I was reading a post from a Cooper owner who mentioned the possibility of adding a turbo to his car and it made me wonder.

First off, is there a turbo tuner out there for this engine? With the Chrysler connection and their infatuation with turbos, does that make it easier?

Secondly, it will be interesting to see what's faster. A Cooper with a top flight turbo configuration or a supercharged MCS even with the standard goodies. I imagine a turbo would have other modifications which would make it more than a match for a stock MCS.

I come from the Miata world and the turbo vs supercharger argument never was settled that I could tell. It would be interesting if Cooper owners went this route in tuning. It would help them carve out their own niche.

 

Mini Mania sells a kit for the Cooper (or at least they have in the past). They claim 200 hp, but I've heard surprisingly little about it. Try the search function in Performance Mods to see what's out there. I know I've seen turbos discussed, but don't remember when. JR

 

I think the gearbox and drivetrain would be an issue. THe S not only has the Getrag, but has other reinforced drivetrain "parts" for the higher boost as well as a lower compression ratio. Obviously, CVT owners wouldn't be able to do this but even 5-speed owners might have trouble going beyond 170 HP and the accompanying torque that goes with it.

 

>>I think the gearbox and drivetrain would be an issue. THe S not only has the Getrag, but has other reinforced drivetrain "parts" for the higher boost as well as a lower compression ratio. Obviously, CVT owners wouldn't be able to do this but even 5-speed owners might have trouble going beyond 170 HP and the accompanying torque that goes with it.

I did a search and found this thread about Turbo'ng an S.

It's a fairly interesting discussion.

It sounds like the Cooper has a ways to go before it can handle the power.

 

You can get the 6-speed Getrag trans for $3500 or less brand new, and of course it will easily handle the HP unlike the 5 speed. If you have $$$ to burn and want a really fast Cooper I'm sure it can be done. There are some pretty fast turbo'd ricers out there that came stock with 115 HP or even less. But I really don't see why anyone would put all that $$$ into a Cooper. Just get an S, it's a much better deal if you want real speed.

 

I seem to remember the price tag being close to 5 grand. I don't mind spending some cash on suspension and exhaust stuff...but I wouldn't do a bolt on mod that costs a 1/4 of the price of the car, and I have seen an MCS as low as 21.5 new on the lot. I'm more interested in what MINI has to offer in 3 or 4 years...when I'm thinking of my next step. Of course if I want real speed, there are much quicker offerings than the MINI stable at this point.