Yesterday I bought an 03 R53 to run in SCCA autocross after being out of it for 6 or 7 years. Going to run D Street while I rebuild my 93 Civic for XStreet and then keep the R53 as a fun weekend car and backup autocross car.

Have a few questions about the R53 though. I need to put a stock supercharger pulley on it. Can I just get second hand pulley to use?

This one has the center nav screen which is super dim. Is that screen nav only? Is it possible just to delete this or do I need to replace it with something else?

Going to do a coolant flush. Should I replace the thermostat and housing while doing that? I know those are problem points. Also should I do an alloy coolant tank since the plastic ones and know to fail?

When does the timing chain and tensioner need replacement? I know these are not known to fail like the R56 but I can't really find when it should be replaced.
Should I do the strut top reinforcement plates even if I am not planning on lowering but running in autocross?

 

I don’t really have many answers to your questions.

For me personally, I replaced my old plastic tank with a new plastic tank. My plastic tank failed in 2020. I thought almost 18 years was ok life.

I haven’t done my tensioner yet at 137k miles, but I think it is time.

I did my tstat housing etc. when I changed the supercharger oil, around 133k miles.

 

Welcome back to autocross! Yes, a used stock pulley is fine; the nav screen can be deleted with the right trim, doing the thermostat/housing and alloy tank is smart; timing chain is usually “inspect, not interval” and strut top plates are a good idea for autocross even at stock height.

 

i don't know how you'd put a stock pulley on it considering how much is involved with removing them. the pulley from the factory is pressed on.

the thermostat is not a super easy thing to do, as i remember. do you plan to address any other leaks? it may be easier to do it all in one shot. engine reseal, supercharger service, timing chain, thermostat, water pump, etc. could all be done at the same time and save you some repeat work.

 

Agree with the thermostat isn't the easiest job as you likely need to take the air filter box out to gain better access. I did mine when I did the supercharger service at 290,000 km's. Replaced it with an aluminum one. When you do the thermostat make sure you replace the plastic T joints for the coolant lines, one goes to the coolant bottle (I just replaced my coolant bottle with another plastic one) and the other to the heater core (I think). The plastic on these becomes really brittle with age and will crack / split or as was my case simply crumbled in my hands.

I am presuming you need to change the pulley because of the regulations with the SCCA autocross?

I replaced my radiator at the time as well with a full aluminum one, slightly larger and doesn't have plastic side tanks (Having those fail while driving in 40c heat would be tragic). Maybe buy a reputable brand though as I bought a no name brand eBay one and one of the top mount welds was out. Fortunately my bottom radiator support is snapped so it fits regardless.

Maybe check if the timing chain guides have ever been replaced. Again, plastic (or Nylon). Mine snapped at about 275,000 km's.

Just a tip don't ignore oil leaks and trace the leaks and fix them.