and I plan to probably get about half of my future parts from those guys. If i lived in the LA area I would gladly offer my car as a tester, but Im on the wrong side of the country. I have the USS and its the most amazing thing ever, its brilliant, you should be the looks on people faces when you tripod pulling into a starbucks. Keep up the good work M7

 

an extra 20k never hurts though
I would let you use mine, but being in texas its a no brainer.

 

I'll say it again, when your web site has very little specifically for the MC, people will not call you asking for MC parts. At least all of the activity on this thread shows one important thing...People like M7 and want MC parts from them. If we didn't think much of M7, no one would give a Sh**.

And there are plenty of parts to make the MC go FAST! You just have to spend lots of money to prepare the car to go fast. If you want to keep it purely NA on pump gas, then there is a limit to what a 1.6L can do. But with the right internals and tranny, you can pump it full of NOS and make it a beast, or put on a turbo.

 

So what parts are you looking for?

 

I'm actually curious like the others what is going on with this mystery part. If there is something new that is better that I haven't thought of, then I might be interested. I have a long list of things I "need" and where to get them from.

 

If you want tuning parts for your Cooper, I think you've to look to European vendors. What I see here at NAM there are more owners of Cooper S than Cooper. Here in Europe there is also the One and thats in my opinion the reason there are more tuning parts for the One/Cooper.

For me example:
I drive a MINI One (2005) with Pipercross airfilter and MTH remap, I also installed upper and lower strutbraces.

Last week I installed the M7 58mm throttle body V.2... what a difference!
We 've measered both throttle bodies and the M7 is 58mm indeed, but the OEM One is 55mm. So the standard One TB is smaller than the standard Cooper TB. That explains the difference when I drove a Cooper (of dealer) with my tuned One.

I also changed the OEM airhose (between airfilter and TB) in a shortened silicon hose for a better flow. Next week I'll get a new MTH file (with M7 throttle body info).

More throttle respons and the engine is earlier in higher tpm, so I can use the HP's and the torque earlier. My One is a Cooper killer!

 

I poseted an offer to hook up cooper owners with someone willing to do a cam for them. I got a total of just one response! And I posted the offer in this thread and started another one as well. Just one person was CURIOUS enough to even get the contact information.....

So I'd have to say that the Cooper crowd just doesn't step up with cash the way the S crowd does, no matter what some say. The interest is down at least an order of magnatude compared to the S crowd. If I were a vendor, I blow off the Cooper crowd for power parts as well. The ROI just isn't there the way it is with the S......

Matt