[Kr4nG]

I have wanted to do this for such a long time. Ever since I sold my fully built Integra. Not going to go into too much detail about it but let's just say it was flawless...

What I have now is a 2006 Mini Cooper S.
Interior: black interior and black leather seats, GPS, Harmon Kardon audio, and some gauges.
Exterior: chili red with JCW front grill and front bumper: real JCW gen 1 front brakes, 16x8 rota grid v wheels
Performance: JCW injectors, Megan header, Milltek exhaust, 17% pulley, maybe JCW tune

New Engine:

• 2007 acura tsx motor
• 2.4 liter
• rsx type s water pump
• rsx type s oil cooler
• Skunk 2 style intake manifold
• 70mm throttle body
• rsx type s VTC gear > future
• rsx type s oil pump > future
• rsx type s oil pan > future
• engine management K-pro

Transmission: Civic type r ep3 6 speed with LSD

As you may know that no one makes mounts for this swap so I bought 2 sets of aftermarket mounts. 1st is for 06-11 civic si and 2nd is for 94-01 Integra kswap. I used the trans mount from the Integra kit and the motor mount from the civic kit. I do not have an a/c tig welder. I've been using my 100$ welder this whole time and I like it. I'm very used it it. But I wish I had a tig.

The motor does not fit. A few things need to happen. Both rails need to be notched out. As well as the subframe but only on the driver's side.

The driver axle is from Integra. The integrated left and right axles are exactly the same, even if you filip the inner cups. The Integra's outer hub fits really well onto the coopers bearing but if you use the rsx base axle the outer hubs won't fit. The ring that is on it hits the bearing seal. You can use the Integra outers and swap the rsx axle because it's longer. I will use the rsx base axle on the passenger side with the Integra outer cup but leave the stock Integra axle alone for the driver side.

The motor is in but not fully attached

Trans mount I made

Mounts

Not much clearance left

The rail is welded back up. Just the mount.

Mount is welded to 1/4 inch steel plate.

Last piece 3/16 steel

A lot of extra metal left over. I bought 2 sheets of 3/16 plate 8x12 and 2 sheets of 1/4 8x12
I used 1 sheet of 3/16 plate and half of the other. And a little of the 1/4 inch steel plate. I have the other 1/4 left not used.

So as it sits now with both rails in primer ready for seam sealer and paint. I have to make the 3rd mount next

Modifying the honda throttle cable and the throttle pedal. I wanted to use the s2000 pedal but I figured out a way to use the stock mini one. Not much modification to the cable itself. Just had to drill one hole into it. The pedal box had to be shaved inside a couple of places.

This is the oil pan straight on. You can see the subframe is still lower.

Couple of more things I need to do.

1. Passenger axle​

2. All wiring including ECU​

3. Exhaust manifold.​

4. Clutch line​

5. radiator and condenser​

6. Shifter box and cables.​

7. 3rd motor mount in the front​

I have completed the shifter box and the cables. I also did the clutch line and bled the system. I have completed the exhaust manifold and cat converter with flex pipe. The header needs a bit more touch-up and another o2 bung welded. Enjoy.

Honda hard line into Mini hard line.

Little trimming is needed, not much.

Fits like OEM. Even used the OEM holes and bolts to mount it into the same spot.

K-tuned no-cut shifter box. All aluminum and it has a cover for the bottom which makes it fully enclosed. The stock heat shield fits right under it like OEM mini.

3-inch flex into 2.5-inch v band with 3-inch high flow cat. and another v band clamp

The header needed to be bent up at the runners and then down at the end. I have to grind and paint the rest of it.

Next will be the radiator and condenser. Once that is in place I can finish the 3rd mount.

Here is some more progress. Next week will be the first attempt to start it up.

Clearance is perfect.

I need the first 02 sensor and the 90 bung might get plugged.

Front Radiator clearance against the block. I won't be able to use the front mount as my 3rd motor mount. I will have to revert the 3rd mount idea to the rear.

The intercooler is setup for the future.

The top radiator support bracket will need to be made as well.

Not much of an update. But the good news is that the motor starts with the kpro. I have to find a good spot to go through the firewall so the new ECU can be inside the cabin. I have located all necessary wires except the fan control wire. I want to use the mini relay to start the new fan. If I can't find the wire then I will have to manually make my own relay circuit. Any suggestions on where the fan control wire is on the Mini harness? Oh, yea, the original Mini ECU does not need to be connected at all. The key works and so does the power steering with the ignition on.

Working on the upper rad support bar.

Almost done...

