back seats, belts and related hardware, I got 47 pounds, I believe...

depending on who you believe, the sunroof (and its components) adds from 20 to 60 pounds, and not in the best of places - up high.

I forgot where I read it, but with a stock MCS, the loss of 16 pounds is tantamount to 1 hp. As one gets lighter still, less weight is needed to get that equivalency. One also gets improved braking, a more responsive susupension, better gas, and less wear and tear...

I wonder what the 70-100 times are for the '05's, time to top speed, etc?

I really like the gearing on my 03 MCS (first week build). I like pulling on cars in higher speed ranges. A change in gearing to give better performance in one place, will be taking it away from somewhere else, other things being equal. It comes-down to driving preference...

Having lost 161 pounds (includes 10.75 lb wheels, and the loss of runflats), an improvement an acceleration is very clear. And to effectively change the gearing, I decreased the rolling diameter by an inch (stock 16's = 24.44" vs 205/45 = 23.3"). Very content with this approach, and I wouldn't want to change the tranny gearing to compromise any more high end...

 

Are those 15" or 16" SSRs? My 17" Rotas are 16.5.... not bad

 

I agree, I like the high up power.... sure a car with decent power can take us in 1st and 2nd, but let them try in 3rd+ and its another story

From experience I have pulled on 350Z, SRT-4, WRX, and Mustang GTs from 3rd gear up

 

I believe that the s lites wieghed around 48lbs each, which I think are more boat anchors than the R90's, which weigh something like 25. Do you, or anyone know if the R99's are lighter. (I want to stay with regular MINI wheels.)

60-70lbs....did anyone not get the sunroof for that reason, and is the difference noticable?

 

S-Lites are 48 lbs each WITH runflats. I believe they are 24.5 just the wheel

 

WOW...didnt know that.

 

If you want a light MINI wheel you better go with 15s. I was going to stick with my S-Lites because I also wanted to stick with MINI wheels, but I changed my mind and got 17: Rota Attacks in royal black ( http://www.motoringcentral.com/images/rota.jpg ). They are 16.5 lbs each and what a difference they make.... quicker acceleration, better handling, and all of the big dings in the road seem to hit with less force.

 

The primary reason that I did not get a sunroof is due to the weight, and again, where the weight is located. I can probably find a thread or two over on MINI2 back in 2001 where we discussed this consideration, even before MINI's were available, at least here in the US...

The secondary reason is that I've always owned a convertible, so if I want open air, that's what I drive . A 1,000 pound dune buggy now serves that purpose, but she is on the blocks, for sale. A Caterham is in the plans, maybe by 2007 .

 

The s-lites are like one lb heavier than the R90's from what I saw in
the wheels/tires thread. But either one is very heavy, but they sure look
good. :smile:

Jcampos- I have the 16's.

 

How much of a negative performance kick will the sunroof give? I see someone has guessed between 70lbs and 20lbs, which is a big difference. Has anyone driven 2 back to back? From what it sounds like, one has the effect of driving around with a christmas tree tide to the roof. I liked the sunroof a lot, but if anyone can tell me they noticed a noticable ding in performance, please say.

 

I really doubt unless you are a really good driver and track the car alot you will notice much difference. The weight up top does hold back performance in 2 ways (that tony has mentioned): its heavy (equates to probably 3-5 less horsepower) and the weight is located up top making the car more top heavy and giving it more body roll.

However, I absolutely LOVE my sunroof.... the moonroof in the back is great as well to anyone who is sitting back there. If I ordered another MINI, I would get it again.

 

If I didn't have a convertible, I might have gone with this option as I love the relatively large openning! A third drawback, some feel, is that such an openning compromises rigidity. To a further extreme, that is why our MINI convert has so much bracing below... Life is full of such wonderful trade-offs

 

I think I will get the sunroof again, (i loved it) as I am serious about driving I dont believe I will be tracking the car. I am just trying to keep weight down without straying to far from stock and opening my wallet, as in not loading the car with options, ditch the runflats for yokos, and maybe later down the road a 19mm rear sway and some wheel spacers. Oh and JCW.

 

Interesting. I've got a little database going - every time I see 0-60 numbers for MINIs, I enter them. I've got one entry for a 2004 JCW at 6.3 sec. And Motor Trend's 2005 MCS got a 6.4. Ian's butt would seem to be pretty well calibrated!

 

I really havent done much to purposely save weight, so I was suprised that my car was under the 2700 mark

 

Im confident that my car is faster than an '04 JCW car. There have been 2 MINIs that have pulled on mine, one was from a local guy (seeya) who has just about anything you can think of, and another was from a guy who owns a shop called AE performance.... granted I havent really raced many MINIs in a straight line, but these were noticeably faster than mine.... the AE car had everything mine had + high performance head, cams, and a better fuel management system.

