It's Thanksgiving and I'm thankful that a bunch of parts came in for the MINI this week; some of them to be installed this weekend! Because of the lack of a power aftermarket for base Cooper's, we will be going through some experiments. Yesterday my OBX header arrived. SHINY! It's built for the 07-09 MINI which have the same body style but a slightly different motor. Fingers crossed that it will bolt up with minimum adjustments needed. It's so pretty even the dog is checking it out.
Also arriving was an ALTA lightweight crank pulley. It is designed for the turbo motor, but it appears that it will work for mine. It's really light, only 0.6 pounds. I don't know how much the stock one weighs, but I'm sure it's heavier; so that should be a nice bump up in horsepower.
Probably more important than the power mods, some used parts arrived from a fellow MINI racer who is getting into a different car next year. Adjustable rear control arms will help me dial in some rear camber and carbotech front brakes will give me better stopping power and hopefully better brake pedal feel. The brakes will have to wait until spring, but the control arms will go on soon.
Right now the MINI is in full on winter mode with it's stock battery and even the stock seats (I had to give the Recaro's back to the Evo unfortuntely). It's looking pretty aggressive with some meaty snow tires. With all the extra weight and the tall tires it is incredibly slow and actually decelerates when floored going up hills; maybe the header and pulley will give me a little bit of oomph! And in case you were wondering, a set of tires easily fit in the rear hatch.
WINTER MODE!!