I have a quick update for you all. The car runs!! I have finally finished the 3rd motor mount and the car is road ready. I need to figure out what to do with the gauge cluster cause I can't see my RPM. In the meantime, I will have my phone or iPad set up. The kpro has built-in Bluetooth so I can see all the parameters in live time. I will post more pictures in their current state next week.

Fan control is complete. Very small task but a huge deal for me to find the correct wire. What's happening is when it's time for the ECU to turn on the fan it checks the Engine Coolant Temp Sensor that is on the head. In the software, I can turn the fan on at whatever temp I want. From the conversion harness, I have 1 FANC wire. That wire is actually a ground signal produced by the ECU. In the original Mini harness, I found the FANC wire and tested it by simply touching it to a chassis ground. After various tests, I connected the Honda FANC wire to the MINI ECU plug.

This is the wire I found that kicks on 1 relay in the engine bay. Ground that and you have Fan on. I'm using the original connector in the engine bay spliced to my new fan.

I believe this will be the final update for you guys. I still need to get it tuned it's running a stock base map for now. The motor is stock anyway besides the intake manifold, throttle body, and exhaust. So the car runs great. There are no engine lights and it runs as it should.

As for the cluster goes, for now, I use my phone. But I do want the CD7 dash from AEM or AIM Strada but it's just not a priority right now.

I put the exhaust shield on with some minor trimming and a bracket needs to be made.

I have also put back the bottom splash shield. No trimming fits like stock.

I have completed my return fuel system. It wasn't too hard. The mini fuel pump hat has an existing nipple that is capped off. I have cut the tip of it and used the evap quick disconnect fitting that is then connected into a -4an return hose all the way up to the engine bay. Under the pump hat I also added another hose that drains to the bottom of the tank. This way no splashing will happen inside. (not pictured.)

Factory Clips were still used. The 2 evap lines were cut out and thrown away.

 

[t3gav]

Good work! Not sure what's happening to the images though, they're massive on my screen?

 

[AngryScotsman]

Always wondered if you could kswap a Mini Cooper.

Nice job!!

 

[Lotus]

Awesome ?

 

[crazyjetsfan22]

dope! always loved the vtec mini!

 

[nigel b]

cool conversion

 

[HusseinHolland]

That's a very cool conversion - interesting that you were able to use complete (albeit mixed) Honda axles & not have to deal with hybrid units. Very tidy fit indeed. One thing though, those welds are UGLY

 

[jonnyfrancais]

how to make a mini cooper reliable Nice project dude !

 

[Real G forlife]

quick question what wire harness should be used to the engine?

 

[RedHammer]

I realize this is an old thread, but I was wondering how it turned out.

 

[Kr4nG]

it turned out great. you can see some action on youtube.

 

[LotusElise]

it turned out great. you can see some action on youtube.

Very nice, the full garage K-swapped. Very very nice. You did a great job, I really like those.

That FWD thing has a lot of slip. What kind of tires are you using? Full profile or semi slicks?
Are both Frankenstein or clean K24A2 engines?
Did you tune it yourself?

 

[RedHammer]

it turned out great. you can see some action on youtube.

That's awesome, I'll sit down and watch the whole video when I get a break - with more questions to follow.

 

[Kr4nG]

my tires are old. they are the next thing to upgrade. they are bfgoodrich. I want to try some toyo semi slick.

The mini is stock 07 k24a2 with type s oil pump. and the Volvo is a jdm k24a with type s oil pump. both engines have the same intake manifold and 50 degree VTC gear. same injector too. The mini has a 6062 precision bb turbo .63a/r and the volvo has a gtx 3076r .82A/r bb turbo.

Yes I tuned both of them myself.

 

[LotusElise]

I want to try some toyo semi slick.

Good approach for less tire slip. I have actually changed from Kumho V70A to Toyo R888R (only rear for now) and I really like it. The control of the rear is less temperature depended and more easy overall.

The mini is stock 07 k24a2 with type s oil pump. and the Volvo is a jdm k24a with type s oil pump. both engines have the same intake manifold and 50 degree VTC gear. same injector too. The mini has a 6062 precision bb turbo .63a/r and the volvo has a gtx 3076r .82A/r bb turbo.

Thanks for sharing the engine setups. Did you change the engine setup of the Volvo after recording the video? I see and hear a turbo setup when the Mini runs, but I see and hear a NA setup when it was the Volvo's turn in the video above. How much boost does it run on the Mini? The ratio between the start of the working engine speed of the Turbo and the rev limit is pretty short. Therefore I am curious about the application. Is it street only?

Yes I tuned both of them myself.

Nice. What kind of engine management do you use?

