I just bought a new Cooper S. After looking at all of the various aftermarket suppliers and there claims, I'm not sure who or what to beleive. So, what are some of the best performance items out here? Pulley ?, Exahust ?, ????

I would really like to learn about what works best. Any input will be greatly appreciated!

Steve

 

Steve-

As for upgrades... I would looking into intake/exhaust/pulley. Thats where I would start. I do not have my pulley installed yet... I am a little concerned of overheating, which would cause a lot of problems so I am still considering the pulley and possibly an intercooler upgrade. Where ya from Steve?

As for intake/exhaust.... There are many posts about the differences, do a quick search. For me personally... intake =K&N (CA resident-CARB approved) exhaust=Magnaflow. I have always been a die hard magnaflow fan. easy install, great horsepower increase, reasonable price....

 

The pulley is definitely the biggest bang for the buck. Installed it should be no more than $400.

Unfortunately, I race in G-stock so cannot do anything but exhaust and some minor ignition upgrades.

I know that MINIclo has just gotten her first performance upgrade with the K&N intake and she loves it. Certainly a good idea for California residents needing a CARB sticker.

 

Welcome to NAM, Prolab! To increase the fun with your new car, significantly, I suggest doing wheels and tires upgrade - at least get rid of the runflats for some performance tires. You'll notice a big difference. Power mod is a requisite for an enthusiast, but you can only go so fast in a corner, and that's where increased traction counts. The next best thing to address, in my opinion, is the suspension. A good set of sport springs and rear swaybar should dial out the understeer. After those basics are done, your budget will be your limit. But the most bang for buck power mod would be the reduction pulley. Cheers.

 

pulley and rear swaybar.

 

I have been considering a rear sway bar. The MINI already has near perfect handling. How much of a difference can you see in terms of stability?

How about installation? Is that hard? Which rear sway bar do you have?

 

Before you mod, try racing autocross in G Stock (no mods). If you get into it you will quickly find out the MCS has more than enough power and a set of sticky race tires will be your best friend.

 

>>I have been considering a rear sway bar. The MINI already has near perfect handling.

That's what I thought too.

 

this

exhasut bypass kit.

 

Cali residents can always throw their stock airbox back on for smog testing.

_________________
:: David Bunting :: North American Motoring :: Send me a PM ::

 

prolap,

Aloha and welcome to NAM.

>>I just bought a new Cooper S. After looking at all of the various aftermarket suppliers and there claims, I'm not sure who or what to beleive. So, what are some of the best performance items out here? Pulley ?, Exhaust ?, ????

It's hard to know what to do when so many choices exist. There are pros and cons to every choice.

>>I would really like to learn about what works best. Any input will be greatly appreciated!

What works best will vary depending on your needs.
If you live in California then performance mods will have to conform to laws. Intake must have CARB sticker to be legal. Otherwise a reduction pulley in 15% to 19% is the best bang per buck for power but voids your supercharger warranty. Heat is not really an issue unless you plan to live in a dessert and drive alot on the track. For street use you will be fine. A 15% pulley is safe if you are risk averse.

If you want minimal expense then a rear swaybar is helpful for hard cornering because it may help to reduce understeer and help to give your MINI a more neutral feel. It will not help for straight line speed or for normal driving. Expense is low ($200 for the part) and is about $80 to install.

Although light rims and sticky non runflat tires are not cheap, they do improve the ride and performance of the MINI alot.

If you don't want to do the pulley then the cat-back exhaust is good if you don't mind more growl from your exhaust.
Mild growl- check out the Borla street exhaust or Milltek, Moderate growl try UUC or Quicksilver and Maximum Noise try the Borla Race or Magnaflow. All choices will add to mid to high range power at least 5+ HP and 5+ ft lbs of torque.

One mod that I like that is cheap is the Helix13 short shifter. $40 for the part and about $80 to install it gives a positive feel to the shift but keeps the shift **** height at stock level. A nice mod.

If you like shift ***** check out the Whalen Shift machine for about $130. It works and looks great.
Easy to install.

