Finding The Right Cold Air Intakes for Your MINI Cooper and Cooper S

If you drive a MINI, and chances are you do if you’re reading this article, you know how fun they are to drive. But what if you’re looking to make it even MORE fun to drive, if you looking to improve your MINI’s performance without a huge modification.

Intake upgrades are one of the most common and simplest performance upgrades you can do to your Mini Cooper and Cooper S. Whether it is a simple filter replacement or a complete Intake Kit, these products are 'bolt-on' solutions with no permanent modifications to the Mini and completely reversible to stock form.

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What Is a Cold Air Intake

Simply put, Cold Air Intakes upgrades are all about improving the flow of filtered air into the engine. In other words, it gives your MINI a more efficient way to burn fuel. Consider this, on average your MINI’s engine requires more than 15,000 gallons of air for every gallon of fuel. But your standard air intake system is placed within the confines of your engine compartment which means your MINI is breathing in hot air. Which works fine but - the hotter the air, the less oxygen it contains. And less oxygen means more the more your MINI has to work to get the 15,000 gallons of oxygen it needs. So, what could be better? Cold Air.

Since cold air is denser than warm air and holds more oxygen per cubic foot, feeding your MINI oxygen rich cold air makes it work less. That in turn means a Cold Air Intake greatly improves performance by giving you more horsepower with a noticeable feel of added power and throttle response while at the same time maintaining the same or better fuel economy.

Another side benefit is the increase volume of 'intake sounds'. While not everyone will find this appealing, most performance oriented driver likes to hear the intake 'growl'. This will be more noticeable with the Intake Kits, more so then a filter upgrade. On Turbocharged Minis, intake upgrades will allow you to hear the turbo sounds more clearly.

How Much HP Can I Hope To Gain?

In our experience, a 2-4 hp gain is typical with filter upgrades, and 4-6 hp gains with intake upgrades. Your results may vary. In some cases, intake upgrades can result in improved fuel economy due to more efficient combustion. (This assumes you don't change your driving style with the increase in performance.)

Are Cold Intake Upgrades a Stand Alone Upgrade?

Intake upgrades is the first step in the 'systemic' upgrade of airflow through the engine. For best results, Intake and Exhaust upgrades are combined with other plumbing upgrades for maximum improvements of flow thru the engine. For extreme performance improvements, cylinder head modifications and camshaft upgrades will result in further power increases. The flow thru the engine becomes even more critical if you upgrade to an over sized turbocharger.

Anything Else I Should Know?

Unfortunately for California Mini owners, CARB (California Air Resources Board) requires that Intake Upgrades must be CARB Approved in order to pass the California smog inspection. Smog stations will look for the CARB EO sticker with the approval number during the visual inspection. Without the EO sticker, your Mini will not pass California smog... If you are in California, make sure the intake upgrade is CARB approved! (CARB approved products are marked below with **. Some model year restrictions may apply - see details on the linked product pages.)

Find a Cold Air Intake That's Right for Your MINI

The Cold Air Intake upgrade is one of the simplest performance upgrades you can do to your Mini Cooper and Cooper S. Whether it is a simple filter replacement or a complete Intake Kit, these products are 'bolt-on' solutions with no permanent modifications to the Mini and completely reversible to stock form.

MINI Cooper R50 & R52 Cold Air Intake (Gen1)

CARB APPROVED