i have just revieved my first mini cooper s and i would like to put some performance and handling upgrades if anyone who has done some of these to there mini would like to point me in the right direction or tell me there top 3 performance and handling upgrades
welcome to MA! have fun here on the forums, its a really great place to look up stuff for your mini and yes more specs on your whipppp would be awesome
Wellll.... it depends on what you want to do with it. Fun on street? Twisties / Canyon carving? AutoX? Track days? Drag racing? Ken Block Gymkhana? Because intended use has a huge impact on the mod plan I'd recommend. That said... my top three overall: 15% supercharger pulley, air intake, front camber plates (or 19mm adj rear swaybar). And ditch the runflats if you still have them. Top three performance: pulley, intake, exhaust Top three handling: camber plates, swaybar, good tires. But you can't stop with just three.
But wait...there is more... Fix the lose nut behind the wheel... No one wants to hear it but the best money spent is that spent on yourself. A few track weekends will teach you more about the car and it's potential. I'd be you can't use all it has now and here you want to give it more. Plus these are lessons that live with you forever.
To deviate from Paul's suggestion slightly: Top 3 Overall: 15% supercharger pulley, exhaust, front camber plates (fixed or adj) Top 3 Engine: pulley, exhaust, intake Top 3 Suspension: camber plates, springs, good tires. As Nathan points out, driver training is great but it can be intimidating the first time. Car Control Clinics are a great way to learn more about your cars's capabilities and only cost about $100 for a full day of fun (BMW Clubs put them on around the country). A good way to do your first track day is at an all Mini track event. You can take a stock Mini with no concerns.
thsnk you all so much!! Even though im only 16 i believe i have my behind the wheels skills tuned quite well i race 125cc tag karts at a regional and national level and produced a fifth in nationals in 05 but my budget hasn't allowed me to run all the national events since then. i would like to make a killer on the street to "show-up" friends but also a competative car on the track i live 15 minutes away from Road America
If Road America is your home track... 1. I hate you 2. Focus on brakes first. Those long straights will tax the stock brakes in a few laps with the heavy braking zones Road America has. From there re-access your needs. Is cornering sloppy or do you need more power to get down those long straights. Prioritize as the budget see's fit.
i never thought of the brakes ever being an issue do you recomend any brands? And i how do i join this owners club thing i see under everything you write
Brake ducts first... I know folks who drive brake killer tracks with OEM calipers and ducts (and good high temp track pads). But if they still aren't enough, then upgrade calipers. You have no idea how prepared I was to flame you when I read "Even though im only 16 i believe i have my behind the wheels skills tuned quite well"... then I read the next part. :lol: Still.... cars and karts are VERY different animals. At least for me they are.
dang 16 and already fifth in nationals? so that makes you.. like 20 now right? or you're curently 16 and 4 years ago you made 5th in nationals? lol. cars and karts may be different, but MINIs and karts are much more similar in handling
i completely agree that cars and kart are very different things the only experience i have in a car is in an oval car called mini stock a 4cylinder mustang, i stopped that after 3 races i hate ovals:mad2: to im gonna try to use my mini to brake out of karts and into road racing/autox or something along those lines
Since you already have on-track experience with things that are built to handle well, sounds to me like you need a regular track day -- hopefully a MINI event -- so you can push the car and get a better idea of its capabilities and weaknesses. I'd bet you'll have much more specific questions for us then. On the other hand, I suppose they stop running track days up there in WI around this time of the year, eh? I tend to emphasize handling improvements first. Of course that could be because I own a non-S Cooper, but I personally think if you're trying to feel your way through your upgrades based on your own driving preferences you'll be more sensitive to the things that make handling work best when your car still has to rely a bit more on momentum. However, if you're going to push the car you're going to do a pulley change eventually anyway (it's inevitable, and probably sooner than later) so might as well put that one at/near the top of the list.....plus it may be the best bang for the buck you can get. Unfortunately, it's not as simple as that. Search the forums and you'll learn there are (I think) probably a half dozen different pulley sizes to choose from and plenty of debate as to which is best for what. Here's just one example from the Gen1 Cooper S Engine & Drivetrain forum (15% vs 17% Pulley). Also, welcome to MA!
It IS important to decide NOW whether autocross is something you want to do - because MANY mods (including pulley) will catapult you into the ultra-competitive street mod (SM) class - where most MINIs don't compete well against other fully prepped autocross cars. You'll be most competitive with your MINI in one of the stock classes - in fact, with your karting experience, you might be REALLY competitive there.