Hey guys,

I have a few friends that have been telling me to do some modifications on my Mini. They had a few suggestions, but I thought I'd drop by here as it seems like this is a great spot for info as you guys know what you're talking about. They suggested a cold air intake and I also was researching some sway bars (?) not sure if I've got the spelling right, which I was told would help as my Countryman follows curvature/texture in the road. I'm not trying to get big into modifying vehicles, so something that takes a ton of investment or ongoing maintenance wouldn't be of interest to me. Money isn't a huge object, but I wouldn't want to invest the time if it isn't worth it. If your answer is 'this stuff is a serious interest/takes time/lots of info, etc, and wouldn't be a good idea for you' that's totally okay and won't offend me.

I'm basically looking for a little more power, anything that helps MPG is a plus, noise or 'sounding cool' is nice but not super important to me. I live in Arizona, and I do a significant amount of highway driving and road trips.

My research here seemed to indicate the cold air intake is not really worth it. I've seen some good things about installing a new downpipe, and tuners. I just thought I'd see if anyone would be willing to suggest any other improvements that might work for someone like me.

Thanks!

 

Cold air intake - worthless except for noise or showing off when the hood is up.
Sway bars, I seriously doubt you'd notice much unless you are an aggressive spirited driver. I thought about adding a rear bar but realized I'd never know it was actually doing anything.

Best bang for $$ would be a tune of some sort. Manic tune, I believe you have a dealer in AZ. Or a JB+ adds some oomph to the car.

 

I appreciate the response! That seems to be what my research indicated about the cold air intake. It almost seems like installing one may actually reduce fuel efficiency and power. Is that true?

I'm a new mini owner and absolutely love it, the biggest thing that I don't like was how affected it was by road crowning, road grooves, things like that. The car seems to pull substantially when driving over those. Met a gentleman who swore heavier duty sway bars would fix that. Not the case?

Getting a lot of positive feedback on the tune, so I will look into that more. Any other improvements suggested?

 

I'm not an expert but I would look into non run flat tires as a possible fix.

Here is an explanation of sway bar http://www.houseofthud.com/cartech/swaybars.htm

 

Looks like it's called 'Tramlining'.

 

i have the factory 18 inch wheels and sport suspension on my 2012 all4

oem tires were pirelli p7 summer 225/45R18 run-flats

they were great handling very sticky tires but followed every groove/crack in the road ie tramlined very badly

replaced them with michelin pilot super sports 225/50R18 summer non-run-flats and no more tramlining

also much better ride and much quieter

 

Thanks for that answer bmwr. I had seen good things about those tires, but awesome to hear that from someone to back it up. Appreciate it a ton, I'll probably be walking down that road.

Appreciate everything guys. If anyone else has any other suggestions for me, let me know. This gives me a great jumping off point so far.

 

I actually think a rear sway bar is one of the BEST investments you can make. If you don't think you would notice I'd suggest you do a side by side with someone who has one. I put in a 22mm bar and notice several things. First it really wants to turn in. Second, the side to side body roll is much less. 3rd and really nice is I found when cornering hard on the stock bar, if I hit an irregularity the rear of the car wanted to "skip" out. Really unnerving. New bar keeps the car more planted. Doesn't do that anymore. I think it's one of the best bang for the buck mods you can do, totally noticeable results, totally reversible if needed.

 

Yes a rear sway bar is the best bang for the buck you can do to the R60. Check out our WMW 22mm rear bar
http://www.waymotorworks.com/wmw-cou...-sway-bar.html

Then for power start with a basic ECU tune, nice gains and throttle response.
http://www.waymotorworks.com/perform...e-r60-r61.html

You're correct don't bother with an intake, so much better you can spend on.

 

Head over to EuroTechs in Tempe and get a Manic Stage 1 from Jerry, it will give you all the power you need.

Get ride of the runflats as well. I postponed this for a while and regret not doing it sooner.

I'm in AZ as well if you would like to check out my R60.

 

I agree 100%. I recently upgraded to a 23mm rear sway bar and wow what a difference. You're right. when you bumps on the stock sway bar it does kick out...not anymore. One of the best mods I've done. Worth every penny.

 

Working on modifications for my R 60 countryman too. So far an M7 catch can, K&N filter and upgraded all bulbs to LED. Had a work trip and took my ECU down to Phoenix and had Jerry do a stage one map last week. Since getting back I've been a little underwhelmed with what I thought the results would be. But I'll let you know Jerry is genuinely one of the greatest guys you'll ever meet in the mini world. Highly recommend him!

 

Can you describe the results of the stage one vs what you were expecting?

 

I was hoping for more mid range "strength ". I live in Colorado and I think the best way to describe it would be more acceleration when I punch it going up a long hill. Like I said I'm only about a week into it and maybe the car is still "learning "(?).

 

Whats the deal with catch cans? Are they highly recommended? Ive never heard of them before coming to MINI

 

Unfortunately Eurotechs closed down in June. Jerry is now at Lesuer Car Company. He still does the manic tune. The Eurotechs Facebook is still active though. For the OP, he is in Tempe and does great work and has great enthusiasm for Minis, highly recommend him.

 

My first mod was the NM intake and thats what got me hooked on modifying. If you want some sound and a little power a catless exhaust is what i would do from the down pipe back if you have emissions.

 

So what did you end up modding?