So i came across a $200 cash flow that wants to put right into the MINI. I wont get to spend much more money on it for a while, so saving it is not what i choose to do.

I'm debating between:
Pilo Ignition upgrade
M7 plasma booster

read a lot on both, just wanted to get some help on my somewhat stupid decision. I know neither is a huge boost, but with a cooper, I just like to have everything I can... its fun, as I'm sure someone here can relate to that.

 

>>So i came across a $200 cash flow that wants to put right into the MINI. I wont get to spend much more money on it for a while, so saving it is not what i choose to do.
>>
>>I'm debating between:
>>Pilo Ignition upgrade
>>M7 plasma booster
>>
>>read a lot on both, just wanted to get some help on my somewhat stupid decision. I know neither is a huge boost, but with a cooper, I just like to have everything I can... its fun, as I'm sure someone here can relate to that.

To answer the question fully, please list all of your performance mods. The reason is that in order for your MINI to do it's best you need to remember that balance of the mods is key to good performance. While there are limited gains available for power in an MC there are many more gains possible in terms of handling and smoothness.

For handling:
A rear sway bar upgrade to 19mm for an MC would be within your price range roughly. Get a friend to help with the installation to save money. If you race autocross then be aware about mods and how they affect your racing category.

For smoothness:
Both Pilo ignition uprade and M7 Plasma Booster are considerations (I have both) as well as Magnecor wires in the case of an MC. There is no real reason to change spark plugs. The Pilo ignition upgrade without plugs might be a better first upgrade than the M7 Plasma Booster and would yield slight gains in smoothness due to the coil and wire upgrades but it may be small if your MINI already is quite smooth.

 

i agree with minihune, the best route with the cooper is zeroing in on its strong point its handling. the sway bar is a good place to start.after that go find some curvy road and practice practice practice(its free!) and damn fun

 

How about purchasing 10 tanks of premium gasoline with that $200? That should provide lots of extra motoring enjoyment?

Or, even better, an afternoon spent with a performance driving instructor on a closed road track would make your MINI perform better than it ever has!

Your best bang for the buck for a sway bar would be to find a buddy with a modified MCS and get his used stock MCS sway bar. There are LOTS of them just collecting dust in garages all over the country. Chances are that you might even be able to get it for next to nothing if not free alltogether.

 

hey guys - thanks for the help.

as for gas, my family owns a gas station. as for driving school, i very much look forward to that. but I;m waiting till the summer - i hate winter. stupid northeast.

As for mods, I have the BMP/ProMINI intake - I don't want to save for an exhaust because I have yet to find one that sounds how i want it to. Light wheels I've already saved up for, and I'm waiting for after winter to get them - dont want tobe tmepted to ruin them!

The rear-sway bar is interesting. I've conisdered it. Would I benefit a lot from getting an MCS-stock one? Would it be substantially better to buy a new one? I do not have SS+ on my cooper.

The reason I was choosing between the two I listed was mostly because I am intersted in smoothing out my throttle a bit, it's a little rough in first gear. But the MCS-stock sway bar sounds nice... how much do you think i could get one for... I'll assume I should just post in themarketplace.

And thanks for helping me out with my $200 present.

 

>>as for gas, my family owns a gas station. as for driving school, i very much look forward to that. but I;m waiting till the summer - i hate winter. stupid northeast.

Good deal. Can I come over to gas my MINI up. It's a bit of a trip across the Pacific. Driving school is definitely a must.

>>As for mods, I have the BMP/ProMINI intake - I don't want to save for an exhaust because I have yet to find one that sounds how i want it to. Light wheels I've already saved up for, and I'm waiting for after winter to get them - dont want tobe tmepted to ruin them!

ProMINI intake is good. Exhausts-I take it you want slightly more exhaust tone moderately good HP gain? If so then Rspeed exhaust for about $440 or Rogue might be worth a look. If you want louder and more power then consider Helix. But do listen to these in person before deciding. Another option is remus single muffler.

>>The rear-sway bar is interesting. I've conisdered it. Would I benefit a lot from getting an MCS-stock one? Would it be substantially better to buy a new one? I do not have SS+ on my cooper.

The rear swaybar is a good choice. However it will not assist you in anything but cornering. So do you plan to do autocross? If so then choice of swaybar upgrade will affect your racing category-just be aware. Since you do not have SS+ then a stock MCS rear swaybar will stiffen up your rear suspension a bit (I'd estimate about +40 to 60% over your current bar-but I have no real numbers-just an estimate). The aftermarket rear swaybars of 19mm (about $200) are adjustable giving you a range of settings from soft to firm often 2 or three settings and even more stiffness more like greater than 100% stiffer than your stock bar. Too much stiffness is not good as you are using stock springs and shocks. No need for a front tower brace or front swaybar at this time-those are OK left alone.

