Im new to the engine scene and i was just wondering what the first mod to my car should be. I was interested if they intercooler from alta worked well. Thanks a lot

 

well i just ordered my first mod yesterday. i got a cold air intake. its a great first mod in my opinion. low cost and adds hp. i want to change my rims and tires next but that is over a grand right there.

 

oh and welcome to MCO

use the search function to find all kinds of information. it is very helpful.

 

thats what i was thinking about too. Which one did u order?

 

was going to go with the alta but some people changed my mind. I went with the Madness intake which is the same as the Rogue. it is supposed to add between 7-9 hp. it has been dyno tested by unbiased people and these are the numbers they posted so i trust them.

 

thorg12,
Welcome to MCO,
What kind of MINI do you have MC or MCS? This will determine what you can do for mods.
Common first mods are:
Cold air intake- $140 to $250 and self install.
Drop in Filter intake- least expensive about $40-50
Springs- about $240 for the parts and $180 to install
Rear swaybar- from $190 for parts and one hour install
Exhaust- from $600 to $800 and 1-2 hours to install

take your pick. Light rims and gripy non runflat tires would be good.

 

If you have an MCS in the following order:
Pulley
ECU update
Cold air intake
Exhaust

I really do not know that much about tuning the Cooper, but my guess is:
Cold air intake
Exhaust



_________________
DS/B/B MCS with every option known to man
- CD changer

 

Hmmm

If you dont have much, do the Intake first, if you have some money
I would do the wheels/tires I noticed alot from that mod. you can get a great
aftermarket set of 4 for under 1000, or you can spend 1500 or more, its up
to you, but lighter wheels/tires give you a quicker feel. you then can go with
preformance or handleing. Pulley/ECU I would keep them together but they can
be done seperatley your looking at 1100 for the pair. Strut bar and rear swaybar, springs etc to help the car's feel and control. Maybe Breaks or new pads to start if
the dust is making your new wheels look like crap.

their is so much to do with these cars, dressing up the car is fun, Whalen shift ****'s chrome the inside or outside or use Carbon Fiber etc... you need to go
with your own taste because everyone will have their own way, just search the boards
and it will give you lots of ideas and information.

Enjoy the car and the ride, this is where the Fun begins.

 

Thanks a lot. I have an MCS so i will be looking into these things. Off topic ..my friend just leased one and he said he can do stuff to the car as long as its all back when he hands it in... is the true with mini like it is with other companies. Thanks again for the mod suggestions, they are really helful.

 

Thanks a lot. I have an MCS so i will be looking into these things. Off topic ..my friend just leased one and he said he can do stuff to the car as long as its all back when he hands it in... is the true with mini like it is with other companies. Thanks again for the mod suggestions, they are really helful.

 

Investing money in moding a leased vehicle is kind of like taking a hooker out to dinner at a fine restaurant, you're just spending more with nothing to show for it at the end of the day. That said, some mods are irreversible, the pulley being the major one. Also it will void the supercharger warranty, so you could get caught with your pants down on that one for a big expense if the s'charger goes to China. Yes there are those who will mod a leased vehicle, and then move their investment from one to another (assuming your next lease is a MCS and that MINI hasn't changed the MCS by then- a new engine is projected by '05). I wouldn't waste my money on modding a vehicle that I didn't have any equity in, as it could lead to all sorts of expensive/legal hassels down the road.

 

Less is more
Mona Cooper

 

Seems like he wants some guideance on what his first performance mod should be.

To which we get this response:

Yes, we've seen your roof flag. Care to share how "less is more" has provided any help in figuring out which performance mod to do first?



Here's my list

1) Wheels and tires - saves unsprung weight. improves acceleration, ride comfort, and cornering grip
2) rear sway - keeps the car flatter in corners
3) intake - more power and easy to install
4) pulley - nice power increase and a very reasonable price. there are warranty issues though.
5) springs - will help handling, but the rear swaybar will make a bigger difference.
6) exhaust - for the money, this isn't as good of a power gain as the intake or the pulley.

that is the order I would do things if you are purely concerned with performance and handling improvements.

 

Will installing a CAI cause any warranty issues? Or does this just depend on the dealer as well? I want to install one after break in but I don't want to give up the warranty yet, which is why I'm holding off on the pulley/ecu for now which many dealers in the south fla area are saying voids the warranty.

 

mini2004,

welcome to MCO.

At the vast majority of dealers, an air intake won't caust you any warranty problems.

the pulley/ecu will void parts of your warranty related to that mod, but the rest will be intact.

 

I say do the suspension, exhaust, and intake first. Then the wheels and tires. Then take the $1100 you would spend on the pulley and go to a drivers school to learn how to drive the car to it's fullest. :smile:

 

the pulley is actually only $400 installed

 

You should not bother with the intecooler sprayer unless you've added boost. The 15% reduction pulley voids the warranty on the supercharger but it definitely gives the biggest gain in power for the money. Exhaust gives the most audible performance gain though, if you'd rather go with something that makes your car sound faster and doesn't affect your warranty.

