First post here but I found this on ebay. He claims 260hp and 60k invested.
Sounds good...

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/2003-...ZViewItem:nod:

 

I am not sure the link works, if you care to look at it it is posted as item number

330054055118

 

Thats a nice car but its a cooper S

 

There ARE some owners that have fully modded their MC. Contact a few.

Talk or email Per Schroeder from Grass Roots Motorsports- he just sold his very modded but Stock class National autocross MC. He'll have some idea of how the MINI can do but with legal mods for H-stock SCCA racing.
The stock MC is quite good with the right set of tires, upgrades to alignment, cat-back exhaust, a fresh air filter, and lots of driving skill.

Quite a few threads already discussing potential MC upgrades=
see
https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...ead.php?t=5828
Look at post #3. Randy's comments are valid. Talk to him before going full out on MC modding. I'm sure he has many customers with highly modded MC (non-S).

Or
https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...ead.php?t=4442
Post #2 for a list.

Always, no matter which MINI you drive, driver skill counts the most. Taken to the track, a skilled instructor in a stock MC can and WILL keep up or beat any highly modded MC even with a "good" driver. Your equiptment will take you only so far. The rest is up to you. Be one with your MINI.

A thread on ported and polished head on an MC
https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...ad.php?t=67823
Contact scobib to see how things are now going since May 06.

See this thread on the many MC mods others have done
https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...ad.php?t=10271
Check for any that might have got to the level that you're looking at.
Contact them to see how things are going. Go for a ride if you can.
Check out SpoMini post #168
Or post #235 (highly modded with light flywheel and Spec 2 clutch)
See post #241 for JCW tuning kit in MC
See post # 254 for Kurvhugr, short of adding ported and polished cylinder heads and shrick cam or turbokit he's done alot of mods to his MC and would have a fairly good idea of what works in an MC. Good person to contact.

What is working for the MC from the start is that it's well designed, balanced, costs less and weighs less (than an MCS). Make that work for you. Try not to add weight. Focus on some power gains but don't break your other stock MC parts in the process of chasing after more power. Go big on suspension/braking mods. Consider a Quaife differential, light flywheel, race clutch if you are tracking your MINI. Have fun- that's paramount.

 

Weight reduction can make a huge difference in how fast the car accelerates, as well as how well it handles and brakes. On the '96 Neon I used to own (same basic engine, but 2.0L instead of 1.6L) I did the usual suspension modifications (poly bushings, coilovers, sway bars, Quaife LSD), and had most of the possible modifications done to the engine (cams, header, ECU, TB, CAI, exhaust, etc) all worth about an additional 30-40 hp, but what made the most difference was the weight reduction. Over the period of several years I got the car from a rather portly 2500 lbs to a rather svelte 1985 lbs in race trim. In street trim with full interior it still weighed just under 2200 lbs.

The law of diminishing returns definitely applies to modding an MC. You should be able to add the first additional 10-15 hp or so for around $1000 (if you do all the work yourself), but any further gains will cost more and more for less and less hp. If I ever take my MC out of stock class for autocrossing, I'll probably go for an additional 20-25 hp over stock and shoot for a target weight of around 2200 lbs. The one thing an MC has going for it over an MCS is that the MC will always weigh less with the same mods or weight reduction done to both. Exploiting that advantage is the best route to go IMHO.

-Keith

 

Just go for the "S"

 

I drive a 'fully modded' Cooper every day... head, cam, intake, exhaust, tons of suspension, etc. The only stuff missing (that will soon be installed) is a lightweight flywheel, stage 3 clutch/pressure plate, and a Quaife LSD.

Anyway, it's a freakin' ball to drive on the street everyday. And, it's a beast at the autocross or track.

Was it worth it? Absolutely. I did all the mods in little stages over the years. It's been of a lot of fun building a monster MC. And, it's even more of a blast to drive now. I could have bought an S - but, its been fun modding the MC.

 

got any pics or clips txwerks?
you've made me very curious

 

i dont think any of us should complain about a japanees heart in a classic mini, our car does have a chrysler designed mitsubishi motor in it after all. And has anyone noticed how magazines and newspapers still say our car is DOHC? That drive me crazy, sorry, off topic, i know

Beecher

 

The 07 have DOHC. But it only makes 10 more hp...

 

No it doesn't. The engine in our Minis was a joint venture between BMW and Chrysler, and shares the same design as the SOHC Neon engine, which was an original Chrysler design, not Mitsubishi. Mitsubishi had nothing to do with the development of the Neon engine or the Mini engine. I owned Neons for nearly ten years and this "rumor" is often brought up by people who don't know about the cars.

