I just received a 2002 mini cooper five speed as my first car in my name. I am new to Mini's and love mine so far. It has 73,xxx miles and is the non turbo version. I am wanting to put some money into it and i'm just wondering where to start as far as upgrades go. What is there to do to increase performance and mpg? Other than headers, exhaust, and cold air intake. Any suggestions are welcome. like i said before im new to the car and im up for any suggestions, tips, or tricks anyone has to offer me.
Thanks,
Jesse

 

I unconditionally guarantee you will put money it it. Last week I unloaded a 2004 R50 not superchaged, with 40,000 miles on it. For a 2011 Camry. (happy happy). My problems were too numerous to list and the cost horrible. I hope you have better luck than I had. Having said that, it was the most fun car I have ever owned. I wish you well with yours. Theres not a lot you can improve on for performance of the Mini as BMW did their work well in that area. The car was badly over engineered in the early years on things like gas guages, power steering etc, etc. Learn to love working on your car and invest in a Mini factory manual, not a Haynes.