Hey, I'm Jared. I recently purchased a 2003 Mini Cooper S a few weeks ago and have had many questions. I've looked around for a forum and figured this was the best. Any things I should know right off the bat about the Mini's, I would appreciate it. I've done many of my own auto repairs but much is different with this car.

 

Welcome! What a lovely looking MINI! I just waved to a MINI very similar to yours this morning in Southwick, MA. Speaking of which, make sure to keep the MINI wave alive!

 

Welcome! That's a good lookin R53. How many miles does it have on it?

This thread will be your best friend. I'd start there. Tons of useful info.
https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...nce-guide.html

 

Welcome aboard. Love the color. Don't forget the WAVE.

 

Thanks for the welcome. I'm approaching 69,000 and I'm about an hour north of southwick, MA. I'm up near the border of NH. And my first beginner question is, what is the mini wave?

 

https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...heres-how.html

 

It's the code of MINI drivers! Every time you see another MINI on the road you must wave, flash your lights, give a peace sign, etc. Whatever fits your personality best. Essentially, to show homage to other owners. It's a MINI thing.

 

Thank you Teanrubixcube. Lets keep it alive!!

 

..AND... don't forget that "when you pull your handbrake, all your girlfriends clothes will fall off " .. according to Jeremy Clarkson..

 

Dam I will have to try this new feature of a MINI that I was unaware of. Thanks Hawk

 

DAMN!!! Mine either doesn't have that option or it's broken . I will have to call the dealer later and see how much that will cost to fix.

 

The MCS is also called the R53.

With all the computers and "sophistication" you will need to find a good service facility or a dealer. Basic maintenance is tricky and I leave it all to my dealer. Speaking as one who used to pull heads off of Fords. ( that sounds kinda weird when you say it out loud).

One of the first things is to get it checked out by a dealer who can read all the codes and see if it is current with software etc. ( 2003 had some software glitches I think )

Many toys and mods are available.

You can actually upgrade the stereo!

Check the threads for "shock tower mushrooming". Its not a fungus.

Find out what we mean by "Oil catch can."

Check out you local autocross clubs.

be sure to have fun.

 

What I was doing was anything for them to notice me if they didn't already. I waved, I honked, etc. I will try the subtle two fingers off the wheel style.

I will keep those little notes posted about my model, thanx again

 

I purchased it from a BMW dealership and had everything checked. My dash says to change oil in 4800 mi. I was going to bring it to a mini dealer when those miles are up and have a full tune up done.

Any real mods I was thinking was something with the ignition or throttle to get rid of the throttle delay. I was looking at upgrading the inter cooler really only to keep it cooler in the hot weather. And front and rear strut braces.
I read about the mushrooming and looked into cravenspeed strut bars with mushrooming defenders.

I'm in the middle of where I want to go with my stereo. I'd like to keep stock, but I need an mp3 access point which I saw you can purchase an aux input. But then I'm looking at also to get either XM or Sirius radio since FM sucks 'cept for a few stations.
If I was to get an after market stereo, I'd also have to buy the adapter to keep my steering wheel controls...

 

Love the color. Don't forget the WAVE.

 

So many ways to go.

You can buy a new head unit with gobs of power and if will fit nicely with the proper adapters. One issue with aftermarket is that the stock unit knows how fast you are going from the car network. It increases the volume as you go faster. Cool huh?

I did three things to my stereo.

I bought a GROM adapter that reads Ipods or iphone or line inputs. It plugs into the CD changer plug in the back of the stock radio and is fairly easy once you figure out how to get the dash apart. First thing to do!

I replaced ALL the speakers with new that fit into the existing locations. You learn how to remove all the interior panels in that one. I also put vibration damping material everywhere.

I bought a 300 watt digital 4 channel amp to drive the speakers. Knowing how to remove interior panels and the dash I mounted it in the boot near the battery and ran lines from there to the front.

I found that a sub woofer is not needed as the speakers I bought go below 30 hz.

Then you work on the engine.

 

Thnx, I will probably go to the mini outlet in Peabody, MA to grab the aux adapter to hook up to the stock radio so I can connect a MP3 player.