From my sig you can tell I have done a lot to my Mini in the 9 months I have owned it. I love the power and how the car races to 7500 redline. The problem is I drove a buddys 05 Mini that had pulley, 17" wheels, intake and exhaust. I was amazed how easy it was to get the car moving, it was effortless. My car requires a lot of feathering and raising the RPM's up to get it moving. I'm guessing it is because my car has the taller gears, cam and one inch bigger wheels. Is this typical or is there something wrong with my car? Do the 06-06 trannys drive that much different?

 

Do you have a lightweight flywheel?

 

nope but my nor does my buddies

 

One of the reasons I sold my modified '03 was to get an '06 tranny.

Of course I went without the sunroof and with 15" wheels. It pulled a LOT better.

Then I did the 26 lb. reduction from the Exedy flywheel/clutch assembly.

Absolutely huge difference between the heavier '03 with larger wheels and taller gearing.

The LDG custom tune was the frosting...

 

mario, it just so happens that i have an 06 tranny for sale

give me a call this weekend, maybe we can meet up and you can drive my car with the 05/06 gearing

F/S 06 MINI Cooper S 6 speed manual transmission

 

I was just about to say I saw one for sale.

 

what size tires does your buddy run?

 

not sure, I think 215/45/17

 

alright...doesnt change gearing much. I suspected that perhaps smaller tires on his could have helped him. But if that's the size....probably not

 

Mario - If traction is not an issue (tire composition and pressure) then...

Everything I hear about the Schrick is that it especially boosts top end and does not do much to help torque on the bottom, but I don't recall hearing that it actually degrades low end performance.

IMO, gearing is a large part of the issue and you might get the biggest launch improvement there (though maybe not the most for your dollars). If you still don't have the oomph you want and if you still think the cam is part of the problem, changing back to the stock cam is a relatively easy and cheap mod to make (compared to the transmission) especially if you kept the OEM cam.

HOWEVER, lighter drive train components (including wheels, tires, FW, etc) and their efficiency in getting power to the rubber (clutch, rubber, and diff) IMO are the next-most-important factors in launch -- way more important than the Schrick.

I don't think 18 vs 17 is an issue unless the overall wheel-tire combo diameter is larger on your car, or it is heavier than his.

Good luck with whatever you choose to do.

 

It's all in the trans. The difference between my 03 to my 06 is huge.

 

how expensive is it to change the older 02-04 to the earlier (05-06) tranny?

 

You can get a new 05-06 for $2500 and $600 for the swap but you might as well put a new clutch and flywheel $750 or so, but you could sell your old one to the right buyer for $1000
Mario

 

I have the schrick cam now and it wrecks the low end. no fun to drive in stop light traffic. My dyno graphs are ruller straight all the way to the red-line. I need to get the rev limiter moved up a bit.

great on track no fun pulling away from a stop.

 

Wow. Thanks for sharing that. If that's a common experience, then I'm not going to go with the Shrick when I get a reworked head. I was leaning away from that anyway, but one tuner actually told me that the Schrick was not detrimental in the lower RPM ranges, so I had not ruled it out, even though I don't track the car.

Looks like -- as usual -- more research before I do the head!!

Maybe Mario should try replacing the cam first, and see if that helps significantly??

 

I have thought about this but I'm nervous to lose top end, if I take it out and plus the Mini will never be a first gear racer. Its meant to rev high and take the corners, not launch from stop light to stop light.
What I really need to do is just save my money and suck it up to get a TURBO only kit.
Mario

 

I had the schrick cam in my 03 JCW with plenty of other toys and didn't notice much if any difference down low. My buddy had an 05 almost the same car with the newer trans and thats where the big difference was.

 

'06 MCS with pulley, Schrick camshaft and 18" w/ 225/35, run perfectly fine. No noticeable low-end loss after the cam installed.

Btw, the Schrick that I have is an older version one. Not as aggresive though.

 

when you start selling stuff, keep me in mind! (that MM air to h20 is lookin GOOD son!)

 

mario unsprung weight has a lot to do with it. for best acceleration it's best to stick with 17'' wheels and tires. my wheels weigh 11 pounds each my wheel and tire combo weigh 30lbs per corner. i noticed a huge difference when i went with my current set up. my wheels are SSR Comps 17x7.5 tires are toyo proxes t1-s.

 

yup just what i decided to do, team up with Fireballed! and their turbo set up!

 

We track the car on 15s. They don't "feel" great but are faster lap times always. The overall ratios are as follows; 02 - 04 11.425, 7.181, 5.397, 4.407, 3.636, 2.986. 05 on 12.789, 7,793, 5.651, 4.615, 3.828, 3.126. There is a big difference down low but not much up top so don't worry about top end loss. We spin the Mini to 8500 rpms with no issues. 18" wheels are for show and the street. They look the best but hinder performance.

 

John,

What tires (size and brand) do you run with the 15" wheels on track?

 

Thanks Bro, I would to get an 05 tanny but I have two concerns besides price.
1. Can my 04 Quaife tranny fit into the 05-06 tranny?

2. Will my cruise control still work, or is it a ECU thing that can be corrected with DimSport software,

Thanks again
Mario

 

Mario: the Quaiffe will work just fine. Cruise control is a different issue. Software should be able to handle it, but i haven't heard anyone post of their success.