Hey guys. Have a brand new 04 CVT Cooper. So far, I've gotten the windows tinted, got new wheels, M7 springs, and an rinky dink s2000 antenna. Will be setting aside about $1500 more or less within the next few months. Any suggestions on what I should get for the Coop? Whether it's ICE, Exterior mods, suspension, exhaust, intake, and so on....Trying to stay away from stuff that's too internal cus it's a brand new car and don't really wanna risk the warranty on the engine at this point. What do you guys think???

 

I see a rear sway bar in your future. Do a search and find lots of discussion. It seems to be a very effective mod for a Cooper.

 

I would do Rear swaybar, exhaust, intake, in that order. :smile:

 

Start off with a driving school first, then mod the car.

 

Right on Beastmaster.

 

Even though you have $1500 budgeted, think of the long term, what is your overall vision of what you want to do? You already have a fair amount of mods. In the short term maybe a rear 19mm swaybar (set to softest or middle setting).

You'd be surprised how much you can learn from driving school. In the end it always boils down to the skill of the driver rather than the mods on the car.
You'd be alot safer driving under all conditions and it's a smart investment.

Exhaust is fine if you don't mind it being a bit louder. Power gains are about 4+ HP. Exterior and appearance mods are to your liking or comfort. Audio upgrades are a bottomless pit if you are not careful.

 

Just out curiosity, has anyone had long term problems after getting an exhaust or an intake??? As far as sound, nothing too loud and similar to a ricer. Exterior-wise, I'm still undecided. Considering maybe aero side skirts. Hmmm....what to do, what to do.

 

The Aero kit does give it a more aggresive look.:smile:

 

I would definately add the intake next. What a difference in the fun factor. Cheap and easy to install yourself. The Euro shelf and glove box organizer are cool too. The rear sway bar is also a great buy. All together you still havent spent much more than $500.00 with installation and you will have a completely different car.

How do you like the M7 springs? That may be my next mod. Love to hear your experiences with these. Thanks

 

From my other cars that Ive ran "long-term", ive had no issues on exhaust
or intake.

As far as my MCS, Ive had it on there for about 5 months (?) and so far,
no issues at all.

The aero side skirts sounds like a good plan too. :smile: I think someone
was selling theirs in the Marketplace.

 

I agree with kenchan : rear sway bar definitely first, then exhaust and header or intake and exhaust.:smile:
Driver's school is a blast, whatever you bring!:smile:
Try talking with Randy from: http://webbmotorsports.com
advise is free, you need to assess your needs, etc.....

 

As far as exterior mods go, I was thinking replace my bumper with an S bumper, then maybe getting the side skirts, either the aero skirts or the s skirts. How much do you guys think that will run at?

If I go internally, I'm thinking sway bar, control arms(to get my original geomotry back), exhaust, and intake. Price-wise, how's that looking?

To top it off, I may get an alarm installed. Any suggestions on this one and how much I'm looking to spend. I'm kind of iffy cus I hear about people's alarms being set off with the slightest noise.

 

I donno, if I had the MC, I think I would want to keep the factory f/r bumpers
and just do the sideskirts. I would use more chrome accents.
I'd probably also consider the Haman front lip too.

Your performance mods will be in the neighborhood of about $1k -$1.3k
depending on what you get. I would go with the factory alarm.

Thanks for the support pbraun. :smile:

 

with new wheels i'd say greenstuff or mintex red box might do you some good... im sure you are getting pretty sick and tired of brushing down your rims only to find them dirty again in 2-3 days

if you are not really autoxing, sway bar from a former S might be a good idea.. they do not adjust.. but it does give it quite a bit more, and it's cheaper thna getting a full 19mm bar

intake and exhaust should not have any problems with the engine.. now if your filter gets really dirty or if you don't oil it every now and then that's a litle different!

 

Yeah, I was considering the Hamann lip for a while, but if I get that lip I'm gonna have to get the arches and moldings painted to go along with it. Unless, I just have the lip painted black so it matches them. But then, the arches have that rough texture to them. Is it somehow possible to get the lip done in a matte finish then given texture.

 

I'm not a mechanic and I'm not a tech. Just a stay at home military wife who hasn't experienced much luxury...until my MINI.

That being said, what *I* would do with that budget is probably dorky to the rest, but I'd buy that XM satellite radio and pay the monthly fee for several years ahead. HEHEHE.

 

It would be nice to have the wife away for a week and access to the credit card. My choice would be cold air induction, racing header and catback system haha

 

Since we're talking Coopers here, I had heard the Cooper exhaust system isn't really all that restrictive and that one might see improvements in sound but not so much in hp really. Same for intakes. In fact, I heard of one local owner who went back to a panel filter after measuring less performance...not sure what intake they installed though. Another question...does the ECU have to catch up/adapt to these kinds of mods? Any thoughts???

 

Kenchan is right on.