Board logo

Mini cooper S advise
sonic - 22/12/15 at 07:16 PM

Hello guy's and a Merry Christmas to you all

My pal is thinking of buying a Mini Cooper S upto say 2004 in age, he wants to mod it by putting coilovers on sort the brakes, exhaust and mild tune the engine etc.

Has anybody on here got any experience of these cars, good / bad ? any feedback would be very welcome

All the best

Neilwilson - 22/12/15 at 09:51 PM

I had one about 10 year ago, awesome motor. Never had a day bother with it. My advice would be just leave it as it is, if it's for road use.

Luego.2.0 - 22/12/15 at 09:57 PM

Check the power steering pump mate

Adamirish - 22/12/15 at 11:50 PM

And the gearbox. Get a good one and they are sprightly little things. Get a bad one, it will break your heart and bank account.

Slimy38 - 23/12/15 at 12:13 AM

They're currently running one in car mechanics magazine, bought off auction. I think either the last issue or the previous one they decided the engine was past it and just swapped it out. And considering the articles are based on resurrecting a duffer, a complete engine swap is definitely their last resort!

nick205 - 23/12/15 at 10:06 AM

Not a fan of Minis myself so difficult to comment, but I can advise that my local Kwik Fit commented on dodgy exhaust hanger brackets that they often have to replace - may be worth checking!

Nickp - 23/12/15 at 10:30 AM

A mate had an '07 Dooper and had no end of bother with it- fuel system, gearbox, wheel bearings etc etc costing him £'000s. I don't know how much of this is relevant to the Cooper but I personally hate the things
In comparison our lasses similar vintage Seat Ibiza FR has only had a couple of suspension bushes (except service items of course)

nick205 - 23/12/15 at 10:40 AM

^^^ has to be said, there are better cars for less money and probably fewer likely issues.

For BMW's bean counters the new Mini must be a wet dream. I know many females who want one with a focus on colour rather than good car or not.

britishtrident - 23/12/15 at 12:46 PM

The early cars used the so caller Midland Gearbox which was the Peugeot 205 gearbox built under license by Rover Power Train, Rover only rated the gearbox for the K16 1.6 and never used it on the higher torque or higher performance models.BMW didn't want or get because of Honda licencing issues the Rover PG1 box but instead ploughed money into a joint venture with ZF

The power steering pumps were subject to a safety recall after a large of compete failures without any warning.
I have also heard of the alternator seizing resulting in the engine appearing almost competely seized and the starter drawing 1000 amps ! ruining both the battery and starter.


Exhaust were very expensive but the price is now lower only Klarius are worth fitting as they last and are not expensive.

[Edited on 23/12/15 by britishtrident]

sonic - 23/12/15 at 01:39 PM

Thanks for all of the replies guy's, its certainly given him something to think about.

peter030371 - 23/12/15 at 02:29 PM

quote:
Originally posted by nick205
^^^ has to be said, there are better cars for less money and probably fewer likely issues.

For BMW's bean counters the new Mini must be a wet dream. I know many females who want one with a focus on colour rather than good car or not.


This from a forum of kit car nuts.......my Striker cost me £350 a year in tax and insurance alone and just to do <1000 miles a year! If I wanted 'sensible' I would look at a Ford

I have got a Mini Cooper, 3 years old next April. Its fun, its bright, I like the way it drives, I like the way it feels small (even though its not really), it has a quirky interior design.....money isn't everything (and you can't take it with you)

If he likes the idea of a Cooper S as a fun car then why not

Of the known issues on a car of that age the power steering is probably the biggest one plus water leaks (check for damp carpets) around the A pillar that can get into some of the electrics. Otherwise its the same as any other car of that age i.e. if its not been looked after it could be crap and any one of any of the major parts could need fixing

emwmarine - 23/12/15 at 04:29 PM

quote:
Originally posted by britishtrident
The early cars used the so caller Midland Gearbox which was the Peugeot 205 gearbox built under license by Rover Power Train, Rover only rated the gearbox for the K16 1.6 and never used it on the higher torque or higher performance models.BMW didn't want or get because of Honda licencing issues the Rover PG1 box but instead ploughed money into a joint venture with ZF

The power steering pumps were subject to a safety recall after a large of compete failures without any warning.
I have also heard of the alternator seizing resulting in the engine appearing almost competely seized and the starter drawing 1000 amps ! ruining both the battery and starter.


