Cooper going on Rolling Road - What should I expect ???

[Barny]

This weekend I'm sticking my beloved 55 plate Cooper on at a rolling road session at Awesome Gti in Manchester.

No performance mods have been done, except the inclusion of a K&N replacement air filter. I'm doing it purely to see whether it is running okay, and whether I got a good or a bad engine in it. Then we might think about some future mods.

Just wondering what other people have found to get out of them bhp / torque wise.
Is it anywhere near to BMW's 115bhp estimate ? Should I be preparing to cry or rejoice ???

or is the question !

[Paul]

Results vary. The "corrected" BHP often comes out at about 120 hp (ish). No idea on WHP averages (which is all a RR can really tell you).

[MINI-Morgan]

Hope it comes out alright

[minicabrio]

You're doing the right thing in going to an independant dyno before starting on the modding though That way, each time you add mods, you can go and do another a dyno run to see what the mods have done to your performance

My Cooper is going on the rollers at the Surrey RR Dyno Day (see UK Events). She's had various mods fitted over the last 54k miles, but it currently standard except for some performance leads, so we'll see what happens there

[DaFlake]

Actually, the best test for health is a leak down check not the RR. However, doing an RR before modding will at least set a baseline for your improvements. Also remember that BMW/MINI BHP is at the crank, not wheels.

[Barny]

Thanks for the replies.
When I say health check, I don't suspect anything is wrong with it, wouldn't stick it on the dyno if there was. Plus it's only two years old, and has only covered 23k so everything should still be reasonably okay.
My mate organises one each year, at the same place on the same dyno so should be a nice base point for measuring improvements.

[Paul@1320]

We see between 125-130 stock and a best of 135 so far

[lucachiarelli]

What does a leak down test involve and roughly how much does it cost?
Thanks

[Paul@1320]

You bring the piston upto top dead center (TDC) with all four valves shut and pump air into the cylinder, you then measure how much is leaking as a percentage. The lower the number the better.

[lucachiarelli]

Thanks. How long does it take and do you have a rough price?

[Paul@1320]

We would also carry out a compression check at the same time, so an hour, which at the moment is £47.

[lucachiarelli]

Im going to book my car in 2moro for next week.
I'll pm you details or ring you up.
Thanks paul
Luca

[Barny]

The mini passed the rolling road day with flying colours, although the bloke did rev the nuts off it !

Max. of 125 bhp flywheel and 111 bhp at the wheels. Which I was quite pleased with.

Also has a very nice straight power curve.