The #1 thing the R60 needs is the rear sway bar. It'll dial out most of the understeer and makes a big difference, especially on a road like the dragon. I have the 22mm NM-Eng bar and I love the guys over at NM, so I feel great supporting them... You're going to want that bar on full stiffness.

#2 more power! Contact Group 4 Autosports / PAW in Miami to have your car tuned. Around 40hp and 50lb of torque gains with their new inter cooler (which is great and much much much cheaper than anything on the market), it's badly needed on the R60 (as far as power mods go, Group4 intercooler, DoS intake (only one that truly is a cold air intake), exhaust won't give you any real gains on the N18, but it will sound GREAT (tested that on my car), and then you start getting into the turbo upgrades... Group4 can get their turbo and oil cooler on for much cheaper than you think and my car is going down there in the next few months for that treatment. There is a lot of love for the JB+ tuner here! and it's a good plug and play solution... Just make sure you don't overheat the turbo with it and change your oil a lot (but that goes without saying)

#3 Suspension. You can go the cheap route and just drop the car using NM-Eng springs (or those of your choosing) and that will dramatically help cornering. The second option would be to upgrade to a full coilover setup. For example, KW V3's. Expensive, but only heard great things about it.

#4 Brakes. The R60's brakes are just fine unless you are really going to be pushing the car hard on track or a twisty road. I'd recommend starting with upgrading the fluid and going with stainless steel brake lines (Nm-eng). If that's not enough then look into a big brake kit. Brembo, ECS and a few others have some that they offer. I know some that are working on getting the BMW 135 brakes to fit on the R60 (Same as the MINI GP brakes).

#5 The best mod is to improve your driving skills. Invest in a 2-3 day racing / driving school program. The skills you will learn on track will dramatically increase your knowledge of how to handle a vehicle at the limit

#6 Tires. This really comes down to many many many factors. I had the Continental DWS's on my R60 but didn't feel that they gripped enough in dry conditions at all. So I went with the Michelin Pilot Super Sports and fell absolutely in love with this tire. Can't wait to get my winter tires off!

If you have any more questions just let me know! I'd love to help.

Kyle

 

Very informitive Kyle, Thanks for taking the time to detail this out.

 

No problem! I'd also go with a strut tower brace, helps quite a bit, and for the exhaust just start with taking out the second cat and resonator, it'll really make the car sound great without breaking the bank at all ~$200 maybe max?

Kyle

 

Is that a Rover Mini I see in when of your photos? Hard to find, I would love to have one without breaking the bank

 

Yup, it's a. 1994 right hand drive 1275 carb. Great car, had it fully restored and the car is a southern Cali car, so no rust!! Stays indoors in the north east for winter. I sold him (Sir Alec is his name) to my good friend out on LI when I came down south for college. I'm out there driving him more than she is LOL

Kyle

 

I'm in NH Kyle, What State are you in? I also have a 1990 325i in like new condition. It has never been driving in the snow. I drive it about 2-3k and year in the summers.

 

I live in Connecticut and am in Vermont on the weekends snomobiling + skiing in the winter, summer time is all motocross and other fun powersports activities!

Kyle

 

Cool, I use to put over 3500 miles a year on a sled, so I certainly understand you passion for powersports.

 

Hey Kyle,

Which strut tower brace do you have?

 

I have the VIP bar on Kowalski. www.outmotoring.com has a nice looking orange one for sale and if you use the code "countryman" for this month it'll save 5% on your order thanks to www.MINIsOnTheMind.com

Kyle

 

Thanks Kyle

 

I have the VIP as well, I like the nice simple clean look. I also agree that a rear sway bar upgrade is the best bang for the buck. The CMS is to heavy for the stock factory bar.

 

This is all great info, thanks guys

 

outmotoring.com Great folks and great supporters of the Mini community...

 

+1

 

heres a question, is there a way to get the scuttle side marker lights to stay on while driving instead of only with blinkers....?

 

So I have these, put on in this order

1. NM rear sway bar + VIP front strut brace.
2.K&N drop in air filter
3.Clutch stop
4.Sprintbooster
I just installed the booster today and OOOOOh man! Instant smile-ification! I cant stop smiling when I'm driving now (even more so). This in combo with the earlier mods is DYNAMITE!
Next: torque arm inserts.

 

I'm not sure if it helped the performance of my MINI, but I had the JCW exhaust put on my 2013 CMSAll4. It feels like it might be faster, but then again, it could also be that it just sounds like I'm going faster. I did the full install where the old exhaust and resonator were removed.

The pipes look better and fill out the back nicely. I had initially wanted to do it and the exhaust tips were bigger and had an extrabit of lip protruding out which I hoped might better hide the black gunk that collected on the stock exhaust tips. It does a little, but it still shows.

Initially, the sound was not really any different. I wasn't really impressed. I had only been driving it a short time to work and back and then I did the long drive home for Xmas from Colorado to Arkansas. By the time I got to Arkansas and was going up in the hills to my parents house on the curvy back highways and roads, I could REALLY hear the "pop & gurgle"... Very noticeable and distinct on upshift and downshift... even in casual driving it sounded great. Which is what I was wanting.. now that I've gotten back to Colorado, I can still hear it somewhat, but it isn't anywhere near as distinct and noticeable. I'm assuming this has something to do with the higher altitude?

 

Having been in Colorado once, I can certainly agree with this thought. However it could be you and not the car. In my case at the elevation in Crested Butte I was exhausted with a constant low buzzing headache, so everything seemed dull and slow. Plus it was minus 30F and miserable.