can you mod a cooper to be as fast (or faster) then an s?
or is it better to start with an s?

thanks

 

go for the S.

Is it possible? Yes.

You might as well buy 2 coopers though. It will get REALLY expensive.

So go for the S

 

Just to echo what andy said, if you want the power of an S, get an S. There is no reasonable, reliable way to get the same power out of a Cooper. At least not that I am aware of. You may be able to turbo a Cooper and come close for very slightly less money than an S (assuming a $3000 price difference between Cooper and S), but the issue then becomes reliability.

 

The only thing I wish my MC had that is only offered on the MCS is the 6 speed. Cruzing on interstates at 70 (Indiana speedlimit on interstates) has MIB running near 3K RPM. It sounds like the engine is working hard.

Two things kept me in a MC rather than the MCS. $$$$ and the ugly hole in the bonnet. And then there is the traditional aspect that even Paddy Hopkirk's MCS was normally aspirated!

Too bad BMW/MINI went supercharger rather than adding displacement. I would have loved to see a 1.6 MINI Cooper and then a 2.0 Liter MCS. Too bad all North American Coopers will be turbo charged for the 2007+ model years.

 

that is not confirmed yet... there are rumors on both sides so far

 

My '05 MCS runs at 3K RPM in 6th gear @ 70 MPH.

My '04 MCS with the older, taller gear ratios, used to run at 2.8KRPM at the same highway speed.

Then again, the Cooper S is not calibrated for optimal highway fuel economy.

My '05 MCS delivers 32 MPG in the highway. The '04 MCS used to be rated at 34 MPG in the highway.

 

My '02 Cooper CVT runs at 2.7K RPM @ 70 MPH in "normal" drive mode. In Sport mode in stays at 3K RPM. The programming of the CVT transmssion is clearly geared towards fuel economy. I have gotten 40 MPG in my Cooper.

 

Your Mini has a carbeurator?????

The hood scoop isn't ugly.

 

When adding a turbo or a supercharger to an engine automakers upgrade the valves and cylinder heads... You can't just play with the charge and not expect the added compression to not do bad thing to a stock cooper engine! Can you say blown piston head???

Why not just get the "S"? Don't listen to Diff... he has supercharger envy!

 

My point exactly. And I guarantee you if you fitted a Cooper with a turbo (most kits I've seen started at $2000 and did not include any other component upgrades )and then upgraded the valves and cylinder head, you would be paying substantially more than an S would cost. I think that is why all the threads about Coopers and turbos end up as dead ends. There has been a lot of talk about different turbo kits from reputable dealers "in development" for the Cooper, and none have come out that I am aware of.

 

I am saying that the S wasn't for me. And there are others out there on NAM and in the clubs that feel the same way.

It is not that I have Supercharger Envy, I just don't worship the supercharger gods at the altar of MCS.

The common link here is MINI.

Besides MIB doesn't kidney punch me over every rumble strip or Tar sealed joint like the JCW MCSC I drove did.

 

Actually the result is more of a spinal compression than a kidney punch if you ask me!