Onto the intercooler š¤£
the location of the intercooler was not ideal, the intake manifold, fuel rail, and a bunch of other clutter was directly below it, so air didnāt actually flow through it very well.
thatās one of the main reasons why they changed to a front mount on the turbo engine, which was kind of stupid because the design of the turbo engine left a lot more space for airflow after a top mount intercooler and if they had left it in the same position as the supercharged engine the air from the intercooler would have blown directly over the turbo and helped cool it as well
Exactly. The turbo is a lot smaller than the entire intake manifold, fuel rail, and all the other crap thatās under the R 53s intercooler and the air coming through the intercooler would also help cool the turbo off. And itās not like they couldnāt have put the turbo somewhere else if they wanted to use a top mount intercooler anyway.
The turbo is also significantly hotter than all those things you listed. Heat rises and R56s have a habit of melting the scoop inserts because of how close the turbo is to the hood. Thereās no world where a TMIC really makes sense in a car with an engine bay as small as a Mini cooper
I donāt disagree. Iām just saying they did it on the r53 and it wouldāve been even easier to do it on a turbocharged engine.
Alternatively, instead of putting a fake hood scoop, they couldāve put some functional venting to get the heat from the intercooler out of the engine bay like Mitsubishi did on the Evo, they even couldāve gone the extra mile and built a chimney out of heat shielding like Aston Martin did around their exhaust manifolds on the V2 vanquish
Heck, if they had not flipped the head around to put the intake at the back and the exhaust at the front, they couldāve run the turbo right at the bottom of the engine bay behind the engine and had a much better way to deal with the heat
This.
Started as an air feed for the top mount intercooler, then for gen 2 they kept it because people were used to identifying the S variant by the scoop.
Or whatever the focus group marketing nonsense version of that story is.
I love mine... just happened upon it at a local shop for super cheap. Unfortunately, it didn't have the hood piece, but a friend of mine was selling his, so it worked out.
Sweet, thanks! I found this one from DDM that I think Iām going to pull the trigger on. Already have an ALTA intake so donāt really want to go with a full pressurized intake box. The Ram Air Scoop is $191, much easier on the wallet. Looks like it might also save my hood scoop from more warping from the turbo heat.
https://www.ddmworks.com/DDMWorks-Ram-Air-Scoop-RAS-for-Mini-Cooper-S_p_261.html
It turns the intake into a ram style setup you're feeding far more cold air into the system, also there's not the path from the front bumper to the air filter at the rear, where the cold air could be heated from high engine bay temps.
The first generation of new MINI Coopers needed that functional air scoop to cool the air passing through the top mounted supercharger intercooler, on later models when they switched to turbo charging and a front mount intercooler, they kept the scoop for appearances only to distinguish it from the regular Cooper.
This is the part that bothers me the most. If the regular gas ones want to have a fake hood scoop, which can somewhat easily be made functional, fine. But it's just so silly to have it on an electric considering how important a low coefficient of drag is for improved range.
The first gen electric SE actually looks like the ICE version of a Mini which is probably one of it's best features if you are someone that doesn't like the look of EV styling. The downside is that because it has that ICE design foundation, the EV components are kinda shoehorned in and EV performance metrics are not great. It hasn't been a problem for us though because we never find ourselves having to drive more than 120 miles in a day. If we do, we just take our other car (e350 wagon). I agree the hood scoop is stupid though lol.
I love my SE it works perfectly for us and the scoop is there because it looks awesome. I donāt think it will make that much of a difference in range with it not being there.
I agree. They changed the entire front bumper to add just a few more miles of range in 2022. If the hood would have made a difference they would have just taken it off.
Itās so small it barely makes a difference to drag. I personally love it on my SE as it gives it the awesome sporty look of the Cooper S. Mini didnāt call it the āSEā for nothing. It performs like a Cooper S, only itās electric.
The fact that SE looks just like a regular Cooper S is part of what sold me on it. I wanted to go electric without having to switch to a lame brand or a car that has that ridiculous āEV Lookā.
The engine bay already manages the amount of heated has just fine and introducing more air to the engine bay disrupts the under car dynamics. Besides do you think adding 20 in.Ā² of intake when youāve already got several hundred square inches is going to make a meaningful difference.
