Cooper (non S) Modifications specific to the MINI Cooper (R56).

New Sparco Drift's with 215/45R-17's

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Old Aug 10, 2010 | 06:27 PM
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New Sparco Drift's with 215/45R-17's

Got my Mini Saturday, on Sunday I did some black out painting and ordered my wheels/tires from Tirerack and they arrived today, SWEET!!

Here's how it sits now (until Thursday when I get my tint done):


I took some before and after pics of the wheels...










I'm gonna wait to see how the tint looks before I do anything with the beltline, door handles and badges. So what do you think?

Lovin my Mini!!
 
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Old Aug 10, 2010 | 08:31 PM
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I really like the it. Looks great! But one thing is you have to make look more aggresive by lowering it.
DS 7 MCS
 
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Old Aug 10, 2010 | 08:36 PM
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Originally Posted by n0mis
I really like the it. Looks great! But one thing is you have to make look more aggresive by lowering it.
DS 7 MCS
I agree, good idea. I will start researching and reading into that soon.

Thanks!

 
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Old Aug 11, 2010 | 07:06 AM
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Cmon guys, should I leave the beltline, door handles and front/rear mini badges as they are or black them out? Any other ideas for exterior stuff?

Thanks!
 
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Old Aug 11, 2010 | 11:33 AM
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Originally Posted by slolane
Cmon guys, should I leave the beltline, door handles and front/rear mini badges as they are or black them out? Any other ideas for exterior stuff?

Thanks!
I blacked out everything you did to include the belt line and door handles. The badges and and COOPER on the back are fine the way they are to me. Mine is a MY/B, so it just depends on what you want and like.

Jim
 
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Old Aug 11, 2010 | 01:47 PM
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Originally Posted by jbewley
I blacked out everything you did to include the belt line and door handles. The badges and and COOPER on the back are fine the way they are to me. Mine is a MY/B, so it just depends on what you want and like.

Jim
Thanks! Good stuff, I have the paint/tape/paper to mask the car if I go this route. I'm getting the windows tinted tomorrow and will decide after that.

I appreciate the advice.

 
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Old Aug 11, 2010 | 01:47 PM
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kumho ecsta ast! They are soo easy to recognize. I got them myself ... those side *****/grooves are massive. Just rotated mine after 5k miles... still holding fairly well.

 
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Old Aug 11, 2010 | 02:05 PM
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Originally Posted by slolane
Thanks! Good stuff, I have the paint/tape/paper to mask the car if I go this route. I'm getting the windows tinted tomorrow and will decide after that.

I appreciate the advice.

Everything pops off to paint and I used the beltline tap kit. The door handles were another story, so I ordered the covers for them from AC.

Jim
 
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Old Aug 11, 2010 | 03:29 PM
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Originally Posted by slolane
Cmon guys, should I leave the beltline, door handles and front/rear mini badges as they are or black them out? Any other ideas for exterior stuff?

Thanks!
I'm a way bigger fan of body color on MINIs other than black than I am of the trim getting blacked out. Body color trim on red gives the car one nice clean look, instead of a bunch of random black things sticking out.

Check out how awesome this car looked when the guy had it:

https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...ct/9577/cat/20
 
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Old Aug 11, 2010 | 08:44 PM
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@ pillar: you guessed it, about how many miles do you expect from em?

@ jbewley: you got me thinking… after my tint I have to see if I'm gonna black out or not.

@ drewstermalloy: wow, that red on red looks sweet!! love that idea!!
 
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Old Aug 12, 2010 | 09:11 AM
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not sure what the tread life on kumho's are. Just make sure you rotate and keep them aligned properly. For an equivalent price I also heard Nitto NeoGens were very good and had a very very long tread life. Might be my next set of tires...
 
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Old Aug 12, 2010 | 12:15 PM
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Another thing to think about... getting a set of smoked side markers so you can replace the orange ones.
 
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Old Aug 12, 2010 | 12:38 PM
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Here it is with 35% tint all the way around and 20% tint on the sunroof:


I think the smoked side markers are a great idea... looking into them.
 
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Old Jan 4, 2011 | 08:06 PM
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I am about to buy the same 17" Sparco Drift's in Black for an 08 mini S. How do you like them? Also, what kind of paint & paper did you use for the for the other pieces? Thanks
 
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Old Jan 19, 2011 | 06:41 PM
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Originally Posted by drewstermalloy
I'm a way bigger fan of body color on MINIs other than black than I am of the trim getting blacked out. Body color trim on red gives the car one nice clean look, instead of a bunch of random black things sticking out.

Check out how awesome this car looked when the guy had it:

https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...ct/9577/cat/20
Drewster and I are on the same page - must be a NY thing. I had Lyle @ Vinyl Styles do my headlight rings in PW and I may have him do my tail light rings when he comes to NYC in April.

And speaking of side markers, I replaced those crappy plastic ones with these:

 
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Old Jan 20, 2011 | 04:40 PM
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Hey Albiecrazy - I actually purchased the wheels in these pics ($600 w/ tires and sensors & perfect condition) for my Pepper White 08 Cooper S. I 'll be putting them on this weekend. I wanted to get my headlight and tail light rings done in black to match the black grill trim that I put on, but I heard Vinyl Styles no longer does it. How long ago did you get yours done? Also where did you get the side markers? I'm in NY...when's the run?
 
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Old Jan 20, 2011 | 06:07 PM
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Much badasser
 
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Old Jan 20, 2011 | 06:15 PM
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Originally Posted by anthonyf
Hey Albiecrazy - I actually purchased the wheels in these pics ($600 w/ tires and sensors & perfect condition) for my Pepper White 08 Cooper S. I 'll be putting them on this weekend.
Great looking wheels - post some pics when they're on.


Originally Posted by anthonyf
wanted to get my headlight and tail light rings done in black to match the black grill trim that I put on, but I heard Vinyl Styles no longer does it. How long ago did you get yours done? Also where did you get the side markers? I'm in NY...when's the run?
I got mine done in CT this past July. As far as I know he still does black trim rings and lots of other stuff. Vinyl Styles will be in NYC in April as long as enough MINIs show. So help onefish2 out! Here's a link: Vinyl Styles NYC.

I got my side markers through outmotoring. Check this link and scroll to the bottom. outmotoring side scuttles.

And are you asking about my run? If so, May 21st! Check my site for updates - it's in my sig.
 
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Old Jan 20, 2011 | 08:38 PM
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Get some NM springs.....

Eliminates the wheel gap without dropping it so much to rub or cause problems. I have heard the best thing to do to an R56 is to replace the rear sway bar, as well.
 
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Old Jan 22, 2011 | 04:20 PM
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Wheels were put on this morning. Let me know what you think?
 
Attached Thumbnails New Sparco Drift's with 215/45R-17's-022.jpg   New Sparco Drift's with 215/45R-17's-023.jpg  
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Old Jan 22, 2011 | 04:38 PM
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It's amazing how much of a difference wheels make. And those are a great choice - looks sharp!
 
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