Former 02 Cooper S owner here, and was talking with a friend (a new, 04 cooperS owner) about some of the things that were 'the way' back when I had my car. Im curious, what has changed in the past 4-5 years?

SC pulleys - 15% still the only REAL SAFe bet? or have the 17s-19s started to be accepted?


Crank pulleys - still a 50/50 whethor or no they are safe? or have the become the norm now?

Whos doing what for tuning now? Please tell me there is something better then the Uni-Chip I was using back when I had mine.

Just thought id get a 'current' thread for the older generation, since searching comes up with a LOT of dated information. Im curious, what ended up being the 'best' way to do things after the dust settled and most companies started moving on to the newer, turboed MCS's

I know i for one will be in the market for another 05ish MCS in the next year or so, and i know of at least one local friend who could really use some up-to-date facts

 

SC Pulleys people either go 15% or 17%

Crank Pulleys are still on the fence

Tuning has become easier and no need for the UselessChip piggy-back now all it's all done through flashing the factory ecu with the finely tuned dyno tested tune files.

 

yup, 15 is still considered the most common and safest. but several run 17s and a few less seem to run 19s...just depends on how long you visit the redline.

And yes, custom tunes have replaced Unichip units. Much cheaper too.
Something else I've noticed, intercoolers have fallen out of favor. Often seen as unnecessary since the stock unit works well and given their high price. there are still debates though.