is there any point...

[minidriver#1]

in modding a cooper up to the hilt when you can get a cooper S and do the same thing to that but only more? this is my dilema.

[knaone]

You wont get a Silk Green S tho?

[minidriver#1]

true. the fact that i have a silk green cooper is keeping me with the car... but if i continue to mod the car, its gonna be harder to sell because it'll be over priced for a cooper, i think.

[KenL]

Speniding a lot on it if you are not planning on keeping it for a long time might not be very economical.

Get an S, if you want more pace.

[minidriver#1]

i've only added the kit and spots. The spots i can keep for the S, if i decide to go for it. But thats why i'ves not added anything else, cos i know i'll make a loss ontop of the usual depreciation.

Any recommendations on what to do when i go see how much the garages will buy the car back for?

[Willie M]

Same dilema I went through KJ. After months of soul searching I finally caved in and went for the S. Absolutely love my Cooper but the lack of significant performance enhancing bits (oooops, I sound like Wayne Chambers (alegedly :I)) pushed me towards the S.

Gotta say you've got one cool MINI there though mate, I'd think long and hard before I made any rash decisions. Now what about that M3 engine conversion that's been muted??? ;):approve:

[minidriver#1]

the people that did the m3 took them 3 months to do. i'll never get ensured lol. but i found an insurer that'll take me on the S. Its so hard :(

Willie, i thought your Cooper looked pretty damn good in my rear view on the last run, seeing it move around like that with the kit and the stripes. Are you going for the same colour? and are you moving the kit and the extra bits to your new car?

Also, how much did you get back for your cooper, PM that if you want. I'd be interested in knowing because i want to make sure the dealers dont try n fob me off.

[Willie M]

It's gonna hurt to part with Stouffer, that's for sure :( I've had a lot of fun with the wee car :approve:
The new car's a DS/DS JCW S with chili pack and aerokit (of course ;)). That's it. No stripes, no nothing, for now anyway.

Either going to fit the Kahn RSS's or get myself a new set of wheels in the spring (really like the look of the Compomotives Linda got for Daisy). A wee ICE upgrade too and then we'll see where we go from there.

Have you driven an S at all yet KJ? If so, what did you think?

Will send you a PM re: trade-in ;)

[sh@z]

Totally see where you are coming from KJ, there is a real lack of what you can do to a cooper which wont result in u losing a packet :(. You could always get the S sprayed in Silk Green "aftermarket" if you really wanted to heheh. Insurance - ouch :(

Willie... knew you wouldnt leave the mini family.. but that one hellova beasty u gone for hehehe... get the shadow viper stripes ;)

[minidriver#1]

hey Shaz, you got msn?

[sh@z]

yup... s_qadir786@hotmail.com

[minidriver#1]

ok i added you

[Duncan Stewart]

Hi KJ. I thought very long & hard about a Cooper or S earlier this year when I got my Cooper. I price difference is not that much and I plan to keep the car 3 years or more. Main decider was running cost - It is my main transport, clocking up 20,000 miles per year so insurance, MPG, tyres etc important, and once the car is out of warranty I don't fancy paying fix the super charger. I also do most of my driving not on dual carriageways so outright performance is not as important as handling.
Dunno if this helps but if cost is part of the issue for you then the extra running cost of the S leaves less for mods. Cheers

[minidriver#1]

i'm 70% leaning to keeping the cooper, for the same reasons as above but for others also. Twice i've come close to not breaking in time approaching roundabouts, completely misjudging em. A cooper s is just gonna tempt me eventually even though i have good self restraint, i'd find it too tempting to play a bit more than i should.

£2900 is the cheapest qute i have recieved for an S, thats over 2 grand more than what i currently pay for the cooper. £2000 = a set of 19inch Arospeed GTs and coilovers. lol.

And to be honest, although i yearn for more power, i tend to cruise rather than whiz around, so the slow lane is for me, for now.

But some day i will have an S, just not for a few years. Nearly 90% of all my present and future mods will be transferable to a new MINI so its not a huge problem.

