1st Gen R53 Cooper S Most liked posts in thread: +15HP Intercooler Claims.

Nope........best IC on the market for the 1st gen cars is the GP one. And it will only give a slight bump in power w/o a custom tune.

 

An inter-cooler does not increase power, it only allows what already is the to be utilized by cooling the charged air more.

So far since 2002 with all the aftermarket ones we've all see only the OEM GP spec and the one from GRS.

 

All BS claims.

Just get the OEM GP I/C.

It's the best hands down and has been proven test after test year after year.

I would pass on the GRS.

 

Yup...
The claim is pure bs....
Gen1 cars have had many units fitted....
GP is the only one IMO that is worth ANY $$.....
MOST others result in power loss.... Or excess lag....or long recovery times after heatsoak....

 

There isn't a single bolt on part that will give 15 hp with out something else being done. It's just like a guarantee of page one of google.

Nothing is that easy or cheap.

 

Looks like I'm a little tardy to the party, but as stated, the money would be better spent on other mods. Do you have a larger rear sway bar yet? I would highly recommend spending the money on an H-sport rear bar before I directed you to an aftermarket cooler.

Do you have any mods currently?
A pulley kit will give you the 15+ HP you're looking for, unless you've already had it fitted, after that I would recommend an exhaust (Stratmosphere, Borla Race, Milltek) for that little extra oomph for straight line power. You'd be surprised at what adding a larger rear sway bar will do to your cornering speeds.

Personally, for the price point of the GP cooler I will be going with a water meth setup to achieve better results for cheaper, but the GP cooler will flow better than a stock S cooler. Many are against water meth, but have not seen the potential of it, with the basics; pulley, exhaust, and intake my only intentions for it will be to cool IAT's. Once you step up HP and fuel delivery, it can be cut heavier towards meth and act as advancing timing, charge cooling, and prevent spark knock, so it's all a perspective game. That's just how I plan to take on the whole charge cooling situation, but some people don't want the added hassle of plumbing the WM kit, as well as keeping it topped off.

 

......except for a pulley

 

I have a GP I/C with a Meth kit running 100% VP M1 Meth. I have the best of both worlds and its great.

Also a Meth kit is not cheaper than a GP I/C at all unless you are buying the Snow kit or making your own.

The only real reliable and track tested kit made for a MINI is by Howerton Engineering. It is the one I and several other have. (See below link)
Howerton Engineering, LLC – MINI