Hi all,

I'm picking up an MCS and I'm interested in increasing performance. I have experiencing heavily modifying my previous car and I'm interested in Mini Mania's kits, but haven't heard much talk of them. Anyone here equipped with one, and what do you think? Comments on the performance, reliability, quality? Mini Mania seems like a reputable shop, would I want to go with them?

Not interested in JCW, 30-35hp for $5k+, no thanks.

Thanks in advance.

-mike

 

Mike,

Aloha and welcome to NAM.

Certainly Mini mania has lots of kits to choose from for both the MC and MCS
While the kits look comprehensive you just need to ask yourself how much you do want to spend and realize this all comes without labor costs and warranty. If JCW for $5K and warranty is a no thanks then how about-
Stage III MCS 245 HP upgrade kit NMK1031 *
Price: $5,195.00 *plus a $1,200.00 core charge.*

This kit includes Cold Air Intake, Exhaust Header (for off-road use only), Cat Back Exhaust System, Pulley Upgrade, 93 octane ECU Upgrade, Hi Flow Head, Performance Camshaft, Throttle Body upgrade, and a set of Iridium plugs.

You could do a simplier upgrade with just the basics and save money for lighter wheels and your choice of cat-back exhaust.
The minimalist super upgrade kit- do it yourself style-
19% Helix pulley with no ECU upgrade.- $430 installed
Intake of your choice- Piloracing/RDR/alta with hose- $149 to $250
Rear swaybar- 22mm or 19mm 3 hole $200-230.
Lowering springs- $220 plus installation
Cat-back exhaust- take your pick $600-$800 plus $80 to install or do it yourself.

Skip the throttlebody, shrick cam, the polished head, the exhaust header, the ECU upgrade and if you really want those then at least talk to Randy Webb at Webbmotorsport or Dan at PiloRacing (for the head and cam).

If this is for full out track use on a long course then go for it. Don't forget the full suspension upgrades.

 

Hi minihune, thanks for the response.

I went the DIY route for 90% of my mods on my previous car, because I had less money to play with. This time around I am better off and would rather do things really right the first time. There were plenty of times in my old car I wished I had just saved up and sprung for a kit instead of this and that here and there.

Yes, I know the price of the Mini Mania Stage 3 kit, I was just curious about someone's impressions of it. It is still a fair price IMO. $5k (+ labor) for JCW, 200hp and a warranty. $6.4k (+ labor) for MM Stg3, 245hp (don't forget now, that's more than twice the gain from the JCW), and a good chance of getting most under-warranty problems solved. What exactly is the $1200 "core charge" for, anyway? I would probably stay stock for a good amount of time until I got antsy, then go for their Stage 2 and then upgrade to the Stage 3 after some more time. As for warranty issues, let's just say these boards seem to value that a lot more than the Audi boards I used to hang out on, and I'm of the Audiworld school of thought... My car was highly modified and I never even came close to having a warranty issue. Granted, I didn't have too many problems with my previous car, but (1) dealers are generally not smart enough to even realize when there are mods (which is not to say one should be outright deceptive, but if they don't ask...) and (2) at least on the Audi scene, it was very rare to see even very heavy mods actually cause any problems. It is a myth that if you mod your car, the dealer will 'void' your warranty. They may refuse to pay for a particular warranty service because they feel the problem was caused by something aftermarket, and depending on the dealer they may stretch this as much as possible, or not at all, but in my experience if you have a good rapport with the dealer and your mods are of a fairly standard variety, the warranty scare is no scare at all. At least with my previous car I can say that the Audi dealers were generally very mod-friendly and didn't care unless it was pretty clear your mods may have caused a problem.

Just my opinion though. Before labor you're looking at ~$5k for 35hp with JCW ($142 per hp), and ~$6.4k for 82hp with MM Stg3 ($78 per hp). I guess it depends on how much you value your warranty, and perhaps the sense that the car is still 'unchanged from the factory'. If it's worth almost twice as much per hp, that's cool, but it's not to me.

Of course suspension would be one of my first mods, before even any power mods. But anyway this post is getting way too long, I apologize. Thanks again for the warm welcome and look forward to seeing you around.

-mike

 

mike,

There are indeed a few MINI owners out there with Mini mania full upgrade kits installed. True those kits are put together with the whole picture in mind by them and that is a plus.

The honest reality is that when doing your calculations on HP per $ cost the estimates of HP gained from JCW and the MM stage 3 kits are in the end, just "estimates". I don't think you can get a dyno to really show 200 HP from a stock MCS with JCW kit only. So you really have to trust your feel for what the "real" gains are and talk to people that might know what these kits can do, whether they are commerical kits or make them yourself kits. People like Eric Savage and Randy Webb know the HP numbers and can design a full upgrade package to meet any budget.

