In reply to bentwrench :
We had an R53. You describe the ownership experience perfectly.
but I do like the level of crazy in that new model. Looks awesome.
In reply to bentwrench :
We had an R53. You describe the ownership experience perfectly.
but I do like the level of crazy in that new model. Looks awesome.
bentwrench said:I want a JCW ECU for my S.
And what tires should I buy for AutoX? Since all 200TW tires are not equal. 17's
The runflats they come with are bricks I need at least a pair of stickies for the front.
I already did the rear sway bar to loosen it up but don't feel it's enough, but that may be overcome with driving adjustment.
For a R53? Just get it tuned by RMW. I'd talk to Jan first and make any changes (intake, exhaust, injectors, etc.) you'd want to do prior to the tune. The tune is best done on a dyno if possible. The Tritec was a bit of an inconsistent engine. Some can dyno with a lot of HP, some don't. The JCW ECU is tuned for a JCW updated engine, but even then is somewhat wide to cover manufacturing variances. A custom tune for your specific engine and changes will be more cost effective.
Tires... it seems the usual suspects apply. I've toyed with seriously prepping my R53 for STX, going with 17x9 wheels and 245 tires (R71Rs), but they would be strictly for auto-x and would rarely if ever be driven on the street. But I need to get the auto-x itch again before doing that and I still haven't needed to scratch it yet. Currently I run 16x7.5 wheels with 205/50-16 D2 Star Specs and they work well enough for random street driving, club runs and the once-in-a-blue-moon auto-x events I do. I figure I'll get at least one more season out of them considering how little I drive the car these days (barely 1000 miles in 2020).
In reply to Ian F (Forum Supporter) :
On my r53 with a big brake kit, I ran 15x9s with 245s in the front and 15x8s with 225s in the back. The Advanti Storm and 949 6uls had the brake clearance necessary for the front. I believe this fit works for the r56 as well. When I was running the car, Rivals were the only tire choice in that size.
If you want a dual use car on one set of tires, 17x8 wheels make a lot of sense. The low ride height on 15s made getting in and out of parking lots tough. I am not sure if you could fit 17x9s in the front in STX. My 15x9s had more than a 1/2" of poke with 3 degrees of camber.
With a Jan tune, shorty headers, JCW head, and JCW pulley, I made an STX legal 200 whp. On the dyno day when I got the tune, he had to put a note explaining why my hp was so low compared to the other minis with unlimited mods. I think the average for the rest of the cars was in the 240 whp range.
Well, I'm a Neanderthal and will never bother buying a performance car with paddles. I've driven a couple and I just lapse into automatic mode in minutes. A proper manual transmission forces you to be engaged with the car constantly. When my knees or hips force me to give up a clutch I'll go buy a nice ,shiny Korean CUV which I will nickname "Fridge".
In reply to ojannen :
Interesting that 15x9 6ULs fit over the JCW brakes (which are essentially R56 brakes). Good to know - thanks. Do you need spacers for the offset? Might try those, although one reason I like the 245/40-17 R71R is the slightly larger than stock diameter. I haven't felt the car lacking in acceleration, but I have felt it "gear out" in 2nd on the few courses I've done. And if I end up doing some of the neighboring region events, I'll definitely want that top end (seem like very high speed courses). What 245-15" tires are you running? I'm drawing a blank on finding any right now.
In reply to Ian F (Forum Supporter) :
I had the 12" wildwood big brake kit with and they fit with about 2mm to spare. I used a 15mm or 20mm spaer to get brake clearance and to get the tire away from the strut. Advanti Storms had significantly more caliper room.
I ran the bfg rival-s. The 15" tires lowered the top speed below 60mph. If I wasn't worried about staying in class, a 2004 transmission had a higher 2nd gear top speed than the 05-06.
In reply to ojannen :
Ah.. ok. SO they might not fit over the JCW calipers... Hmm...
In reply to Ian F (Forum Supporter) :
Talk to an autocrosser with an na/nb miata. They all have these wheels. The mini could use a hub centric ring but doesn't need anything special for a test fit.
GTwannaB said:The mini crushed the competition in this race primarily due to auto.
Not liked that much on track though!
trucke said:GTwannaB said:The mini crushed the competition in this race primarily due to auto.
Not liked that much on track though!
The chopstick of shame is awesome!
Good video - his main complaints were massive torque steer and slow shifting (esp. downshifting) which contributes, in his opinion, to a car that is working against the driver. Perhaps those traits could be overcame and adjusted to with familiarity and acclimation though so initial impressions of first drives don't ever really peg my yes/no meter...
...but initial aesthetic impressions certainly do and at first I was grossed out gag-me-with-a-spoon at the GP3 but it has grown on me, think it's pretty damn cool that they went to the Nth degree of absurdity which actually keeps in line with the GP character as the first one also got much hand-wringing complaint of excessive ostentatious boyracer garnishment.
Speaking of the R53, the reviewer in that GP3 video had the opinion that lately BMW has strayed quite far from the spiritual core of MINI and I'd have to agree with him on that.
Smiles per mile, I love this driving video and it's obvious the car brings the driver much joy.
In reply to Oldboy Speedwell :
It's interesting how many local MINI club owners I know who have gone through a bunch of cars over the years, only to end up with an R53 GP. Every one of them says the car somehow exceeds the sum of its parts. I know three of them, including the guy I bought my '06 R53 JCW from. About the only change usually made is the wheels. The unique 18" wheels look good, but are just brutal in normal driving. If I ever get an R53 I'll keep them for shows and resale, but run 16" wheels otherwise. If I had unlimited funds, I'd commission a 16" version of the GP wheel.
If it wasn't such a kick to drive, I'd set the POS on fire.
Wow...
bentwrench said:The most irritating thing is the proprietary audio can't be improved without rearranging the dash, I am stuck plugging into a Aux jack and listening to speakers that sound like tin cans with strings between them.
If it wasn't such a kick to drive, I'd set the POS on fire.
A friend had the stereo system in her R56 completely replaced. She posted pictures and it was definitely an involved project, but the results sounded good.
That pretty much describes LBC ownership. Despite the strong BMW influence, in many ways the R53 and R56 are "properly" British. 
Ian F (Forum Supporter) said:In reply to Oldboy Speedwell :
It's interesting how many local MINI club owners I know who have gone through a bunch of cars over the years, only to end up with an R53 GP. Every one of them says the car somehow exceeds the sum of its parts. I know three of them, including the guy I bought my '06 R53 JCW from. About the only change usually made is the wheels. The unique 18" wheels look good, but are just brutal in normal driving. If I ever get an R53 I'll keep them for shows and resale, but run 16" wheels otherwise. If I had unlimited funds, I'd commission a 16" version of the GP wheel.
I also own an '06 R53 JCW --- it took me 8 months to find a slicktop, finally found one down in Florida in April of 2018. It had 99k miles so I've been doing all the usual-in-need-of restomod stuff and in the process slowly inching my way toward ideal dream spec. I love the car completely and it made me into a hopeless MINI anorak.
Totally agree with the 16" wheels, that's what I favor too, and you're right about the unique GP design --- they really do look good.
"exceeds the sum of its parts" --- yep, seems to be universal agreement on that and even in the face of the counter argument that a regular old S can be modded to match or best it, the GP remains a truly special car.
Speaking of special, happened to pick up a copy of Evo 262 (July 2019) from the newsstand and they revisited the R53 GP giving it much praise for driving dynamics as well as sort of retracting what they said back in 2006 when it first came out about it being goofy looking.
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