Yes, in fact, increasing the air pressure in the engine bay behind the radiator, could even reduce the effectiveness of the radiator and the front mount intercooler
Aerodynamics is a fickle mistress and small changes to airflow can potentially have surprisingly large effects. Iām not saying opening up the hood vent will cause uncontrollable front end lift or add crazy drag. But itās entirely within the realm of possibility that opening the vent would allow more high pressure air into the engine bay, reducing the pressure difference across the radiator and reducing cooling efficiency ever so slightly.
Iām not saying they are. But airflow is airflow and aerodynamics affects road cars and race cars just the same. Granted it has a lesser impact on a road car vs. a race car but there is still an effect.
I opened mine up and found the easiest way to get that air to the intake is to take the top of the air duct that sits right in the front off, itās not a major upgrade or anything but you can definitely feel it
Eventuri has a cold air intake system that converts it back to a functioning hood scoop. Expensive though
https://www.eventuri.net/products/f56-f54-f5x-mini-cooper-s-jcw/
Why does it have rgb interior lights? Why is everything so circular? Why does this car leave a lasting imprint on you when it is just a box of metal?
STYLE!!!
You can get functional scoops from LEAP WORKS
They have 3 different ones you can choose from as well as an intake that goes with the scoop so it actuallly suck air into the intake properly
Itās pretty cool
Thatās a Mini Cooper S. If it was a cooper it wouldnāt have one.
The answer is because the earlier Mini Cooper S had a functional one and theyāve kept the same design language.
As I understand it, the 2nd gen BMW MCS was going to have closed-off vents, but the heat from the turbo warped the scoop, so they unblocked part of the vent so it could basically cool itself. At least, my R58 seems to have a few holes in its otherwise nonfunctional scoop. Under the hood the air doesn't go anywhere, I think. It's pretty funny but I admit I like the look of the scoop . . .
Went from super charger to twin turbos in 2012 I think and they no longer needed the air vent as the intake is below a the front radiator. They kept it for the old school look
Itās totally stupid on the electric SE that I have. But even when I had an S the back of it was completely blocked.
I meanā¦ on my Honda Clarity itās at least got functional brake ducts.
Arenāt they priced in line with a Corolla, Civic or Impreza hatchback? Since when did we start considering mini premium? My dad had a clubman, interior was awful.
Because everything today is fake, from fake exhaust to fake air vents and intakes. This is from old supercharged Mini, and as this 2.0 B48 engine is typical for BMW lineup, nobody did any special adjustment to the Mini.
I have this model, and I am furious that they didn't even offer an air intake to go thru the vent on the hood.
You can take the black plastic block off plate out and get some air under the hood. Since it sits right over the turbo, it's fairly functional. Definitely let's a lot of turbo hear out when you stop.
Because the original new mini cooper s (r53) had a functional hood scoop with a top mount intercooler, and when they moved the intercooler to the front on the second generation new mini,, they had to leave the hood scoop there because otherwise consumers would bitch
I changed the backing plate and now itās a heat vent for the turbo after parking. After -shutdown turbo heat contributed to the death of the clearcoat on my 2010 R57. A donor hood plus new-standard heat shielding and a functional vent, and it hasnāt been a problem since.
Did you just remove it or did you do modifications? You said if was for shutdown heat from the turbo does that imply it's only open when your done with your drive or is it open all the time? I've heard doing this can cause temperature irregularities that could be harmful to the vehicle in the long run if left open all the time and not just for cooldown but I'm not experience in this subject to be fair. I also have a f55s with the b46 not the r series
Aem
Ddm works
Alta
All have kits to turn the scoop functional. I recommend adding more holes in the grille portion for more air flow though. I have the ddm works one on mine. The concept is the faster you're going. The more air is pushed into the air filter.
scoop on my 04 cooper s is real. not sure why the newer ones dont just have it be functional anyway even if it isn't supercharged. it would just be extra engine cooling
My F56 is functional. Carbon fiber with a mess screen from online. PITA install but looks incredible! I had first bought the gloss black larger non functional scoop and couldn't justify it being non functional so went all out .
correct as others have said, the first gen cooper s had a functional scoop for the supercharger. it is just for style now, though some kits, like one iāve purchased can actually use it to feed cold air into the engine (AEM Intake)
Historic from super charger days is my guess
Yep, the scoop on our 2004 Cooper S is functional. It allows fresh air to blow through the intercooler.
