Has anyone driven a fully modded cooper?
#53
#54
Nope, they're not the same... the uprated trany has better internals... the dog box has a dog ring setup and is special order only (it's not listed on their site).
#56
#57
#58
There's a huge amount of material you can remove to really smooth things out, but you do have to be careful not to breach the water jacket... The easiest place to do that is on the exhaust side...
#59
#61
#62
#64
#65
A stock MCS with SC is fine but when pushed another 50 to 100 HP it can be less durable.
A stock MC doesn't have the same capacity to be upgraded, power gains will be modest especially if you don't go to TC or SC. Doesn't mean you have no options, the upgrades will cost about the same as for the MCS (such as for ported and polished heads/cam/any LSD-racing clutch-lt flywheel/adjustable suspension/ intake-header-exhaust/ MTH or ECU upgrade, etc.
If I had to choose between stock transmission with ported and polished heads and race cam vs Quaife/flywheel/race clutch, I pick the head and cam. Reason is it will be more drivable and increase power and torque to have the head and cam work, light flywheels are great for the track but not so friendly for the street, Quaife is fine.
For the MC the basics are always good-
upgrade the suspension
Lighter rims
upgrade the brake pads/ brake fluid
Intake/ cat back exhaust
Plug wires
MTH
Keep the total weight down- reduce the audio upgrades, pull out the rear seat if not needed- do the seat removal kit
#66
A highly tuned MINI doesn't have to be unreliable. Depends where you set your limits.
A stock MCS with SC is fine but when pushed another 50 to 100 HP it can be less durable.
A stock MC doesn't have the same capacity to be upgraded, power gains will be modest especially if you don't go to TC or SC. Doesn't mean you have no options, the upgrades will cost about the same as for the MCS (such as for ported and polished heads/cam/any LSD-racing clutch-lt flywheel/adjustable suspension/ intake-header-exhaust/ MTH or ECU upgrade, etc.
If I had to choose between stock transmission with ported and polished heads and race cam vs Quaife/flywheel/race clutch, I pick the head and cam. Reason is it will be more drivable and increase power and torque to have the head and cam work, light flywheels are great for the track but not so friendly for the street, Quaife is fine.
For the MC the basics are always good-
upgrade the suspension
Lighter rims
upgrade the brake pads/ brake fluid
Intake/ cat back exhaust
Plug wires
MTH
Keep the total weight down- reduce the audio upgrades, pull out the rear seat if not needed- do the seat removal kit
A stock MCS with SC is fine but when pushed another 50 to 100 HP it can be less durable.
A stock MC doesn't have the same capacity to be upgraded, power gains will be modest especially if you don't go to TC or SC. Doesn't mean you have no options, the upgrades will cost about the same as for the MCS (such as for ported and polished heads/cam/any LSD-racing clutch-lt flywheel/adjustable suspension/ intake-header-exhaust/ MTH or ECU upgrade, etc.
If I had to choose between stock transmission with ported and polished heads and race cam vs Quaife/flywheel/race clutch, I pick the head and cam. Reason is it will be more drivable and increase power and torque to have the head and cam work, light flywheels are great for the track but not so friendly for the street, Quaife is fine.
For the MC the basics are always good-
upgrade the suspension
Lighter rims
upgrade the brake pads/ brake fluid
Intake/ cat back exhaust
Plug wires
MTH
Keep the total weight down- reduce the audio upgrades, pull out the rear seat if not needed- do the seat removal kit
I really looking at two options in terms of cars, either I fully build my cooper or save up, trade for an S and eventually turn it into a Cosi car.
#67
#68
That would be amazing, a turbo cooper was my first and favorite idea about my car but I have been scared away from it, I was hoping for 200hp. The tranny is the part that I am worried about the most. How about intercooler, are you going to use one? Are you willing to share details? I need a reliable car so that has also scared me away from the custom turbo
#70
Just run without a spare tire unless going on a long trip. I have AAA in case something happens, but last year I removed the spare tire in the spring when I started autocrossing, and just left it off all summer. When I put the all-season tires back on for the winter, I went ahead and put the spare back on since I'm not as concerned about weight reduction and performance in the winter. I do the same in my Miata, I leave the spare tire at home in the warmer months and only have it in the car during the winter.
Removing the spare tire, jack, tool kit, and using a lightweight battery is good for nearly 50 lbs of weight reduction, for much less than $100. Throw in another $100 or so for an AAA plus membership, and it is still worth the money IMHO.
-Keith
#71
That would be amazing, a turbo cooper was my first and favorite idea about my car but I have been scared away from it, I was hoping for 200hp. The tranny is the part that I am worried about the most. How about intercooler, are you going to use one? Are you willing to share details? I need a reliable car so that has also scared me away from the custom turbo
#72
#73
I've had Odyssey lightweight dry-cell (AGM) batteries in three different cars, and never had a problem with them. The one I have in my Miata now only weighs 11 lbs, and it starts the car during the winter in low temps with no problems. I've sold several of them used after I sold the cars they were in, and AFAIK they are all still working fine. I'm storing a friend's Miata in my shop right now that has a 6 lb AGM motorcycle battery in it (cost $50-60), and after sitting in cold temps for a month without being started, it started up a couple of days ago just fine. When I finally stop autocrossing my Mini in stock class (stock size/weight battery required), I will definitely be replacing the original battery with a lightweight Odyssey battery. It's a great way to save 20 lbs or so with no bad side effects, and they only cost around $70-80 or so.
Just run without a spare tire unless going on a long trip. I have AAA in case something happens, but last year I removed the spare tire in the spring when I started autocrossing, and just left it off all summer. When I put the all-season tires back on for the winter, I went ahead and put the spare back on since I'm not as concerned about weight reduction and performance in the winter. I do the same in my Miata, I leave the spare tire at home in the warmer months and only have it in the car during the winter.
Removing the spare tire, jack, tool kit, and using a lightweight battery is good for nearly 50 lbs of weight reduction, for much less than $100. Throw in another $100 or so for an AAA plus membership, and it is still worth the money IMHO.
-Keith
Just run without a spare tire unless going on a long trip. I have AAA in case something happens, but last year I removed the spare tire in the spring when I started autocrossing, and just left it off all summer. When I put the all-season tires back on for the winter, I went ahead and put the spare back on since I'm not as concerned about weight reduction and performance in the winter. I do the same in my Miata, I leave the spare tire at home in the warmer months and only have it in the car during the winter.
Removing the spare tire, jack, tool kit, and using a lightweight battery is good for nearly 50 lbs of weight reduction, for much less than $100. Throw in another $100 or so for an AAA plus membership, and it is still worth the money IMHO.
-Keith
I already run with out a spare and probably should at least through it in the trunk for trips.
#74
I definetly would rather have a turbo cooper over a JCW, but were in the rpm would that 210 be becasue their is nothing the bothers me more than when people say that their car makes 200hp but than you look at the chart and they are only getting it at 10,000rpm, now to me thats not usable horsepower becasue I know that I dont rev my car that high(not that it could) but I shift at like 6,000, I havent seen much reason to go higher than that, it just get louder, no more power. I know turbo cars are different than NA cars but still, I want usable and accessable power, thats why my HP mark was a little lower, 170hp. Im thinking a smaller, fast spolling turbo rather than a big one with more lag.
Im thinking I could go for the turbo with the tranny swap as well as a AAA membership, now thats not saying much about my confidence in the car but its a safety
#75