RE: Mini Cooper S: Spotted

[mark seeker]

hammo19 said:

Had one, great car, real boneshaker

Replacing the runflats help with that..

[mark seeker]

I Am Milk said:

rich23 said:

Looking forward to picking up one of these in a few weeks - 06 plate in grey. Hoping the switch to standard tyres is worth it over runflats...

First thing I did!

Well worth it, gets rid of (some of) the hunting across the road, not that you want to get rid of all of it, as it is part of the fun.

Worth thinking about get the front wishbone bushes poly-bushed as this really helps tighten up the front end, but doesn't make the ride any worse.

I went with the Superflex front Wishbone Bushes, made a huge difference.

[I Am Milk]

mark seeker said:

I went with the Superflex front Wishbone Bushes, made a huge difference.

That's what mines got, very nice mod. Would happily recommend these to anyone with an R53.

[Sir_Dave]

JohnGoodridge said:

Why don't I see more stories about these as track/fast road cars - like the 172/182. Have a feeling they'd be an awesome little hatch on track.

With the correct parts/setup, they are utterly epic on track!! I moved over from a variety of 1*2's (Trophys mostly) and havent looked back. Mine drives just like a clio, but with 235bhp instead of 180.



Plenty of videos on my youtube channel, but here's one: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kzCHaik1UJg

I've also got an R56 fJCW built to similar spec, ie quaife/SMF/ohlins/AO48's etc etc so itll be interesting to see how they compare at Bedford on Saturday.

[R8Steve]

Sir_Dave said:

JohnGoodridge said:

Why don't I see more stories about these as track/fast road cars - like the 172/182. Have a feeling they'd be an awesome little hatch on track.

With the correct parts/setup, they are utterly epic on track!! I moved over from a variety of 1*2's (Trophys mostly) and havent looked back. Mine drives just like a clio, but with 235bhp instead of 180.



Plenty of videos on my youtube channel, but here's one: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kzCHaik1UJg

Could you tell me what spec yours is?

I'm looking to turn mine into a track day as i don't really need it but don't particularly want to sell it either. Turning it into a useable track toy would give it a lot more use than it gets now.

[85Carrera]

Rumblestripe said:

If you park a "mark 1" MINI next to the current model it is instantly apparent how fat and ugly the new car is, the details are overdone and there is something wrong in the rear 3/4 proportions.

Likewise if you park one of these next to a proper mini ...

[M1C]

Good timing! Drove one of these today, my stepmothers 2004 S.

Last time i drove it...i had my Panda 100HP...and they are comparable in a way. Both quite hardcore...with a hard ride. Significantly more creaks and rattles from the MINI interor though.

Very good fun though..and sounds and goes better and better the higher up the revs you get. Was very good fun today.

[PDP76]

Rumblestripe said:

How do the Superchargers hold up on high mileage examples? I've heard that they are good for 100k and that's shallot?

Towards 100k you need to start thinking about a supercharger service. It'll be checked over, get a new belt and new oil. My other halfs 2004 Cooper s is creeping upto 100k now so it's something I'll be pricing up quite soon.

[Sir_Dave]

R8Steve said:

Could you tell me what spec yours is?

I'm looking to turn mine into a track day as i don't really need it but don't particularly want to sell it either. Turning it into a useable track toy would give it a lot more use than it gets now.

Similar thoughts behind mine really, it was built to a fairly decent spec by my fiances brother over 7 years or so, then i got hold of it in August 14 when he moved to Dubai. I got a little carried away tbh, so the full spec is as follows:

Drivetrain: 1320 Mynes Tune, Newman Cam, 450 injectors, 15% Alta Pulley, Dave.F airbox, GRS 'Motorsport' intercooler, Milltek cat-back exhaust. Facelift short ratio gearbox with Quaife LSD & 1320 lightweight single mass flywheel. 200bhp ATW, circa 230 ATF at a guess.

Suspension & brakes: R56S front brake Calipers, Nitrac 294mm 12 groove discs, Carbotech XP8 front pads, Goodridge SS hoses, Castrol Response Super Dot 4 fluid. MeisterR Coilovers, V-Maxx F.droplinks, Hardrace adjustable rear control arms, Whiteline rear anti roll bar, OMP upper/lower braces, rear bench brace, Superflex front wishbone bushes, 17" Speedline Turinis with ContiSports for road & 16" Rota R Specs with R888s for track.

