[Paultwub61]

Has anyone fitted a tuning box (Racechip,Nm,Dinan etc..) or had a Remap on the 1.5 3cylinder ??

When I was working out which model to buy, I was very impressed with the 3 cylinder, and loved the sound of the 3 as opposed to the 4 in the MCS which sounded characterless !!

My MCS is fast enough, but I always wonder, should I have gone with the Cooper, and boosted the Power ??

For me also, the lighter Engine of the Cooper 3 cylinder, created a more agile car without the extra weight over the front axle.

I love my MCS in most respects, but do sometimes think I have missed out on the sweet spot of the range ???

 

[daemon]

I believe they remap to 180BHP+

I find the MCS engine to be quite characterful. Particularly running in Sport mode and with the upgraded JCW exhaust ours has (standard JCW exhaust not PRO).

If a Cooper was the right price then i'd certainly consider one but i think the MCS is a better starting point in terms of performance.

 

[VolcanicF54]

It's been mentioned before on this forum (by me I think ) that BMW toyed with the idea of making the F series petrol MINI's exclusively 1.5 triples, but bottled it in case the buyers of the performance versions couldn't countenance anything other than the 4 cylinder 2.0 litre engine.

The 3 cylinder 1.5 litre is eminently tuneable, as evidenced by it's (admittedly heavily modified) 220hp employment as ICE power in the i8.

Fantastic engine.

 

[Paultwub61]

It's been mentioned before on this forum (by me I think ) that BMW toyed with the idea of making the F series petrol MINI's exclusively 1.5 triples, but bottled it in case the buyers of the performance versions couldn't countenance anything other than the 4 cylinder 2.0 litre engine.

The 3 cylinder 1.5 litre is eminently tuneable, as evidenced by it's (admittedly heavily modified) 220hp employment as ICE power in the i8.

Fantastic engine.

220 bhp from a lighter, more nimble set up. Now you are talking !!!

I,m sure the i8,s engine components have been beefed up accordingly though.

180 bhp would be lively though

 

[Harry L]

A few supporting mods and you can see 210hp quite comfortably.

Tuning boxes will see you 160-170hp which makes it easily as quick as a Cooper S due to the lighter weight.

 

[jeremybingham]

Thing with the i8 is the engine doesn't need a wide torque spread-it helps out when the electric motor runs out and it fills in gaps so might not be quite that much but as above it's a very tuneable engine-not sure how reliable it would be or strength of ancillaries in this form though eg clutch and gearbox!

 

[VolcanicF54]

....not sure how reliable it would be or strength of ancillaries in this form though eg clutch and gearbox!

I'm not convinced the clutch and gearbox are even up to the standard 134 bhp

 

[NBCGLX]

There are several companies that offer either ECU remaps or piggyback modules for the B36/B38, they're just not as prevalent as the B46/B48. Gains on the B36/B38 are quite good, actually! I think an RPM remap yields something like 60 HP and 100 LB-FT (crank) gains!! If I had to guess, the B36/B38 is detuned quite a bit to yield better fuel economy and to not step on its big brother's toes.

 

[anthonyyule]

My wife's 3 cylinder 1.5 is running over 210bhp. And it's a fantastic ride


2017 Mini Cooper Clubman - out of warranty due to some minor mods we carried out. The engine went boom due to an OEM spark plug which failed and melted the piston which in turn damaged the cylinder and melted the cat. Once we had ascertained that BMW would not help out we took the (big) decision to rebuild, strengthen and tune.

So..... in no particular order: BMW i8 pistons and rods; stage 2 Superchips remap; Forge intercooler; Eventuri induction kit (with new Cooper S bonnet to enable scoop RAM air); Miltek decat pipe; Remus cat back exhaust (Cooper S twin exit.... so now running Cooper S rear bumper); JCW big brake kit (with grooved and drilled discs); Forge brace kit; KW coil over kit (70mm drop); 20mm wheel spacers all round; JCW gearbox (2ltr spec); strengthened clutch; lightened flywheel; Quaife LSD; Dunlop Sport Maxx tyres.

I think there is maybe more.... but it's been a quick journey and I tend to forget some of the things we have done... sometimes things worked and sometimes things didn't and we had to try again. Biggest headache was the LSD.... which didn't fit the original gearbox and led to head scratching with everybody at Quaife and the tuner until we realised small differences in the fitting kit tolerances meant it would never fit (I was quoted for Quaife to build me a bespoke LSD but it was going to cost over £5K and they needed the gearbox for a few months ? )

We believe that we have trail-blazed with this car - doing things which haven't really been done elasewhere. Possibly more power to come from a different turbo....but for now it's just a really fun chuckable car to drive.

Ask away - chances are we have tried and failed or are enjoying the fruits of our labour ?

 

[NBCGLX]

Wow, now that’s how you do it! A few questions for you:

Did you already have the engine modified when the OE spark plug decided to give up and cause all that damage?

Are you still running the factory turbo?

Any issues fitting the Eventuri intake (other than also having to get a Cooper S bonnet)? I’m looking at the AWE S-flo intake and the can’t confirm that it’ll fit the B36/B38.

I think that’s it for now! Got any pics of this beast?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[anthonyyule]

We were running stage 2 map with intercooler, sports cat and forge induction kit at the time the spark plug failed. we can never be certain but the car was in several garages/ workshops for inspection and general concensus was that it was not the tuning which had caused the spark plug to over stress..... more that the OEM spark plugs fitted to the Mini are generally of a poor quality. So these have also now been upgraded!