For each of these try to find some nice MINI owner that has it installed and check it out before you buy.
Go for a ride and see it in person is the best way. Make some new friends, too.

_________________
Aloha Hawaii

 

what is this g-stock thing you're talking about? how would i go about entering some sort of auto-cross or whatever it is? i'd love to try it, but then again, i have the 15% already so am i not eligible?

sorry if its off topic

get the pulley, i got mine, and wow, pulls tremendously through 1-4th gear, supercharger whine louder (if u like it it's good, if not it isn't), going for the K/N CAI next because I live in Cali... of course i'm running on runflats and stock everyhitng else but it still handles like no other...

 

The Best Bang for the buck is definitely the pulley. You probably won't notice a difference in acceleration with the Intake or the Exhaust but you will definitely feel a big difference with the pulley. The Pulley upgrade is the only improvement you can really make to low end/midrange torque that's significant.

As far as needing a rear swaybar... If you haven't broken the tires loose in a corner or gone into a corner so hot that you experienced understeer then you probably see no benefit in a rear swaybar. Yes, the MCS handles great for a car off the showroom floor but push the car past its limits and you will greatly appreciate the difference that the rear swaybar makes. It will probably be unappreciated and not necessary for the daily driver who doesn't Autox, spend time at track days or high-speed canyon driving.

Almost forgot, my second mod would be a short shifter. That's been one of my favorite mods that I appreciate everytime I drive.


_________________

 

This is a "Mini" Forum. Meaning your car, not the size of your brain.

 

I guess I will look into the rear sway bay. I think that I will add it to the package. I guess more handling cannot hurt right? Thanks for the feedback on that.

As for rearsway bars... Is it difficult to install? What is a good one to check out. Someone mentioned the madness??? aprx $189?

 

prolap wrote:
Good! Be skeptical about performance claims, especially when they come from someone selling the parts.

Roughly speaking, I went from:

144 whp / 130 lb-ft stock
http://www.ross-tech.net/andy/mini/h...stockstock.gif

158 whp / 144 lb-ft stock+pulley
http://www.ross-tech.net/andy/mini/h...stockstock.gif

165 whp / 149 lb-ft stock+pulley+exhaust
http://www.ross-tech.net/andy/mini/m...navspulley.gif

173 whp / 159 lb-ft stock+pulley+exhaust+intake
http://www.ross-tech.net/andy/mini/173vs144.png

The last link shows the overall effect of those 3 mods, +29 whp, + 29 lb-ft.

Those runs were on different days, temps, etc. so take them with a grain of salt.

_________________
SHOW ME THE NUMBERS!

...How Fast is Your MINI?...My Mods...

 

Checkout the "how to's" for installation procedure. It's simple, but be careful not to let the car fall on you. Also, do search on Sway Bar because there have been many discussions on the subject. Randy Webb says best is H-Sport 25 mm hollow (blue) due to light weight and use of zirc fittings to lube the bushings, and the Alta 22mm (black) which I have and like a LOT.
I like the pulley a LOT too - makes the car really zip through the rev range. that and Alta intake give you the best bank for the buck. About $600 for about 20 horses. With exhausts you are talking about $700 for 5 - 8 horses with downside of lots of noise.

 

thanks for the tips on the rearsway bar. I will check it out.

Thanks Andy for your post. Always great info. You're the man!!!

 

Just checked out the how to's in performance mods... the links just arent there anymore... Comes up with some error. Is anyone working on getting that back up and running? I would love to see that little section back!!!! :smile:

 

Best Bang for the buck, eh?

Handling: ~$200.00 stiffer rear sway bar

Horsepower: ~$165.00 15%, 17% or 19% supercharger reduction pulley

Sound (for the driver): ~$200.00 Alta Air intake

 

I have to say the H-Sport springs were my biggest bang for the
buck along with the Pilo intake. :smile:

 

lots of great feedback. I think that one of the next things that I do is the rearsway bar... Which one is the best for the dollar? Mini-madness?

 

>>this
>>
>>exhasut bypass kit.



What's THIS?

 

What about the rearsway bar... Which one is the best one out there for the money... moss motors?

 

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