Which cooper s to buy
Discussion
even if you don't buy an R53 I'd be inclined to drive one for comparison maybe, the R56 feels softer and bigger and will be nicer/smoother on the road, and better on fuel and tax. Everyone's different though. If you want to tune it in any way later, then definitely the earlier car unless you have deeper pockets.
If you are not overly concerned about having a warranty, check out some of the owners clubs, both websites and facebook groups(luxemini and mini-torque being two I can think of) and you will probably find a better car for budget with (hopefully) a more loving owner!
The R53 shape isn't as good on fuel and doesn't tune as far(~220-240bhp afaik), but the parts to tune are plentiful and lots of tried and tested routes so plenty of options.
The R56 shape have two engines, N14 and N18. Try and avoid the N14 as there is a lot of inherent problems with it(cam chain, hpfp, coking to name 3 expensive ones) wheras the N18 only really has a bit of oil use and some HPFP, but its not as common as the N14. They both deliver power differently as well, the N14 I had was quite boosty and you can feel the turbo kicking in vs the N18 being more linear and drove a bit more smoothly in regards to delivery.
Try and get a JCW if you go R56 as they have better turbos, internals, suspension and brakes so make better big power if you want to tune them(can make 270-290bhp afaik).
Avoid the F56 imo, its over budget and I could fill a page with reasons why not to buy one!
The R53 shape isn't as good on fuel and doesn't tune as far(~220-240bhp afaik), but the parts to tune are plentiful and lots of tried and tested routes so plenty of options.
The R56 shape have two engines, N14 and N18. Try and avoid the N14 as there is a lot of inherent problems with it(cam chain, hpfp, coking to name 3 expensive ones) wheras the N18 only really has a bit of oil use and some HPFP, but its not as common as the N14. They both deliver power differently as well, the N14 I had was quite boosty and you can feel the turbo kicking in vs the N18 being more linear and drove a bit more smoothly in regards to delivery.
Try and get a JCW if you go R56 as they have better turbos, internals, suspension and brakes so make better big power if you want to tune them(can make 270-290bhp afaik).
Avoid the F56 imo, its over budget and I could fill a page with reasons why not to buy one!
SlowStig said:
If you are not overly concerned about having a warranty, check out some of the owners clubs, both websites and facebook groups(luxemini and mini-torque being two I can think of) and you will probably find a better car for budget with (hopefully) a more loving owner!
The R53 shape isn't as good on fuel and doesn't tune as far(~220-240bhp afaik), but the parts to tune are plentiful and lots of tried and tested routes so plenty of options.
The R56 shape have two engines, N14 and N18. Try and avoid the N14 as there is a lot of inherent problems with it(cam chain, hpfp, coking to name 3 expensive ones) wheras the N18 only really has a bit of oil use and some HPFP, but its not as common as the N14. They both deliver power differently as well, the N14 I had was quite boosty and you can feel the turbo kicking in vs the N18 being more linear and drove a bit more smoothly in regards to delivery.
Try and get a JCW if you go R56 as they have better turbos, internals, suspension and brakes so make better big power if you want to tune them(can make 270-290bhp afaik).
Avoid the F56 imo, its over budget and I could fill a page with reasons why not to buy one!
+1The R53 shape isn't as good on fuel and doesn't tune as far(~220-240bhp afaik), but the parts to tune are plentiful and lots of tried and tested routes so plenty of options.
The R56 shape have two engines, N14 and N18. Try and avoid the N14 as there is a lot of inherent problems with it(cam chain, hpfp, coking to name 3 expensive ones) wheras the N18 only really has a bit of oil use and some HPFP, but its not as common as the N14. They both deliver power differently as well, the N14 I had was quite boosty and you can feel the turbo kicking in vs the N18 being more linear and drove a bit more smoothly in regards to delivery.
Try and get a JCW if you go R56 as they have better turbos, internals, suspension and brakes so make better big power if you want to tune them(can make 270-290bhp afaik).
Avoid the F56 imo, its over budget and I could fill a page with reasons why not to buy one!
Great post
Just in terms of tuning - the R53 needs old-fashioned (and expensive) tuning - i.e. you need to replace parts, but you can get up to 270ish out of the supercharger, max.
