Does anyone have any small performance ideas i can do to my mini, im a little tight on money now but i still want to make my mini faster and better, i have an intake and i smaller pulley and exhaust but im trying to find some more small mods that will give me more power

 

15% pulley: http://www.waymotorworks.com/15-supe...ulley-wmw.html
That is the cheapest mod that will really make a difference from what I've been told. I don't have one yet but I am scheduled to have it installed on 3/25.

Rear sway is pretty cheap. I bought the JCW Intake with hi-flow madness filter. That made a nice whine without being too annoying.

 

What year and model MINI do you have? That info will help with suggestions from others.

 

I already have a 15% pulley and intake, i have an 05 coupe

 

A good tune is a way to improve performance.
Installed Unichip and had a big difference.
A MSD coil, performance wires, plasma booster and good plugs, Brisk.

 

I have 2006 MCS R52 Cabrio. Bought used 1 year ago. The Portland Mini Club referred me to Mini-Madness and ALTA. The car is a real sweetheart now, compared to stock - Smooth, strong (from 1,800 RPM to redline), rigid, great handling, good ride on rough pavement, same or better mileage. Yet it looks and sounds stock. I had nearly everything professionally installed by either Mini-Madness or my local shop. There have been no problems to date - the car seems perfect (relatively speaking) in every conceivable way.

I did the following that cost about $5K total.

Handling and Body integrity:
1. 22mm Rear bar. (softest setting - 234% of stock)
2. Under-tower plates to prevent bulging.
3. Stress-able tower bar from Madness.
4. Madness Under-body brace.
5. Koni FSD struts and shocks.
6. Polyurethane Lower engine bushings.

Engine:
1. 15% pulley with Madness Evotech ECU tune.
2. Madness CAI, (but not the cowl mod).
3. MSD ignition and wires.
4. Pulstar spark plugs from Enerpulse. These plugs store and then release the spark at higher voltage. Creates more torque.
5. 0-30 Amsoil
6. Redline Light Shockproof tranny oil.
Note: I am not changing the exhaust. I don't want to spend $1,000 just for more noise, and small gains. And, we like the current softer sound of the car.
7. I do plan to add the ALTA Silicone Intake Tube when they replenish their stock.
8. OEM Power steering fan duct and new valence from MossMini.

Interior:
1. Wind deflector.
2. Nuvi GPS mount.
3. Third brake-light rapid blinker.

 

How do that total out to $5k total I you don't mind me asking? Seems quite expensive without coilovers and wheels which typically are the most expensive mods apart from a BT.

 

Easy:

1. Mini-Madness bill: pulley, tune, engine bushings, oil change $1,600
2. Koni shocks, duct + install, oil change etc. $1,400
3. Another Madness bill about $1,400 for Tower plates, Tower Bar, Bottom Brace, rear sway bar, MSD coil; - including installation.
4. BMW wind screen $500
5. GPS mount. $100.

I've had the car worked on by Mini-Madness another time for something, and at the local shop for a complete fluids change etc. So, I probably have spent more like $6K since buying the car. I also use the best wax and cleaning products which aren't cheap.

I think that adds up to about $5K, plus I paid $19K for the car with 16K miles on the clock. So, for $24K I got a real sweet car. The car was fully optioned except JCW and sold for $32K new.

I'm pretty much done, except for I want the ALTA intake tube, but they are out of them. My goal is to have this perfect MINI that looks and runs waaaaaaaaay better than stock but looks and sounds like stock. I should mention that all work was done by Mini-Madness or my local shop at $90 hourly rates. So, that added a lot to the total cost. But they all guarantee their work, and I get to drive home in a perfect Mini Cooper that has no problems.

 

I may as well mention my age - 62. The Mini is in lieu of a Harley MC that I was getting to replace another motorcycle. Wife wants me to stop riding, so the Mini convertible (don't have to wear helmet) was the next best thing. She don't like loud pipes, so am keeping the exhaust stock for now. I began with all the handling stuff first, and did the pulley and tune last. Sure, I could really enjoy another 50 HP or so, but don't want to sacrifice other things. Right now I am happy with the overall performance in every category (except a little more HP would be nice).

 

If you get a custom tune you can get more HP.

 

Wow Russ. Sounds like most of the cost is due to labor which I personally didn't account for. I'm more of a hands on type of guy and enjoy turning a wrench abouy as much as actually driving my MINI. Good for you listening to your wife though. I've thought about starting a cafe racer project prior to my MINI but opted for the safer toy.

 

To Evasive:

I've spent plenty of time under cars and beside motorcycles over the years, and basically got tired of it, and don't really have all the tools and expertise to do things right. So I bought a higher end/newer car and paid for the mods that I have been reading about. I suppose a little over half is labor.

I want to put on some serious miles (no racing) over the years without any reliability issues, so I did all the "safe" mods that make sense. I chose Koni FSDs for example over coilovers because of the FSD feature, while still being noticeably stiffer than OEM, and probably about the same as Coil overs set on street setting. Now, the car feels ready for about any kind of road. I can hit a nasty RR crossing at 60 and it's nothing. The faster you go the smoother it feels, yet totally stable and hugs the road.

When stuff wears out, I will probably opt for after-market replacements such as poly bushings, cross-drilled rotors and better brakes etc.

I put 9K miles since Amsoil 0-30W and filter, and it was still full without any added, when I changed it this year. So, I think I got a good motor and want to keep it that way.