Many of us that have upgraded rear swaybars to 22 or 25mm have our old rear MCS sway bars in storage so you can buy one cheap for just for shipping costs. Try posting on marketplace and get a friend to help with installation-minimal overall cost and it will be an upgrade. The SS+ rear bar is similar/same as the MCS stock rear sway bar. If you have a MINI club try to contact them to find if anyone in your local area has a rear swaybar you can take off their hands- barter for it or trade a gas discount coupon or something.

If you do that then you will still have quite a bit of the $200 left over for the smoothing out the throttle upgrade.
Again if I had to pick between the two and you have a stock MC then I would pick the Pilo ignition kit without plugs first. Two people to talk to would be Dan from Pilo Racing and Randy Webb for their opinions for your MC with slightly rough throttle. The other place that would be a great upgrade though not $200 to help your throttle and gain power would be an ECU upgrade but there are not any I can recommend yet. Just wait and see what develops with all that is happening for ECUs for the MCS.

In the end you could have some sort of ignition upgrade and some sort of rear swaybar upgrade for within budget.
Don't forget a sixpack or two for your friend that helps with the rear swaybar installation (see webbmotorsport for the installation instructions). If you go with the stock MCS rear swaybar, keep your original just in case. You can even sell or trade the stock MCS bar later if you decide to upgrade further.

 

minihune:

thanks a lot, I'm getting, i think, a front and rear mcs stock sway bar - pretty cheap from my recent post int he marketplace thread.

I'm fairly competent so I'll just need help from a friend to install it all.

I just can't decide on the ignition kit vs. pb - lots of info to read through for more help...

thanks guys, i very much appreciate it.

 

Should I get teh MCS shocks/springs also...

Again, I don't go to the track, its only for my pleasure of hte fun driving I do on roads.. so i dont need an insanely awesome setup.

Or will the sway bars be enough?

 

>>thanks a lot, I'm getting, i think, a front and rear mcs stock sway bar - pretty cheap from my recent post int he marketplace thread.
>>
>>I'm fairly competent so I'll just need help from a friend to install it all.
The install on the front swaybar is harder than on the rear-be sure to see the how to do.
At the time you locate the rear swaybar you can check around for the fronts but most of us do not swap out the fronts.
The stock MCS front bar will be stiffer than your stock MC front bar. The benefits from a stiffer front bar will be less than upgrading just the rear bar. It is possible to upgrade both.

>>I just can't decide on the ignition kit vs. pb - lots of info to read through for more help...

The advertising makes it hard to decide sometimes- I'd talk to Dan and Randy before making a decision.
You have to sort out the potential gain vs the real world gain (no hype).

A word on springs. Do you have non runflat tires or runflats now? If you have runflats and you add the MCS stock springs and shocks you will have a much harder/firmer ride. Make sure you are prepared for that. Take a ride in a stock MCS with 16" wheels which are runflats and see how you like the ride. If you have non runflats then it will not be as harsh. Most people don't upgrade both springs and shocks although it is possible. Lots of work to install both springs and shocks-might need some help and equiptment. Again talk to randy about that.

I'd say the easiest thing to do first is just the stock MCS rear swaybar. See how it does first. Even if you get the stock MCS springs or front bar you do not have to install them yet. The MCS springs alone might be worth the effort but I don't know about the shocks too. Ride would be firm.

 

Hey, come on over to http://www.teammini.net they are really good about helping on stuff like that...

 

is this guy for real?

 

Aside from the swaybar (and possibly springs), if you haven't done it yet, I'd recommend putting the money towards a new intake. Letting you motor breathe easier is always a positive step. :smile:

I haven't followed the Pilo ignition upgrade so I can't comment on it. I did, however, read Randy's testing of the Plasma Booster. From what he found in his tests it looks like the PB's benefits are very minimal, especially for the price of the unit. A negligble hp increase and minor mpg gains just don't equate to $200+ IMHO.

 

yup, i got the intake, promini one.. addicted to the sound.

 

I'd love to tell you to buy some parts, but the best $200 you could spend is on a driver's education track day. You'll learn more about performance driving in one day than you could imagine, and your car will be miraculously faster with the knowledge that you gain.

 

driving school is all in the plans...

i detest the winter and it screws me up.. so I'm waiting till the summer to go to a driving school.. I'm absolutely psyched for it! I need it to, as I'm sure almsot anyone here does

 

>>I'd love to tell you to buy some parts, but the best $200 you could spend is on a driver's education track day. You'll learn more about performance driving in one day than you could imagine, and your car will be miraculously faster with the knowledge that you gain.

I agree 100%.... Eric :smile:

Peace,
D

 

for that amount, best to put in 22mm rear sway bar. If you have cooper non-ssp, you could put on discarded MCS rear bar for free to see if that's to your liking. There are lots available. I'm in Santa Ana, CA and have one

 

If you want I have some eibach springs for sale for the cooper for $200. :smile: