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During
the 1960s the man to write about Mini tuning was the late,
great Clive Trickey. In his tragically short life, Trickey
passed on more knowledge about Mini tuning than most people
have forgotten and brightened up the pages of many magazines
in the process. In the 1970s the torch passed to David
Vizard, an engineering genius who discovered new and ingenious
ways of screwing horrendous amounts of power out of the
ancient A-series engine without spending a fortune or
making it go pop. Thanks to Vizard the Wizard and the
tuning industry that grew up, the Mini stayed a viable
tuning option right into the 1990s. And now we have the
new car to write about.
Some traditional Mini fans view the new Mini as the bastard
child of an unhealthy corporate spat between Rover and
BMW, which is perhaps fair enough. They view it as a sell-out,
a cynical marketing exercise. Others, us included, view
the new Mini rather differently.
We tend to think of it as a baby BMW with class-leading
handling, funky retro styling and superb build quality
– all at an affordable price. With this in mind
we were quietly warming to the new Mini quite happily,
if on the slow burn scale of affection rather than "love
at first sight" lust. But then two things happened
to bring the little car closer to our heart.
For starters, we realised that this little box is a tweakable
bit of kit. Press releases and missives kept arriving
proclaiming greatly improved performance at a reasonable
price. Of course, we're not talking twin SUs and 649 cams
here, as only modern tuning is applicable for such a modern
car.
Then we had the chance to use a Cooper S at Anglesey last
Autumn. It spent nearly all day on track, most of it sideways,
and left all who drove it with a huge grin on their face.
So with the new Mini selling like hot cakes in the UK
and worldwide, and with the above in mind, we gathered
five of the best tweaked examples and headed for Rockingham
to put them through their paces. With a Mini One, two
Coopers and two supercharged Cooper S variants to pedal
about, we'd gathered a broad spread of cars that covers
most requirements and budgets. Even better, we were blessed
with unseasonably sunny and dry weather. So it was on
with the show.
Falkland Assault
First up was Falkland Performance's Mini One, with
huge thanks to Kevin and Robert for bringing it
down all the way from Fife – the day after
Hogmanay! Under the bonnet the single cam 16-valve
BMW engine was working from the lowest base output
– a mere 90bhp, which in standard trim isn't
a lot to rave about, especially when it's hauling
the Mini's 1115-kilo rump around.
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And
this is where Falkland Performance steps in. A spot of
Superchipping for the ECU liberates an extra 30bhp, a
free flow four into one stainless steel Magnex exhaust
manifold and system help the gasses escape more readily,
while a K&N induction kit improves breathing on the
inlet side of the engine. So, using standard internals,
power increases to a respectable 136bhp.
A set of Eibach 30mm lowering springs tighten the handling,
while stopping is improved via a set of front performance
brake discs, Ferodo DS2500 pads and a Goodridge brake
line kit. All of which sounds good on paper, but how did
it go?
Pretty well actually. You're conscious of the weight of
the car and the tall overall gearing and there's no avalanche
of power, no caminess, no sudden surge, just a progressive
build up to about 5500rpm, where it runs out of puff.
In all honesty, there's little point in taking it much
beyond 6000rpm, so it's best to keep it buzzing in the
3-5500rpm band. With that in mind, the reasonable grip
of the Michelin 175/65/15 tyres and the tauter handling
of the Eibach springs provided ample entertainment, although
body roll was still noticeable – the optional rear
anti-roll bar would help here.
Veering between neutrality and understeer, Falkland's
Mini was happy in second and third around Rockingham's
infield circuit, with a brief snatch of fourth before
braking hard for the second gear right-hander. The uprated
stoppers proved valuable here, allowing confident braking,
then you could balance the car on the understeer and get
the power down. There wasn't much overall grip, but it
could all be felt through feel-packed steering, which
doubled as a useful grab handle – as the standard seats
offered no lateral support during hard cornering. After
five laps I had a grin on my face, which said it all.
Price wise you have two options. For £850 inc VAT
fitted you can have the chip, exhaust and air filter,
which will net you 130bhp. The tubular exhaust manifold
fitted will set you back an additional £448, which
makes the total package price £1298 fitted. All
in all, Falkland's upgrades for the Mini One are a good
bet, as they offer good results for sensible outlay.
In all honesty, there's little to choose between the Mini
One and the Cooper once the former has been chipped. Chipping
raises the power to 120bhp on the One, whereas on the
Cooper it gains around 8bhp. Mechanically, the engines
are identical between the two variants, and the ECUs are
very similar if not identical. Does that make the Mini
One the best starting point for modifications compared
to the Cooper then? Quite possibly...
Likely
LAD
Next up was LAD's Mini Cooper. Ernie Larton's Morecombe-based
concern has been tweaking cars since 1976, but the
Mini is a new departure for a business that's always
been closely linked to the Peugeot marque. That
said, the results were impressive. Initial impressions
of LAD's Mini Cooper were that it was far more extrovert,
thanks to its tartan red paint and vivid white roof
and wheels. |
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With
115bhp to start with, LAD is claiming a healthy 30bhp
extra from its efforts. LAD's approach to tuning the Mini
Cooper is a traditional one – it avoids chipping and concentrates
on cylinder head work to release more horses. By enlarging
the inlet and exhaust ports, modifying the valves and
combustion chambers, significant extra grunt is liberated.
Coupled to a free flow stainless steel exhaust system
and a cone style performance air filter, LAD is quoting
145bhp.
Out on the circuit, the extra grunt was immediately noticeable,
as was the extra noise. LAD's Cooper used a very loud
exhaust, which certainly spoke to you at high revs, but
may well be a touch too much for long distance motorway
work.
Immediate impressions were of a better torque output than
on the Mini One, coupled to a nice mid-range pull and
a willingness to rev to 6000rpm with a smoothness that
comes from careful attention to the cylinder head. As
on the Mini One, Rockingham's circuit was mainly second
and third gear, with a touch of fourth, then the standard
brakes had little problem hauling the car up to tackle
the uphill second gear right-handers.
LAD's Cooper felt dynamically sharper than standard thanks
to the stiffer lowering springs and the Cobra Forza bucket
seats, which locked you into the car securely even during
hard cornering, and helped increase the seat of the pants
feel that the standard perches lack.
Yet while the power and handling poise were there, front
end grip was in short supply. The 175/65/R15 Pirelli rubber
and sharper power output combined readily to provoke power
understeer in the slower corners. Through the faster turns
this was less noticeable, particularly if you adopted
a gentle turn-in style, as aggression would only produce
loud squeals of protest and numbing understeer unless
you proceeded with caution. Bearing this in mind, LAD's
car was great fun and with a decent set of sticky rubber
could easily be two to three seconds a lap quicker. Priced
at £1500 fitted, including VAT and 12 months warranty,
LAD's conversion adds the sporting touch that the standard
Cooper just can't provide.
Janspeed
Magic
Our next ride in this Mini quintet hailed from the
traditional home of many a tweaked classic Mini
– Janspeed of Salisbury. Janspeed's work concentrates
on improving the breathing of the single cam 16-valve
Mini motor by improving the flow through the cylinder
head. This flow bench work on the head is combined
with a tubular 4-2-1 exhaust manifold with integral
sports cat that hooks up to stainless steel free
flow sports exhaust. Combined with a high performance
panel air filter, Janspeed is quoting just over
135bhp, plus much improved torque and throttle response.
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There
are few changes dynamically, aside from fitting a set
of Janspeed developed lowering springs, plus a set of
17-inch BBS alloys, shod in Yokohama 215/40/17-inch rubber.
Crucially, this combination results in the same rolling
radius as the standard 15-inch wheel and tyre package,
so the overall gearing remains unchanged.Out on the circuit
the changes in the engine room are immediately apparent,
as the car has a pleasantly fruity exhaust note. Low speed
and mid-range torque are both strong and the engine's
eager to rev much higher than the other two Minis, spinning
to 6500rpm with more spirit than the quoted 135bhp output
would suggest, and it seemed the quickest of the two Coopers
down the circuit's pit straight. You can thank the extra
torque for making its presence felt here, as the increased
output (up from 109lb.ft to 123lb.ft) helps haul the Cooper's
1125-kilo rump around with a verve that the figures belie.
Even better, you could hold onto the gears for longer
through bends without having to short shift as the motor
ran out of puff, which made for easier lapping.
The Janspeed car wasn't bend shy either, as the stickier,
wider Yokohama rubber provided far superior grip levels
than its rivals. Combined with the uprated lowering springs,
this produced a more neutral balance than the previous
two Minis, as the Janspeed car could be provoked to oversteer
through lifting off or turning in on the brakes. Ultimately
the car would understeer, but all in all, this was about
grin inducing fun as the sharp steering let you explore
the grip levels that the chassis tweaks provided.
Priced at £1750 fitted (£1351 for parts only),
Janspeed's engine package is a great choice for a sensible
upgrade that adds character and performance without compromising
the base package. The lowering springs are priced at £250
fitted or £115 if you do it yourself, and they certainly
seem to work well in this application.
Goode
Stuff
And then we were on to the ultimate Mini incarnation
– the Cooper S. We'd already sampled the supercharged
6-speed 163bhp Mini at Anglesey last year and loved
it. It spent most of the day out on the circuit
and most of those laps on opposite lock. Would a
tweaked Cooper S detract from the soundness of the
base package? In Graham Goode Racing's case the
answer is an emphatic no, as its take on the ultimate
new Mini proved superior in almost every respect.
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Leicester based GGR has developed its S200 engine conversion
in house, and is claiming over 200bhp (207bhp to be precise,
up from the standard 163bhp.) More importantly, the S200
package produces an extra 37lb.ft of torque, and at 500rpm
lower than standard, bringing the total to 187lb.ft. The
conversion centres on changing the drive ratio on the
Eaton supercharger (by use of a smaller pulley) which
raises boost pressure from the standard 7psi to a more
serious 12psi. That, combined with a Superchips reprogramme
to modify the ignition and fueling requirements to suit,
provides the extra horses. Priced at a very reasonable
£1175 fitted, the conversion takes a day to install.
As with all GGR products there is a 12 month 12,000 mile
warranty on parts.
To add some bark to this extra bite, GGR has also fitted
a Magnaflow Powerloop exhaust system which sounds nicely
gruff, while in light of the extra grunt on tap, a set
of AP Racing four pot calipers now clamp huge 330mm vented
discs at the front of the car. Weighing in at £1640,
these stoppers could well be the last word in Mini braking
and require the use of 17-inch wheels at least –
for clearance reasons. GGR has taken the opportunity to
fit a set of 18-inch TSW Spirit alloys, shod in 225/35/180-inch
Yokohama A539 rubber, having felt that the standard Cooper
S "run flat" tyres were too stiff for fast road
useage.
Out on the circuit the extra grunt was immediately noticeable.
Pushing your foot down hard made the nose of the Mini
rise on its springs as it leapt forward. There was a serious
amount of torque
available from tick-over upwards and by 3000rpm the supercharger
really pulled the 1140-kilo car along at a serious rate
of knots. Changing at around 6500rpm brought forth buckets
of acceleration that would shame many a Civic Type R,
as the torque from the Cooper S would easily out grunt
both the V-TEC Honda as well as the rev happy Clio Sport
172. And boy, what a soundtrack! Under the bonnet the
whining supercharger was nicely apparent when pushing
on, and the Powerloop exhaust, though loud, lacked the
annoying "booming" of some aftermarket systems.
With this much grunt on tap, having six speeds seems slightly
superfluous at first, but it is vital, as the Getrag gearbox
is designed to handle serious amounts of torque. The shift
was clean and crisp (as you'd expect of a car with just
800 miles on the clock!) and the ratios were as I'd remembered
them – nicely spaced and readily accessible. Compared
to the other Minis the GGR car was at least one gear up
everywhere, so full use was made of the AP Racing brakes
to scrub off speed, and they really pinned this little
projectile down and dared you to brake later and later.
