Hello all. I have really liked the Mini since I saw one back in 2001 (?) on display in Indianapolis at the Mini-marathon. Anyway, I am considering a new car and am thinking about the Mini as a contender. I don't drag race, but like to open my cars up daily so I like roll-on power. What kind of mods would I need to have similar roll-on power to an STi, EVO, SRT-4 etc? Evo's I know, and to some extent STi's, are not ridiculously quick from a roll (negating their sick launching abilities) so it hopefully shouldn't be that tough to match them. I used to have a DSM with front wheel drive that could make me grin while holding off Camaro SS's, destroy GT's, and about tie a C5. Eventually, I'd like this type of power again. Obviously a Quaife or LSD will be needed, but what kind of roll-on experience can I expect from relatively inexpensive mods e.g. intake, cams, cat-back, smaller pulley etc, p&p. Thanks for your time. I will, of course, start doing some more searches, but would like to get my first post out of the way. FWIW I am currently in crap fuel heaven i.e. SoCal. Thanks.

 

If you are wanting to hold off a C5, you are looking at some serious coin being put into a MINI. There is really no substitute for cubic inches. Out of the box, the C5 is making somewhere around 350 hp & ft/lbs. Getting north of 250 hp & ft/lbs out of the MINI's 1.6 liter engine (vs. 5.7 liters for the C5) is going to require going with a twin charged approach or possibly something along the lines of the M62 s/c with appropriate mods. If the C5 wants to get serious about hp & ft/lbs, they can easily go up to the 650 territory (and 9 second 1/4 time). I think you need to re-think what your objectives are.

Handling is another matter. Tight autocross courses are the MINI's natural environment. Get some real tight turns, and with just the stock sport suspension on the MCS, you will be able to humble the C5. (Even if they have the Z51 option; in the end, it comes down to turning circles....)

 

Just want a quick, small car that reminds me of my old MkI Golf GTi...

Ok, forget LS1's.

How difficult is it to trap (trap=hp) around 100mph? Every car I drive regularly seems to be oddly around there i.e. Mild 9-2X Aero (read WRX), Mild 900 SE Turbo, Z4 3.0, Mild 850R etc...

 

dunno about C5's, but my 05 MCS (with its pig-rich AFR, which i will fix soon) is dead even during a roll-on race with my mate's 2001 WRX with the following mods:

Cold Air Intake
3" Exhaust all the way to the turbos...including a metallic hi-flo cat
Dyno-tuned chip
Boosted to 16psi or so

My car has the following mods:
17% pulley
Cold Air Intake
Oneball exhaust
MTH remapped ECU
Alta Intercooler Diverter.

I'd probably have beaten him if my car wasn't running so damn rich

 

If you are referring to the 1984 GTI, the stock MCS will beat that one. If memory serves, the 1984 GTI had a 1.6 liter n.a. engine that put out something like 100 hp and 90 ft/lbs. I had a 1986 GTI that put out something like 105 hp and 100 ft/lbs. Then around 1988, VW released a 16v GTI that bumped the output up to around 120 hp and 110 ft/lbs. Weight was somewhere around 2,700 lbs. All of the GTIs would torque steer like nothing I had ever experienced. Fast forward to the present, and the stock MCS weighs about the same, but engine output is better and best of all - no torque steer.... The stock MCS definitely meets your criteria straight from the factory.

Also, the suspension on the stock MCS is head and shoulders better than the GTI - my 1986 GTI on bumpy roads felt like a washing machine on full rinse cycle. On those same roads, my stock MCSa had nowhere near the bouncing. With the Koni FSDs and non-runflat tires, the MCSa is downright composed over the bumpy roads.

 

IMO, to have a powerful MCS to contend with EVO's, STi's, etc. you will have to spend around $6k in bolt-ons, or spend around the same on a twin-charged setup with a lot more potential. If you are primarily concerned on straight line power from roll on speeds, I don't think a LSD is that important if you have nice tires. And if you don't already know, references to street racing are not permitted on this site, so be careful at what you say or else a moderator will lock the thread.

 

Actually it was a 1.781. Mine was stripped to 1700lbs and race-prepped e.g. intake, sewer pipe, 16v tb, ported intake manifold, p+p shaved head, big cam, 4 into 1 wrapped headers, no-cat etc... slightly faster in 2nd(!) off the line than my brother's 944S in first!!!

Miss her dearly...died of cancer (rust)

 

Thanks for all of the posts. Now I just heard the new Mini will be turbo charged which I will probably prefer especially considering current gas prices.