Your experience may be different from mine. Cars can have 'personalities', even among cars of the same model. Having said that, my '03 MCS was a spirited car, not a drag racer. It pulled well between 3-5K, but the torque felt pretty even, with just a bit of a peak somewhere around 5K.

Most of my 'performance' vehicles have only had 2 wheels. I've ridden bikes with fairly agressive cams. I know what it feels like when a bike gets 'on the cam' and starts trying to pull out from under you. I never felt that (much) with the '03 and I didn't have too much trouble keeping the rpms down during break-in, but I'm having a heck of a time with the '05.

With the lower gearing, it takes less clutch to get rolling (nice). The car starts accelerating 'normally,' but starts pulling stronger almost right away, and only gets stronger as the RPMs climb. Suddenly, its time to shift, or bust the break-in limit. I suspect that what I'm feeling is the combined result of the lower gearing, the slight HP increase, and the boost from the supercharger climbing. I don't think they've actually changed the cam grind, but it feels great.

So, here are my questions. How do I keep it this way? I don't want the ECU to 'learn' to do anything different. Has anyone with a few thousand miles on their '05 noticed whether accelaration has smoothed out or changed after break-in. If so, do you think its related to how you drove during that time?

Jeeze, I love this thing! It just reminds me so much of some of the bikes I used to bomb around on the back roads of Marin county back in the day. The new gear ratios even lend themselves more for downshifts on deceleration. I can hardly wait till its broken-in.

 

I just picked up my MCS last week and I noticed the same thing. Above about 3500 rpm, the engine just wants to take off and rev for the redline. I have to watch my gas-pedal very carefully.

I was driving a Cooper (non-S) yesterday and noted that the sweet spot for power in the engine is in the 4000-6000 rpm range. I'm thinking that would probably be the same for the Cooper S except we're dealing with a lot more power. Maybe everybody who buys a Cooper S needs to take up autocrossing or something to get familiar with the characteristics of the car.

Certainly, I'm "learning" to drive my MCS as the power build up is quite different than any other car I've driven. But it can be learned. I'm sure all those folks out there who went and got the JCWS had to learn to handle their cars too.

 

Wow! You hit the nail on the head with that line. I picked up my 05 JCWS around Christmas, and am still breaking it in. I took the day off and put on 150 miles this morning and I don't know how you could make a car feel more like a bike

 

Coming from a 2001 Vette to my 05 MCS back in August--I have been pleasantly surprised by how quick the car is. What, to me, is even more amazing is I feel the car is pulling stronger now (3,500 mile)! I am sure cooler weather is a factor--but the grins continue. Toby Keith sings "I Love this Bar". I hum "I love this Car"!! Enjoy the journey. Nick

 

well i doesnt change much i have an 05mcs ane with 8k it still pulls like a bat out of hell when i hit 3krpm. i hope it doesnt change

 

I just got through the break-in (1353 miles), and it was tough. I must admit I took it over 4500 RPMs, briefly, a couple of times when I wasn't paying close enough attention - The RPMs do climb fast! But, there is no better sound than hearing the whine at 4500 when the flap drops in the JCW intake !

My biggest problem is controlling the wheel spin off the line in 1st gear. Even at 2k, the engine wnts to pull - fast! Dang, should have waited for that LSD !! I have found the sweet spot a few times, but it is small. Anyone else having this problem, errrr...opportunity?

 

I am almost embaressed to say that I have 16250 miles on my car
And she still pulls very nicely, so don't worry it should not go away.
Cheers

 

Starting out hasn't been a problem on mine. A fact that surprised me after reading many posts to the contrary. I don't know - maybe driving sticks for over 40 years, from farm tractors to bikes, has something to do with it. Or maybe its just the 40 year part!

 

Sounds a lot like Tillie. She's got almost 5000 miles on her (in two months!) and she seems to be pulling stronger than ever. I think a day at the track every now and then seems to help.

As far as bikes go - I took a friend of mine out for a ride, and that was his comment. "Shee-it! That thing's just a four-wheeled motorcycle!"

 

Oh - I just noticed your handle - "brgfan." You realize, of course, that BRG MINIs have an extra 3-5 hp? Apparently, this is due to the fact that it's the only color with "race" in the name? BMW/MINI sets aside the best engines for the BRG cars - common knowledge here on this board.

Great color choice, BTW. I hope you got the racing stripes, too. An extra hp per stripe.


(You did get the stripes, didn't you?)

 

after 5500 miles she is pulling as much if not more. I am amazed by it everytime I accelerate! Even when the crown vic next to me thought he could take me at the light she surprised me... he of course was wrong

anyway, enjoy!

