I've been thinking of several ways to modify and make my MINI my own.
So far I've come up with a few things that I really like.
1. I've seen a set of bully bars for the MINI that I think look great.
2. Painted head light housing (internals)..... Seen this done in Black. Looks good..... just don't know how it would hold up with heat. Don't HID's burn with less heat?
3. Major mod idea....... with an S..... Have an intercooler installed in the lower part of the front bumper.... then have a Stock Cooper hood replace the S hood. Not too sure if this would work..... Looks like minus the air intercooler there may be enough space. Sleeper...???!!!

Tell me what you all think....
Also add your own ideas..... never know someone may be reading this with a little pull.
SW

 

Hmm...mods....

1. Full aluminum coilover w/ adjustable compression/rebound and adjustable damper length to retain full stroke
2. LSD (seems like Quaife is already working on this one)
3. 2.5" collector header and 2.5" cat-back
4. Shops w/ knowledge on Cooper S headwork (hmm, maybe need to pay DPR a visit)
5. Brake master cylinder brace
6. Lyshome supercharger option (more efficient than a roots type)
7. Not really a mod, but an answer as to why the S only makes 50bhp more than the base at 12psi of boost. Not saying anything's bad or such, just want a reason(s).

Ooh, nice idea! I really like! Shouldn't be a problem w/ heat. You just need to use high temp paint. And yeah, HID's produce about 1/3 the heat of standard halogen.

Sounds good, but throttle response may suffer a bit w/ all the additional volume to fill w/ air. I wonder if there's enuf space to route all that piping to the front and fit an FMIC in there.

 

Guys, post some pics when you're done. Sounds very interesting.

 

I am thinkin of doing an 8 inch exhaust tip, with a boom-boom rattle can muffler, and a bunch of Japanese stickers, a big obnoxious wing, and a front bumper that I install and never paint. JUST KIDDING Actualy there is very little I want to do to my Mini, I think it definitely needs aluminum pedal covers, maybe a differet steering wheel, and without a doubt racing harnesses. I have harnesses in my Porsche and once you have them you wont want to drive with anything else. One of the reasons Im buying the Mini, is because it doesnt NEED anything to be enjoyable. I almost bought a VW GTI 1.8t since I thought the size would be a little more useful, but I didnt like that I was test driving the thing thinking about the 3 grand I would have to put into it to make it something I liked. I will enjoy my Mini with minimum mods and put my extra money in my Porsche.

 

Well to set mine apart from the rest of the coopers in my city, I plan on having the fenders smoothed and painted to match the car. I'll drop it about 1 - 1.5 inches and add some 17" deep dishes, naturally, wider in the rear.

 

Yes - I too fell out of the all flash loooong ago - back in the mid eighties with my 1982 Scirocc - so, I will only be doing a mild make-over with my Mini. The only thing different on my Mini will be some classic mesh wheels (ala BBS) and chrome side mirror covers (which we are making now).

Other things that our company is in the process of developing:
1) A 4-6psi mini turbo that is friendly to the 5 spd tranny
2) 305 SS exhaust (single tip) for the Mini
3) Cross brace and sub brace
4) Linear and Progressive Springs that will close up the gap a bit and soft for daily driving,
5) And other items that I cannot go into now

But nevertheless, this Mini has a much different demo than your typical Honda crowd. I think we'll see a bunch of new mods this year, but the proof will be in the reviews. Some things will work and others will not. Maybe we should request a "review" section on here for products.

-Peter/Rspeed
http://www.rspeed.net
http://www.rspeed.net/mini/

_________________
1995 Supercharged Miata
2002 Mini Jet Black with Tartan Red
2002 VW Passat
and a 1/2 pinty of Guinness

 

MINI pic 1
MINI pic 2
MINI pic 3

The above pics were sent to me by HM.
In the first pic you will notice the headlights are painted, like the above mentioned.
Also it has the bully bars that I love!
Again thanks to HM for sending these pics my way.
SW

 

I like that dual exaust for the Mini Cooper a lot.
>>Again thanks to HM for sending these pics my way.
>>SW

 

I really love my Indi-Blue mini as it sits, but mossmini.com has chrome side vent replacements that I think would be kewl at $79. I'd like to give it the full interior chrome works, but I can't swing almost $900 in parts alone right now. That plus I know there's not alot I can do with my Mini due to my lease obligation. Has anyone had experience customizing a lease? Maybe moderate tint and folding cupholders (I forget which site had those!) and that's about it.

