Hello. I was wanting to add some more power to my cooper. I am wondering how much the output of your car is with mods. And how much hp I could get out of adding bigger injectors(350)450) new camshaft, a 17% pully (vs my 15) and pistons. Is the price worth the power added or no?

 

My honest opinion is that the biggest smiles per dollar mod you can do to your R53 will be the 17% reduction pulley with shorter belt and one step colder spark plugs. The injectors.....eh.... not unless you are going to have the car professionally tuned down the road.... I wouldn't... Try the 17% reduction first and see if that satisfies you. Then you can do an exhaust, lighter wheels, cold air intake..ect... If you are looking for BIG power after that you better be prepared to shell out the $$$. Make sure yours is running in tip top shape and then enjoy hooning it as is. A stock R53 with 17% pulley should be putting a big smile on your face IMHO.

The cam and injectors just are not worth it to me based on cost versus output gains you will get.

My 2 cents.

YMMV

 

the pulley is good for about 20 whp from stock, 15 to 17 is about a psi gain, so 5 whp?


injectors on their own (would need 380...not 440) would not gain much if anything


new cam is good for about 10, if added tune with injectors 15-20 depending on cam


new pistons I don't think will get you too much, especially since I wouldn't recommend increasing compression

 

Wow...you are really wanting to throw some money at your car

I'd say that for a daily driver, out of all of that stuff....the only think that is going to make much difference is maybe the 17% pulley....but if you already have a 15% pulley, it might not be worth the effort for the added 2%.

Bigger injectors won't do anything for you. An aftermarket camshaft is great if you are on the track running high rpms's all the time, but for a daily driver it will probably loose low end power. New pistons? Why??

To do all of the stuff you are talking about you are probably talking around $1500-$1800 just in parts....not including the tune you will need (probably another $500-$800).

 

A good dyno tune if you have one would be the next thing to give you a noticeable power bump. After that it gets really expensive, with a big valve head, cam, header.

 

I'm just really wondering if I could get more power out of the engine without signing my life away. And it sounds like that is a negative really. So it sounds like really I've hit the peak of my hp without putting tons of dollars in her. That's all I wanted to know, so thanks. Now it means I can work on suspension stiffness and aero :D

 

some cams can be swapped in without tuning, some cams require tuning which changes the price point.


also if you have e85 in the area, a tune with that will go a long ways

 

Alright sounds like if I wanted to get more power putting in a B16 swap would be more effective for higher hp. Never going to happen but if it would, sounds like that route would be better.

 

Ever thought of getting a nos fogger system? pair it with a t4 turbo and a cool air intake and you'll be putting down some serious power

 

NoS isn't a bad idea, not too many people try it, Id think our cars could handle a 25 wet shot preety easily
as for the turbo, that's a lot of investment, need a standalone ecu, custom plumbing, injectors....

 

theres been a few k20 swaps, they just don't seem like they work out, they have the power, but that engine is much lighter, and cant put that power to the ground. even at the strip, a slightly modified r53 would keep up or even win, but its still cool

 

I'm actually been thinking about getting one of those NOS Sniper universal wet EFI nitrous kita for 4&6 cyl motors. I've used lots of nitrous setups on small block V-8's, and as long as you are smart about it and don't get carried away, its a pretty cheap and easy way to add some good power. Those Sniper EFI kits are around $425 from jegs.

There are a few things I would want to figure out before I got one though.

One....with the 30hp jets, how much actual "spray time" do you get out of the 10lb bottle. When I was running a 175hp shot on my drag car, I could only make a handful of 10 second passes down the drag strip and the bottle was low enough it needed to be changed out.

And two....would the stock mini fuel pump provide enough output to feed the injectors and the nitrous system?

It would be fun to play with...but I think all you would really be doing is eating up your front tires alot faster. Minis are more about handling, not raw acceleration.