I'd like to spend roughly $400 I may go up to $500 or less on mods to get an extra 30 hp out of mini.. I figure that fairly reasonable gains from what I've heard and won't hurt the engine and tranny... any ideas on the best way to pull it off for a bone stock CVT? or is it a pipe dream?

 

My good lord if anyone can suggest anything for that amount of money.....I'd be interested as well.

Something tells me it might not be possible though.

 

At that price range, I think you're out of luck. Outside of bolting a turbo on a Cooper (CVT or 5 speed) 30HP is a tough nut to crack on that car, period.

 

Used nitrous system can be had for about that amount.

 

>>Used nitrous system can be had for about that amount.<<

Can I buy yours?

 

I could have sworn I've seen stage 1 sets for a cvt offered for that much for about 30 hp.. but maybe I'm wrong.... maybe I should rephrase the question, what kind of gains could I exepct from a new intake/exhaust system, an ECU upgrade, and possibly a new header. I've tried to keep track of those kind of number but it seems that they are scattered amongst many different posts...

 

you guys arent gonna get much outta that cvt, unless you drop a turbo, or something to that extent. I mean, I can outrun L. Mini any day of the week...

 

Sorry, not for that kind of $$. The best bang for the buck performance wise is the supercharger reduction pulley, which installed on a MCS goes for around $400. Maybe between 15 - 20 hp. Not available for the MC for obvious reasons. Try an intake and a catback, maybe $600 - $700 and about 10 - 12 hp gain.

 

i just use the lever on the bottom left of the seat and lower your seat as much as possible


i gain about 20-30 HP by doing that... oh wait, you say that's just my perception?

 

from what I have learned here, adding up HP numbers from seperate mods does not equal what one thinks. Sort of like 5+2+10 does NOT=17

I would suggest to see what ECU's get developed for the Cooper as the aftermarket matures for the car. The MCS is way ahead because it is deemed more of the performance model, and is more tuneable. There are some on here saying they have made decent gains on the Cooper, but it takes more than $500. What the Cooper does benefit from is stuff like suspension mods, and nice sticky tires.

 

>>you guys arent gonna get much outta that cvt, unless you drop a turbo, or something to that extent. I mean, I can outrun L. Mini any day of the week...

heheee - Seriously Coop', if you're outrunnin' L.Mini i'd say you're going in the wrong direction!

yeah, *sigh, me been workin' too hard again,
Tatt

 

>>you guys arent gonna get much outta that cvt, unless you drop a turbo, or something to that extent. I mean, I can outrun L. Mini any day of the week...

Seeing as how you drive a cooper as well, I'm pretty sure on a tight road course a CVT could beat you, as long as the driver knows about how to use the CVT's "tricks" to increase the exiting speed around the turns....and mods will do the same amount on either transmission

I think that a lot of CVT owners would gain a lot from learning to use the CVT's abilities to help them out. It's a pretty amazing form of technology.

On a close note, do you think things like an exhaust and intake are a bit better on a CVT? Both of these mods actually lower the low end torque and help in the higher RPM...and since the RPM range on a CVT is always up high on acceleration, does that mean the mods are being used more and thus more helpful in acceleration?

 

Doh *smack in the head* this is what I saw the other day... http://www.amdtechnikusa.com/minicooper.asp PLease forgive my stupidity. anyway.. However if anybody does coemup with a great solution I'm sure we'd all liekt o see it.. Sorry yall, next tiem I'm searching teh interent I'll wear my glasses. Hey does anybody knwo how much they're stage 2 costs?

 

Sorry but it is a pipe dream at this point. You must be new to the performance modification forum b/c this sort of thing is discussed all the time. The MCS is much more easily modded yet other than adding a smaller pulley onto the supercharger, you can't add more than about 7HP for $500 - and that's with an S! It takes about $1500 on the S to approach 30HP.

With the base Cooper, simple, non-warranty threatening stuff won't give you a lot of horsepower. Add an intake and exhaust and you'll be spending more like $700-800 and you'll be lucky to get 5-8 more HP! I'm not an expert on available Cooper mods though, so I'll let the Cooper guys tell you the specifics. Good luck though!