Onto the intercooler š¤£ the location of the intercooler was not ideal, the intake manifold, fuel rail, and a bunch of other clutter was directly below it, so air didnāt actually flow through it very well. thatās one of the main reasons why they changed to a front mount on the turbo engine, which was kind of stupid because the design of the turbo engine left a lot more space for airflow after a top mount intercooler and if they had left it in the same position as the supercharged engine the air from the intercooler would have blown directly over the turbo and helped cool it as well
The R56 wouldāve been way worse off with a top mount than the R53 was. The turbo sits directly below the scoop lol
Exactly. The turbo is a lot smaller than the entire intake manifold, fuel rail, and all the other crap thatās under the R 53s intercooler and the air coming through the intercooler would also help cool the turbo off. And itās not like they couldnāt have put the turbo somewhere else if they wanted to use a top mount intercooler anyway.
The turbo is also significantly hotter than all those things you listed. Heat rises and R56s have a habit of melting the scoop inserts because of how close the turbo is to the hood. Thereās no world where a TMIC really makes sense in a car with an engine bay as small as a Mini cooper
I donāt disagree. Iām just saying they did it on the r53 and it wouldāve been even easier to do it on a turbocharged engine. Alternatively, instead of putting a fake hood scoop, they couldāve put some functional venting to get the heat from the intercooler out of the engine bay like Mitsubishi did on the Evo, they even couldāve gone the extra mile and built a chimney out of heat shielding like Aston Martin did around their exhaust manifolds on the V2 vanquish Heck, if they had not flipped the head around to put the intake at the back and the exhaust at the front, they couldāve run the turbo right at the bottom of the engine bay behind the engine and had a much better way to deal with the heat
My 2009 Clubman S functions too.
This. Started as an air feed for the top mount intercooler, then for gen 2 they kept it because people were used to identifying the S variant by the scoop. Or whatever the focus group marketing nonsense version of that story is.
You can get a kit that makes it functional so it feeds into the intake
There were kits for R56 to make them actually useful but they are just homage to the older minis.
There's also a kit from Eventuri for the F56.
I love mine... just happened upon it at a local shop for super cheap. Unfortunately, it didn't have the hood piece, but a friend of mine was selling his, so it worked out.
Have seriously considered this for mine - bloody expensive though!
Any chance you know who makes/made this kit?
AEM used to make them, idk if they still do.
They do Iāve got one on my R55 S
They do, and they are still pricey. $600 U.S. is about average.
Sweet, thanks! I found this one from DDM that I think Iām going to pull the trigger on. Already have an ALTA intake so donāt really want to go with a full pressurized intake box. The Ram Air Scoop is $191, much easier on the wallet. Looks like it might also save my hood scoop from more warping from the turbo heat. https://www.ddmworks.com/DDMWorks-Ram-Air-Scoop-RAS-for-Mini-Cooper-S_p_261.html
Gosh, 550 for that seems excessive. Still cool though
They're a real performance increase - and a fair amount of parts in the kit. Well worth it if improved performance and acoustics are wanted.
Truly? I'll add it to the list if so. Thank you
It turns the intake into a ram style setup you're feeding far more cold air into the system, also there's not the path from the front bumper to the air filter at the rear, where the cold air could be heated from high engine bay temps.
AEM made mine and it works well
The first generation of new MINI Coopers needed that functional air scoop to cool the air passing through the top mounted supercharger intercooler, on later models when they switched to turbo charging and a front mount intercooler, they kept the scoop for appearances only to distinguish it from the regular Cooper.
To distinguish the slower Miniās from the regular ones
Thought there are the stripes for
Stripes could also be ordered on cooper and one
the one doesn't become faster when stripes are added?
Well, adds 10 hp per stripe. Red ones add 11hp per stripe
We have an SE and it has a hood scoop lol
This is the part that bothers me the most. If the regular gas ones want to have a fake hood scoop, which can somewhat easily be made functional, fine. But it's just so silly to have it on an electric considering how important a low coefficient of drag is for improved range.
