Hey guys/gals.

I've got an 05 Mini S. I've done the under drive pulley on the supercharger, CAI, RSB, wheels/tires, the one-ball mod, and I've installed a single mass flywheel with new clutch.

What I want is to improve my freeway merging ability. I do a lot of driving in third gear (since second tops out around 50mph, and 3rd tops out at 83mph). It doesn't seem to accelerate as fast as I would like it to from about 50mph in third to 75+ in 3rd or 4th.

Any suggestions? Am I looking at intercoolers or headers, or a tune, remove the rear seat? Leave the wife at home?

 

3rd gear to 83mph :O?

Am i missing something? i have a 05 r52 with intake/pulley(i assume)/exhaust

I bought the car from someone and at one point attempted to check if it was a upgraded pulley with the help of NAM and some pictures and we agreed it was, but seeing you say this makes me confused at like 5.5k rpm i would probably hit 50? in 2nd gear, I am scared to get to close to the redline but i am only 19 and this is my first manual as of about 3 months ago so maybe i have more to learn? haha anyway! to address your post

Sounds like you need to get your supercharger firing faster soo in my opinion
Get some iridium spark-plugs, new ignition coils and maybe a performance camshaft.

Then if you aren't going to be adding anything in the near future, follow everything mentioned above with a ECU tune to get your aftermarket parts at peak performance

 

The Cooper S (R53) will hold 1st gear to about 38mph, 2nd to 56-ish, and 3rd to 83mph before the computer steps in and reduces the RPM's electronically. There's a chart on this somewhere on the forums.

My pulley is the 15% or whatever I bought from Way Motor Works. It came with an undersized belt and some colder NGK plugs. I was reading in an old issue of MC^2 that the improved hood scoop lowers intake temps even without an upgraded intercooler. I don't know that it would be worth the cost at this point, unless I find a used one.

 

Get a high flow air filter and Samco or alta intake tube. Kinda surprised you've skipped that upgrade thus far!
Your a ways off from a tune IMO.

 

You try upshifting?
while peak hp occurs around redline, peak tq is a bit lower....
So the engine might actually be closer to its peak torque one gear lower....and last longer...
Another thing you MIGHT be feeling is a bit of timing pull from high intake temps from running such high rpms, which equal high intake temps, which equal timing pull, which is reduced power and tq. A bigger scoop might help, as will a less agressive pulley if you like to run high rpms....heck, the way you run, a jcw pulley might be best....

 

this

our R53 spends most of its life cruising the highway and ive never had a problem with what you are referring to. we have just a couple small mods and it pulls great. however we are usually in 4th, 5th, or 6th gear to merge on the highway. the low end torque we get provides that grunt. now if you had a turbo on its a different story. but the supercharger really gives you the pull at the lower RPMs.

 

You would probably like a little more torque. A custom ECU tune should help. You could also add a header. The other thing that helps is to reduce he weight of he car, such as lighter wheels and tires, especially if you have runflats (very heavy).

 

I've got an AFE cold air intake already...

 

I think 4th gear is too doggy to get quick acceleration. I'll give it some conscious effort on the way home...

 

Ah. Well, another affordable upgrade is JCW injectors and JCW tune

 

Good ideas above.

But I have to ask - if you're merging at 80mph, is the on ramp at a race track?
I see you're in SJ, and I have heard that people get confused and think that Highway 85 is actually the speed limit... Or maybe you get on 101?

 

I have a 2004 Mini Cooper S with interior of JWC (carbon fiber dash and some other stuff it came with) My question is (I apologize again but please direct me to the right place if possible.) I would like to know if it's possible to upgrade the front and possible rear bumper for my car. I 'd like to upgrade to JCW front bumper or the one with the Aero Kit Pkg R56. Please any help would be appreciate it. :

 

I guess the best upgrade is to tighten the nut behind the wheel. The power band seems to be around 3-4k Rpm so fourth might be the answer.

 

Maybe you aren't aware that driving on Bay Area freeways requires advanced Frogger-skills and a minimum speed of 75 to flow with traffic? In any case, to hit 80 while merging or passing isn't a rare case.

 

A tune will improve throttle response and increase HP.

 

Aftermarket header and cat-back. The stock header is a real bottleneck.

 

1st in my MINI is around 43mph, 2nd will see almost 70mph and 3rd is almost 90mph. Just curious if you have stock rims on. I know when I changed from the extremely heavy S Lites(25lbs) to Enkei RPF1 (14.6lbs) my speed in gears changed a lot. Is your clutch slipping?

 

Get a cat back exhaust and the JCW 380 injectors. Then get it tuned. Not only will the tune give you about 20hp and nice boost in TQ it vastly improves the drive ability of the car. After getting mine tuned I noticed a big increase in passing power on the freeway.

I'd be careful about running near redline to long/often with your setup. The car could be running a little lean.

 

The gearing in the 05-06's is different. I know mine tops out just over 30 in 1st and barely gets to 60 in 2nd. 3rd will see 90+. This is with a 72-7300 rev limit.

 

Next to upgrading to a 19% reduction pully, I believe the next "biggest bang for the buck" is SPRINT BOOSTER. It's reasonable priced, it takes 10/15 min. for anybody to install and has three settings, regular/sport/race.
Let me know how you like it if you decide to go that way!
Thanks,
Bruce
Firstminitoo

 

This will NOT help with speed in gears. It only increases throttle response.

 

Interesting first post....Welcome to NAM...I hope you are enjoying your MINI!!
Just a heads up...running a 19% reduction at redline will be BOTH VERY LEAN, and may cause detonation from the heat....BOOM!! (if you don't throw a belt first.....the 19% is OK for some in town drivers, but most have settled on the 17%.....19% are even hard to find...many issues..fuel cutoofs, etc...too much of an issue for most).
The OP likes revs...a reduction lowers the rpm the boost kicks in, BUT also makes TONS if heat at higher RPM.......the JCW pulley size is actually good for red-liners.....but the 15% is pretty close!
To put it simply, the OP is trying to run his motor at 6000-7000 RPM plus, when peak TQ is about 4000-5000 RPM on a stock motor....tuned or modded is similar.....he is out of the TQ band....

 

I guess I'm a little confused about wanting mods for "merging ability." I think even the stock S does a decent job of getting up to speed on the freeway. The only mod I have done is a 16% pulley, and I am already faster than highway speed before I know it.

So I'm wondering maybe you should look into whether there is something wrong with the car before adding more mods?

 

My S is bone stock. I have no issues merging whatsoever. 4th gear works great. Learn to use the torque band.

I live in SoCal and regularly merge at 70-80 mph.

 

Enjoy your MINI while you can...at the rate you're going, it shouldn't last much longer. Running at red-line in 3rd gear leaves you nowhere to go when you really need it. Folks above have told you correctly. Shift up and get the revs in the sweet spot. If you really have the need for speed, save it for the track. Enroll in a DE and get some real high-speed experience that may save your life on the freeway.