Has any heard this yet?

The 1.4L 163Hp supercharged MINI Cooper S Engine won the International engine of the year award for the best 1.4L to 1.8L Engine.

Truly International
Since 1999, the International Engine of the Year Awards are among the industry's most coveted accolades, widely advertised and promoted by their recipients. The competition is organized by Engine Technology International, a British-based publication that contains no advertising and receives no financial support from any automaker or distributor.

 

Do we know if that is open to ALL current production engines, or just the "new" engines (i.e. the first year in production). I just find it a little hard to swallow that the MINI 1.6 is "engine of the year" compared to the VW/Audi 1.8T.

Of course the publication that is British.

 

>>Do we know if that is open to ALL current production engines, or just the "new" engines (i.e. the first year in production). I just find it a little hard to swallow that the MINI 1.6 is "engine of the year" compared to the VW/Audi 1.8T.
>>
>>Of course the publication that is British.

 

The VW 6 and 10 cylinder engines were highly ranked as were most Honda engines but the categories and rules are very complex and assure that almost every decent engine recieves mention. Engines were, as usual, judged purely by opinions of driveability.

 

Why is the MINI 1.6 a winner and not the VW 1.8T? I guess it didn't score well with the judges: strangely, it appears the VW engine was not even amongst the top 6!

now that is truly a joke..the VW 1.8T is a terrific engine not to be included, my son just bought a new Jetta with the 180hp 1.8 T and it blows my MCS away as far as straight away performance is concerned...I was very surprised but impressed especially with the low end performace as I thought most turbos had lag at the low end, but not this engine....interesting since the pentagon has its share of critics even within BMW and looks to be replaced at the next model change if Peugot is ready.....but don't understand why there would be a british bias since the engine is produced in Brazil by a Detroit company, laugh !

 

Has VW fixed that ignition coil problem in the 1.8T????

 

>>Why is the MINI 1.6 a winner and not the VW 1.8T? I guess it didn't score well with the judges: strangely, it appears the VW engine was not even amongst the top 6!
>>
>>now that is truly a joke..the VW 1.8T is a terrific engine not to be included, my son just bought a new Jetta with the 180hp 1.8 T and it blows my MCS away as far as straight away performance is concerned...I was very surprised but impressed especially with the low end performace as I thought most turbos had lag at the low end, but not this engine....interesting since the pentagon has its share of critics even within BMW and looks to be replaced at the next model change if Peugot is ready.....but don't understand why there would be a british bias since the engine is produced in Brazil by a Detroit company, laugh !
>>

Yeah. I hope you still like the VW 1.8T engine when the defective ignition coils start to go haywire on ya.

I simply fail to understand what is mosts people beef with the MINI's 1.6L TRITEC engine.....this is one fantastic powerplant!

 

>>Has VW fixed that ignition coil problem in the 1.8T????


No they've left it up the aftermarket. I'm thinking that they think the only ones who'll care will be the tuner anyway. the rest will go back to the dealer for work.

 

By the way, the respected Wards automotive publication has also selected the MINI Cooper S' 1.6L TRITEC Supercharged engine as one of the 10 best car powerplants for the 2003 model year. Wards is an American publication.

 

I simply fail to understand what is mosts people beef with the MINI's 1.6L TRITEC engine.....this is one fantastic powerplant!

guess if you like no low end torque prone to stalling from starts then the TRITEC is your kind of engine, over 3000 rpms its ok but certainly wouldn't call it a fantastic powerplant, laugh....but then again guess it seems to be acceptable in all the PT Cruisers & Neons in Europe as it will stay in these cars unchanged.....interesting to read about the development and strategy of the pentagon engine and how many bimmer engineers were against it, but were assured it would never be tagged with a BMW stigma since the minis would be sold stand alone outside BMW and would have front wheel drive which could never be associatied with BMW since they only do real drive....obviously the cheap price was a motivator because of the dual use with the cruisers & neons, otherwise the list price of the mini could not have been kept low where BMW wanted it.......

 

>>>>Has VW fixed that ignition coil problem in the 1.8T????
>>
>>
>>No they've left it up the aftermarket. I'm thinking that they think the only ones who'll care will be the tuner anyway. the rest will go back to the dealer for work.

My neighbor had a 2001 Jetta with the 1.8T... it was actually quite funny when his first coil went out, he had it repaired by the dealer, and when he got it back, the second one went. well, it kept happening, and after the fourth time, he just said forget it and bought a jeep grand cherokee....

