So, i'm thinking of getting a Mini. I already have a mustang GT, and I've upgraded the suspension quite drastically, and it handles very well. The issue to me, is the acceleration of the mini. I can get 300whp out of my without much effort. But with the Mini, I know I could put on a twin charge kit and boost the power alot. What I need to know is how much boost can I produce, how much power will that be and what are the effects on the engine. For instance, a supercharged or turbo charged mustang is good to 9psi and 450 whp with a good tune before it is a ticking time bomb. You start going much above that and your trying your luck. So with the 300-400 hp mini's I want to know. Did you rebuild your short block? and how long will it last on stock short block if you didn't?

 

Well, you should do some reading on this site if you have not.

If you have you will see there are people who have done a lot with their MINI and gotten good power. However, the MINI is not intended to be a HP monster. If that is what you are looking for you might not be happy with a MINI.

Good luck with your decision and if you get a MINI for what it is, you will have a lot of fun.

 

Calling Tuls

Tuls will tell you every single thing that you would want to know.

 

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Stick with the mustang if you want that much power. If you do build a mini with all that hp, you're going to have a fun time trying to keep the traction on the road.

 

You can get about 350 gross crank HP out of the stock short block. If you keep the stock M45 blower, this equates to between 270-300 net crank HP depending on system efficiency [cyl head, cam, exhaust/intake, blah blah blah]. If you want to push harder than that, you'll want to invest in a rebuilt short block with stronger pistons at the least.

I would calculate your preferred torque to weight ratio based on you realistically want. At that point we can provide better advice as to where you need to focus your powertrain efforts.

Then comes the whole "putting down the power" thing. Expect to spend money on a clutch and tires that won't last longer than 8k miles. Beyond that expense, expect to spend no less than $5k if you "only" want about 260 net crank HP.

In the meantime, I would recommend you drive a JCW or GP MCS to get a feel for "the usual bolt-ons".

As for your ultimate question, "it depends". The rule-of-thumb is about 22psig on a stock short block, however IAT's, spark plugs, and other injections [like meth] will raise or lower that number. MarioKart has proven several times over you can grenade an engine with much less boost, and Tuls has proven you can run the engine at higher boost successfully in the long term. The devil's in the details of course.


Good luck; there is much to search and read,
Ryan

 

A 300whp mustang would be like a 215whp Mini...and honestly its easy to get to 200whp in an MCS. Just reading around I've found that you would be netting at least the 200 # with: CAI, Exhaust, Pulley, Tune, Head

 

Well, the question to me is really acceleration. My car was 700 pounds more than a mini. But handling wise with my suspension. It will do a 72mph slalom. And the mcs or whatever mini I saw that had upgraded springs/shocks/swaybars only does 70.7mph. As for the power question. I can put 5k in and get a supercharger on my stang that will bring me to 450whp. So around 500-520 crank hp. That is a 3.2s 0-60. The mini would have to make about 390 hp to match that acceleration. Sounds like it won't make that without some shortblock mods. Thanks Guys.

 

 

depends on what you want to do. I have a mustang as well, and i dont like driving it. Its nothing compared to the mini, even when it was stock. The last track day i was at, a friend of mine with about 220 bhp was knocking the socks off a new gt500, and the guy driving was experienced. THe mini doesnt need much horsepower to rule the track or autox, provided its not a super highspeed track. I would say that if you start modding the mini, youll forget the stang. The mini comes from the factory handling about what your mustang probably handles like now. If your looking for acceleration, dont bother with the mini, get a sc and put it on the stang. I would recommend a centrifugal SC at that, if thats what your going for. I would have to say read up on hear and buy a mini tho. Its a way better car.

 

Well, the real issue is this. I am a canyon runner. Basically the equivalent of a road course car. That means we are doing between 60 all the way up to 130 mph some times. We need good handling, but its not the autocross kind. Its the high speed, high G kind. I know what kind of handling my car has, and I know what kind of potential it has. Check on Griggs Racing for an idea of what a mustang can do (kills ferraris). But the question to me is about the power and handling. I want a car that can take the turns fast and hold 100mph on the canyon road. I'm sure the mini is good, i have no doubt about that. I just want to know if I put on a turbo and wrap it up to 300whp. Is my engine going to grenade after a couple runs up the canyon.

 

Seriously, you are asking the wrong kind of questions for the Mini to be a car for you. The Mini isn't about acceleration, is about holding the speed that you've already accelerated to. I came from an S2000 to the Mini and in this respect they are similar. Both great handling cars but they are in no way reknowned for there amazing power...but more so how that power can be utilized.

Mustangs are known for their brute force. Can you make them handle well, sure. But I lapped Mustangs all the time when I was tracking my S2k...and I'm sure I'll be doing the same in the Mini. These were well modded stangs to, and if they didn't let me pass on the straight, I never would have. It was the infield that I was always all over them.

