[lebrunseven]

I just purchased a cooper 's'- and plan to upgrade the power to the 200 hp level soon. My questions:1) is it better to purchase the factory JCW kit- it is rather expensive- the dealer sells it for $6000 installed. I am sure it is good- but 6K is plenty... or 2) go the aftermarket way; such as mini mania stage 1 kit where a new header,exhaust sustem, underdrive supercharger pulley; and better air intake system- for about $2500. is it nearly as effective & reliable? will the factory warranty be void?
3) or should I install a nicer air intake, better exhaust?

thanks for the info-
'superseven'

[LuckyRVA]

Quote:

Originally posted by lebrunseven
[b]I just purchased a cooper 's'- and plan to upgrade the power to the 200 hp level soon. My questions:1) is it better to purchase the factory JCW kit- it is rather expensive- the dealer sells it for $6000 installed. I am sure it is good- but 6K is plenty... or

Ultimatly the decision is yours, I wouldn't go off of other people's opinions as to what goes on MY car. As you might change your mind later and regret not going with your own instinct.
But, since you asked , I personally wouldn't go with the JCW kit. Too expensive IMHO. But if you have the money, knock yourself out!

Quote:

2) go the aftermarket way; such as mini mania stage 1 kit where a new header,exhaust sustem, underdrive supercharger pulley; and better air intake system- for about $2500. is it nearly as effective & reliable? will the factory warranty be void?

This is the way I'm heading. I haven't heard of any reliability issues as of yet.

As for voiding your warranty, I can't recall reading any stories here where warranty work was denied b/c of non MINI/JCW mods. Although it couldn't hurt to do a quick check using the search function.

Quote:

3) or should I install a nicer air intake, better exhaust?

NO...NOT.....ENOUGH.....POWER Seriously though, you sound like you want the big 200, if your going to go, go big!


-Jason

[lebrunseven]

kind of what I am thinking- what do you think of 'mini madness' kit (stage 1 w/ re-mapped ecu,air intake, exhaust system- about 195hp, or stage2, same as s1, except underdrive s charger pulley added- 210 hp)- these look like nice improvements. which ones are you considering?

[LuckyRVA]

Sounds like a good deal(the madness kit)I'd go for the stage 2 kit just b/c of the pulley.

Right now I'm just going piece by piece .

So far(engine performance wise) I've just got a BMP intake and Magnaflow exhaust.


^^ I've got nothing but good stuff to say about those two products mentioned above.


Planning on getting the Helix pulley next. I also plan on getting a "chip" but not sure which one I want to go for.


-Jason

[mini huni]

Personally I am going with the after
market route. I can get a LOT of stuff for
$4500+ labor.
My upgrade path started with a pulley.
Probably the ECU is next. Don't know which
one yet. Powerchip or evotech?

[Redleg13]

consider adding a cold air intake, a 15% pulley, and a good aftermarket exhaust. Should run you about $1500 -- cheaper if you do it yourself (don't recommend attempting the pulley yourself). Anyway, I did these mods and am running about 200 BHP. When I replace my throttle body and remap the ECU, I should be adding another 15 - 20 horses. All of this is a lot cheaper than the $6000 for the JCW kit.