Exhaust were very expensive but the price is now lower only Klarius are worth fitting as they last and are not expensive.

[Edited on 23/12/15 by britishtrident]


The R53 cooper s didn't have the midland gearbox, it had the chrysler derived 6 speed box that came with the engine and was much more reliable. The engine in the s was totally different and sourced fromt he chrsler neon of all things. Completely bullet proof.

There are lots of tuning companies. Ihad one and upped the power from 160 bhp to 215 bhp (on the same rolling road) just by having a smaller supercharger pulley.

Ditching the runflat tyres transforms the handling.

Swapping the heavy original twin silencer exhaust system for a stainless single box system loses a suprising amount of weight.

craig1410 - 23/12/15 at 06:11 PM

Useful site: http://www.motoringfile.com/mini-r50r53-buyers-guide/

nick205 - 24/12/15 at 09:07 AM

Granted, if it's what you want it's difficult to sway away - personally I just don't like them old or new.

garyt - 24/12/15 at 09:53 AM

watch out for any signs of overheating , lad at work has 2 of em and both overheat one worse than the other its like a geyser and spent more time in and out of garages than he's driven it, the other one test drove fine and then after halfway home we went and got him with a trailer, its not so bad and he has just gone and spent a small fortune on tuning cooling stuff...... and no I wont judge him as I spent who knows how much at his age ripping old mini's apart ( vizard tuning book in hand)
And remember the old man complaining about the mini scrapyard at the side of the house. Last one I did was a crossflow conversion on a mini box ... any way I digress,
be careful what you buy and then cane it

nick205 - 24/12/15 at 11:06 AM

quote:
Originally posted by garyt
watch out for any signs of overheating , lad at work has 2 of em and both overheat one worse than the other its like a geyser and spent more time in and out of garages than he's driven it, the other one test drove fine and then after halfway home we went and got him with a trailer, its not so bad and he has just gone and spent a small fortune on tuning cooling stuff...... and no I wont judge him as I spent who knows how much at his age ripping old mini's apart ( vizard tuning book in hand)
And remember the old man complaining about the mini scrapyard at the side of the house. Last one I did was a crossflow conversion on a mini box ... any way I digress,
be careful what you buy and then cane it



He he he, I too recall being royally bollocked for having many car parts and few working cars as a lad. The answer of "you've got the space stop moaning" didn't go down well either.

scimjim - 25/12/15 at 09:48 PM

quote:
Originally posted by emwmarine
quote:
Originally posted by britishtrident
The early cars used the so caller Midland Gearbox which was the Peugeot 205 gearbox built under license by Rover Power Train, Rover only rated the gearbox for the K16 1.6 and never used it on the higher torque or higher performance models.BMW didn't want or get because of Honda licencing issues the Rover PG1 box but instead ploughed money into a joint venture with ZF

[Edited on 23/12/15 by britishtrident]


The R53 cooper s didn't have the midland gearbox, it had the chrysler derived 6 speed box that came with the engine and was much more reliable. The engine in the s was totally different and sourced fromt he chrsler neon of all things. Completely bullet proof.


The supercharged cooper S had a 6 speed getrag box. (The one and cooper also got a five speed getrag box in 2004).

I bought one (for my wife) new in 2004, sold it to a workmate (for his wife) at 3 years old/36k, he sold it to another workmate (for his wife) at 6 years/72k. It's now coming up to 11 years old and 100k and apart from service parts (tyres, brakes, exhaust, battery, alternator, oil, plugs and filters) it's only needed an air con pipe replacing (under warranty) and an electric window motor.

It'll probably need a clutch soon and I'm hoping it goes up for sale so that I can buy it back - as its always been serviced by BMW (except for the aftermarket stainless exhaust this year) and the current owner couldn't even change the battery himself. Remove the front bumper and mounting frame and there's more access than any of my other cars!

Might not be the fastest, most comfortable, most economical, most efficient (pence per mile) car in its class but it was good fun and did exactly what it said on the tin IMHO (and I owned a classic mini at the same time!)

[Edited on 25/12/15 by scimjim]