Hi all,

This is my first post in the forum after owning my 2010 Mini R56 for just over a year as a first car. In this time, I’ve thoroughly enjoyed the 1.6L mini and have had great help from these forums in odd repairs and modifications.

I come to the forum now as my N14 non-s engine is looking, and sounding, on its last limbs at 131k miles, and am looking to swap it out for a new, lower mileage engine for cheap. I am looking for that extra “oomf” the s will give. Rebuilding and adding a turbo would be too costly and so am wondering what the next best thing to do is.

Am I right in thinking the other engines such as N18 will fit? As many of the others here have, I too have fallen into the mini pit. I want to swap the engine out instead of buying a new car due to the amount of time and effort put into my current mini. I also like the idea of a sleeper build.

BUT, has anyone done this? Are there many complications regarding ECU, engine harness, etc? Should I buy a N14 or N18, with single to double vanos in mind? I’m keen to learn as much as possible regarding the swap, and your opinions and assistance would be greatly appreciated.

 

Couple things - if you are driving a non-S, then you don't have an N14. We don't have the MINI One in the states, but I believe they use a detuned version of the N12 motor. N14 and N18 engines are designed to use a turbo, so I don't think you want to go that route because your transmission, suspension, mounts etc were designed to withstand a certain amount of power that you'd need to do major modifications on to drive with a turbo charged N14 or N18. Have you considered getting a tune specific to the engine you have? If you really need a new engine, I"ve seen people do N12 to N16 (non turbo) swaps, but you might consider your money just as well spent with getting your own engine rebuilt + a tune + upgrades to the brakes and suspension. Or sell the one you have and upgrade to a Cooper or Cooper S.

 

Thanks Josh for your feedback. I did not know it was an N12, haven’t heard much of them but I imagine they are fairly similar to the N14? Mine looks like an N14, that’s why I assumed it was. I have also in fact looked at tuning, stage 1 would take it from 97bhp to around 130, from what I remember. A rebuild may be a better solution, from what I have seen it needs a new camshaft, spark plugs and coil pack at the least. Is a non-s N16 a worthy investment? And if I were to get a turbo’d s engine I would be looking to upgrade other parts such as the suspension. I already have upgraded to 17” alloys. Would it be insensible to put a cooper s engine in? I look forward to your replies

 

Additionally, my model is made in March 2010 so is pre LCi

 

Pics of your motor? If you're in the UK, do you have the diesel engine?

This is the N12 engine:



Here are the N14 and N18 engines:

 

mine is petrol, doesn’t look like any of those.

this is my engine, in the uk:




wondering if the n16 s will be a relatively easy swap; will it be plug and play, what parts will I NEED to replace and order?

 

Nope, that's the N12. Air box is different because the UK version doesn't use a MAF sensor.

 

Good to know for sure.

But has anybody here swapped an N12 to any other engine, and do they fit directly plug and play? New ECU?

Also has anyone here swapped non-s to s, will anything NEED modifying?

 

I'm still not sure what you mean when you say non-S to S. The main difference in the R56 generation between non-S engines and S engines is the presence of a turbocharger. If you aren't planning to add a turbocharger, then getting an engine designed for one (N14 or N18) doesn't really make sense, plus they are probably going to be more expensive than getting a naturally aspirated N12 or N16.