Well, I'm never any good at making build threads because nothing ever stays on long enough to warrant a build thread. Well, this is the 3rd attempt at making a decent hp R56 S so hopefully it'll be the best and last build on most of my primary parts. I initially wanted to build a "showcar", but as I was slowly introduced to TA racing, it just became something more. No more were the 18's and exterior mods, but mods meant for performance. I'm glad this third time is the charm. I was very close in selling the MINI back in Jan, but I had cold feet and decided to part out. Sure enough, the summer mod bug bit and it's been a slow rebuild ever since...

First build:

1st Megan Coilovers
Helix FMIC
Custom Gold CCW Classics
Factory LSD



Second build:

2nd Megan Coilovers
Stoptech BBK
Forge FMIC
18" Custom Red CCW Classics
AP Stg3
Akrapovic DP + Catback
Craven SSK
Aquamist HFS-4
JCW Body Kit
DOS Intake
M7 STB
17x7.5" Volk CE28N Gold
Factory LSD



Now....the 3rd build. This is my current setup...

Third build (What's on now):

Ohlin Coilovers
-Vorshlag Camber Plates
-Hyperco Coilover Springs
Tarret 25mm Swaybar
Tarret Rear Endlinks
H-Sport LCA
M7 Strut Tower Defenders
ECS Tuning CF Intake
Aquamist HFS-4
GP2 Underbody Aero
Factory LSD
17x7.5" Volk TE37 Powder Coat Grey (Track)
18x8" CCW D110 Custom Anodize Red (Street & Show)
DNA/Battle Tuned Stage4
MINI Motorsport Challenge Wing
MINI Motorsport Challenge Splitter
Wagner Competition FMIC
CAE Ultra Shifter
iPE Innotech Catback Exhaust system.
M Cubed Catless Downpipe
JM Turbo's K04 E45R, Port and Polished (Ceramic Coated)
JM Turbo's Port and Polished Gen3 Exhaust Manifold (Ceramic Coated)
Stoptech Trophy Sport Big Brake Kit (Gen3 ST-40)
Sneed Speed Oil Cooler Kit
Brisk QR12LS Spark Plugs
Ignition Projects Plasma Coils
NM Change Pipe
NM Discharge Pipe
AiM MXG





Hopefully you guys will spot me around the streets of LA/OC, be sure to wave!

Big thanks to Hard Motorosport for shipping the CAE Ultra Shifter directly from Germany to me on my request because of my short allotted time to get this install done. They're a hardcore BMW/MINI shop and have quite a bit things on MINI, just not listed on their webpage.

Props to my friend's shop Strasse Sport for all their support and the great friendship over all the years.

Shoutout to Sneed Speed, Wagner Tuning, and Battle Tuning for all their great support.

Thanks for reading guys/gals.


















Cold Start:

OFF, ON, AUTO:

 

Man all three were great, I dig those wheels on the 2nd step. This new incarnation should be sweet!

 

great looking builds. I too love how the ccw wheels look on your second build. If you don't mind me asking, what width and offset did you go with on thw ccw's for that look?

 

What is your next project?

I admire that you are going high end performance on this one, you have some nice stuff. Ohlins and your RSB are hard to argue with.

Do you have track times to compare the different evolutions?

Have fun,
Mike

 

Like your newest look the best.

I've got the Akrapovic in stock if you need it.

 

Thank you! 2nd incarnations was a fun build.
Both sets were the same offset. The only difference was the Swiss Finish on the 2nd set which added the additional holes to the face. They were square setup 18x8 +32.

I had to get rid of them because the Stoptechs cleared the barrels but not the face. I had to run 12mm spacers just to clear and with an offset +20 up front it rubbed the crap out of my wheel arches and on hard dips on the freeway it actually popped the bumper and fender off breaking one side's clip. After that I was like "no more..."

BUT....I am thinking of getting another set with probably 7.5" front and offset to clear the BBK. We'll see what CCW says. If I got another set it would be in this deep blue anodized finish similar to what my friend had on his E90 WTCC 335i.

 

Thanks Mike.

No other major project. Just building my R56 back up to a decent spec. I don't have any track times to compare the evolutions. I started tracking while in the beginning of the 2nd build. I haven't had the best of luck lately with time to track nor my buddies having the time to track when I want to, so I really have to start going on my own at this point. My track of choice has been Buttonwillow, and last I went was a Twilight event at Streets of Willow for my first time. At Button, I posted a 2:12 as a PR. I should have had it down to 2:10, but I hit traffic on the back half of the course. I'm sure I can nail it down 2:08-2:09, but time will tell. At Streets, it was counter clockwise and took me a bit of time to get used to the track because of how technical the turns are.

