Ever since I saw a front splitter for MINI I have wanted one for Buster. The ones built into the front of the JCWs are OK, but they are nowhere near as aggressive-looking as the big wings like the one shown above. Of all the MINI Cooper ground effects out there, the front splitter is the one that says the most. I have to be honest, I know what these splitters are designed to do, and I don’t care, mine is there to make a statement, and it does.
So I started searching for a front splitter for MINI that will fit Buster. The first thing I noticed was that other than the JCW mini cooper front splitter part there were very few MINI Countryman splitter that was not custom creations costing a small fortune. I did, however, keep running across the M7 Speed Tegris front splitter for MINI.
According to M7:
- Impact Resistance: Tegris provides a 10x to 15x improvement in impact resistance over typical thermoplastic and thermoplastics composites. Its impact performance is so good that it is being used as an armor solution against ballistic threats.
- Weight Reduction: Tegris’ low density allows for tremendous weight reduction compared to other higher density, glass-filled composite structures.
- Abrasion Resistance: A Tegris splitter can drag on the race track for short periods without damaging it. So you can get lower on race day without the worry of damaging your splitter, and lower is always faster! NOTE: Prolonged splitter dragging will eventually wear it out.
- Easy Mounting: All M7 Splitters are now 100% CAD designed and CNC cut to accurately match each unique MINI bumper profile and come with pre-drilled holes for a perfect fit every time.
- NEW! No bumper removal required for installation! Improved mounting procedures and special fasteners have eliminated the need to remove your bumper cover for splitter installation. You can easily mount an M7 Splitter in less than one hour with no special skills or tools required. Each M7 Splitter Kit includes all mounting hardware and comprehensive installation instructions.
This all sounded fantastic! So I ordered my very own front splitter for MINI and waited since they are a special order item and can take three to six weeks to ship. As I am sure you can imagine, I was eager to get my new piece in and get it installed.
Funny enough it was about two weeks until I received mine and I took it to my local mechanic. That was my first mistake.
In all fairness, the mechanic did a pretty good job with what he had to work with considering this was probably the first front splitter for MINI he had ever done. That being said, the splitter was severely tilted up at the nose like I was going to use it water skiing or something, and he had removed the front left and right air dams. I was not happy but the owner is a friend of mine and he didn’t charge much so I just took it home.
Once I got my hands on it, it was clear that the kit they send with the front splitter for MINI does NOT fit the Countryman S factory front worth a flip. The problem is that the front of the car is curved, so there is no way to attach all the bolts through a flat splitter to a curved front end, it just isn’t going to happen.
What I wound up doing was first putting the left and right air dams back where they went originally which made them underneath the splitter, one problem solved. Then I went to Home Depot and got some round rubber stoppers. I used a Makita oscillating multitool with the sharp smooth edge blade to cut the tops off these at an angle. That’s right, my front splitter for MINI was installed with some Home Depot parts!
I put two of the rubber stoppers in the far front mount locations and used longer #12 x 2″ stainless screws to attach it to the front of the vehicle. On some other mount points, I used four to six flat fender washers to stacked together with longer screws to help me angle the nose of the splitter more level. Now while my front splitter for MINI is not exactly level, it has a slight tilt up, it looks a hundred times better than it did and now has that aggressive look I was looking for.
One interesting suggestion if you are getting your own, make it tilt up just a tad. I contacted M7 speed and they assured me that it would indeed still apply downforce if it was tilted up a tad and the really nice part about this is it tends to help the splitter not get damaged if you slide it over something, or it hits the ground a little in a dip.
I also thought the splitter looked a little boring. Yes, the carbon pattern is really nice if you get on your knees to look at it, but even then it is a very large piece of essentially gray carbon weave, not overly exciting. I got some graphics together and had my local vinyl shop make me a couple of really cool M7 Speed stickers to fit on the straight edge of each side facing out of the front splitter for MINI. These are white with red outlines that match Buster’s colors pretty well.
You may not think it is that big of a deal as far as the looks go, but I assure you the splitter is noticed. The last time I took it to the dealer I literally had the service manager tell me when I picked up Buster that he really liked having Buster parked out front. He said several people came over to take his picture and take selfies with him. Yes, Buster is sexy, and he knows it.
So overall what do I think? I think the front splitter for MINI is very nice and well worth the almost $600 I paid for it, however, I would have to subtract half a star for the installation kit that obviously was not supposed to be for a Countryman, or that no one had checked to see if it would fit. Final verdict, 4.5 out of 5. And yes, I get complimented on it almost daily by complete strangers.
I hope you enjoyed my review of the Tegris front splitter for MINI from M7 Speed!