 

Truthfully performance on a cvt is a pipedream to me.

I know my old MINI cvt was driven well by someone who raced go-karts and thus never got off the gass for the entire run, but really the BMW cvt is crap. I went and got an S and will never look back.

Sorry to rain on your parade.

 

>>Truthfully performance on a cvt is a pipedream to me.
>>
>>I know my old MINI cvt was driven well by someone who raced go-karts and thus never got off the gass for the entire run, but really the BMW cvt is crap. I went and got an S and will never look back.
>>
>>Sorry to rain on your parade.

_________________
'02 Cooper CVT PW/B, MFSW, CD Boost, 15" 8-Spoke silver wheels.
'04 MCS CR/W, UJ Roof Flag, Aux Input, HK, Sport MFSW, Rain sensing, Auto dim mirror, 16" silver V-spoke wheels, Chrome grille, Chrome mirrors, OBC, front fogs.

 

>>Truthfully performance on a cvt is a pipedream to me.

I think this holds very true in terms of engine mods. I personally only have an intake and an exhaust in terms of engine performance. Sure they freed up a few horses, but i really just wanted the growl and smoother acceleration. The rest of my mods are (and will be in the future) will be handling mods, and furthering the coopers strength of being lighter.

Sorry to say, to any CVT owners looking for a powerhouse, the MCS or a turbo are your only hope. But it is definitely possible for you to keep up with MCS's in the twisities if you save up and tune your suspension well

 

sdanaher wrote: You're only reaping 1/2 the beneift you could. By sliding the seat several notches forward, you can improve throttle response considerably!

 

cooper4us has a point, the CVT discussion forum on MINI2 has some fairly good discussions on that model. I don't think either of the Cooper's are a dog - they need to be driven right to really make them sing. From my standpoint - an MCS and a McClaren F1 are both going to beat me, so I'll just have fun with my Cooper and try and get better auto-x times & stuff....

_________________

 

I agree with those here who feel the CVT MINI has potential. The bottleneck on performance for all MINIs is the exhaust ports being too small. So, a modified head is a good start, such as a ported and polished head and even better with bigger exhaust valves. I've heard that the heads make the difference for performance generally speaking about any car. That will cost more than you are planning on spending chollomo. Several NAM sponsors are developing a freer flowing head, and MINI Madness has one, too. You could find a local speed shop to do the work, but you'd want to be sure they know what they are doing, because once it is done you cannot change it, so you don't want a mistake. It is easy to do it wrong. But you probably wouldn't do that without a freer flowing exhaust, and you would want to do other mods too, such as air intake, ECU, header, cam, throttle body, intake manifold. But if you want 30 hp, then you will need to eventually do the head work. Or instead of all that you could just add a turbo, which would be more cost effective in the end, and probably provide more low end torque, which is better for a CVT.

For what you want to spend right now, you may be better off to try to eliminate weight. For example, a light wheel and tire package would help a lot. Don't know if you can do that for what you have to spend now. You may want to wait a little longer and get a few more bucks and do something then. One pound savings at the wheel is the equivalent of four pounds elsewhere, so weight savings there will go a long way. Things to consider are for example, wheels, tires, brakes, etc. M7 will have some good light stuff he is working on. Good candidates are acrylic windows, carbon fiber hood, doors, hatchback. Consider light suspension parts as you upgrade those down the road.

I feel that the biggest gain for about that amount of money would be the ECU, which is supposed to add about 10 hp or so, and people say that is more than an intake and exhaust combined. I have the intake and exhaust but not the ECU, so cannot speak of that. I got mine with the car so don't know how much performance it added. Probably not much, but with other mods down the road, it all adds up.

Good luck and have fun!

 

Actually b/c of unsprung weight, it's much more than that. Yeah a pound per wheel equals four pounds but b/c it's rotational weight, you save a lot more.

 

Wow thanks for the update greatgro. Even better!

 

You can buy a lot of stickers for $400!!!