Is it really possible to achieve 155 HP from the Cooper w/o head work? And if so, can you expect to hit 165 with a ported and polished head?

http://www.mini-madness.com/index.as...ROD&ProdID=148

 

Hmm????...weird...an extra 40hp with that...i wonder...i don't think so

 

My thinking too, maybe 25 max!

 

Wouldn't it make more sense financially to just get a Cooper S in the first place?

 

Absolutely, but for those that didn't........

 

Exhaust, header, cam, intake, ECU, Throttle body? I think 40 is pretty reasonable. Since it is more like 37 anyway. Not going to do it, but it would be iteresting to see if they can back it up.

 

No freakin' way! I have all of that except the ported head and this is my dyno:
http://www.projectmary.com/images/Kris%20dyno.jpg

 

I wrote to them and asked them if they had dyno results to back up their claim. Personally, I don't see it happening. BTW, did you have your Cooper dyno'd prior to your mods?

 

^x2. What was your dyno before? I would expect 103 hp on a Cooper with no mods. May be the dyno was of?

 

this would be my first time reading a dyno, so excuse a dumb question...

but isn't a stock cooper (2006 anyway) rated at 115 hp, to my eye that chart tops at about 100?

 

I would really like to see a before picture ( Dyno plot ) to have something to judge...

I have been using the Dragstrip mode of a GTech RR to see if things are making any difference and with a MTH load i've seen a 10 lbs Torque and 6 Hp change.

I plan to have it dynoed after i get the Header and updated software to see... but before that i'll put it back to stock and get it done to have a before and after picture.

 

If I recall the 115 hp is at the crank, not at the tires. Mini's are notorius for drive train loss, over 20% if I remember correctly.

So if you get 110 hp at the wheels you are probably making around 135 hp at the crank. 155 hp at the crank would put around 125 at the wheels.

 

Pre-head and cam, I had 110 hp/108 ft.lbs at the wheels (catback, MTH, CAI)... That does seem a bit low. In fact, the stock Coopers I saw dyno'ed had about 100-103 hp and the same torque numbers.

I'm still waiting for the next dyno day to put mine up with the new head and cam...

 

Why does everyone with a Cooper S criticize the non S's? I bought mine off the side of the road at an auto broker. It was a good deal at the time.

 

Woah there... That's just how it is around here when you talk about power in MINIs.

Here, look:


See? It's a whole 'nother thread topic all together that has been going on since this whole crazy wheel started turnin back in '02... :impatient

I love my cooper, and I'll be getting the head done just so I don't have to get an "S". And this car handles so good it scares me. Yea.

-Steve

 

I'm gonna order a Cooper pretty soon meself, and because as a young driver I felt that the Cooper was more than adequate and that it wouldn't be responsible to get an S. Besides, that way I can rationalize the fact that I can't afford an S.

</threadjack>

More to the point, any idea why MINI's have such horrible power loss in the drivetrain? Isn't Getrag respectable enough to deal with something like that effectively? Also, anyone have any hard data on that power loss? I had never heard of that before!

 

I love my Cooper! Sadly, no, I don't have a "before" dyno. You can put all the mods on you want (aside from say, a Turbo) and you're not going to get S results. Anything you do is going to make it run smoother and maybe give you more lower-end torque. This includes MTH Tuner. Anyone that tells you otherwise is selling something.

Also, my Cooper is pre-Getrag...and I like it that way! My Mosquito shifts better than any other MINI I've ever driven. His great shifting is one of the first comments anyone makes when they drive him (that, and how awesome his Remus exhaust sounds!).

 

Gotta love the S people coming into our forum and telling us we should have bought an S...

 

I started this thread because my dad's Cooper is coming in shortly and I was cruising the internet to see what you could get out of a Cooper (more out of curiosity). When I saw that package at MiniMadness that quoted 155 HP, I was blown away! So I posted to see if anyone thought this power was attainable in a Cooper.

Everyone knows you can get more power out of a MCS, that was not the intent of this thread.

Personally, I find a lot of qualities in the regular Cooper that I like better than the S, but it's all good......IT"S A MINI!!

 

Have you made up your mind what your gonna get ?

 

There are some qualities about the S I like. For instance, I did the S gas door conversion along with the S side skirts.

My Cooper is pre-Getrag also. It's pretty smooth, except when I take off, there is this slight clunk. What it sounds like is the driveshaft turning just a bit before catching. If that makes sense. I've got 53K+ miles on it and no tranny problems, just that slight clunk on take off. Depending on how I take off, it's not always that noticeable.

 

As far as a head and cam? I did my own head and installed a Schrick cam at the same time... there's a thread in this forum on the process I went through...

 

Actually from some of the stock MC dyno results I've seen, the drivetrain losses aren't that bad at all, especially compared to other cars that I've dynoed and friends cars that have been on a dyno. For example in the latest Grassroots mag, they dynoed their stock MC at 106 whp in completely stock trim. In HS autocross trim, they got it up to 110 whp. The car is rated at 116 hp at the crank, so 106 whp is only about 9% drivetrain loss. That's not bad at all.

-Keith

 

9% is not bad at all. People are surprised at how quick my Cooper is, especially since it doesn't have the supercharger. The thing that is slowing me down now, are the 16 inch wheels with the 45 series tire. Great for take off, but top end suffers BADLY !!!!!

 

They don't slow you down as much as say a set of 17" S-Heavies or JCW 18's or even a set of DUB's!

It is funny to think about it. A big brake kit will slow the car down even when your foot is not on the brake pedal!