 

[Kr4nG]

so if you poke around my channel you can find the latest video on the volvo. I forgot that it was not turbo charged during that time.
Both cars hit about 9psi 93 pump fuel. running on hondata kpro.
Both cars are not a certain setup at all. Just slap in a big motor and have fun cruisin around. They both have potential to do anything from drag setup to drift. I enjoy working on both cars and like to learn about everything from the honda motor down to the ecu tuning.

 

[LotusElise]

so if you poke around my channel you can find the latest video on the volvo.

...nice phrase to know: "to poke around", in my dialect I would say: "schtrialh" which 98 % of all Germans don't understand, maybe those American-German, which sometimes know better old dialects then the Z-generation here. Now I know the English analogue. Thanks, great .

Thanks for the feedback to my questions, I appreciate this. Did you tune with any other SW/ECU before the Hondata/Honda ECU stuff?

 

[Kr4nG]

I have not tried any other software because of a few reasons. Hondata cost me under 1k$ complete. It does all the features i would ever need for both cars. I know that fuel tech is within the same price range but the wiring needs more attention vs going with hondata. Fuel tech was not around like it is today when I built the mini. Hondata essentially is OEM ecu that has all the tuning features. So its hard to mess up the wiring and run into difficult issues. Also I pass state inspection with my setup. It has an obd2 port and they dont know the difference of what motor is in there. All the checks pass and im out the door every 2 years here.

 

[LotusElise]

Hondata cost me under 1k$ complete. It does all the features i would ever need for both cars.

I've tuned engines on more then 15 different ECU brands, from simple "mother board" type like like the Arduino up to top dog types like the MoTech M1 developer kit plus a few carburator projects . Compared to that range the Honda ECU, especially the pre '06 with cable TB, is a proper ECU in stock condition, but yet non of the aftermarket companies solved issues like Anti-Knock-System or Transient-Fuel-System adequate, even internet community based ECU software stuff like Megasquirt includes such functionalities. With that in mind it almost doesn't matter if you go with KTuner, Hondata KPro or Doctronic, all supply OBD 2 communication, all supply fuel, ignition timing and VTC mapping, all supply functionalities to correct fuel and ignition timing according tables which reflects different conditions for intake air temperature, atmospheric pressure as well as functions like launch control, rev limit control and so on. Hondata is by far the most expensive one. Doctronic is about 350 USD, KTuner is about 450 USD and Hondata KPro is around 700 USD.

Many of the K-series, who also meet repeatingly smog test, TÜV or MOT test have tuned engines and experience no issues to pass the OBD 2-reading during those tests. Here in Germany we still has to pass exhaust gas measurement to prove limits for CO and HC's. All of them I've tuned pass this test. Concluding, Hondata is a good solution, but by far not better then KTuner or Doctronic. Over the years about 40 % of my Hondata KPro customers suffer voltage fluctuation issues, caused by the wideband controller. You plug it off, everything is fine, you plug it in, the engine is not precisely tuneable, as up to 1.2 V oscillation of the battery influences all measurements on the 5 V sensor level.

I never experienced this on a Doctronic modified PRA or PRB ECU, only with KPro added PRB ECU's. This increases tuning cost significantly. My last Doctronic customer came here, we tuned the engine, after 10 h it was finished. The last Hondata KPro customer, I traveled 290 miles to his location had an fluctuating KPro ECU, which was a challenge to tune as the battery voltage showed up to 0.7 V peak to peak oscillation, after 10 h we had roughly 80 % of the tune finished and now the customer tries to go with an external wideband and improve the grounding as well as the thicker supply wire for the wideband heater. External wideband = 200 USD at least, around 6 h extra work for him to check and prepare the final tuning as well as extra tuning time necessary.

Concluding, KPro isn't the end of all solutions, it is one of them. And all of those Honda ECU based solutions have more or less significant SW bugs, unfortunately the most expensive one don't have the lowest amount of bugs. Just my two cents.

 

[Kr4nG]

I agree with you on the hondata. Both of my builds have the voltage fluctuation issue. Hondata claimed it was my wiring and not their hardware/software. They put the blame on me to check my wiring. My wiring came from a plug and play kit that is a no brainer to figure out. I even separated my fuel pump onto a different circuit with no change. After you stated that many people are having the fluctuation issue I feel a bit of relief because I thought it was my wiring job. My voltage fluctuation is still present today but it shows no signs of tuning or driving issues.

So are you saying that the wideband controller is why this voltage fluctuation is occurring? I remember pulling the o2 relay and not showing any change in voltage. Do I need to disable the wideband vs pulling the relay? is their a difference