Anyway, you are used to a different kind of monster and unless you can just respect the Mini for what little power it has it just won't make you happy no matter what you do. Think this, some of the fastest Mini's are running low 13's in the 1/4, Mustangs can do that with hardly any mods

 

If you're looking for a stoplight racer, stick with the mustang. I've NEVER heard of a MINI that can do 0-60 in anything close to 3 seconds. I can't imagine how you'd put that kind of power down to the ground. On street tires I can spin wheels all the way through first, and chirp tires into Fourth. My car only dyno's at about 230 whp (255-260 "Crank" HP), and has a LSD installed.

Any MINI with a good set of coilovers and light wheels will absolutely DESTROY a Mustang in the canyons. It's simple physics, 700-800 lbs is a HUGE handling advantage.

On the track our cars are keeping up with Porsches, Evo's, STI's and the like.

Handling has to do with a lot of things, slalom is only one component of the overall package.

There are plenty of people on these forums that have made extremely high HP MINI's. If you want some definitive answers, speak to Jan at Revolution MINI (www.revolutionmini.com). He's got a monster drag racer, and is currently the only tuner to successfully build a stroked out MINI. If you want reliability and power, he's the guy to talk to.

 

If you're looking to spend about $2000-2500 on the MINI, you should be faster to 100 mph than a 1996-2004 Mustang, 350z, RX-8, etc. That's about what I've spent to get to a 14.2, 101 mph, 5.9 0-60 MCS. Throw in another $2750 for a head/install and your running CIRCLES around the current Mustangs. To start...but a MCS for $20k, add $5-6k in mods, you're at $25-26K and running circles around stock, current gen Mustangs. Add another $3-4k to the MINI suspension and you're at 28-30K for the car. By this point, it will run CIRCLES around a stock, current gen Pony. If you want to get really crazy and add $17k in performance mods to a $20k car, you'll have a helluva a time keeping up with it on the track. Again, my car runs 14.2 in the 1/4 @ 101mph. That's with $2500 in performance mods...next is a clutch/flywheel which should increase that a bit

 

Hell, unless you're on drag radials or maybe an R-comp, nothing short of the 911 Turbo will do 0-60 in 3.2. The Turbo w/TipTronic is the only thing that comes close.

Really makes me want to question the above estimation of 0-60.

But yeah, as stated by everyone so far, the Mini is not at all, at all, about 0-60 times or acceleration. You can get up to speed at a nice hustle, but you won't set record times. It's all about maintaining the speed you have. Unless you plan on fabbing up a complete widebody setup and cutting the hell out of your fenders and wheel-wells, you can't run more than 245 section or so (even that requires a lot of work). And you can't put down a lot of power with only a 245.

- Matt

 

Sounds like Player01 is really looking for an Evo IX after a trip down Buschur's catalog. Of course, by that point, you're in Nissan GTR money, which I'm sure is quicker than any hopped up MINI or Mustang.

 

All the GTR's are spoken for already here in SoCal. Not to mention they're all automatic... screw that, I wouldn't waste 80 grand (+ whatever ridiculous markup they decide to add) on an automatic .

 

Touche', however the vast majority of "enthusiasts" no longer agree. Us slob Americans are too lazy to push our own clutch pedal. Personally it irks me; I've driven manual since before I officially got my drivers license; manual tranny is in my blood and I feel strange driving a slushbox.

 

One needs to keep in mind that the "enthusiast" gearboxes are also usually DSG (or another high performance style) units, with shift times under 100ms. Yeah, you lose some of the visceral feel, but definitely some more speed there.

I prefer the visceral feel myself though. Regular slushboxes...uggh.

- Matt

 

Yea I understand the manufacturers need to eliminate the ham fisted r-tard driver that can't speed shift when they're actually in a hurry, however, how often are you in desperate need to extract that last 100 milliseconds out of your daily commute? LOL. I'd rather be awake and interested than quick and bored.

 

Ok, so couple things I guess. Drove a Mini S this weekend at the dealership. 100% unimpressed. It handled like my old carolla. My mustang would destroy it on turns. A done out suspension mustang hangs with GT3 porches on the track. And as for a 3.2s 0-60 is totally possible. I run 10.5" tires on my rear. My 0-60 stock is 14.5 and with 300$ of mods, and good driving will put my car in to the 13s. I drove an S2000 though, that car I was impressed with, decent power and good handling. I was really expecting alot more from the mini.

 

 

Drive a first gen MINI, they handle better stock.

 

Sounds like you drove an R56

Can you hear the footsteps? It's the R56 defense brigade!!!!
mb

 

This was a 2002. Is that a first Gen?