1st Gen R50 Cooper Most liked posts in thread: Mods for a 05 non S Mini Convertible

Get light wheels and good tires... Same result as a few more HP if you're on OEM wheels and runflats.

 

Welcome, thanks for joining Motoring Alliance, the FUN and Friendly MINI Community.

Suspension, tires and a drivers school will make it a heck of lot more fun. Hard to add much power to these.

 

Welcome to M/A the FUN Mini site.

 

There are not many easy mods that I can think of to add horses to your Cooper. Maybe an intake & exhaust. Not much bang for your buck there. You'd do better to spend money on the suspension.

Welcome to M/A....

 

A cold air intake, an ecu tune, and a catback will not break the bank but still give you a bit more oomph than stock and will make your car sound sportier, too..

 

True, but a little more power than stock is a nice thing and the economy is still not stretched. I agree with the tires and suspension, but he wants to improve his power a bit, so I never added that to my suggestions.

I remember my first school with Phil Wicks at Putnam Park and managed to pass an MCS in my very slightly modded MC-cvt. I could identify the instructor, but why embarrass him [he is a member of M/A]?

 

I have an 06 non-S convertible. For power, an ECU tune is very helpful. It probably won't increase your top end power but it provides a wider, flatter power curve that improves driveability. Importantly, it can also improve the throttle response at the low end. When you turn on the A/C, the non-S engine loses so much power that operating the clutch gets really funky in stop-and-go driving, and you have to careful not to let the engine stall (I'm assuming you have stick shift). The ECU tune improved the driveability with better throttle response. If you don't get an ECU tune, from what I've heard a Sprint Booster will give some similar benefits for the throttle response.

 

welcome to m/a

 

Welcome to the coolest MINI forum on the net...........

Post up some pics of your Cooper......

 

I hear that and totally agree, which is why I went to an ecu tune while at MOTD this year. Since getting the tune, I have noticed much more throttle response as well as quite a bit more power even while running the a/c and being stopped at lights while sitting on exit ramps. At least with a stick, you can ride the clutch a bit, but with an automatic you are pretty much screwed by the lag caused by that a/c.

 

Welcome, an Intake is by far the best bolt on for power on the Non S R52.
WAY/DDM Cooper Intake R50 - Way Motor Works

 

True again, but your ecu tune just adds to the motoring pleasure!