It seems to me that the great majority of MINI owners do enjoy adding accessories and mods to their cars (Pulleys, wheels, exhausts, brakes, etc) which is one of the major attractions about owning a new Cooper or MCS.

However, I was wondering how many of us have decided to leave your MINIS bone stock from factory and whether you plan to add mods in the future or perhaps leave the car as it was delivered to you from the showroom floor.

Aside from the chrome grille and chrome mirror caps, my '04 MCS is still bone stock. Ditto for our '02 Cooper CVT which is a plane Jane model with only two options: CVT and MFSW.

Anyone else? :smile:

 

I'm hardly the mod king, either. After 13 months I've added a front Euro plate (LMW 28IF) and one of those storage thingies that go under the radio. Oh, and snow tires. Not really mods at all...

 

Nothing but coco mats...bone stock!

 

Interesting question. I suspect that you won't get much sympathy on this site, but in the larger world of MINI ownership I'd be willing to bet that there are more "bone stock" cars than modified cars. Once again, NAM is hardly representative of the mainstream of MINI owners. And that's part of our (collective) charm.

The only mods to my MCS are a cold air intake (which I think hardly qualifies as it's really just a change in a filter) and I've replaced the standard antenna with short one from a Honda Element. Oh, and I've replaced my standard wheels with steel wheels and ugly plastic wheel covers for the winter...but come spring I'll be back to the SLites at least until my runflats run out of tread.

I've decided that I do not plan on doing any engine, suspension, or further appearance mods. I like my car just as it is, and frankly I don't have the money or time to engage in MINI-ownership-as-hobby. No disrespect to anyone who takes a different view...it's just not for me.

 

At times I have considered adding an UJ flag and white stripes on my MCS, but I really like the clean look of the car as is.

I really dig the way my car drives and feel that the power delivery, handling and acceleration are more than sufficient for my everyday *motoring* needs and wants. Adding a pulley and intake is the fastest and cheapest way to enhance performance but I have my reservations about changing the pulley from a warranty perspective.

The cool thing about owning a MCS is that you can always upgrade the performance by adding a pulley, intake (Preferably outside of factory warranty) or even stretching all the way to the JCW kit.

I love the degree of flexibility afforded by these cars.

 

stock is boring

 

Aside from factory options such as driving lights and the US Flag on the roof, my mcs is bone stock just like my '89 mustang gt convertible and my '31 chevy. I like it that way!

 

I'm a stock 02/02 MINI Cooper 5-speed.

I tried a plasma-booster on loan, but returned it.

So, I'm stock again!!! And LOVING it!!!

 

My Cooper (...which is now almost 1 yr. old) has no performance mods at all...only a brake light mod, a glove box organizer, and a shorty antenna. Thanks for bringing this up, because I think there's lots of folks who love their MINIs just as they are. The car is a blast!!!

 

>>stock is boring

My stock MCS with no performance mods other than tires sure does a good job of keeping up with YOU in the twisties until we come to a straight section where you can put that extra power to the road and leave me behind!

Compared to the vast majority of similarly priced sport-hatches that are often modified for increased performance, we are really lucky that MINI did such a great job of delivering a very well balanced product that does not need anything more than better tires to give world class handling performance.

Of course I have done some exterior and interior comfort and aesthetic mods, but nothing to alter the drivetrain or suspension. I haven't gotten it on the dyno yet, but my butt tells me that the red anodozed aluminum oil filler cap probably gives me about 1/2 additional horsepower!

In the future as my warranty expires, I expect I will probably do the pully and ECU if I can ever get a chance to have Randy put a wrench to my MINI.

 

Only mods I have are: Brake/Fog Light mod, Euro Parcel Shelf and AUX adapter.

I've got a wife & kids to spend my money on!

 

only thing i have are tints so far....

but that will soon change!!

Chris

 

i have my winter wheelset on because SP9000's cant' handle chicago
winter. otherwise bone stock (wait, does an Alpine CD/MP3 changer count?)

No need to mod this car for the streets.
this is my bottom line on the MCS. :smile:

 

the only thing I added to my mini is new valve stem caps that some kid or loser
stole off of my baby. Other than that, I have thought about an intake and new
shift **** but I have so much fun driving it already I wonder if it is even worth it.

