Was that before, during or after you flogged it to 125 mph?



just kiddin

 

I'm just going to chime in and say I have a CVT and love it. Mine is slightly modified (nothing major) but it handles the twisties great. Downshifts through corners fine, stays in the powerband easily. It just starts off the line a bit slow, but with a few tricks you can get it off fairly quickly. Not S quickly, but quick for a Cooper. Like Rally said, I can keep up with the S' in the twisties fine, but off the line it's a bit different obviously. The tranny feels really solid, and the 3 modes are useful for different purposes.

 

My friend's MC-CVT is in fact, a 05 EB MINI Cooper (non-S). EB is available on the MC but I don't think available on the 05 MCS. But I have seen EB MCS' around so most likely previous model years. It is so confusing when they move colors around like that. The paddle shifters for the CVT is standard on 05 models in Canada. You also, of course, get paddle shifters on the MCSa on the 6-speed autobox.


The base MINIs in Canada come pretty loaded. The very base model is the MC - with classic package and even that model comes with a whole lot of stuff my neighbors south of us would be checking option boxes for. So it's kind of tough to compare cars directly across the border.

 

In Canada new MINIs have ASC+T and Xenons stanfdard. In the US, ASC+T is not even available in the Cooper (Only the optional DSC) and ASC+T is standard in the MCS.

Heated Windshield is also available in Canada. It has never been offered in the US.

 

Drool...

 

Seik, what kinds of "minor" mods have you made to your CVT MC?

I'm still very up in the air about my next MC being a CVT or a 5-speeed. It's a tough decision to make. I like saving some money, and getting a little more power performance, but the twisties are the funnest part of driving my current Mini, and the CVT makes those curves a breeze.

For my next MC, regardless of transmission chosen, I'm thinking of getting the factory high performance muffler, and then going the cold air intake route, and then...who knows. (I'd like to know how well those mods actually help the MC pull away a little quicker, if at all.)

I generally like to keep things simple when it comes to mods. My only current mods are things like the rear seat pulls, a glove box organizer, and...that's about it. Nothing much performance related. I like the suspension just fine as is, and I'd likely never mess with that.

Oh, I did upgrade the front brakes, when it was time to do so, mainly just to eliminate excessive brake dust on the wheels, which worked wonders. Braking is definitely better, and that's one mod I'll do again...when the time comes.

From the damage my vehicle has suffered from road debri, I think mudguards, and even that magnetic stone protector thingie, seem highly recommendable. The paint on Minis seems rather soft, but I think it's being so low just puts it's paint job in harms way that much more often. Putting a regular wax coating on there seems to be the only way to hold off the damage (a clear bra would be great for the front end, but the rest of the car still suffers), which is one of the reasons my car seems like so much extra work compared to any other car I've owned.

Of course, LY may not be the most most rock chip resistant color either. I've no idea, but I suspect all Mini paint jobs are equally not the greatest when it comes to that. I wish Mini would improve in that area, but such things add cost to an already pricey little car.

Oh well, I still love these little rockets. :smile:

 

The CVT will do well with those mods. I have those mods pluse the MTH which actually remaps both the ECU AND the ECU related to the CVT. It speeds up the revving....it acts much like a 5 spd that got a new light flywheel. I really like it.

And i havent had problems after 2 years of having a modified CVT...still goin strong even with the more hp

 

Hey, that's great to read. I've always wanted to get an idea, but no one has ever really said they had good results with those mods on a CVT. (Well, not that I've found anyway.) The chip mod sounds a little serious to me, though I think my only real concern (other than my pocketbook only being so deep to pay for all this! ) is that I'd lose gas mileage (right?), and my CVT is already no gas pump champ.

Yeah, ok, I'd be a little worried about warranty issues as well. Maybe I could just save the chip mod for later, eh? (I think that's what many folks do anyway, even with some of the other drop in mods.)

Hmmm...ok, maybe I will keep going the CVT route.

