sorry for so many replies, but.. i feel like the person before me had slight modifications because i drove another mini and it doesn't make the same sounds.. but im not too sure. anyway, i'm trying to have my car feel AND drive faster, as i do use it as a daily. i do go on little cruises and take the long way home sometimes, only because i LOVE driving my car. Also want it to sound much better with a little boost, but not too loud so that my neighbors won't hate me. still a beginner at everything. anybody here from the bay area?

 

Also, whats a good wheel brand? i would like to get new rims and tires, i guess? like the whole set.. but i'm not sure how it works. i tried looking online and a lot say that there are different sizes and such. what is the size that i'm suppose to be getting? and do the wheels, rims and tires come together or do i have to buy them separately?

sorry, i am a young college student trying to find my way through the car life lmao.

 

Save your $$$ for school.

One ball mod les than $50
Shmancy wheels and tires greater than $1k
San Jose to Monterey/Big Sur via PCH1 priceless !!!

Mini's are made to turn on a dime, not go fast in a straight line.

Join a mini club and drive the local twisties
Meet new people who know Mini's, learn from them and get more seat time.

Oh yeah STUPID CAlifornia !!! CA has a lot of smog and anti performance part laws we natives have to deal with !!!

Jeff

 

Wheels can actually be one of the most difficult things to choose, and it's usually a very personal decision, they can be really tough to visualize unless you just get lucky and see another Mini with just the right wheel on it.
One of my favorite tools for wheels is this:

http://www.discounttiredirect.com/direct/interactive.do

As far as purchasing, online is usually your least expensive option, you can have them shipped to you or direct to a pre-arranged shop for install.

Here are my favorite online resources:

http://www.discounttiredirect.com

http://tires.tirerack.com

http://www.discounttire.com

 

Hi danniellajoy,

As a suggestion, send an email to Way at WayMotorWorks and discuss what you want with him.

He will give you his suggestions given your cars age and mileage. Afterwards, you can order everything from him.

If you can locate a good Mini wrench in your area, you could also discuss what you want to do with them, however they may add a markup on the parts.

If you can't find a good Mini shop in your area, reach out to NAM members close to San Jose. I'm sure their NAM members in the South Bay area.

MiniKar

 

thank you all!!

 

Welcome!

A couple of clubs are Silicon Valley MINI's and NorCal MINI's. The NorCal MINI drive from Union City to Half Moon Bay last year had a good turnout and was fun. A few shops are Bay Bridge Motors in Oakland, Edge Motorworks in Mountain View and Dublin, and Mini Werks in San Carlos.

Some mods are hard to spot, like a supercharger pulley. You might have one and not even know it. Any pics of your car?

 

Quote:

Originally Posted by danniellajoy

I honestly just want my car to sound nice and go a little faster.. that is all.lol, i would like to know more about modifications but i just dont understandany of these terms :/

Do not apologize for asking questions here or anywhere for that matter. We are all trying to help. We will always discuss (argue) about what modification you should do first and what will give you the most power. It’s all part of being a gearhead. No one will agree on much of anything really. The “what mod should I do first” is a can of worms that nearly everyone on this site has opened at some point in time, so you are in good company here.

As for “go faster parts” - the intake and exhaust will give you a little more power. Not much, but a little. My intake and exhaust probably only gives me 10 more horsepower (on a good day) which is not enough to actually feel but I will go to my grave saying that I can feel the difference. These mods will also give you more of that sound you like so much and again, will not add much power so modifying your wheels, tires and brakes are not needed to compensate for the extrapower. The intake and exhaust will runyou about the same, maybe a little less, then new tires and wheels.

Changing out the supercharger pulley is the most bang for your buck. Your car will be faster with a reduction (smaller)pulley. I have a Cooper (R50) and CooperS (R53). The Cooper S has an Alta 15% reduction pulley on it. It is noticeably faster after this mod.

Quote:

Originally Posted by danniellajoy

whatdo you mean by pushing the cars brakes and tires limits? im such a noob, imsorry

When you are pushing your tires to their limits they are starting to lose grip with the ground. They will start to squeal when this happens. This is their way of telling you that they are losing grip. You haven't lost it yet but the tires are letting you know that they cannot take too much more of what you are doing. Quite squealing is okay-ish, LOUD squealing is very bad. You will hear and FEEL the difference. Some tires will scream a lot before actually losing grip, others not so much.

