by Jeffrey Zurschmeide

                This car received extensive modification from the shop that later became Dinan BMW. Stephan McKeown wanted great track performance in a car that was also a pleasure to drive on the street. (Photo courtesy Jim Williams)

“I wanted both a street and track car, with an emphasis on handling and stopping over raw power,” says Stephan McKeown. McKeown bought a stock 2006 Cooper S, and to prep his MINI for both track days and street performance, he had all work planned and performed by Al Megenity at A&E Performance. Megenity sold A&E to his former employee, Steve Dinan, in 2008. Dinan has produced many performance parts for the MINI under his own name before and since.

“After listening to me ramble on about what I was looking for in a MINI, Al offered me a drive in a Cooper S prepared at A&E Performance, his shop in Campbell, California. Al’s been tuning and racing BMWs and MINIs from day one,” McKeown says. McKeown’s Cooper S came from the factory in pepper white, with a 6-speed manual transmission, Sport Package, Cold Weather Package, and elements of the Premium Package without the heavy sunroof option. Then Megenity went to work, primarily focusing on the suspension, but also addressing every aspect of a performance car. 

“Everything works together seamlessly, creating a whole definitely greater than the sum of its parts. Al thinks in entire systems: suspension, brakes, wheels, and tires are all interrelated. By selecting and tweaking high-quality, compatible components, he puts together a great-handling MINI,” McKeown says. 

                You can see how McKeown’s car corners flat with the outside wheel straight up and down. That’s good suspension geometry. The car doesn’t even look like it’s working! (Photo courtesy Jim Williams)

Here are just the highlights of Stephan’s extensive aftermarket mod list. In this configuration, McKeown’s Cooper S generates dyno pulls at 224 hp and 180 ft-lbs of torque at the wheels: 

Exterior
Strassentech front chin spoiler
Rennline stainless-steel folding tow hooks 
JCW black carbon-fiber rear wing
Alta 2-inch stubby antenna
Texas Speedwerks aluminum jack points

Interior
JCW leather dash with black/red stitching
Greddy Version II 52-mm oil pressure and water temperature gauges
Craven Speed flexpod
B & M short shifter
Whalen shift knob
Schroth red harnesses
Minspeed black leather autocross kneepad
30-percent-tint side and rear windows
Second Skin sound damping

Wheels and Tires
Street: 17x7.5 SSR GT2 semi-solid forged at 14.6 pounds per wheel, with 3-mm spacers and Michelin PS2 235/40ZR-17 tires
Track: 17x7.5 SSR Comp R semi-solid forged at 13.2 pounds per wheel, with Dinan wheel nuts and Toyo RA1S 235/40ZR-17 tires

Brakes
Stoptech 328-mm slotted front rotors with red anodized four-piston calipers
Pagid racing pads in front
Porterfield racing pads in the rear
ATE racing blue brake fluid
Stoptech braided stainless-steel lines

Suspension and Handling
Bilstein PSS9 corner-weighted coil-over  suspension system
Camber: front -1.7 degrees; rear -2.7 degrees 
H-Sport 27-mm front and 19-mm rear anti-roll bars
Texas Speedwerks adjustable sway-bar droplinks
SPC camber plates 
Powerflex front control arm bushings
MINI Mania precision steering amplifiers
SPC billet aluminum lower rear control arms
Moss upper rear control arms
Powerflex rear trailing arm bushings
M7 underbody strut system
Dinan aluminum and carbon fiber strut tower brace

Engine Performance
GRS intercooler
Dinan high-flow cowl induction intake and  high-flow air filter
Dinan 15-percent supercharger pulley and belt
Dinan 59.75-mm high-flow throttle body
Dinan fuel pressure regulator and fuel tank pressure regulator assembly
Dinan Stage 5 software
Revolution MINI head: stainless nitrided valves, titanium retainers, custom locks, keepers, and dual valve springs
Revolution MINI header and center pipe, coated with jet-hot 2000 black
Borla sport exhaust
GTT resistance fit steel/hard anodized lightened crank pulley (stock size)
GTT twin-bearing idler pulley and tensioner pulley 
Minspeed tensioner pulley stop bar
MSD coil pack
MSD 8.5-mm red plug wires
NGK Iridium spark plugs (IK-22)
Quaife ATB differential• Clutchmaster FX300 Clutch
Texas Speedwerks Version 2 improved engine damper
M7 air plate diverter