The $1200 core cost is for the stock cylinder head to be returned to Mini mania in exchange for the ported and polished upgraded head.

Talking about designs you can put bucks into with a thought of the big picture and warranty to boot- brings us to DINAN. They have lots of "planned" goodies for the MCS if you can be patient enough to wait for their release. It long overdue and costly but should be the kind of upgrades you might be interested in. They had plans for a stage 1 and 2 MCS upgrade kit plus more suspension, wheels, and other upgrades coming shortly thereafter. Unfortunately they missed their introduction date of late May and we are about to enter July. They offer a 4 year warranty on their upgrades installed at a DINAN authorized dealer. The question is "when"?

The other basic question is what can you do with a 245 HP MCS that you can't do with a 210 HP MCS with Quaife limited slip differential, a lightweight flywheel, racing clutch and some lighter wheels? Power is not the limiting factor for a FWD sportster. I'd be looking for balance where ever it can be had. Otherwise it's gonna be more wheelspin than speed.

 

Point taken about wheelslip, and that's something I'll have to get accustomed to having come from a vehicle with Quattro. But as for your point about the HP being 'estimates', I don't think I really buy into that too much as a reason for *not* considering the MM kits. I'd be very willing to bet that the HP estimates for the MiniMania kits are pretty darn accurate, to within +/-5hp. You can't just release a kit like that with some bogus number, these are legitimate folks. Plus, of course a dyno wouldn't show 200hp on a JCW, it would show whatever 200hp can get to the wheels in a FWD Mini.

Mike

 

2 cars, same mods, same installer, same dyno same day - - - different results...so who knows.

The thing with buying a kit from MM is that I would like to think that they actually dynoed the car with those mods and that's how they came up with those numbers.
That said, I think MM's prices are a lot higher than everyone else and they don't make any of those products, so you could make your own stage III and probably spend less...but they are good products...but I'm not sure about the shark. I've heard many people claim it wasn't good because they hit the rev limiter and the car went in limp mode...but no experience with it since my car had v36 and the shark wasn't programed for that.

 

How much money do you think you would save buying the S3 kit parts elsewhere, not considering the labor issue?

If it's not too much, I'd rather go to MM for the peace of mind that people who really know what they're doing are installing the parts. I did almost all of my own mods with my last car, and I don't necessarily regret it, but having more money now I would rather have that extra peace of mind, if it doesn't cost *too* much.

-mike

 

Several points here to mention.

First. MM has this stage 3 kit with a certain combination of mods that they feel they want to go with. If you do your own research you will find if these or other mods are the "best" for your own needs, never mind the price.

For example-
Intake- there are many to choose from, why one or another? Looks, loudness, power gains, fits with a strut bar. Lots to consider.
Exhaust- there are many to choose from. Looks, loudness, power gains, cost.
Header- more than one out there, which one. Will it work well with the rest of the upgrades?
ECU upgrade- there are many out there, with the mods choosen will it be a good match. Is it an easy install that I can do myself- like the shark or One click?

Second, I don't live close to MM and I have to rely on local shops to do the installs. Now the install cost is a big factor. Plus shipping is a big factor. Can I get most of the gains with less mods? I don't get a warranty anyway.

Third, you can have a big plan for the total upgrades you seek and have a limited budget and upgrade over time to reach the same goal without having to outlay the total amount all at once. You just get one item part by part and add to it as you go along. There isn't anything bad about that approach and you have a better idea what each mod did along the way.

 

There is something I like about an outfit that is out there in the trenches. By that, I mean Mini Mainia is respected and has a long history of providing performance / race parts for the old mini, and is out there sponsoring racers in the new Mini right now. Not everybody is willing or in a position to do this.
I agree, their prices are sometimes higher than a similiar, or even the same products available elsewhere, but they did provide a car for testing or a magazine shoot-out comparo, and put cars on the track, not a small undertaking.
As for myself, I haven't purchased anything from them as yet, but they have a good web site, with lots of products. I think the key here is that they are looking more for the enthusiast who wants the satisfaction of providing the labor portion, and they are providing a selection of tested, compatible parts to that end.
Just my take on that subject.

 

Great Company, Good Product, Good service. good everything...and they will work with you on prices, that's for sure...
I've been modding my car piece by piece, so I've got items from all over the Mini Community, so having done the research, I've found that most companies, unless they release their own product, are selling products made by the same company (eg Spec clutches) so at the end of the day, it's all about your modding program.
If I understand correctly, MleBeau wants to mod his car to a stage 1 or 2 (pulley, intake, exhaust, suspention, brakes) and then get the MM3 kit thus getting 245hp (220whp) or something like that.
I say go for it man, but do some research on the individual parts, and let them know that you can get this piece for that much, and that piece for this much and this one for that and so on, so that they cut you a better deal...install...motor...enjoy