 

I think my MC has just figured it out at 40K miles

 

I am coming from a '04 MCS. I can't wait for my '05 MCS to show up in March!


You guys are making my wait very difficult!

 

I've been driving many types of vehicles for (I can't believe this, its gone so fast) 20 years. But, when I'm trying to make it pull from a stop, there is a tendency for the wheels to spin. Its just awesome there is that much power to the wheels. Motor on!!!

 

OK - I'm still under breakin so I haven't tried to pull from a stop yet. I get it rollin' first and then punch it. Still awesome but easier on the rubber! Price of tires is probably when the 40 year limit kicks in.

05 MCS JCW PS/S

 

I just got my 05, coming from an 03 with a 17% pulley. The 05 definitely pulls just as hard in 1st 2nd and 3rd gear. It does seem tho that my 03 had a little more midrange, but its tough to say. If I punched it in 1st gear I would get nothing but wheelspin once I hit 4k, but that car had no LSD. With the LSD, i get no wheelspin if i punch it in first, so its hard to tell if there is enough to do the same thing as the 03 did. I suppose i would have to drive a non-LSD 05 to do a fair comparison. Once i get a couple thousand miles on it, I'll have to take it back to englishtown and see how it compares to the 15.6 quarter mile I was able to manage out of the old car when it was stock.

 

it just keeps getting better and better! i do think it has something to do with the way you drive the car. i certainly battled with mine every mile of the break-in! and now that we're past that, she just gets better and better with each mile added onto the ODO. we're only at 3200 now, but i've asked around myself and i hear that the honeymoon never ends!

happy motoring!

 

My '03 was BRG with bonnet stripes, and the '05 is the same. I struggled with the idea of changing colors, but I like this combo. I did get the anthricite headliner, and white wheels this time around. It looks a lot like your car from the photo in your sig. I think there must be something to that de Niro quote.

 

Agree to all the above. But wait there's more! My '05 has a pulley, intake, chip, exhaust and short shift. Holly Molly! It pulls hard!!

If you think stock is fun, do the mods!

 

I agree, it would be a lot of fun. This time around I'm leaving the car stock so I can stay in stock class for autocross, but with the hp increase and new tranny, i dont miss the power the old car had at all. It feels very similar to me. The 05 actually feels more responsive. I couldnt imagine an 05 with a pulley!

 

Hmmm, sounds like there is a noticeable difference between 05's and the rest. I had my 04 brought in for the recall thing and I think they reprogrammed the ECU. Now the car is completely different. More low and mid. I wonder if the differences in the 05 is due to a more "refined" ECU programming rather than the tranny.

 

I'm also going to leave it stock for a while. I may want to autocross. I've played with the idea for a while, and may start at least attending some events this year. I also like keeping my warranty intact for a while. I don't put a lot of miles on the MINI, since I don't commute with it. From my experience with my '03, I'll probably only have about 30K mi. on it when the warranty is up. By then, I'll probably be jaded by stock performance and the engine should still be tight enough to tolerate the addition of a pulley.

I agree, it must be pretty awesome with mods!

As for the question of where the extra zip is coming from... I think the ECU, gearing, and extra HP, all come together. To me at least, it doesn't just pull stronger, it seems to do 'something' when you get over 3K. Its like a cam coming on, or opening the other two barrels on a 4-barrel carb. (back in the day). I'm thinking that the ECU may contribute to that, and I don't want it to 'learn' otherwise. From the responses, it doesn't seem like that will be a problem.

 

The '05 MCS right out of the box feels like the '02-'04 MCS with the old 200HP JCW upgrade. To me the improved acceleration was reason enough to decide to upgrade. In the used car market, the '05 and '06 MCS will be even more desirable than the '02-04 breathen.

 

The 05 sounds nice. Cooper4us, I don't remember if you did any mods to your car but we have the MTH upgrade on our 04 and that really livening up the car. From 3k and up it just pulls hard. I didn't have any problems with torque steer before that but now I do because it pulls hard and I can break the tires loose under acceleration in the first two gears (and I have Kumho MX, so they are sticky tires). I guess I need LSD..which would be the only reason I would upgrade to an 05..oh, and the passenger grab handle.

 

My '04 MCS was completely stock, no engine mods. Don't get me wrong, that bugger accelerated nicely and I attribute that to the choice of lighweight rims (16" V-spokes) and no sunroof. I have not driven a '05 MCS with the 16" V-spokes and no sunroof but I pressume that car must fly from the minute you set your foot in the accelerator.

the tester Motor Trend had was a bone stock '05 MCS with no options.