 

>>I simply fail to understand what is mosts people beef with the MINI's 1.6L TRITEC engine.....this is one fantastic powerplant!
>>
>>guess if you like no low end torque prone to stalling from starts then the TRITEC is your kind of engine, over 3000 rpms its ok but certainly wouldn't call it a fantastic powerplant, laugh....but then again guess it seems to be acceptable in all the PT Cruisers & Neons in Europe as it will stay in these cars unchanged.....interesting to read about the development and strategy of the pentagon engine and how many bimmer engineers were against it, but were assured it would never be tagged with a BMW stigma since the minis would be sold stand alone outside BMW and would have front wheel drive which could never be associatied with BMW since they only do real drive....obviously the cheap price was a motivator because of the dual use with the cruisers & neons, otherwise the list price of the mini could not have been kept low where BMW wanted it.......


I disagree. All issues related to stalling, stumbling, hesitation, etc are mainly caused by the Siemens engine computer management system software, not the engine mechanicals. People like to dump and mix different issues together into a single molehill but the reality of it is totally different. This weekend we took a 900+ mile trip in just 2 days and this engine excelled in the highway by returning excellent gas mileage, superb passing power response and smooth operation....and this is a regular Cooper.

Sorry that you haven't had good luck with your car and that you are not fond of the powerplant. Maybe the MINI is not for you and you'll be happier with a torquey V6 or V8 engine instead.

Oh and by the way, haven't had any low end torque issues either. This engine gets better and better as it racks up on mileage.

I don't think for a minute that a French Peugeot engine will be the answer to the TRITEC alledged issues. French cars of yesterday and today are not known for RELIABILITY. I'll stick to my Brazilian built Chrysler engine...samba on!

 

Mine's rarely under 3K RPM for that long... hah!

While I'd hardly say the 1.6L is a screamer, it sure is silky smooth all the way up to redline.

 

People that buy the MINI expecting it to be a drag racer with Detroit style neck snapping low end torque are simply buying the wrong type of car for the wrong reasons. The MINI is not about 0-60 times or 1/4 mile jaunts....is all about carving the curves with the precision of a surgeon's scalp instrument.

If strong low end torque is important to you, then there are Camaros, Firebirds, Mustangs, Corvettes and other plethora of vehicles with large displacement engines and deep low end torque power delivery waiting for you.

I have owned several cars....4 bangers, V6's , I-5's and I can tell you that the MINI is a completely different driving experience from any other car with a bigger engine.


I respectufully submit to those MINI owners that are unhappy with their powertrain to sell or trade in their cars for some other vehicle that will offer the torque and HP charactheristics so important to their everyday driving style.

The rest of us, will continue to enjoy the superior handling and more than reasonable performance out of our MINIs. If we crave Muscle car performance, then we will look into the aforementioned alternatives.


'nuff said.

 

I don't think for a minute that a French Peugeot engine will be the answer to the TRITEC alledged issues. French cars of yesterday and today are not known for RELIABILITY. I'll stick to my Brazilian built Chrysler engine...samba on!

guess BMW is not as unenthusiastic about the coming Puegot engine as you :smile:

I have no problems with the MCS engine other than having the supercharger replaced as those things happen and I have had all the latest ECU upgrades, the latest just this past Monday while being serviced for a stuck air bag light......the engine just by nature has little torque as you can raise the hp to over 200 with little increase in torque, that's why the works package shows such modest perfromance gains, it's not the hp at issue, it's the torque or why the MCS has such modest performance over the MC at low end (of course you have an extra 200 lbs to also account for here), it's not till you get at higher reps that the supercharger comes to the rescue.....and I now have over 20K miles and engine is no diffferent now than it was from the start....maybe you are right that I was expecting a little too much, but I have driven some of the japanese 4 bangers and do realize you don't really have to have a 6 or 8 cyl to get terrific performance......cheers

 

Since I 've had my MCS in Feb. not one 1.8T has benn able to out run me on the Auto Bahn to include the Audi TT non Turbo So much for 1.8T's.. Think for the size the Mini S motor is the "BEST" in its class!!! and with a few in-expensive mods a real BEAST!

Have a GREAT day!!

 

Since I 've had my MCS in Feb. not one 1.8T has benn able to out run me on the Auto Bahn to include the Audi TT non Turbo

damn...can I get the german version of the MCS...lol !

 

>>
>>damn...can I get the german version of the MCS...lol !

 

and as an American I do have the US version

sorry for the attempted humor, but thought all the minis were the german version, laugh !

I have driven probably 5 or 6 MCS and also 3 or 4 MC, including one with the auto....actually my MCS runs as well as any of the MCS I have driven....only problems really I have had were non mechanical...mostly rattles which were solved except for the dash....did have a blown air compressor but that was probably the AC trying to work 110% with the Ariz heat, laugh !.....cheers

 

, but thought all the minis were the german version, laugh !
my MCS runs as well as any of the MCS I have driven....

The only major diff I know of is the side markers in the fenders and a few other subtle differences in the ECU(language) other than that I think they are identical :smile:
But I did catch the humor no appoligy necessary...Hope that you have much luck with your MCS!!