He said he had his dynoed at 250 bhp.

 

There's no differential per se - the transmission has two output shafts, three gears on each. But here are the overall ratios:

2005 MINI Cooper S trans ratios:

1st 12.789
2nd 7.793
3rd 5.651
4th 4.615
5th 3.828
6th 3.126

2004 (and earlier?):

1st 11.425
2nd 7.181
3rd 5.397
4th 4.407
5th 3.656
6th 2.986

 

I've test driven a few 03's and 04's and have to say my 05 feels much quicker then either of the other mini's I drove. The new gearing combined with the new found torque really makes the car move.

I expected the new car to be a lot quicker since some folks with pulley's on their 02-04 cars said that the 05 pulls as hard as that. I'm swapping cars for a few days with Andy@ross-tech and his mini has a pulley, chip, intake and one ball so I'm really curious to see how mine compares. I'll post my impressions tomorrow as my 05 is bone stock.
Mike

 

Is there a weight diffrence in 02-04 and the 05?

 

What was the 1/4 mile time for the '05? I ran my MCS at englishtown when it was stock and ran a 15.6 at 89 mph, with a poor (2.4) 60ft time. According to their scale, (dunno how accurate it is) it weighed in at just over 2800 lbs (sunroof, S-lites, all opt pkgs). I have a 17% pulley and according to what I've seen, it should run a 14.9, although I never made it to the track since. I'm curious to see if tho 05 will be as quick as my car with the 17%.


As far as seeing if it's "worth" it to get an 05, I figured if I sell my car, pay it off, and use the extra to put down on a new one, I can get the same car I have now, minus the leather, but with the LSD, for about $50 a month more than what I am paying now (using MINI Select for both cars). And now I bump the baloon payment up another 2 years and the 05 will be worth a little more in the long run.

 

Keep in mind driver, ambient temperature, humidity, track condition (if it was the same track) all play a role in ET's.

That is why every mag had slightly different results with the same model and year back in 03.

Just my 2 cents.

regards,
Red

 

I believe the results. If the previous test was a loaded MCS with 17's, then the weight difference would have been 175lbs or so.

So here are my reasons

Weight - 175 lbs
16 vs 17's
LSD vs non/LSD - HUGE in off the line
Extra HP, not worth much, if any
Gearing - slight gains

Bottom line is, with a new MCS that weighs 2500 vs 2680 with LSD and 16's, the new MCS will eat the old one for lunch all day long in the 1/4 mile and 0-60.

 

Anyone have insight on how an '05 and '04 MCS, both with the '05 JCW kit, might compare?

I have been thinking about having an '05 JCW kit put on my '04 MCS, and this thread is giving me a lot to think about. BUT I didn't see any comments (unless I missed something) about how an '04 MCS upgraded with the '05 JCW kit might compare with an '05 MCS with the '05 JCW. It is very clear that the '05 MCS JCW is a great combination (the December issue of Car has a comparo that includes the new 200 hp Golf GTI. They say "after the Golf the Mini feels splendidly rediculous. It's manic, angry, raw, and fast in every gear -- everywhere." The mini wins. I think this Mini did not have the LSD, but not sure.)

It is concievable that with the 210 hp of the new JCW kit that the '05 gearing will show up differently in performance.

I have almost rationalized coming up with the $$ for the JCW, but moving to an '05 MCS is out of the question, having a year ago switched from an '02 MC to the '04 MCS. And I don't want to void the warranty. Maybe I should just wait for an '08. Any insight would be appreciated.

 

to answer some questions - the sunroof is about 56lbs. I remember reading it somewhere. Might have been Grassroot Motorsports since they took it out. I say there is no way an avg person can tell the difference between the two.

Another question that was asked was about the SSR comps. I have the 16's they weigh 11.5 lbs i believe and made a nice difference and far as stand still starts and even pulling at highway speeds. I had 17" S Lites before. Upsprung weight is crucial.

I recently have been thinking about selling my modded 03 MCS but I probably wont do it. I would take the pulley out probably and exhaust off before selling it. And of course my SSR comps would come off. I think I could get 18 grand for it. Maybe not. It has almost 40,000 miles and some rock chips on the front which i would probably have to re-paint the hood before selling also. Of course I would be spending money just to take these items off and money to re-paint. Though I would probably be re-painting it within a couple years anyways ( has a million rock chips ) I looked it up at Kelly's Blue Book and that is about what i can get.

 

In my opinion an LSD doesn't make a huge difference off the line if you have very good driving technique. Most experience drivers see an addition .1-.2 taken off their 60ft time which is where you'd notice the LSD and that translates to .2-.4 off the time at the end of the track. A LSD is really for the turns in my opinion but they do help just a smidge off the line.
Mike