Being a brit (ex) I've always liked the original Mini Cooper.... The new ones have also caught my eye and after a couple of weeks of dilly dallying I finally picked one up. I opted for the newer Turbo charged version... I actually found it right next door to our friends at EVOMS (more on this later) so I flew out and drove it back. I'm not usually keen on FWD cars but for some strange reason this little box of tricks doesn't feel much like an FWD car. It's pretty light and nifty in the turns too. The turbo itself is a cute little baby but as a result the power feels nice and linear. She's an 07 Pepper white with a few of the sport goodies...






Having looked around a bit as far as software/performance flashes I came back pretty empty handed. So what's a guy with a fetish for performance software and turbo charged cars to do? This is where Todd and EVOMSit comes in....

Open up the engine bay... the ECU is on the top right:


Seems as though the bosch ECU's in the R56 are a pia to tune so out came the ECU:


So here's my daily driver and with Todd@EVOMS' help we should have some EVOMSit software to bump the performance up shortly. I'll be testing it for a while first but for those of you interested we'll have a tune in the near future that doesn't require "piggyback" etc...

Yes there's a few other mods planned too

 

Very nice. One of the best colors on the Mini. One question, is the wheel/tire combo off or something? There seems to be a BIG gap in the wheel well. Nowhere near how my wife's '05 S looks.

 

thanks man.. and yes they were a little higher from 07 with the new R56 models... But I'll fix that

 

Nice find! I agree these are awsome daily drivers. My mother and sister both have them and love them.

I drove my sister's "S" back from the dealer when she got it and had a blast, handles like a 3 Series go-kart and has plenty of pull for such a light car.

How does the Turbo charged version compare to the Super charged version?

 

BTW, any plans for the exhaust? I had a chance to hear the JCW version at the dealer and it sounded pretty nice.

 

Nice.. Good luck with it.. Keep us updated on the Tuning!!!

Mike

 

We will be doing some ECU tuning today Should be fun!

 

awesome! those are fun lil cars...

 

Let the mod begin!

BTW, I hated the drive from PHX back to Norcal ...Done it twice and probably never ever gonna do it again unless the car drives by itself

 

Hehe yes... first things first and most important is the tuning. I really had no idea there was such a lack of options as far as the ECU goes. Good thing Todd@EVOMS owned a Mini as well... He's going to give it some extra love

Thanks and yes they are

In between silver 1000hp 996TT's right Can't wait.... I've got a few Bay Area mini folks with the R56 2007+ cars waiting

Thanks Mike... should be a fun lil' project. They drive so well...

You're right.. that's something we should look at

Thanks and it really does drive well... actually doesn't feel like a fwd car either. The handling is pretty sweet as is the steering. It only weighs about 2500 pounds so it's light too. I've driven both and I have to say the turbo charged one with the newer (and better) DFI motor is both peppier and more responsive. The super-charger whine is cool but as far as power delivery goes the newer motor is about a second quicker 0-60.

 

Keep us posted..... I'm thinking of picking up an R56 too. There are really no options out there for tuning...strange.

 

Hey Teddy you bet... the ECU's in the front engine bay and comes out pretty easily and I know Todd's working on it this next few days so let's see what we get here

 

Alex congrats on your new toy... Now let's see EVOMSit's magic on that ecu... I have good hopes on the tuning.

 

The ride looks sick!

 

I have a 2007 S that I purchased new and I have been getting the itch to add some mods. To this point I have only added wheels and the JIC Cross suspension (the R56 is comically high in the standard suspension position). I will be eager to see what you and Todd are able to achieve.

JJB