The R56 just needs a few parts and a map to get 250ish, more than enough IMO. My R53 is 230bhp and that's enough for me.
One thing to note is the suspension - my R53 has been on coils for a few years, and we only bought our R56 LCI earlier this year. I was shocked at how bad the standard ride is - it's rock solid. My R53 might be a good bit lower but it rides better, far less harsh. I'd forgotten how bad the stock sports suspension is
The R56 just needs a few parts and a map to get 250ish, more than enough IMO. My R53 is 230bhp and that's enough for me.
One thing to note is the suspension - my R53 has been on coils for a few years, and we only bought our R56 LCI earlier this year. I was shocked at how bad the standard ride is - it's rock solid. My R53 might be a good bit lower but it rides better, far less harsh. I'd forgotten how bad the stock sports suspension is
SlowStig said:
If you are not overly concerned about having a warranty, check out some of the owners clubs, both websites and facebook groups(luxemini and mini-torque being two I can think of) and you will probably find a better car for budget with (hopefully) a more loving owner!
The R53 shape isn't as good on fuel and doesn't tune as far(~220-240bhp afaik), but the parts to tune are plentiful and lots of tried and tested routes so plenty of options.
The R56 shape have two engines, N14 and N18. Try and avoid the N14 as there is a lot of inherent problems with it(cam chain, hpfp, coking to name 3 expensive ones) wheras the N18 only really has a bit of oil use and some HPFP, but its not as common as the N14. They both deliver power differently as well, the N14 I had was quite boosty and you can feel the turbo kicking in vs the N18 being more linear and drove a bit more smoothly in regards to delivery.
Try and get a JCW if you go R56 as they have better turbos, internals, suspension and brakes so make better big power if you want to tune them(can make 270-290bhp afaik).
Avoid the F56 imo, its over budget and I could fill a page with reasons why not to buy one!
Only the Factory JCW iirc have the internals, but the engine is still weaker than the R53 which can tune in excess of 280, or be turbo converted for more.The R53 shape isn't as good on fuel and doesn't tune as far(~220-240bhp afaik), but the parts to tune are plentiful and lots of tried and tested routes so plenty of options.
The R56 shape have two engines, N14 and N18. Try and avoid the N14 as there is a lot of inherent problems with it(cam chain, hpfp, coking to name 3 expensive ones) wheras the N18 only really has a bit of oil use and some HPFP, but its not as common as the N14. They both deliver power differently as well, the N14 I had was quite boosty and you can feel the turbo kicking in vs the N18 being more linear and drove a bit more smoothly in regards to delivery.
Try and get a JCW if you go R56 as they have better turbos, internals, suspension and brakes so make better big power if you want to tune them(can make 270-290bhp afaik).
Avoid the F56 imo, its over budget and I could fill a page with reasons why not to buy one!
mon the fish said:
Just in terms of tuning - the R53 needs old-fashioned (and expensive) tuning - i.e. you need to replace parts, but you can get up to 270ish out of the supercharger, max.
The R56 just needs a few parts and a map to get 250ish, more than enough IMO. My R53 is 230bhp and that's enough for me.
One thing to note is the suspension - my R53 has been on coils for a few years, and we only bought our R56 LCI earlier this year. I was shocked at how bad the standard ride is - it's rock solid. My R53 might be a good bit lower but it rides better, far less harsh. I'd forgotten how bad the stock sports suspension is
It is an old school motor with no adjustable cams, but solidly built hence it can take 400hp but as a turbo. As supercharged they are pretty strong with the right attention, mine is currently ~270 on 1320's rollers at least which is kind of irrelevant, what is relevant is that it works well haha. And I'm running a cam that isn't meant for an S so there'll be more there when it has that changed and some timing put back in. I'm doing other stuff to it soon though so we'll see.The R56 just needs a few parts and a map to get 250ish, more than enough IMO. My R53 is 230bhp and that's enough for me.
One thing to note is the suspension - my R53 has been on coils for a few years, and we only bought our R56 LCI earlier this year. I was shocked at how bad the standard ride is - it's rock solid. My R53 might be a good bit lower but it rides better, far less harsh. I'd forgotten how bad the stock sports suspension is
The R53 is without doubt thirstier, and noisier generally, but is a sharper, more focused thing, so it depends what you're looking for. An R56 is 'nice' haha.
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