 

>>stock is boring
Normally I would totally agree with you. All of my other vehicles (landcruiser/pickup/ 4 runner) are all fairly extensively modified. My mini has an infinity basslink. Thats it. I may switch brake pads, but other than that I feel no need to really mess with anything.Which is strange , because I never leave anything alone.

 

i feel that a vehicle should be modified beyond stock
whether it’s performance or other mods that reflect the owner’s personality
otherwise i would spend as little on a vehicle as i can and drive a me-too kar like a Hokus pokus Focus
then i can stand in the parking lot trying to figure out which kar is mine
just my 2 cents

 

Mine is stock other than the UK plate.

 

>>i feel that a vehicle should be modified beyond stock
>>whether it’s performance or other mods that reflect the owner’s personality
>>otherwise i would spend as little on a vehicle as i can and drive a me-too kar like a Hokus pokus Focus
>>then i can stand in the parking lot trying to figure out which kar is mine
>>just my 2 cents
>>
I respect your opinion, however, keep in mind that the MINI due to limited availability and ordering process system which ensures that almost no car produced is identical to the next, is in a totally different league from your everyday "Pokus-Focis" or your mundane Honda Civic.

Think about it....in 15 months of ownership I have not come accross an IDENTICALLY SPECCED '02 Cooper CVT like ours. Someone in the Florida club has another plain jane '02 CVT Pepper White/Black but he opted for the Kaleido black standard cloth seats and we got the Leatherette Black std seats. Something so insignificant as the seat material makes our cars already different from each other.

We have lots of new MINIs here in Miami, but rest assured that neither one of our two cars have gotten lost in any parking lot crowd. I have yet to see another CR/W MCS with chrome grill and chrome mirror caps. How about those owners of Velvet Red Coopers? Those are a dime in a dozen around here.

 

^^^^ that's why i bought the MINI

 

>>Aside from factory options such as driving lights and the US Flag on the roof, my mcs is bone stock just like my '89 mustang gt convertible and my '31 chevy. I like it that way!

Hey! I sold my 89 GT stang for my 02 MCS! Love the ragtop! I don't think the MINI rag looks right...(no flames please)...

I was going to do the pulley and CAI this past weekend but my plans exploded into a pile of molten lactate extract from hoofed mammals at the last minute! So for now I , too , am bone stock...mechanically speaking.

_________________

 

This is an interesting question. Based upon many of the performance mods I have seen or heard of, both in person and on this site, I have been very tempted to add a reduction pulley and all of the other "required mods". I could afford it but I got my car with all of the options I wanted and I really like the sound and the feel of a stock MCS. The Sports Package, 17" S-lites, Xenon Lamps and 6-speed trans give me everything I was hoping for.

I work with a guy who has a heavily modded Subaru WRX and he keeps asking me when I am going to upgrade. I keep telling him that for the type of driving I do, 163 HP is plenty!

Oh, I do have an Italian Job antenna ball...

 

robby- tell your subie friend to drive (i mean drive) a MCS. if he does not
agree that the car is good bone stock out of the box for the streets,
he's probably just a drag racer who likes hitting the strip.

the wrx REQUIRES mods to make it do what we car lovers like the
car to do. MCS, it's really a different story. i know that the MCS has
a tad bit of bodyroll on fast corners and sometimes could use a little
more power on the expressways, but calculating that into the equation
while driving the MINI is all part of the fun.

any one can go fast on the streets with a modded car. on the MINI,
it is fun outdriving those modded cars in factory form. :smile: well, atleast
that's how i enjoy the MCS.

 

Mine is 100% stock!! ...I just picked it up on Saturday

 

Having attended a few MINI meets, and being a modder myself, I think that you folks are in the vast silent majority. By my unofficial calculations, only 15% - 20% of MINI owners mod their cars (certainly even less than that number risk losing their warranty by doing a pulley mod or similar). If I were going to purchase a used MINI, I'd probably go for a *Bone Stock* Club member's ride before a modded MINI. :smile:

 

mgcman- if i ever get a second MCS, i would get a KW coilover kit and do
some body work to it (non-factory style)...and probably sport some 18"s and
an exhaust/intake.

this is all for the bling fun factor, not for the pure driving sensation.