has anyone been able to get any more horses out of their MC than this? I am shooting for a 175 mark and could use some insights.

 

SpoMini - who has 155BHP on their Cooper? And how? Haven't heard anyone throw a number out like that yet for the Cooper.

 

Turbo?

 

I hadn't heard that big a number either.... but I'd love to know.. 155hp, thats not too shabby I'd do it if it was available, and no major damge like a turbo, or NOS..

 

What about the JCW for Cooper? Can it increase to 150HP?

 

>>I hadn't heard that big a number either.... but I'd love to know.. 155hp, thats not too shabby I'd do it if it was available, and no major damge like a turbo, or NOS..

A properly engineered turbo system with an intercooler wouldn't do any damage, nor shorten the life of the motor one bit... assuming someone actually took a lot of time to R&D and fab it up. *waiting*

 

JCW for Cooper only provides modest gains. No real "silver bullet" for the Cooper at this point outside of Scobib's info on a turbo done the right way.

 

I saw some numbers when I was in the UK (Leeds) for a MC with the following

Fat Valve Head
Cam
Chipped for the head
London Stiainless ehaust manifold
Borla exhaust
A wierd modded K&N filter that sat back 1/2 in 1/2 out of the area under the windsheild screen.
wires.

It had some other stuff but mostly bling at that point. The numbers converted from kW) was 155 BHP. At that point I was wondering if there was anyway to squeeze another 20.

 

Thought it might have been a UK Cooper with that type of number / claim. I have yet to see a US tuner claim anything close to that for the Cooper.

SpoMini - could you expalin what you mean by Stage 1 head, Stage 2 cam for the uninitiated (me specifically)?

 

--"Thought it might have been a UK Cooper with that type of number / claim"

Why do you say that, are the base model coopers different over there?

-Chris

If anyboday knwo shwo to pull that much hp out of the cooper I'd dig seeing it.. I didn't get the cooper becaue it was fast, hell I even got an automatic.. but with a performance boost of that much it would be worth looking into.

 

The Cooper has been out longer in the UK, more tuners have been fiddling with them as far as chipping and stuff goes. There's at least one tuner claiming to have a 145 BHP MINI out there in the UK

Newminisport

In the US, the MCS is considered the "performance" MINI - in the UK they didn't have the MCS at the same time as the Cooper, so the Cooper got more attention at first, only makes sense.

 

I heard the MC tranny couldn't handle the additional torque...true? (...hence the Gertrag in the MCS.)

 

you take it back to the dealer and buy the "S".

 

Funny caidaudio....quite a few Cooper owners enjoy chucking cash into their cars and making them go faster. Not everyone wants to go out and trade them in for an MCS.

 

I am sooooooooo tired of hearing MCS owners rub that crap in. Its not like guys own a damn ferrari, get over it.

Yes I could have waited an extra 4 months, and paid an EXTRA price premium, but I didn't. Now go throw yourself off a cilff.

yeesh

 

I'm also interested to see how much i can increase my HP with my MC (1 month old). I couldn't afford to get an S, but being that I'm probably going to throw a couple grand into my MC, I'm thinking I probably should have gotten one anyway. But, nonetheless, I love my MC....but crave a little more HP (girls like power too, you know)

I'm looking into trying to get as close as I can to most MCS, so as I get more info, I'll add to this posting. Kind of sucks for me, since I live in Hawaii and most vendors here cater to Asian Imports....plus, online vendors charge an arm and a leg for shipping (and I need my arms and legs for motoring).

I'm sick of hearing "you should have gotten an S", but when I'm done with my mods, I'm taking my baby to the track and I'm smoking all the MCS boys...I'll celebrate for all Coopers with mods!

Keep this posting going!

Ms. Keiki

 

All I can say is that on a recent club run I led in my MC, the MCS' had just as much trouble keeping up as the MC's. In the straights, they did catch up, only to find themselves slowing down for the next corner... hahahaha...

IMHO, the 'S' has a definite advantage on corner exits and straights - although on hard corner exits they have to modulate the throttle with more finesse to avoid wheelspin, which is something I DON'T have to do (you can just floor it in the MC). Which is why I think the MC can carry more speed through a corner and exit harder, suspensions, tires, etc. being equal.

Watching both auto-x, they turn similar times. If the driver's are equal, I'd say on the track or auto-x that the times would be very close to one another...

I love my regular MC...

 

The funny thing about your statement is that turbo and N20 are both reversible for the power gains you are talking about. To get the MC engine up past 150whp naturally aspirated will require some serious internal work which would:
1) cost more than turbo or N20
2) be completely irreversible
3) lose everyday drivability
4) possibly be more fragile unless carefully built up.

I would start by an aggressive port job, lightweight valves, stiffer valvesprings and big lumpy cams. Exhaust side is easy with header and a good exhaust. Intake I would probably go with a custom high volume plenum. Then dive into the bottom end with a custom headgasket, forged pistons, rods, a little overbore. Blueprint and balance the bottom end. Raise the rev limit to 8000-8500rpm. Fuel delivery will have to be adjusted either with a fuel pressure regulator and/or larger injectors (new fuel rail?). All this quickly adds up to big money, especially after labor. Living at the rpm necessary to generate 100+whp/L invariably will take its toll on engine life.

 

>>SpoMini - could you expalin what you mean by Stage 1 head, Stage 2 cam for the uninitiated (me specifically)?


its a ported polished tuned head. I also added stiffer valves to compensate for a more aggressive cam and had the head shaved a few thousands of an inch to increase compression.

The stages refer to ( and I belive this is why they call them stages) the incrementation of performance increases in a part family.

 

SpoMini - thanks! Who did the work?

 

There are other reasons to mod an MC instead of getting the MCS. A lot of people prefer naturally aspirated (NA) power to boosted power. I for one don't like suprises on the track. I have heard of 200HP Miatas that were NA. That's at the engine. I think around 175 at the wheel. I would think 150 at the wheel would be possible with the MC without opening the bottom end.

Give it some time. The MINI has a huge following and their selling the crap out of them. It won't be long before MINI has all of the bugs fixed and the aftermarket has lots of upgrades to offer. It should be a hoot.

I have been riding the wave of excitement over in the Miata world for 6 years and now can't wait to ride the wave of excitement in the MINI world. I think the MINI might just be even bigger. The Miata is over priced now. Our local club membership is falling. Still fun to see them on the track kickin *** and making fools out of cars that cost twice as much!