Cooper S Service & Mods

[DeonC]

Hi All

I own a 2007 Cooper S (R56) that is out of motorplan. It has 105k km on and I believe the turbo is on its way out.

Can anyone recommend a place where I can get the Mini serviced, the Turbo replaced and to do a few mods?

Looking at a JCW turbo or even a GT28? any advice?

Preferably a shop in Pretoria, Centurion and Midrand.

Thanks.

 

[Denzil]

Hi ,
I would recommend these guys: http://www.rgmotorsport.com/
their work is excellent and reliable.

 

[DeonC]

Thanks Denzil.

Arent they very expensive? I know you get what you pay for, but all within reason. Having a look at their website now, will contact them on Monday.

Come on, there must be a few modded Mini's out there. All these views and only one reply?

I was thinking; service, turbo upgrade, software and full exhaust, and maybe the cooler aswell.

What is the general feeling of the standard Coopers S Cooler?

Thanks

 

[Mike1]

The JCW and Cooper S have the same turbo as I understand...

Intercooler, exhaust and software on a stock turbo will give you 160kw with ease. I personally would not go for a bigger turbo.

What makes the MINI so superb is the lack of turbo lag in almost all gears and the free-revving nature of the car.

Anything more than 160kw and you are going to have a torque steer monster, especially on a 2007 model which has not had the benefits of the upgrades MINI has done to the steering system to allow the car to put its power down effectively without torque steering into a tree.

Keep the stock turbo, go intercooler, decat, full exhaust and software and you will have a mean little car on your hands.

If you dont believe me, go drive a JCW and see how it struggles to put the 155kw it has down even with the Electronic Diff and the latest DTC.

You must remember, your car if its an early model will probably have ASC which is a pathetic stability system and just hinders the car, without it though the car just wheel-spins.

Also consider upgrades in terms of Strut Bars to stiffen her up, and rather spend the money on a bigger turbo on a decent set of Eibach's for the suspension.

You must enhance the car not make it a chore to drive. :thumbs:

 

[moranor@axis]

people really underestimate what good suspension does to a car... yes power makes it accelerate quicker, but suspension gives the car its feel... also with less loss of speed in the corners the need for power decreases :rollsmile:

if you take mikes advise I can offer options from Koni and H&R

 

[DeonC]

Thanks Gents, Noted. I had a Corsa B with a 2.0 Turbo (C20LET) and on the last dyno it made 183Kw on the wheels. Also a lot of torque steer. I also had a set of eibach's on the corsa. Anyway Its sold and onto new toys.

I will be very happy with 160kw, as this is daily. The thought was that seeing the turbo needs replacing , I could swop it for a GT28, which has a very high efficiency. But do agree, it will have a lot more lag than the standard turbo. Wont the standard turbo run close to its MAX @160kw? How much more do you boost the Mini to get to 160Kw? and will the injectors be running at 100% duty? Does anyone know the size (cc) of the injectors of a cooper S

Still looking for a shop?

Anyone used FRC here?

 

[Mike1]

I have no idea the size of the injectors, however getting a MINI Cooper S to 160kw should not take more than exhaust, software and maybe intercooler.

We can do the software for you if you wish, your MINI is the 128kw version... If you want a cheap remap you can even get MINI to flash the latest ECU File to it which brings it to the current 136kw motor in the cars now.

Remember, bar a few internal differences which are minor the only difference between the Cooper S and JCW is the exhaust and software... Just like the less powerful Peugeot's on the market use the same identical motor but detuned.

The MINI One for example is a 1.6 Cooper Motor detuned to 74kw... You can get a MINI One to 100kw with just a software. :fencelook:

Mike

 

[fusion01]

Anything more than 160kw and you are going to have a torque steer monster, especially on a 2007 model which has not had the benefits of the upgrades MINI has done to the steering system to allow the car to put its power down effectively without torque steering into a tree.

Are you saying that the '08 models onwards had steering improvements? '07 was the turbo changeover - R56 - but I understand changes are constantly being made. Is this one of them?

 

[fads]

Hey i know of a place in cape town ART alspeed racing technologies which do mods to coopers im sure theyll be able to courier the hardware to you.

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I myself own a 07 R56 with 67000 on the clock and also looking for more power,i tried a ethanol mix and had great results,1.1 bar boost without detonation and that was just fooling around,so im keen to see how much power i can gain before even goin big on the hardware.let me know if you come up with anything. Thanx