I have a 2002 Cooper S (~150,000mi), and it recently suffered some minor damage to the front bumper and rear bumper. I have been wanted to begin modifications for a while, and this seems to be a good time to start. I called my local mini dealer and they were little help. I have been on this site many times and would like some advice on where to begin. I am not looking to make it a "tuner", rather I would like it to eventually be a street legal, race ready car. Somewhere between "track" and "rally". Where should I look for aero kits (bumpers, diffusers, rocker panels etc)? I would like to possibly put a quad rally light set on the front. Thank you for any advice in advance.

 

I would turn to ECS Tuning and Pelican parts and Way Motor Works for the best advice as far as parts and body kits.

Because of age and miles its going to need some replacement parts somewhere inside and outside.

I know other NAM members will comment and give their thoughts also as we are all working together here.

 

Body kits are usually the LAST thing you add to make a car a track car...
Reality is they look cool, but they tend to add weight....and the fastest way to go fast is to lighten a car...
A mini is more about turns and handling at low to moderate speeds, than the high speeds are kits help at...so be honest at what you want too do...
Nothing wrong with making it look good....mini's are all about being an individualist...just making it race ready and adding body kits are two competing ideas...
Factory support, and even aftermarket support for gen1 cars are all done or winding down....simple a numbers game..most are getting recycled....so I would suggest you check out eBay, etc for cars getting parted out...might get the body kit parts you want might srltill need work, and paint, but a start.

 

this is exactly right

But I'd suggest just going with the factory Aero kit bumper as it always fits right and looks great without being crazy aggressive.
For stuff like this you are best to pick it up local from your dealer as the shipping is crazy due to the size. So any saving would be negated.

 

Thanks


The Aero kit does look great and does transform the look of the Gen 1 MINIs.






Which body kit are you looking at Factory Aero kit here for Gen 1 MINIs : 51190146157 or 51190146163


Factory MINI Aero Full Body Kit W/ PDC - Primed

https://www.ecstuning.com/Search/SiteSearch/51190146157/

&

Factory MINI Aero Full Body Kit W/O PDC - Primed

https://www.ecstuning.com/Search/SiteSearch/51190146163/


Install PDF below.



Install PDF R50 / R53


The original full kits are now NLA from MINI , but we soured and put them together in one kit for you.

 

We have the M7 splitter and canards HERE. For a more aggressive hood scoop there is the M7 Vortex scoop HERE.

Now, with that said, aero was the last thing I have yet to mess with for my track set up. I worked at suspension and then engine and now just starting to dabble in aero and other exterior/interior items.

For rally lights, we have the Genuine MINI ones below:

Click Here - DRL retrofit kit in black
Click Here - DRL retrofit kit in chrome
Click Here - LED DRL retrofit kit in black
Click Here - LED DRL retrofit kit in chrome

 

As zippy indicated above, aero is normally at the bottom of the list. However, you can get the JCW aero kit shipped for around $1500.00 from Bahman. it is primmed but not painted. ( I DO NOT KNOW HOW MUCH ECS SELLS FOR ). That being said, itll do next to nothing, but looks slightly better. If I were to spend the cash on an aero kit, I'd look into the RMW widebody. It comes with a front and rear diffuser as well as widebody arches... if you do the math, you'll quickly see that its a superior value. However, you'll have to purchase wheels and tires accordingly.

Can you post a pick of the front bumper skin? Depending on damage, you might be able to make your own diffuser and not have to spend an arm and a leg.

Mark.

 

The original full kit part number is NLA from MINI for this model, w/ and w/o PDC. So we created and sourced the parts for the kit " KT " . Which are linked above. It been NLA for years now under MINI single part number as you can see in the link. We tried to get it multiple time.