-Keith

 

Ohh.....burn! Just kidding....I'll put an SRT-4 motor in if it'll fit. Who cares really.

 

Pics of the head porting process... http://engr.smu.edu/rcam/cpm3v/minih...nihead_21.html

This was the first one we did, but the one on my car has more extensive work...

I don't have any clips, except some old track footage. I'll see if I can track that down and post it up. I'll snap some new pics tonight, since people want to see the 224/45R16 z212's on 16x7 OZ Ultraleggeras stuffed underneath, anyway...

 

Mitsubishi does make a lot of chrystler cars though...

 

How is your tranny holding up? I would think that your car has the Midlands tranny, my car has a Getrag, is their a difference?

 

Short answer? It's not...

Even before the major hp mods (head, cam, etc.), the tranny had issues when shifting between 1st and 2nd. The OEM synchos are just total crap. When the tranny got really hot (e.g. autocrossing), it would grind when shifting from 1st to 2nd. It's been doing that for some time now - the dealer couldn't replicate the issue (it was in twice for it), and obviously I couldn't tell him to go autocross it and see what happens... On the track, it's fine, since the only time I shift from 1st to 2nd is leaving the pits.

After the major hp mods, it's only gotten worse. 1st to 2nd still grinds when the tranny is hot, and now under hard cornering while in 2nd, the tranny sometimes spontaneously pops out of 2nd gear. It makes NO noise when doing so - but, when you're mid-sweeper and expect to be able to adjust the attitude of the car with a bit of throttle, the engine revs freely and the rear end begins to step out (call it tranny-induced trailing throttle oversteer, a function of the suspension setup and alignment + neutral handling). I'm forced to jam it back in second, catch the car, and continue on my merry way... Also, when the car sits now, it pukes a bit of tranny fluid onto the clutch through the crappy OEM seals, which makes it chatter a bit in 1st and 2nd when cold (until it warms up). After it warms up, the chatter disappears.

As such, I will be getting an uprated 'box from MINIMania UK. They rebuild the Midlands with uprated synchos, do some dowelling and welding, and replace the seals. While I am performing surgery (tearing off the front end of the car), I will be installing a lightweight flywheel, Stage III clutch and pressure plate, and a Quaife... I am told that this should be more than capable of handling my setup for years to come...

Mania UK also offers a dog box, but that would be a real beating on the street - remember, this is still a daily driven car. Eventually, I'd love to get the dog ring box when the car gets gutted and caged, and we go wheel-to-wheel racing with the BMWCCA Club program (probably for the 2008 season, most likely). Mania UK uses this dog box in their tweaked Coopers that are putting down 182 bhp. Before swapping to the dog box, they ate a stock Midlands at every race. The dog box has survived an entire season, I believe. Big, big difference!

 

Now, your getting into a PURE track car. I have always thought of putting one in the car but I cant take the bagillion decibels one puts out at 5K RPM. I would love to if I only drove it on occasions for short distances and at low speeds. The distinct sound is so cool!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=11FuIlLC33k

 

Wow that is a really loud high pitch sound! My ears were about to pop listening to this on my headphones! Transmission is louder then the engine! Even WRC cars aren't as loud as this car. Cool vid!

 

Does it make any difference that I have the Getrag gear box, at least I'm pretty sure that I do, my car is a 2005.

My car has a very slight bump going from first to second, only noticeable at slow speeds, and sometimes I have to take a second to find reverse. But I also have a short shifter, its the alta peice and I have it set pretty low. I have never had a problem with anything popping out or making any noise.

 

My understanding is that the Getrag is stronger than the Midlands... how much stronger? I dunno if anyone's been able to discern that as of yet, but it'd be a good question for Getrag!

 

Ive been in contact with the tech and research department of Getrag in Germany.
They say theyve tested the cooper gearbox up to 120bhp, and it was okay (dOh... a cooper has 115bhp so itll cope with 120 as well)
They werent able to tell me how much bhp of nm it can maximum handle since they havent tested, so no answer from them

 

So I have a better chance of my tranny holding up than someone with the midlands, thats good, for me at least.

 

That sound is rediculous, its cool to start off with but damn it gets loud. I have looked into a lowered final drive and I heard that it makes all lot of noise, I hope its not like that.

 

its the gearbox that makes the noise Dont know what its called in english but its a system that you can keep your foot to the floor and dont have to clutch. you simply push or pull the gears into place.

about the vid: us dutchies sure can race, see him fly

 

The gearbox you hear is called a "Dogbox".....that's what we are talking about a few posts up.