Bodywork & interior: JCW upper/lower front grilles, Facelift front/rear lights, black beltline, Cobra Imola Pro drivers seat, Corbeau Clubsport passenger seat (both on sliding subframes), facelift JCW steering wheel, JCW handbrake & gearknob & Scanguage 2 for OBD info.

If i was doing it on a slightly more limited budget, id go for the following, in order of importance:

Decent tyres, R56S front brake setup, power/superflex front wishbone bushes, Meister R coilovers (come with f/r topmounts) & rear camber arms. Then 15% pulley, GRS intercooler, orranje airbox for 200bhp or so.

The addition of the Quaife & r888's turned mine into a very capable track car.

Edited by Sir_Dave on Thursday 23 February 18:07

[cheddar]

Surprisingly quick for only 163bhp

Flat road, stock standard, 145mph in old/new money

[a11y_m]

bakerstreet said:

I still think these are great looking cars. The S-Spoke wheels look fantatsti, but they are well known to hamper the handling as they are very heavy.

By coincidence I've weighed some MINI wheels recently:

17" R97 flame spoke with 205/55 R17 = 21.2kg

16" R102 S-Winder with 205/55 R16 = 16.5kg

Difference all in the alloys as tyres were near-identical weight.

17's are gone, I'm going with 16's with non-RFTs on mine. Just rides so much better (newer R56 Cooper S).

[s m]

a11y_m said:

bakerstreet said:

I still think these are great looking cars. The S-Spoke wheels look fantatsti, but they are well known to hamper the handling as they are very heavy.

By coincidence I've weighed some MINI wheels recently:

17" R97 flame spoke with 205/55 R17 = 21.2kg

16" R102 S-Winder with 205/55 R16 = 16.5kg

Difference all in the alloys as tyres were near-identical weight.

17's are gone, I'm going with 16's with non-RFTs on mine. Just rides so much better (newer R56 Cooper S).

Original 195/55 runflats on 16s








18.5kg

Continentals 195/55 on 16s





16kg

Switching to normal tyres saved 10kg in weight (2.5kg per corner )

Much improved in terms of ride, handling and steering feel

Small improvement in mpg

[s m]

X-lites are even lighter than the 5-spoke in 16

Imolas and 15s are much lighter still

[FN2TypeR]

JackReacher said:

How easy is it to get 200bhp out of one of these?

Easy as pie - a better intercooler and swapping the super charger pulleys out will do it, slap a remap into the equation and you're well on your way. A work mate of mine has one of these running around 220bhp or so, but he tracks it and the suspension he has fitted is basically four bits of wood, one per corner, it's a hoot on smooth surfaces but awful on Aberdeens garbage roads.

Edited by FN2TypeR on Thursday 23 February 23:18

[cheddar]

Mine was (wrongly) delivered on 17's, had it for two weeks while 16's were sourced, rode way better on the smaller wheels

[s m]

cheddar said:

Surprisingly quick for only 163bhp

Flat road, stock standard, 145mph in old/new money

You seem to have a habit of this.....no Audi A4 involved ( the OM thread ) this time?

[s m]

cheddar said:

Mine was (wrongly) delivered on 17's, had it for two weeks while 16's were sourced, rode way better on the smaller wheels

The salesman really wanted me to have 17s ( even though the best demo I tried was on OEM 16s )

I ordered 16s

[Vroom101]

Sir_Dave said:

17" Speedline Turinis with ContiSports for road & 16" Rota R Specs with R888s for track.

Sir_Dave, can I ask why you run that set-up? I would've thought the smaller wheels should have been a better choice for the road.

[cheddar]

s m said:

You seem to have a habit of this.....no Audi A4 involved ( the OM thread ) this time?

Hi s m

There are many, many more, cars, vans, bikes and scooters, mostly at unfashionable speeds relative to their output, not many lately though, age has withered me

Have a knackered old W123 230e at 120mph in the meantime



And back on topic the poor little Mini being busted by a speed camera for a paltry 67 in a 50

[Leins]

FN2TypeR said:

JackReacher said:

How easy is it to get 200bhp out of one of these?

Easy as pie - a better intercooler and swapping the super charger pulleys out will do it, slap a remap into the equation and you're well on your way. A work mate of mine has one of these running around 220bhp or so, but he tracks it and the suspension he has fitted is basically four bits of wood, one per corner, it's a hoot on smooth surfaces but awful on Aberdeens garbage roads.

Edited by FN2TypeR on Thursday 23 February 23:18

It's when you want to get much over 210 that things get a bit expensive. The blue one in the pic below is running over 265bhp, but the owner has spent a small fortune on getting there. It is a little monster though!