[laura f]

Anyone in the know, know what the likelihood of a cooper works tuning kit for the R56 coopers will be? Any guesses?

The answer I'm hoping for would be yes...... please.....

[rec]

i was talkin to the guy at the local MINI dealer - i asked him the same question, and he said that as far as he knew and could see there was no plans to do anything for the Cooper. he even said to me that the JCW St1 kit for the MCS is not worth it because it produces peak power so high up the rev range you'll never use it unless you're revving the balls off ya car - and the torque curve is practically the same.

how true that is is anyone's guess.

[Scrogg]

Quote: Originally Posted by rec (original)

i was talkin to the guy at the local MINI dealer - i asked him the same question, and he said that as far as he knew and could see there was no plans to do anything for the Cooper.

We all know dealers are the last people to find out anything, so I wouldn't take that as anything more than an opinion just yet.

Quote: Originally Posted by rec (original)

he even said to me that the JCW St1 kit for the MCS is not worth it because it produces peak power so high up the rev range you'll never use it unless you're revving the balls off ya car - and the torque curve is practically the same.

Has he actually seen the figures?

[rec]

i guess not, but peak power lower down the rev range is (for me) nicer than way up the top - for peak power on JCW you'll need to be high up the rev range to take advantage of it.

the torque curve is nice tho

[Scrogg]

I can see where you're coming from, but there is a certain satisfaction to be gained from revving an engine to the limit to get the best performance from it. Just think of the Honda VTEC!

And yes, the Torque Curve is nice, and that's the really important one!

[CC07ERS]

Vtec is the daddy

[kevkbuk]

The kit for the MCS does increase the torque curve all round and you can notice a small difference when driving at low revs. The biggest difference though is the extension of the power band.

It's nothing like a Vtec thank god, it has usable power right through the rev range.

The MCS probably has enough low end torque, doubt the same could be said for the Cooper and if they did develop a kit I would guess it may have different characterics.

[mister.t]

I was only thinking of this the other day. There may be an independant company around to do something perhaps?

[ScoobyDoo]

Well I hope they do - they're bound to do a sound kit or a kit for the Cooper as so many people have got Coopers that will want something!

[laura f]

Quote: Originally Posted by ScoobyDoo (original)

Well I hope they do - they're bound to do a sound kit or a kit for the Cooper as so many people have got Coopers that will want something!

Thats what I'm hoping

[madadd]

Quote: Originally Posted by laura f (original)

Anyone in the know, know what the likelihood of a cooper works tuning kit for the R56 coopers will be? Any guesses?

The answer I'm hoping for would be yes...... please.....

I'll bet my trousers on the fact that it will never happen.

Turbocharged cars (which as we know the MCS is) are incredibly easy to add small increments of power with pretty much no sacrifices and costing very little to engineer and test. In simplest terms, the MCS could have been given the power with a simple increase in boost pressure.

Normally aspirated cars are an entirely different matter. Considerably more engineering effort is required to get extra power from such an engine. Would Cooper drivers be happy paying a cost in excess of £1100 + fitting for a power upgrade of maybe 5-10bhp? I would suggest not. (Most MCS drivers wouldnt be happy paying the same for 17bhp!!)

"Official" tuning kits as provided for the MCS are quite a rare thing. I ca't think of many other manufacturers that even offer them.

...Mad

P.S. As a point of interest, Porsche do one for the 911 Carrera S. It costs near £8500 and ups the power from 350 to 376 bhp's. And an extra 11lb/ft of torque! Makes Mini power seem cheap!

[ScoobyDoo]

But if MINI did a sound kit for the Cooper like they did on the first gen. MINI's (airbox, exhaust etc) then surely people would buy whether it made the car go faster / improve bhp?

[Hyper Active]

I can't see why JCW wont do a sound kit for the Cooper. How hard can it be for JCW to design a sports exhaust, a performance air filter or induction kit and an ECU remap.

[Mini-Trainer]

Quote: Originally Posted by rec (original)

i was talkin to the guy at the local MINI dealer - i asked him the same question, and he said that as far as he knew and could see there was no plans to do anything for the Cooper. he even said to me that the JCW St1 kit for the MCS is not worth it because it produces peak power so high up the rev range you'll never use it unless you're revving the balls off ya car - and the torque curve is practically the same.

how true that is is anyone's guess.

I would definatley agree to that, When I test drove the R56 Works it felt pretty much the same, but once booted.....it produced that little bit extra...
Now the way I see it is that BMW have to Honour work done because it's approved by them, so in the event of anything happening they should be able to fix it, under warranty.

Rams