 

I'm with aquabat on this one as well. There's very little that I want to do to mine, whenever I acquire her. First thing would probably be the deep dish style rims, with wider tires on the rear. P.Phresh: We're sharing the same wind on that one buddy. Also, eventually lower it just a tad, most likely adjustables to achieve that raked look by having the nose down a little more than the back. I'm loving those bully bars as well. Then a few minor perf mods, like intake, mufflers, maybe pulleys, and then most likely need a chip if I get into it too far. But otherwise, I'm really content for the time being with the overall style. I'm not too crazy about modding her right away, as I would choosing any of the other choices I had on the table. The new MINI is set apart from the style of vehicles out there now. There's more of an itch to mod when acquiring something basic looking.

 

Here in the UK we have John Cooper Works. They're in the process of building a 240bhp Cooper S. It's a one off (rumour says its for Juan Pablo Montoya (Williams/BMW Formula 1 driver)), but they ARE looking into 190-210 bhp for retail. doesn't affect the warranty, and will be a dealer fit option in the UK.

John Cooper

 

>>Here in the UK we have John Cooper Works. They're in the process of building a 240bhp Cooper S. It's a one off (rumour says its for Juan Pablo Montoya (Williams/BMW Formula 1 driver)), but they ARE looking into 190-210 bhp for retail. doesn't affect the warranty, and will be a dealer fit option in the UK.
>>
>>John Cooper

I read that somewhere in a magazine. Can't remember which one. Says that he has a Cooper'S' and sent it away to get juiced up. Was told that he could easily get it to 200hp, but Montoya said that's not good enough, He wants around 240hp. Wonder what they're going to do with it. That's quite a bit more ponies to get out of that kind of engine.

 

JCW says gthey are setting up an American distributor as well, and MINI service departments will install the mods so as to not affect the warranty. I am waiting rather impatiently...

Jason

 

Modifications so far:
- MINI R90 Wheels
- MINI Aero Spoiler
- Custom Bonnet Stripes
- 28% Formula One Premier Tint
- Audi TT antenna

Future:

Engine/Exhaust
-intake
-exhaust
-reflash'd ECU

Suspension
-H&R coilovers
-H&R 15 mm wheel spacers

 

>>I read that somewhere in a magazine. Can't remember which one. Says that he has a Cooper'S' and sent it away to get juiced up. Was told that he could easily get it to 200hp, but Montoya said that's not good enough, He wants around 240hp. Wonder what they're going to do with it. That's quite a bit more ponies to get out of that kind of engine.
>>
>>

Oh I have a feeling that the motor in the Mini has a lot more potential then they are letting on.

I haven't seen anyone talk about head work or any machine work that can be done to the engine. I bet there is a little more displacement that can be gotten out of the motor. A larger intercooler placed in the front of the car away from the engine heat would be a good way to start. By doing that the entire front scoop could be used for cold air induction and the intercooler would not be getting waste heat from the motor.

 

What warranty do you get in the US?

In the UK we'd lose our warranty if we did what DaveInDenver has planned! what ECU reflashes can you get?

>>Future:
>>
>>Engine/Exhaust
>>-intake
>>-exhaust
>>-reflash'd ECU

 

>>MINI pic 1
>>MINI pic 2
>>MINI pic 3
>>
>>The above pics were sent to me by HM.
>>In the first pic you will notice the headlights are painted, like the above mentioned.
>>Also it has the bully bars that I love!
>>Again thanks to HM for sending these pics my way.
>>SW

In the second and third pic, you see how the rocker panels and wheel wells are painted? How much would it cost to get something like that? It looks really nice..

 

I would love to have the black plastic trim around the bottom of the whole car the same color as the body. That looks classy!

 

My future mod list will hopefully look like

1 Hartge classics
2. exhaust offered by mini madness I think
3 Sparco racing seats ( maybe)
4. mini body kit
5. big brakes

.... still not completed but that is in the works