When you are pushing your brakes to the limit they will “fade.” You will be pushing your foot on the brake and not a lot will happen. You will push your foot even closer to the floor and still not a lot will happen. The peddle will also feel soft; you won’t need a lot of effort to push the peddle to the floor. You will then have a huge rush of adrenalin as you just told your car to slow down a lot and it isn’t. This is, as you may imagine, bad. There will a bad smell coming from your brakes as well. Try to not let this happen.

Quote:

Originally Posted by danniellajoy

Also,whats a good wheel brand? i would like to get new rims and tires, i guess? like the whole set.. but i'm not sure how it works. i tried looking online and a lot say that there are different sizes and such. what is the size that i'm supposeto be getting? and do the wheels, rims and tires come together or do i have tobuy them separately?

sorry, i am a young college student trying to find my way through the car life lmao.

I have had Yokohama, Bridgestone, Pirelli and Goodyear. I like Bridgestone Blizzacks for winter and I am really digging my Yokohama Sport V105’s for the summer. The summer tires in general are essentially useless in the snow and ice and you would be better served walking. Again, no one will agree on one brand or model of tire unless it’s the Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2, which is essentially a racing tire that is legal to have on thestreet; these tires are AWESOME and $355 each and last about 12000 miles or oneyear (or less) of normal driving.

Tire Rack's website has the ability to show you an approximation of what your car will look like with the wheels they sell. If memory serves me, and it doesn't always, our Minis are ones that they do have a graphic of which you can see your car with the wheels you are looking at. Grab your owner’s manual as it will give your tire size, Minis have several sizes as you have found out. Look at your tires, you will find a bunch of numbers that look something like this - 205/50R16. Whatever it says on your tire is your actual tire size. Tire Rack’s web site will give you more information on tires than you will ever want to know. Talk with your friends that are gearheads and ask what they recommend. Stick to your budget and your driving style. Hoosier racing slicks are more than likely NOT what you want, a good High Performance All-Season tire probably is. Tire Rack can sell you tires and wheels, mounted and balanced and shipped to your door, all you need to do is put them on your car.

 

thanks! is it true that i have to "tune" my car first, before changing out the supercharger pulley?

 

No, it's largely considered a "bolt on" mod, as in bolt it on and you are done. I suppose you could, I didn't do it to mine and it's just fine.

 

The last post is correct.
You only tune "after" you make the physical changes, and even then you wait as long as possible before you do, so that your as "done" as you can be with the mods. That way your not wasting your money tuning to soon and having to retune, because of making another mod.

All of the mods suggested to you will not require an immediate tune, but if you're unsure, just ask once you've decided what you think you want to do first, and we'll let you know.

 

Here are some useful links.

How Engines Work

How Engines Work According to The Feds

How Superchargers Work

The first generation Mini Cooper S has a supercharger, not a turbo. But this is still useful.

How Turbos Work

Basic Tire Physics


I still vote get an exhaust, let your butt dyno tell you it's faster because it's louder and see where you like it from there.


The longer answer is... With many external modifications (intake, exhaust, SC pulley, etc) the car's stock computer and tuning parameters will allow it to adjust for the additional air by adding more fuel, changing timing, etc. However, your car's stock computer is still limited in the way it is programmed to tune for safety, liability, cost, and bureaucratic reasons. As a result it cannot completely maximize the potential from the new mods. If you have the car put on a dyno and tuned professionally with the new mods, the person tuning can work outside those stock-programmed parameters to tune the car. This can give you more power while maintaining safe operating conditions. Or can maximize power at the cost of reliability as the Subaru bros love to do. It's all about what you want, and tuning is not cheap for small gains.

Summarized, if you modify your car with some basic bolts on mods we've been talking about you will see an increase in power. If you get the car tuned for maximum power you will see more increases than just putting the new parts on the car. If you do not tune it, you will see a percentage (maybe 60-70%, I'm not sure) of the gains you would if you tuned. In other words, if mods and a tune gain you 20 horsepower, mods without a tune might gain you 12-14 horsepower.

Honestly, I wouldn't tune the car for an exhaust and intake. The gains you'd see would be small against the cost of tuning.

 

ohhh okay.. makes sense. so tuning will make it back to even, right?

okay thanks! ill let you guys know once i start.. i still need to get my power steering return hose and passenger side front strut mount replaces because theyre leaking :(

 

There has to be some clubs possibly even a mini club in your area that is a great way to get a feel for different mods people are likely to have different exhausts and already swapped pulleys etc.

 

Think of it this way, tuning is about optimizing how the parts you have, work together.
So doesn't make sense to tune and then change those parts around.