I wanna get some aftermarket parts for my 03 Mini Cooper but I can't find any good sites. Anyone know of any good sites I can find some parts at? Thanks.

 

mossmini.com
altaminiperformance.com
m7tuning.com

good places to start

 

www.minimania.com

 

Check out these guy's: www.customminishop.com Brad and Steve will do you right .

 

Just check out the vendor list here...

 

Check the Vendor Directory in the Main Menu. I recommend M7, Helix and Detroit Tuned for great service.

 

Awesome. Thanks for your help everyone! Also, does anyone have any advice on how I can convert my normal Cooper into a Cooper S? Will I need a motor swap like in previous vehicles I have owned or can I just bolt up a turbo or supercharger to this motor and it work just as good?

 

If you want an S, you'll need to sell your Cooper and buy an S. There's just no performance parts out there that will get you where you want to be. Compression ratio, engine internals, etc are just different enough that you'll never get there.
Good news is that the resale on Minis is strong, so just take the money you were thinking of putting into mods and put them into an S. You'll be much happier. Plus there are a ton of mods to add even more power to an S.

 

i better mention Aaron from www.outmotoring.com - he's very helpful, always a pleasure to order/deal with. That's coming from an international buyer too!

 

Two approaches-

One is to keep the Cooper, add some mods for power (only modest gains), then upgrade the suspension, tires and wheels like any performance MINI.
Net effect is while modest on power overall- handling will be superb and as good as any MINI with a lower weight and advantages of a normally aspirated engine that is also fuel efficient.

The other approach is to add a turbo kit to your Cooper but it can get rather complicated and you may need custom ECU tuning- rather costly overall upgrade path. Likely more than $3000

Then there is just replacing the Cooper with a Cooper S (only $3000 retail difference) and on the used market it would be a smaller difference most likely. For you to upgrade to a Cooper S is not so easy and isn't just a bolt on of the Supercharger and intercooler. Even an engine swap is not so easy or cheap as it might seem, transmissions need to be changed as well then the bonnet for the air scoop and the battery needs to be relocated (cooper S battery is in the rear boot floor midline vs base cooper battery is under the bonnet) then the exhaust system needs to be for the Cooper S not base cooper, and the intake needs changing, etc.

Talk to some vendors about options for your cooper or for the Cooper S.

 

At some point during the "mod" process, there's a financial breakeven with either an upgraded model (Cooper to Cooper S), or other car (Cooper S to, say, Lotus Elise). Laugh not, there are more than a few here who've spent that kind of money or more - but if you get out of the Mini, you're out of the mini experience (and we will shun you - well, maybe not if you get something we collectively judge as "cool").

IN your case, going Cooper to "S" should mean sell one, buy the other. Anything else is more $ less performance, with the possible exception that putting "S" internals in a Cooper will save insurance dollars, but that's short-term gain, long term loss (if you wreck it, you won't get your mod money back).

Good luck! Lots of stuff out there... and many folks swear by their Coopers (better mileage, same smileage).

 

Where can I go to get an icon like those Mini icons you have in your signatures with the eyes and stuff??

Anyways:

I'm basically aiming for a sleeper. I want it to look like a normal Cooper except for the bonnet..I want the Cooper S bonnet and a regular Cooper exhaust outlet, regular Cooper fenders, and regular Cooper trunk lid. Of course I'll be beefing up the suspension and bolting on a mean sounding exhaust and adding some minor bolt on parts for some noticeable power gains. Would my approach still be better going with a Cooper S and swapping some body panels?