To be honest.... all work (fitting/ installing) has been carried out professionally (both pre engine damage and since)..... so I cannot tell if there were any issues fitting the Eventuri. However.... the very first mod I carried out was to fit the forge induction kit which was simple and straight forward and having had a good look at the Eventuri install I dont think that it looks to be much more complicated to be honest! Generally speaking..... every piece of kit which I have fitted to the engine (not gearbox) has been Cooper S/ JCW specific and everything has fitted. Cooper S Miltek sports cat/ Cooper S Miltek De-cat (as currently fitted)..... which then allowed me to fit Cooper S complete exhaust system. Cooper S induction kits..... the induction system is the same on both Cooper and S.

Ill try and post pics as soon as I can work out how to do so!!

 

[CO2slave]

We were running stage 2 map with intercooler, sports cat and forge induction kit at the time the spark plug failed. we can never be certain but the car was in several garages/ workshops for inspection and general concensus was that it was not the tuning which had caused the spark plug to over stress..... more that the OEM spark plugs fitted to the Mini are generally of a poor quality. So these have also now been upgraded!

To be honest.... all work (fitting/ installing) has been carried out professionally (both pre engine damage and since)..... so I cannot tell if there were any issues fitting the Eventuri. However.... the very first mod I carried out was to fit the forge induction kit which was simple and straight forward and having had a good look at the Eventuri install I dont think that it looks to be much more complicated to be honest! Generally speaking..... every piece of kit which I have fitted to the engine (not gearbox) has been Cooper S/ JCW specific and everything has fitted. Cooper S Miltek sports cat/ Cooper S Miltek De-cat (as currently fitted)..... which then allowed me to fit Cooper S complete exhaust system. Cooper S induction kits..... the induction system is the same on both Cooper and S.

Ill try and post pics as soon as I can work out how to do so!!

Very impressive what you have done there . There is certainly much satisfaction to be gained from making subtle improvements yourself and getting a much better car as a result. I am running a 5 Door 1.5 Cooper with a remap giving 170/180hp and I am very chuffed with it as it is virtually as quick as a Cooper S but will still do 50mpg or over when I go to work and back (100 mile round trip)

I am very interested in your comment about the OE plugs as my engine is completely stock apart from the remap .

Can you advise what upgraded spark plug you recommend as I think I ought to drop some of those in ASAP.

Also can you advise what improvements you would recommend to somebody with a limited budget . Basically what gives the best improvement for the lowest cost..... I am thinking about upgrading the intercooler but was told that the gain would be around 10hp which doesn’t seem much for the parts and labour cost. The remap cost about £300 and added about 40hp

I8 piston and rods wow! where did they come from. And how much?

 

[Umlautian]

My F56 Cooper manual is getting an ECU remap today, from 136HP/220Nm to 170HP/270Nm, all original parts. Pretty excited!

 

[jeremybingham]

Keep us posted!

 

[Snufkin]

I'm not convinced the clutch and gearbox are even up to the standard 134 bhp

As I am new to the breed, is this a joke?

 

[VolcanicF54]

As I am new to the breed, is this a joke?

It was a while ago but I think it was an intentionally humorous comment on the perceived robustness of F series manual transmissions. However, I'm not a qualified vet so do not take this as professional medical advice. ?

 

[Umlautian]

Just got back from the tuner. They offer a service with a standard tune and one where they put it on the dyno and do a custom setting for your car. Luckily for me, they hadn’t done this car before, so I got a free upgrade and they put it on the dyno!

 

[Snufkin]

It looks like the 'before' curve, despite being a bit uneven, is getting close to 150 bhp around 4800 rpm or am I misreading it?

 

[NBCGLX]

Just got back from the tuner. They offer a service with a standard tune and one where they put it on the dyno and do a custom setting for your car. Luckily for me, they hadn’t done this car before, so I got a free upgrade and they put it on the dyno! View attachment 68446

Looks like fun! Are those numbers calculated at the crank (I assume they are), or at the wheels? Amazing what the little 3-cylinder can do, isn't it! Which tune did you go with?

 

[NewGuy55408]

My wife's 3 cylinder 1.5 is running over 210bhp. And it's a fantastic ride


2017 Mini Cooper Clubman - out of warranty due to some minor mods we carried out. The engine went boom due to an OEM spark plug which failed and melted the piston which in turn damaged the cylinder and melted the cat. Once we had ascertained that BMW would not help out we took the (big) decision to rebuild, strengthen and tune.

So..... in no particular order: BMW i8 pistons and rods; stage 2 Superchips remap; Forge intercooler; Eventuri induction kit (with new Cooper S bonnet to enable scoop RAM air); Miltek decat pipe; Remus cat back exhaust (Cooper S twin exit.... so now running Cooper S rear bumper); JCW big brake kit (with grooved and drilled discs); Forge brace kit; KW coil over kit (70mm drop); 20mm wheel spacers all round; JCW gearbox (2ltr spec); strengthened clutch; lightened flywheel; Quaife LSD; Dunlop Sport Maxx tyres.

I think there is maybe more.... but it's been a quick journey and I tend to forget some of the things we have done... sometimes things worked and sometimes things didn't and we had to try again. Biggest headache was the LSD.... which didn't fit the original gearbox and led to head scratching with everybody at Quaife and the tuner until we realised small differences in the fitting kit tolerances meant it would never fit (I was quoted for Quaife to build me a bespoke LSD but it was going to cost over £5K and they needed the gearbox for a few months ? )

We believe that we have trail-blazed with this car - doing things which haven't really been done elasewhere. Possibly more power to come from a different turbo....but for now it's just a really fun chuckable car to drive.

Ask away - chances are we have tried and failed or are enjoying the fruits of our labour ?

Amazing build man. Just picked up my clubman this past weekend, how many S parts can you use with the non s models? Wondering mainly about intake and exhaust