I have a 04 Cooper and after reading the information on this site and getting as much info as possible I have done my first mods. A couple of these items I purchased used from NAM members so thank you.

Pro Mini intake- Maybe it makes a little more power but the sound at 4,000 rpm is awesome. I love the fact that it's dead quiet around town or on the highway but when you put your foot in it the intake sounds awesome.

Helix rear sway bar- I love the way my cooper handled already but after adding the sway bar it is a go cart. Sway bar is set in the middle setting. It seems to give less body roll and increase the turn in. Car transitions much quicker now. Great upgrade!

Helix Short Shifter- Definately one of my big complaints about the stock Coop was it's rubbery shifting. I've only had this item for one day and it is a lot of fun. I imagine it will take a little bit to break in cuz the shifts are a little stiff and sometimes it's hard to get in first. I'll keep ya updated. However the throws are much shorter and enjoyable.

Sport Seats- My car came with regular seats. Luckily Eric from Helix had his sport seats available from one of his company cars. He had upgraded to a pair of aftermarket. I wanted the stock sport seats to keep the airbags and accesability to rear seats. I really like the difference these seats make, lot more lateral support.

Other than that I have added a Mini roof rack and Delan trailer hitch. Both great mods for my other hobbies.

Yesterday I took my mini to Helix in Philly and met Erik and Dane. Together they put on the sway bar and short shifter. They did a great job and made sure I was satisfied with everything before I left. Great shop and I hope you guys support it! I took the seats with me and put them in later that afternoon. Last evening I took the car out on the backroads of Bucks county and had a blast. I have been lucky to drive some fast cars and bikes but I haven't had that much fun driving in a long time. The best part is you can have a blast at lower speeds. Bombing around the corners and listening to the engine made me giggle like a little kid. The mini is a truly enjoyable vehicle. But you already knew that....

 

jaxmini,

Aloha from Hawaii and great to hear that your stage one MC mods are doing so well.
In fact the mods you have installed are a great combination. Overall you are doing excellent.
I'd say drive this setup at least 2000-3000 miles as is. Then decide whether to stop modding and just enjoy or go to stage 2.

There is no requirement to go to stage 2. You can do bits and pieces of it as well. Here goes.
Helix MC exhaust (more power/noise a strong performer) or Rspeed cat-back exhaust (less noise, lower price)
Lowering springs- Eibachs or Alta for a little drop and ride quality close to stock, H-sport or HR for more drop and a slightly stiffer ride. Add rear lower control arms if you want to adjust rear negative camber easily.
Less dusty brake shoes- EBC green or Mintex redbox are common choices. The Redbox are roughly half the cost of the EBC green pads. Good stopping power and helps to keep your wheels clean which helps retain their finish.
Light weight rims and non runflat tires- lighter weight means faster acceleration and braking, also better handling, not so rough but you deal with the risk of puncturing.
Magnecor wires-a minor improvement but does add color to your engine bay.
Whalen shift **** or other aftermarket ****-might fit your hand better than the stock ****.

If I were you- and I liked my MC the way you have set it up and drove then I would stop modding (maybe add the brake pads). If you like a mild exhaust note and a little more power then Rspeed exhaust is good for the expense. If you are going to autocross or go on the track then the Helix MC exhaust is a good choice but it is louder at wide open throttle-but not bad for everyday driving. Lighter wheels and non runflat tires really help performance but you might have some reasonable stock rims so when you wear out the runflats then consider some Falken Azenis sport. They won't wear as long but they are quite good for street and autocross use.

Have fun and how about some pictures!

 

Minihune you always have good ideas and suggestions plus you have one lovely dash. Now if only my car would get here :smile: :smile: :smile:



04 MC MG/MG packages all 5sp R90 Aero Kit

 

Minihune, Thanks for the great list of second round goodies. I will take your suggestions and put them to good use. Right now my car has the original 15" tires and wheels. I like the way the car rides with this combo but may go up to 16" for looks and some better rubber. The contis are definately the limiting factor now as far as handling. But I can still have much fun below that limit.

I will send pics once I figure out how to size them. Last time I put a pic with my Mini and motorcycle I almost stalled the site! They were HUGE...

Thanks again for the advice, just one more reason this has become my fav site.

 

Have you had on Rt 32 between New Hope and Frenchtown, NJ???

when i lived there, that was a great ride in my Spridget!!


sounds like great mods..

I just had my MCS done over with the H sport suspension system..

and you are exactly right.. go kart is the phrase that comes to mind..


watch out for the pot holes!!!!

 

Congrats on the mods ... sounds awesome.

Will have to look into that ProMini intake as well.

 

>>Have you had on Rt 32 between New Hope and Frenchtown, NJ???
>>
>>when i lived there, that was a great ride in my Spridget!!
>>
>>Yes I know Rt 32 and 29 very well. I used to ride my motorcycles on these roads till I started doing track days. Sometimes on Sunday morning Rt 32 would look like a cross between a car/motorcycle show,racetrack and bicycling course. Fun but scary combo! Great roads though...
>>sounds like great mods..
>>
>>I just had my MCS done over with the H sport suspension system..
>>
>>and you are exactly right.. go kart is the phrase that comes to mind..
>>
>>
>>watch out for the pot holes!!!!

We'll do, if your ever in the area PM and maybe we can take a run up there together.

 

Isn't Helix a fun place? Glad to hear the setup is working well on your car, and good deal on getting the seats! You may want to check what the widest rubber you can run on the 15's is...or else just keep them for winter and get a true summer setup on 16's. It's fun to shop for wheels.....

-dan

 

when dan said fun...

he meant expensive.

ok, ok.. fun too.

 

- at least I wasn't looking for Kinesis, HRE or Fikse for the MINI....

 

I have to say though -i had not seen in person an MC on 15's yet until i saw jaxmini's MC. They look very fitting.

Of course.. I think some filk wasps in black would look pretty good too

 

oh yeah, black would look good on his car. His stockers look great though.