 

I love my 03 CVT. 34,000 miles in 15 months!

Anyone have any real-world stats on the reliability/longevity of the CVT transmission in the MINI Cooper? What's the highest mileage Cooper CVT on the road so far?

If the steel belt in the CVT breaks (boognish forbid!) then it will probably require a completely new transmission, correct? How much would that cost? $3,000 or more (with installation) is my guess...everything costs so much to fix/replace on these cars, especially with $100/hour labor at my dealer.

Some testing facility somewhere must have driven the CVT at least 100K miles, no? Maybe the manufacturer has done so? Maybe C4 knows?

Hoping the CVT will last at least 100,000 miles without any major catostrophies...guess we'll see...I'll be approaching 100K miles in about 5 years or so at this rate.

Rock on,

-MB

 

gas mileage isnt a problem....with all the mods in 98 degree weather, i averaged around 39-40 mpg on the highway and i did the math by myself, it wasnt an on board computer. I dont know how it got that high, but it really isnt going to suffer if you drive normally. (note: its more likely that you will be pressing the gas down more to hear the beautiful noise of your new engine mod, so milage may change for that reason )

chip could certainly wait till later.

 

Little stuff like stickier tires/new wheels, rear sway bar, springs on the suspension side. Engine just CAI and exhaust. No ECU remap for me yet. With the suspension mods the CVT takes the curves wonderfully and easily. The engine mods are there mostly to make my ears smile.

http://www.mini2.com/forum/showthread.php?t=25028

That thread, and the whole CVT forum there are great for info on the transmission and driving style. If that's been mentioned earlier, I apologize, and will second the reccomendation.

 

I'm very surprised at the improvment in gas mileage with those mods. I get about 36 MPG on the highway with no mods on the CVT MC. Those are good numbers. Any idea what you are averaging in city driving? That's where most of my miles go these days, and I get about 21 MPG with the AC on, and closer to 24 MPG with it off. (Big difference, eh?)

With a black roof, and a sunroof to boot, I run my AC almost all the time during the day this Summer. (I'd run it a lot anyway, I think, but maybe no as much.) It definitely hogs power from the engine, doing that. I'll be dropping the sunroof this next time, and I'm thinking a white top might make for a nice change too, though I surely love the look of my current LY/B MC. LY/W doesn't work for me, so...maybe CR/W? Or...all LS? Damn, these decisions are really hard to make.

With those suspension mods, do you have a harsher ride? I had thought about going SS+ on this next MC, but I'm not sure I like the idea of rattling up the car on rough roads anymore than my current one does. The base MC suspension is a pretty good compromise between performance and comfort (for both me and my little rattle trap).

I actually prefer more ground clearance for Winter driving, and have even bought larger tires just for that purpose, which has turned out well. The Yokohama Avid 4HS tires I have on now have better all around grip, and yet are softer riding as well, with a very good wear rating. They'll be the ones I put on the next baby. I can't really say if they've done anything positive or negative for my gas mileage. Nothing seemed to change much in that department after I put them on. They are larger tires though, so that does mess with my speedometer a little bit, but in a direction that brings it closer to being accurate, so I'm wondering how that otherwise affects my gas mileage calculations. It's probably not a significant difference, but I could be wrong.

If I was a real gung ho modder (which I'm clearly not ), I'd be interested in trying out the polycarbonate body panel pieces that are out there now, and see what kind of weight reduction benefits that gets me. Just losing the sunroof and the Xenons alone gives me a pretty significant reduction in weight with the next car, without having to get crazy. That's about a 110 lbs. of weight reduction. (Correct me if I'm wrong there.) That could fetch me another... What? Maybe 1 extra MPG?

These days, even that little of an improvement feels significant. If it added up to 2 MPG extra, I think I'd wet myself with joy at the prospect!

 

the 40 mpg was a one time thing and hasnt happened since....i average around 37 highway, and about 20-25 in town.