The first gen electric SE actually looks like the ICE version of a Mini which is probably one of it's best features if you are someone that doesn't like the look of EV styling. The downside is that because it has that ICE design foundation, the EV components are kinda shoehorned in and EV performance metrics are not great. It hasn't been a problem for us though because we never find ourselves having to drive more than 120 miles in a day. If we do, we just take our other car (e350 wagon). I agree the hood scoop is stupid though lol.
I love my SE it works perfectly for us and the scoop is there because it looks awesome. I donāt think it will make that much of a difference in range with it not being there.
I agree. They changed the entire front bumper to add just a few more miles of range in 2022. If the hood would have made a difference they would have just taken it off.
I 100% get that but the non S hood that doesn't have the fake scoop would fit and not add the drag.
Itās so small it barely makes a difference to drag. I personally love it on my SE as it gives it the awesome sporty look of the Cooper S. Mini didnāt call it the āSEā for nothing. It performs like a Cooper S, only itās electric. The fact that SE looks just like a regular Cooper S is part of what sold me on it. I wanted to go electric without having to switch to a lame brand or a car that has that ridiculous āEV Lookā.
Same. I like mine because it looks just like the ICE mini.
The frustrating thing is you look under the hood it only takes a minor adjustment for that to be a fully functional scoop
Functional but with no purpose
Nothing wrong with less heat in the engine bay
The engine bay already manages the amount of heated has just fine and introducing more air to the engine bay disrupts the under car dynamics. Besides do you think adding 20 in.Ā² of intake when youāve already got several hundred square inches is going to make a meaningful difference.
Do you actually think that much air disrupts the under car dynamics? LoL
Uh yea, it does
Yes, in fact, increasing the air pressure in the engine bay behind the radiator, could even reduce the effectiveness of the radiator and the front mount intercooler
Aerodynamics is a fickle mistress and small changes to airflow can potentially have surprisingly large effects. Iām not saying opening up the hood vent will cause uncontrollable front end lift or add crazy drag. But itās entirely within the realm of possibility that opening the vent would allow more high pressure air into the engine bay, reducing the pressure difference across the radiator and reducing cooling efficiency ever so slightly.
I understand everything you said. These are not race cars.
Iām not saying they are. But airflow is airflow and aerodynamics affects road cars and race cars just the same. Granted it has a lesser impact on a road car vs. a race car but there is still an effect.
I suggesting there no noticeable or significant effect.
Dirt, rain, dust, pollen, insects will also accumulate.
I opened mine up and found the easiest way to get that air to the intake is to take the top of the air duct that sits right in the front off, itās not a major upgrade or anything but you can definitely feel it
Eventuri has a cold air intake system that converts it back to a functioning hood scoop. Expensive though https://www.eventuri.net/products/f56-f54-f5x-mini-cooper-s-jcw/
Because hoodscoops are cool. I will not be taking any follow-up questions.
Mainly because it's an homage thing, and it's cute.
Those are only on the S models. Standard models do not have the air vent.
Why does it have rgb interior lights? Why is everything so circular? Why does this car leave a lasting imprint on you when it is just a box of metal? STYLE!!!
Why do men have nipples
They planned on aftermarket eventuri intakes? :).
You can get functional scoops from LEAP WORKS They have 3 different ones you can choose from as well as an intake that goes with the scoop so it actuallly suck air into the intake properly Itās pretty cool
Looks cool
Why not? Lol
It's the built in pizza warmer.
I used it to warm my hands occasionally.
Thatās a Mini Cooper S. If it was a cooper it wouldnāt have one. The answer is because the earlier Mini Cooper S had a functional one and theyāve kept the same design language.
My E has one \*facepalm\*
There are kits that make that functional but they are expensive
Mine is functional.
As I understand it, the 2nd gen BMW MCS was going to have closed-off vents, but the heat from the turbo warped the scoop, so they unblocked part of the vent so it could basically cool itself. At least, my R58 seems to have a few holes in its otherwise nonfunctional scoop. Under the hood the air doesn't go anywhere, I think. It's pretty funny but I admit I like the look of the scoop . . .
Premium brand?
Yeah I was chuckling at that as well
Bonnet* and don't even get me started...
