2003 Chili Red r53
New members and New owners here. Short background; I have liked R53's forever and lucky for us both my son wanted one for his first car. Working on a car is the greatest combat to fortnite addiction.

We started with servicing the supercharger and that moved to: crankshaft position sensor O-ring, water pump and gaskets, throttle housing gasket, supercharger intake gaskets, drive belt tensioner with pulley, drive belt, timing chain tensioner, oil filter housing gasket, oil pan gasket, a few new coolant hoses, thermostat and metal housing, new coolant, oil, oil filter, gearbox oil, cabin air filter, intercooler boots (cool red ones/looks only), replace rear tail light housing, and dipstick

Additional needed repairs that are coming; New Brakes and Rotors, New window regulators, New Windshield, New paint (clearcoat peeling), New tires, and powercoating the 17 inch alloy wheels Black

Questions for the Pro's:
1) What are other repairs that anyone would recommend while having the car broke down in front end mode; For example, harmonic damper and front end seal, any additional gaskets to prevent oil on my driveway (if that's even possible with these go carts) ANYTHING!
2) Best way to prep alloy wheels for powercoating?
3) What tires do you run on? No run flats!
4) Can the head light covers be replaced?
Thank you for any feedback. This has been a great project for my son and I.

 

They are easy to repair and coat. You can sand them and polish them, then coat them with a 2 part clear coat. I used this stuff when I did the headlights on my 2006.

 

Change out the belt tensioner, the front crank seal, harmonic balancer (they always fail)
Replace the crank position sensor o-ring.
Ditch the run flats and carry a small 12volt air compressor and some radial tire plugs.
The headlights covers (if you mean the glass (plastic), it can be renewed easily. the chrome rings are replaceable, but expensive.

 

One of the best bangs for the buck is an underdrive supercharger pulley. I installed a 15% on my R53 and it makes an amazing difference in acceleration (+15-20hp). Now you may not need/want that for a teenager's car but it sure makes the driving experience more fun. Also, and I'm sure there will be naysayers on this forum, I used Peel&Seal (home A/C ductwork material purchased at Lowe's) to insulate and deaden sound on my floorboards (requires removal of the interior). You won't believe the difference it makes in eliminating both sound and vibration - like a brand new car. Makes the stereo sound much better also. Plus, it would be another great father/son project to undertake with your kid.

 

Which version of the peal and seal did you use?

 

As far as I'm aware, there's only one version of the Peel&Seal. The label says "Peel&Seal Aluminum." It comes in rolls 6 inches X 25 feet and is in the roofing section at Lowe's. I bought three rolls for $16 per roll. It's really simple to use (peel the backing and stick down) and easy to cut with scissors, razor blade, Exacto knife, whatever. You'll also want to buy a small paint roller (3-4" wide). I bought one at The Dollar Store for guess what? - $1. After cleaning the area, you simply need to press it down with the roller to ensure good contact. Couldn't be easier and makes a huge difference. You can spend quite a bit more for the high-dollar sound deadeners (KilMat, Dynamat, etc.) but, for me, it's a cost/benefit issue. I seriously doubt that I would be able to discern the audible difference between my $49 dollar purchase and Dynamat that runs 3-4 times more expensive. My only quandary is determining if I also want to go to the trouble of removing the headliner to put it on the inside of the roof (my MINI is a slick top). I do imagine, given the square footage of the roof, that it would definitely provide an even quieter interior.