Does anyone know if there is a diffrence in the Mini Cooper S and the regular Cylinder Head. I have the option of getting a 05 Mini S head for my 02 Mini.

My cooper is not an S type but the pictures look exactly the same.

Thanks,
Lou

 

I've been told (many times) that the only difference between the heads is the material the valves are made of.

 

check the part #'s with your local dealer.

 

What really matters is the combustion chamber volume, and I don't know if there's a difference.

The S has sodium filled valves, but I don't know if they're of a different size than the Cooper's valves. If the chamber volume is the same and the S has bigger valves, that'd be a cool upgrade.

Rawhyde

 

The valves are the same size.

 

The only difference between the Cooper and S head is the valve material. The S’ valves are made from Inconel; for a general definition http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inconel . The valve size is the same and all other parts in the head and valve train are the same. Compression is lowered on the S by a recess in the piston crown. The advantage to replacing the head would come from a re-work of the port geometries and other flow improving techniques while you have the other head. That way down time is reduced when you do the head swap.