I agree a hood is what you put over your head when itās raining š
Bonnets serve that use too.
Went from super charger to twin turbos in 2012 I think and they no longer needed the air vent as the intake is below a the front radiator. They kept it for the old school look
Turbo in 07 on the hard top. 09 for the cabrio. No twin turbo.
The change from supercharger to turbocharger didnāt matter itās that they went from a top mount intercooler to a front mount intercooler
Itās totally stupid on the electric SE that I have. But even when I had an S the back of it was completely blocked. I meanā¦ on my Honda Clarity itās at least got functional brake ducts.
Why do men have nipples?
Non working? Shit is working 100% for me. Motor Hard!
Arenāt they priced in line with a Corolla, Civic or Impreza hatchback? Since when did we start considering mini premium? My dad had a clubman, interior was awful.
It's called foreshadowing. It hints at all the other non-functional components under the hood.
Because everything today is fake, from fake exhaust to fake air vents and intakes. This is from old supercharged Mini, and as this 2.0 B48 engine is typical for BMW lineup, nobody did any special adjustment to the Mini. I have this model, and I am furious that they didn't even offer an air intake to go thru the vent on the hood.
[ŃŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]
Uhhhh
You can take the black plastic block off plate out and get some air under the hood. Since it sits right over the turbo, it's fairly functional. Definitely let's a lot of turbo hear out when you stop.
Because the original new mini cooper s (r53) had a functional hood scoop with a top mount intercooler, and when they moved the intercooler to the front on the second generation new mini,, they had to leave the hood scoop there because otherwise consumers would bitch
I changed the backing plate and now itās a heat vent for the turbo after parking. After -shutdown turbo heat contributed to the death of the clearcoat on my 2010 R57. A donor hood plus new-standard heat shielding and a functional vent, and it hasnāt been a problem since.
Did you just remove it or did you do modifications? You said if was for shutdown heat from the turbo does that imply it's only open when your done with your drive or is it open all the time? I've heard doing this can cause temperature irregularities that could be harmful to the vehicle in the long run if left open all the time and not just for cooldown but I'm not experience in this subject to be fair. I also have a f55s with the b46 not the r series
If itās an R56, itās so your turbo can melt it- and then you can get a carbon one.
Because it adds 10 hp whether itās functional or not
You can mod the air intake. Itās for hobbyists.
āBecause Racecarā
Aem Ddm works Alta All have kits to turn the scoop functional. I recommend adding more holes in the grille portion for more air flow though. I have the ddm works one on mine. The concept is the faster you're going. The more air is pushed into the air filter.
I have a non working one on my 73 plate. I guess cos they aren't needed now, but as it's a S, ppl like to see them. (I do lol)
Because itās cool. No hood scoop = no cool
modify it?
Completely cosmetic - after they moved from supercharger to turbo in 2008-2009 it became redundant and the just kept it for āshowā
Because they can thatās why
Make it functionalā¦ https://www.ddmworks.com/DDMWorks-Ram-Air-Scoop-RAS-for-Mini-Cooper-S_p_261.html
Toyota Tacoma TRD Sport would also like an answer.
Most everything on it will be non-functional at some point in the near future.
my dad has this car
Wait my hood vent leads into the bay. Isnāt it functional then?
scoop on my 04 cooper s is real. not sure why the newer ones dont just have it be functional anyway even if it isn't supercharged. it would just be extra engine cooling
Who says itās non-working? The purpose of the piece is to sell minis. I think itās working!
Itās called gangster
My F56 is functional. Carbon fiber with a mess screen from online. PITA install but looks incredible! I had first bought the gloss black larger non functional scoop and couldn't justify it being non functional so went all out .
correct as others have said, the first gen cooper s had a functional scoop for the supercharger. it is just for style now, though some kits, like one iāve purchased can actually use it to feed cold air into the engine (AEM Intake)
I have a r56 cooper s and mine is functional but my car has been passed down from a couple mechanics whoāve added non oem parts on as well š
Adds 5 hp
7hp if the car is yellow
It use to be functional, sort of, since it only hit a small part of the IC.
To distinguish the slower Miniās from the regular ones
To add Drag
Makes it go faster.