This time around, since the only mod on my MINI is an intake, I will put the stock box on and dyno to get my baseline. Once i get everything on, I'll redyno with all the mods and see where the numbers add up. THEN, once more when I get custom tuned. All in all, got a bunch of engine stuff that needs done, but I'm not in a rush to do it since she hasn't given me any reason to be worried about falling apart anytime soon.

Thanks Way. Appreciate the outreach, but everything is on the way already. I'm sure I'll get some smaller stuff down the line like I have before

 

What are your plans for the custom tune with the AP?

 

And I thought that I was an over achiever!!!

 

Hmm....I can't really elaborate the details of the custom tune at this moment but I will say that while I had the AP back during my 2nd build I really loved how the maps made the MINI feel more like a NA car than a turbo car. All the boost wasn't thrown at you and I felt like a gradual pull. That was the best part of that tune. NM and many of the other tunes didn't have that NA feel so that's the goal for my custom tune. We'll see how that goes. There are plenty of tuner options for me since I'm in SoCal just a matter of who I decide to go with when the time comes.
LoL. You still are! You have quite the list as well

 

Dang son that's some serious $$ in those coils/swaybar/shifter. Glad you're building this one right

Oh and 235s or GTFO

 

Those are really bad a$$ builds.....great looking car. Hope you don't run out of money. Maybe I will see you around Simi if you know what I mean, lol.

 

That's cool. Just wanted to know that it was possible to have tuners still work with the AP even though Alta isn't putting out official maps anymore. I wonder if COBB here in town would touch tuning the MINI since it is their hardware....

 

Subscribed!

 

lol
Thanks. Don't think I can

I have been outta work for a yr and a half so run out? No way!
Yes, even though Cobb dropped the ball, there are still plenty of Cobb Pro Tuner's that know the system and how to extract every bit they can outta it. I wouldn't doubt that if I went to Cobb, they would still create a custom tune if I had the AP right now. Gotta "pay to play" is how I see it.
You know where I live! Drop by whenever!

 

Definitely will!

Final made the move to DTLA, so I'll be there in like 10min!.....without traffic lol

 

I will look forward to keep looking out on what you do to your R56! The challenge wing is my favorite:-).

 

Nice! Congrats on the move!

Just got tracking info for my CAE shifter so hopefully it arrives by next week.

Word me too! I'm not a rep kinda guy so I had to get the authentic piece. Only the best on this build. No cutting corners for me.

 

Got my oil analyzed via Blackstone labs for my last oil change w/ a full trackday session. I probably changed earlier than I wanted, but still wanted to analyze the oil regardless to see how it's been handling after 55k+ miles. Looks quite good.

 

i went to cobb office in Fountain Valley. I talked to them about getting the access port for mini. The guy said he should able to do some tunning for me. Then after i bought it, he later told me he can't touch it. Not pissed but kinda disappointed.

I guess they can't touch it maybe because of legal stuff between them and Alta.

 

My question then would be with Alta no longer supporting it either, wouldn't that nullify any sort of legal conflict between COBB and Alta?

 

Well I just called up Cobb in SoCal and you're right they don't have access to the software, but as I mentioned before, anyone with knowledge of the AP Pro Tuner Race can create a custom tune for the MINI, it is just a matter of "Do you know my platform" and "Will you taylor to my needs" is what it comes down to.

It's SoCal, I doubt we'd have issues finding someone to make us a custom tune.

 

I don't even know how any legal issues would arise out of this. Alta initiated by contacting Cobb to create an AP tune for the MINI and Alta decided they weren't making a profit with it so they essentially dropped the program. Anything that Cobb would provide is out of question, so it is our own mission, if we choose to take it, to find support through the AP Pro Tuning networks.

 

subscribing as well.

 

jomama asked me a question via email and I figure I'd copy and paste here so maybe it'll help some local guys figure out where to go to get some stuff done if they haven't figure out a shop they can dedicate to.

jomama:
"where do you go to get your car dynoed? i'm thinking about possibly doing so when i get the dp. better yet, do you know of a shop that can install and dyno?"

A: EAS in Anaheim does install and dyno. Their dyno is $75 for 3 pulls, but I don't know what they'd charge for the install. I'll do my own install of the dp and though I would take my MINI to dyno there, I have free dyno from MD Automotive in Westminster, so that's where I'll be going when the time comes. MD Automotive is a highly reputable shop that does most of the dynes for Edmunds, European Cars Mag, Motortrend and a bunch of other mags, so I know they know their ****. You can't really go wrong with either really.

EAS dynojet: http://www.e90post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=593528