what can i do to make my mini cooper non s faster?

 

This depends on how much money you want to spend. Basically. a CAI, and a catback will do. Then comes a rear sway bar for better handling, regular tires instead of runflats for less weight, perhaps a change in brakepads for better stopping, and s/s brakelines. If that doesn't please you, go for some sort of chip...UniChip, MTH, or similar. Best of all...take some HP Driver's Schools, so you can get in tune with your car.

 

^^ what he said, exactly! Also check the forums on "justa" performance mods:

https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...ad.php?t=51899

Our Club VP has a "justa" and loves it, they're quite tossable and performance is pretty respectable - and his exhaust note rocks.

 

There's not much that will make an appreciable improvment in power without spending silly amounts of money. Intakes and exhausts don't do a whole lot in terms of power. It does make it sound fast though.

You'll get the most bang for the buck from tires and driving school. But it's never gonna be fast in a straight line. And yes, I have a Cooper.

 

Welcome to our pain. One of buddies inspired me to overlook attempts at speed and just focus on handling. He has a mid 90's (95?) Integra that all he did was put Hawk pads, light wheels, and good rubber on it. He has a blast doing track days with his old man. IMO, a good driver will have more fun in a slow car than a crappy driver in a fast car.

 

I've found boucing up and down in the seat seems to make it take off quicker.

 

I agree with many of the posts. Make your Cooper "faster" by enhancing the handling with suspension upgrades, light wheels, and sticky tires.

Intake and exhaust can add some nice audio bling. ECU tune (MTH, GIAC) can improve throttle response and give smoother power delivery. Otherwise adding significant power to a non-S Cooper requires serious money (e.g. cylinder head).

 

Lose weight. Some ideas:

1. Go with lightweight forged wheels and lose the runflats. I have a MCSa, but when I switched to SSR Comps and lost the runflat tires, I noticed the car was quicker from a stop than before. There is an additional benefit in shorter stoping distance with the lighter wheels. And one more benefit occurs in improved gas mileage.

2. Remove the rear seat.

 

Trade it in on an MCS.

 

Agree. Intake will help it breathe better, but not necessarily go faster. Exhaust makes it sound faster, but does squat for hp. Aside from spending a bunch of moolah on a ported head and software, you are SOL. Anyone that says otherwise is selling something.

 

-1.
Nah. Thats part of the fun to me because 85% of the MINI's I see are S/C'd. Be different by being N/A.

 

I love my MC, and have modded it within reason. It's economical and has peppy performance for what it is. It's very agile thru the twisties...for a CVT, and, it just looks good.

I also love my MCSa, and have also modded it for street and track use. I like the get up and go and the howl of the supercharger, cai and the other things that add to its performance. It's NOT real economical, but does Ok with what it has under the hood.

 

Be proud!:

 

There are many mods for the mc. Exhausts, intakes and the like, I have found that a good ECU reprogram is a great mod. I have a Bluefin installed in my mc. It is also able to enact the immobilizer and also reads the ecu codes should you need to do this at some future point in time. It can be found online although I have never been able to find one in the states. Had to order it directly from the manufacturer. With regards to getting rid fo your mc for a mcs as we say in England, BOLLOCKS!!!!! There is more than enough power and fun in the mc and it weighs quite a lot less than the mcs. If you want a real professional opinion go to Texas speedwerks and communicate with Scott Bibbee he will tell you he beat the pants of many mcs at the gathering last March in Las Vegas. It is also in issue #8 of Mc2. You can plainly see all the mcs owners with their bling and horsepower and one lonely mc on the cover. I like to be in the minority myself. Hope that helps.

 

Bonnet stripes!

 

Stomp on the gas pedal!

 

Replacing the intake on my old Cooper (our current Cooper is my wife's--she won't let me mod her car) made a nice difference in throttle response, and the sound was great. The Cooper aftermarket intakes are also usually cheaper than the ones for the S.

 

Well put newunit. I love my MC. It is perfect for me.

 

how bout some weight reduction, you can start with the spare tire, wheels, rear seats, and then take it as far as you want. even removing inteior panels. less weight = more speed. i Love my MC it has plenty of pep for me, and is a blast in the twistys.

The best mod for a MC or MCS I have heard is a performance driving class, the better the driver you are the more you can get out of your car

 

Weight doesn't make an "oh my god!" difference. Have a passenger ride along and see if you notice the car being significantly slower. I don't.

On the track, I've got the back seats out of my car, removed spare, removed toolkit, removed floormats, empty glovebox etc. Doesn't make a huge difference. Certainly it is a difference, just not a whole lot in my opinion. And without the rear seats, there's a lot of road noise inside the car.

I do agree that driver instruction is the easiest way to make any car faster.

 

weight reduction is something easy to do to a certian point, that will make a difference even if a little

 

With my light(er) wheels, and no back seat, my car did become a little more tossable. And, I gained a half mile to the gallon. Plus, black wheels and no back seat gave it a racier look.

 

For pure power a cylinder head in conjuction with ECU, intake and exhaust will probably get you into the 130 to 140 bhp. New parts alone would be atleast $2000 though. Big valves, performance cam and exhaust header would max out a NA but that's another $2500.
For weight, my unsprung weight is pretty good on OEM 15" Deltas and non runflats on an otherwise heavy MC (Sunroof, Xenons, Lights, etc.)
I'm an exception but I put a used JCW head on for $947 parts and labor. It's pretty conservative compared to other heads.

 

Then you need a trans to backup that newfound power and a LSD to put it down.:impatient

 

upgrade the nut behind the wheel.