But most importantly....
http://www.mini2.com/gallery/personal/KJ_daGreenMini/rr2.jpg

how can i get rid of that? ^ tee hee

[Gismo]

I think you've made your mind up KJ, £2900 for a years insurance is just plain daft, you don't whizz about as it is except for the odd occasion, you could always upgrade the brakes ;)

Bonnie Scotland

[minidriver#1]

hehe, true, but this decision means that i'll be on the look out for rides in other peoples S's :P

[Duncan Stewart]

Yeh! stay with your great looking Cooper and be different :D:eek:.
I've easily kept up with much more powerful cars on the twisty bits (Scoobies, Mercs, BMWs, TTs, Jags, etc) so I'm sure a Cooper can keep up with a S on a twisty road anyway - stir, stir, ;) - NOT at challenge before any of you S speed freaks start! And I said keep up with orificer, NOT race :I

[weefossy]

KJ, you have made the right choice. I love our S but the Cooper we had was more than fast enough. The only time an S is faster is in a straight line, or when somebody is "bragging" at a bar.
Your car is individual, classy and with the money you would save on purchase and insurance, the options are endless.

[Big Col]

The only thing I'm gonna say is your car looks fantastic in that pic KJ.

[RedMini2902]

quote:Originally posted by Duncan Stewart

so I'm sure a Cooper can keep up with a S on a twisty road anyway - stir, stir, ;) - NOT at challenge before any of you S speed freaks start! And I said keep up with orificer, NOT race :I


Will actually beat it through the twisites, there is a post on Mini2 where the cooper was faster round a track but the fastest of all was a chipped One, due the gear ratios or some other boring mechanical thing :p

[KenL]

quote:Originally posted by RedMini2902


quote:Originally posted by Duncan Stewart

so I'm sure a Cooper can keep up with a S on a twisty road anyway - stir, stir, ;) - NOT at challenge before any of you S speed freaks start! And I said keep up with orificer, NOT race :I


Will actually beat it through the twisites, there is a post on Mini2 where the cooper was faster round a track but the fastest of all was a chipped One, due the gear ratios or some other boring mechanical thing :p


Cooper faster round a track than an S - nah I don't think so somehow :)

I'm sure the driver can play a part but the same driver would easily be quicker in an S.

[RedMini2902]

http://www.mini2.com/forum/showthread.php?t=39391&page=2&pp=40&highlight=croft+track+day

Okay they are faster and not too many straights on that track helped I think, they are faster cars yes but not that fast!

[minidriver#1]

i just found out that MINISPEED offer a 160 bhp conversion for the cooper and MINI one

Cooper stage 3 - ECU Remap, big valve cylinder head,fast road cam, induction kit, stainless steel exhaust system, stainless steel tubular exhaust manifold and bespoke inlet manifold. 115-165 bhp. not a bad increase.

But the price for all that is £3000. a grand more than the stage 2 which takes it to 150bhp approx.

stage 1 is a simple remap to take it from 115 to 130 for £270. hmmm.

its in this months mini magazine which is a good read might i add. I bought that and mini world.

[KenL]

The gearbox in the ONE/Cooper cannot stand much more torque so that conversion could be very risky. The ONE D and S required a change to another gearbox as the 5 speed couldn't handle it.

[minidriver#1]

i wonder how much a gear box would cost... hmmm

[sh@z]

kj has his thinking cap on once again :p

[RedMini2902]

you got a web addy for MINISPEED

[minidriver#1]

lemme see. www.minispeed.co.uk but it seems to be classics just now, they dont seem to have a section for the newm ini, but its in the mini world mag.

[Quik_Mini]

KJ if you really want to do work to you Cooper engine (which is not advisable) I can do it for you for far far cheaper than Minispeed, I mean if your looking at spending 3k you could probably get about 200bhp for that. Skaven29@hotmail is my msn if you want to talk about it.

[RedMini2902]

Yeah I tried google and thats what I got I was just wondering if there was another :)

[Duncan Stewart]

quote:Originally posted by Quik_Mini

I mean if your looking at spending 3k you could probably get about 200bhp for that.
200bhp out of a Cooper! I take it we are taking turbos here.
On the gearbox problem - why not contact one of the New Mini breakers and get a second hand 6 speed out of a wrecked S or D?

[minidriver#1]

:O thats a great idea. i dont know where to look. Has anyone noticed google is loosing its cool, most results are results in other search engines which are completely useless.

grrrr

[Duncan Stewart]

There is a company called "New Mini Parts" (imaginative name! ;)) who sometimes advertise in the mini mags. They claim to have all parts available for One, Cooper and S so should have six speed gearboxes. They break accident damaged new Minis – adverts have some very sad photos of mangled minis :( . Call 01617611615 or 07971845395.
Hope this helps.