Shorter Engine Life with Turbo??

[killick]

I'm sure you all are tired of people asking "should I get the basic Cooper or the Cooper S", so I apologize up front. I've been searching and reading all I can here but I still have a question regarding the long term life of the cars. Mainly, will the added turbo charger put added stress on the engine that would likely reduce the expected life of the engine. If I get the Cooper S, will I be more likely to have engine issues & expensive repairs 8 years and 80k miles from now?


I understand this is a new engine, but does anyone have a feel for how much the turbo stresses things? Does it overly complicate the engine?

Anecdotally, I had an old Volvo with a turbo. The turbo was fine up to the very end. However, the car did experience a serious head gasket failure.

I'm the type who keeps cars until they die.

Thanks for any information.

-Jeff

[r1_kde]

As with the R53 model the engine is uprated to withstand the extra boost, whilst the block is the same as the cooper, lots of components are changed. you should have longer life from the turbo in many respects, running the turbo will require a turbo change sometime in its life maybe at 200k+? depending how you drive.

it is a BMW and they are renowned for the engines.

[iain cooper]

turbo won't reduce life expectancy of your engine...............it's how you drive it and service it.

go for it !!

[killick]

Does Mini recommend any engine idle time before shutting down the engine? Is this turbo unit cooled by oil or water? I can't find any specifics on the engine.

-jeff

[killick]

OK, I don't know what Mini recommends, but I've found information that indicates the turbo has it's own cooling system that will run with the engine off if needed. So, perhaps no idle time is necessary?

[oxybluecoop]

Here's the specs for the R56 engines.

[killick]

Oxybluecoop,

Thanks for the link, Good reading.

-jeff

[heyjude]

Would this problem stop one from buying the Cooper S and wait to see if they fix the problem in 2009?

[killick]

Heyjude,

Thanks for the tip. I don't know how I missed that issue, but now that I look the Cold Start Noise issue seems like it could be a real problem with the S engines. After reading a number of posts, not sure I want to deal with that.

[daro911]

Quote: Originally Posted by heyjude (original)

Would this problem stop one from buying the Cooper S and wait to see if they fix the problem in 2009?

What cold start problem? I have run 2 R56 MCS for 15 months & between them 20k+ miles and neither car has any cold start issues and in fact neither car has any issues at all

32mpg around town and 48+ on motorways at steady 70 mph what more can one ask for from a 140mph hot hatch with twin scroll turbo technology