What should be the first thing I change out in my quest to modify my 02 S into a beast?

I've got 50K gentle miles logged and I'm bored with the stock HP. I'm seeking a slow steady upgrade regimen that will end with this car retiring to become my weekend canyon car.

Ideas anybody?

 

Pulley, intake, exhaust. lowering springs and a rear sway bar. Best Bang for the buck mods you can do.

 

do the exhaust first . and do it yourself . it's not hard and the money saved will pay for the pulley .

 

A trip to Fireballed! Racing's shop....

Edit* I'm warning you now...once you get more power you will continue to want more...it's just the nature of the beast....my MINI is SLOW. It sucks.

-Cody

 

There are hundreds of threads on this and most go in-line with what Putz posted. That is the basic route that I have gone and I am very happy with how the MINI performs.

 

Do the pulley. It is the undisputed winner in bang for buck. The exhaust and intake are next good power mods, but you really should speak with someone knowledgeable like Randy Webb (non-exclusive list here) to get ideas about how to maximize return on the dollar. The 02 has stiffer shocks than newer Minis and handles great. Mine is early 03 and I think handles great with Alta 22mm rear bar, camber plates and OMP under strut bar. But most of the handling improvement comes from stiffer rear anti-sway bar which really makes the car go-kart like in handling. That and better tires, that is. I use Falken RT-215's as I am in SoCal and have no concern about winter or rain.

The actual best next thing you can do is to tighten the "nut behind the wheel" by taking some fast driving classes, as the car by itself is terrific without changes.

 

Those are my sentiments exactly whenever I see an Ariel Atom or read about the highly-modified MINIs here on NAM.

+1 for the pulley, intake, exhaust. The pulley is an appreciable increase in WHP, good bang for the buck. The intake and exhaust won't do all that much in terms of power, but the sounds will make you feel like you're going faster. However, if you (the OP) are not into self-delusion (particularly since you want to make the MINI into a beast) and money isn't a significant obstacle, consider a head/cam/blower/header/exhaust combo.

 

. . . and don't forget a good set of tires -- won't turn it into a "beast", but great handling mod for any 'canyon car'