 

Hi DaveinDenver, I was referring to an earlier post where someone said to do the pulley and ECU and mentioned $1100. I guess I shouldn't have left out ECU.

But my thoughts still say learning to drive the car is more important than the pulley and ECU.

 

Moorlockx: I agree with you 100% about driver training/education being a very good investment, especially in a car like the MINI which encourages you to explore limits.

 

just enjoy the car for pete sake
I waited a year before I did Mona Cooper roof

life is short

 

I think the first mod you do is to figure out what you want to do with the car. If its your family car, you do distance driving and/or you carry more than two often you may want to think twice about some of the suspension mods as they do significantly reduce ride comfort, as does a loud exhaust. If you want it to look cool the pulley, bar and intake don't do much and there are lots of better mods.

The pulley is so much fun you can do that one while you're figuring out what else to do.

No one has mentioned shocks which is my next mod. Randy's brake kit is nice too. Do all of the suspension mods at the same time if you can so you don't have to disassemble the suspension 4 times like me.

I have all of the stuff Dave mentioned and a few more but mine is a streetable toy.

What's yours going to be?

Or maybe you just want to put a picture of your girlfriend on your roof like Bill.

Plonk......Plonk......Plonk
Dave, just how do you get that thing to work.

 

Tell your lease car friend to go at it.The mods won't be caught on the turn in.The performance mods we're doing to our cars are for fun,not investment.I have the pulley,ecu,intake,throttle body,and sway bar on my car.The car is an 03 with 11,000 miles.On the resale market it isn't worth a dollar more than any stock MCS with 11,000 miles.
the MCS is the greatest car value out there,but it's a car,not an investment.Drive it,enjoy it,and modify it with items that will give you the most bang for the buck.Deal with Randy of MInimotorsport,and if you want an investment,he's probably got some United Airline stock that he can sell you.

 

OK. I'm in the same boat, sort of: new 2003 MCS with Sport and Premium packages coming home to papa any day now. When I ordered it, I thought my first performance mods would be to improve handling (for me, that means making handling more responsive and making the car "safer" on city streets and highways; I'm not a performance driver or enthusiast ... yet). So, I ordered the Madness rear sawy bar for starters. And, for reasons that I didn't understand at the time, I had MINI build my MCS with the 17" wheels (well, I do know why: they look wonderful and I thought they'd improve handling).

However, in the last two weeks, I've been driving two dealer loaners, both MCs (not MCS's). One has the Sports Package and the other has the Premium. I've begun thinking that I'd rather focus on irmproving rider comfort as soon as possible. I know from everything I've read on this board and others that that means scrapping the run-flats, and maybe going down to 16" wheels.

But - and here's my two questions:

1. What about the rear sway bar? Will I sacrifice ride comfort for increased cornering response? Will the rear sway bar matter that much on city/highway driving?

2. Any other tips on improving ride comfort? Specific shock or tire options? Etc? Look, I know the MINI is what the MINI is. And I love it for what it is. But, I wouldn't mind reducing the (excuse me for saying this) somewhat harsh ride I'm expecting from the MCS with Sport Package and 17" runflats.

Thanks

 

>>OK. I'm in the same boat, sort of: new 2003 MCS with Sport and Premium packages coming home to papa any day now. When I ordered it, I thought my first performance mods would be to improve handling (for me, that means making handling more responsive and making the car "safer" on city streets and highways; I'm not a performance driver or enthusiast ... yet). So, I ordered the Madness rear sawy bar for starters. And, for reasons that I didn't understand at the time, I had MINI build my MCS with the 17" wheels (well, I do know why: they look wonderful and I thought they'd improve handling).
>>
>>However, in the last two weeks, I've been driving two dealer loaners, both MCs (not MCS's). One has the Sports Package and the other has the Premium. I've begun thinking that I'd rather focus on irmproving rider comfort as soon as possible. I know from everything I've read on this board and others that that means scrapping the run-flats, and maybe going down to 16" wheels.
>>IMHO, I would either go for lighter 17" rims without the runflats, or try to get the 16" V Spokes.
>>But - and here's my two questions:
>>
>>1. What about the rear sway bar? Will I sacrifice ride comfort for increased cornering response? Will the rear sway bar matter that much on city/highway driving?
>>The rear swaybar is a very significant improvement in cornering, but it really does not effect the ride quality.
>>2. Any other tips on improving ride comfort? Specific shock or tire options? Etc? Look, I know the MINI is what the MINI is. And I love it for what it is. But, I wouldn't mind reducing the (excuse me for saying this) somewhat harsh ride I'm expecting from the MCS with Sport Package and 17" runflats.
Getting rid of the 17" runflats to a 16" non-runflat would make a noticeable difference. MINI did announce that they are using "softer" shocks on all the more recent builds of the MCS. I'm for one glad I have the shocks that I do! I also have the H Sport springs and Madness swaybar. The H Sports ride like stock on the highway, but over medium to harsh bumps, they are noticeably rougher. But they are fantastic mod with the swaybar for handling. For the softer ride, 16" with YOKO AVS ES 100's would be a good way to go.
>>
>>Thanks
>>