With the ASC+T control turned off as a matter of course,
GGR's Mini would easily loose traction through the second
gear corners. But before you view this as a recipe for
torque-steer and tyre smoke, let me say that the car wheel
span in such a progressive manner that when combined with
the feel-packed, kart-like steering, rapid fun progress
was the order of the day. The fantastic medium to high
speed neutral-to-oversteer handling remained, allowing
you to hang the tail out should you so desire. Indeed,
I hung the tail out a bit too far on one lap, spinning
off into the infield – thankfully with no damage,
except to my pride.
As a stand alone, the GGR S200 conversion is a fantastic
upgrade that combines superb everyday driveability with
supercar humbling performance. I can't think of a better
upgrade for the money, and with GGR's professional reputation
firmly behind it, this programme is sure to be a winner.
From
the Hartge
GGR isn't going to have it all its own way though,
as BMW specialist Hartge has launched its own Cooper
S tuning conversion. Hartge tuning parts are imported
into the UK by Birds of Uxbridge and we were particularly
indebted to Chris Brewerton for bringing his car
along on the day. Boasting 210bhp, this TUV-approved
conversion consists of a modified supercharger compressor
housing, a high speed belt drive assembly and a
revised ECU map. |
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Weighing
in at £1761, with a 12 month warranty, there's the
promise of a 184lb.ft of torque at 3600rpm, practically
the same as GGR is claiming and well up on the standard
figure.
This particular car also benefited from a Hartge M3 style
quad exit exhaust system, which, Hartge admits, adds merely
aural rather than performance gains.
Cooper S models fitted with the Hartge conversion in Germany
have clocked 6.6 seconds to 60mph, which is quite believable,
as this car packs a considerable punch. Low speed, part
throttle
driveability is not good, as the engine hunts and wavers
as the ECU seems unsure of which tune to play. Give it
some throttle though, and the full symphony is unleashed,
with a wall of torque from very low revs through a storming
mid range, right up to a top end performance that goes
on to 7000rpm plus. Even compared to the GGR car, the
Hartge Mini's Eaton supercharger sounded like it was working
overtime to produce high boost levels, while the quad
exhausts were on the uncomfortable side of loud.
The Hartge car gobbled up the pit straight very quickly,
with gears coming to hand at a rapid rate of knots. And
while the standard stoppers proved fine for a couple of
laps, prolonged heavy use saw them fade away, such is
the extra pace of this Cooper S. The message is a simple
one: for track day use, uprated brakes are a must on a
tweaked Cooper S.
With the traction control off grip was a problem as wheelspin
was easily achievable – even through the third gear
corners – but given the dynamic excellence of the
Cooper S's steering and front suspension in general, this
was easily coped with. The Pirelli Eurore run flat 205/45/17
tyres probably don't help here, and they have one other
fault, they are very stiff in the sidewall. Over the fast,
bumpy section around the back of the circuit the Hartge
car was not as composed as GGR's Yokohama shod example.
Despite these misgivings, the Hartge tweaks have transformed
the cheeky little S into a giant killer which on the road,
or at a track day, will mean that when you see one of
these in the rear view mirror you'll need to treat it
with the utmost courtesy.
Mini
Max
So what have we learnt? Well, the £10,300
Mini One can be vastly improved with just £850
of tweaks, as Falkland Performance has shown. Janspeed
and LAD have proven that the £11,600 Mini
Cooper can be transformed into a car worthy of track
day fun, from £1500.00 upwards. And while
in sheer performance terms you are not going to
beat the £12,500 Renault Clio 172 you may
well be in for a bit more fun.
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As
for the two tweaked Cooper S's, they're in a different
league. For a similar package spend to the other Mini
variants, there's a vastly superior result. In sheer cause
and effect terms, they're two of the most effective engine
conversions I've ever come across. Pick of the bunch would
be the GGR conversion, purely because it's two-thirds
of the price of the Hartge package. That said, both tuners
push the new Mini Cooper S into the serious performance
league both for fast road and track day use, where it
should embarrass the alloys off some far more expensive
machinery. One thing's for sure though, you'll be seeing
a few more tweaked Minis in CCC from now on, and on the
evidence of this quintet, that's no bad thing. Or in the
words of the BMW advertising... Enthusiast buys Mini.
Vastly improves already excellent product by fitting well
developed aftermarket tuning parts. The end.
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