Hi fellas and Happy New Year!

I've started a build thread on another page but I'll go straight to the source for this one. I have a 2006 r53 that re-sparked my love for building performance cars, and it's been the most fun I've had in a while to set up. Now that exterior mods and intake/exhaust are complete, as much as I hate to take the mini out of commission the winter is best and it's time for the motor. To complement the 15% pulley, x-force header, invidia exhaust, and a mugen/K&N cold air intake I already have, I've gathered the following parts:



These include an oversized ALTA intercooler, and a ported intake, head, intercooler horns, and supercharger (with complement to @MiniManAdam for the pro quality work). I've also purchased a KEMSO-14032 340LPH fuel pump, Bosch 440cc injectors, a PRW harmonic balancer, and a Newman PS 1/2 street cam from Oranjje. Following the build, a tune is in order and I plan to work with Adrian Nastase, a referral from Adam.

So, my questions: what are folks' thoughts on my assortment of parts? As I plan to go this far into the block only once, is anything missing that - without breaking the bank - could be improved upon? What other necessary pieces (e.g belt tensioner, head studs) should I have at the ready to get started, or is there a thread somewhere that already has this? And any projections for the dyno - I'll share the results but would love to hit at least 230 at the wheels.

Once all this is done, it's time for suspension, then hitting the track! But as hard as it is to remain disciplined, one step at a time.

Thanks!

 

My R53 has fewer HP improvements (stock head/cam, one-ball exhaust, 380cc injectors) than yours will have and I pulled 197.50hp at the wheel (~220hp at the crank) on my last dyno run. Working with Adrian is going to be your best decision once all your parts are installed. 230hp at the wheel is approximately 260hp at the crank so you might want to pare back your expectations a bit. The HP you're looking for is going to require a forged bottom end and a much more aggressive cam, larger injectors, etc., i.e. many more $$$$. You're still going to have a fun car that's a blast to drive and you'll give a few 5.0 Mustangs a surprise.

 

My car is also an 06 R53.

Not sure if you saw my earlier thread: https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...-ideas-10.html
(I have a price break down in there as well if you want to compare prices - all of this stuff done btw June and Sept of 2023)
I have a somewhat similar set up:

Gen1racing dynamics 4-2-1 catless header
Milltek resonated exhaust
Lightly ported intake and horn
M7 CAI

Alta 17% s/c pulley
Alta 2% crank pulley

Stock I/C
Stock Cams

M-Factory LSD

Knock off injectors 550cc

Adrian tune

As the car sits, it feels like a beast. I think it would keep up with if not, edge out my WRX. I tried to not go crazy either, but you know how that goes. I am thinking your parts list is solid. I would probably encourage you to look at the LSD. You can't really tell the difference until you get in it and then you feel the pull when with the open dif there would be some tire spinning and noise. Adrian's tune was great. Car runs smoother than ever.

Only thing I can tell you is that if you pull the engine, you might as well do it all while you're there, especially if you're adding more power- see my thread for all the bits and pieces I had to replace/upgrade. With a ported head and cam, you might want to move up on the injector size to take advantage of the air flow.

 

Your engine thread is perfect and will take some time to read through it all as I'm capturing thoughts as I go. We're pretty darn close on our engine mods so this is a great stuff. If you'll entertain them, I'll have more questions for sure

My first thought is if the 15% pulley is sufficient or should I go 17 or even 19 since I have the SC removed? The 15 came with it so I'd be one less thing to spend money on. No lack of debate on these boards with which pulley to use.

Anyway, thanks!

 

I am happy to provide any information I can to help out a fellow enthusiast. Be advised I am not an expert, I am not a "classically trained" mechanic or tuning expert. I simply read and applied and so far it's all worked out. My goal was to keep the project within some sort of "budget" - if you can call it that (see post #280 for the cost break down) and not destroy anything. Also, we did all our own work aside from the tune.

I run the 17% on both my R53's and a 0% lightweight crank pulley on one and a 2% lightweight crank pulley on the other. No issues whatsoever. The one with the 17/0 combo has 167k and the one with the 17/2 combo has 156k if I recall correctly. These are both DD cars. No track time or beatings. If I did track, I'd probably add a alky/methanol kit to keep it all cool or go with a lower % to keep the heat down.

Since pulleys seem to be the best bang for the buck, I'd definitely recommend it. I use all Alta stuff as I also have their puller. Keeps things a little easier and cheaper. And their customer service is pretty good too. You might also be able to score a combo deal buying a set of both pulleys. Side note, you can always sell parts to fund other parts- see Miniman Adam on this board-he buys and sells a lot. He's building 2 cars! Way more involved than me. If the 15% you have is in good condition, it should sell quickly.

Since you have the SC removed, open up both ends and clean it all out. Most people just dump the old fluid and refill. I like to inspect and clean thoroughly. I opened both ends of mine and used some brake cleaner and lint free towels to clean out the "burnt" brown residue. Now the fluid is nice, clean and clear. And I have the peace of mind knowing everything looks good and is properly sealed.

Also, with the combo I have and the tune from Adrian, the car was 17/18psi boost and crazy high RPMs at WOT. It pulled like a train! So, if you go with the extra bits like ported heads and cam, I think you will be very happy.

 

@Boostmaster - learned a lot reading through things. Before going back to my build thread here's a few thoughts and questions for you and others.

Thoughts
1) With the extent of work, I may as well take the block out. Note I've never done an engine removal or a head replacement before. From home renovation to automotive paint I always stretch myself and it's the best way to learn - and at the moment my biggest concern is broken bolts and getting the engine timing right.
2) With the block out and 150k on my ride (like yours) I may as well do every preventative maintenance and worn part replacement thing needed
4) I for sure don't have the factory LSD and will need one
5) This is going to take more time and money than expected - no shocker there
6) Things will go wrong
7) Fortunately this isn't my only car so I don't have to rush it

Questions (some may be dumb)
1) Beyond just doing it all at once, was there benefit in replacing the suspension concurrently with the pulled motor? I was planning to stage things but don't want to make more work for myself...
2) And with your alignment all out of adjustment, how did you stage the tune? I imagine you needed one right away before aligning the car, but doesn't a tune work best with some driving first?
2) When you pulled the motor, did you remove the transmission first or take out as one piece?
3) Anything special about your replacement clutch? Mine was just replaced before I purchased the car and works fine, but I imagine it's just a stock replacement.

Thanks!

 

My two cents:
1. With the engine out, it's much easier to drop the front subframe to replace suspension components.
2. Contact "adriancl" on this forum for a remote tune that doesn't require a front-end alignment.
3. Pull the engine and trans out together.
4. For a daily driver your stock clutch will last for a while unless you're overcome with a desire to continuously smoke your front tires. I went with a Valeo single-mass kit and it handles my 220hp just fine.

 

Thanks - guess I'll add suspension to the list then. Getting pricey for a $2000 ride! Anyone else here suffer this problem?

 

^^Yes! Pretty much everything you and Cooper said.

1. Pulling engine is relatively easy. Watch mod mini (youtube), invest in some penetrant. I've had god success with WD40- penetrant, PB blaster (it's stinky) and Cree Oil (saw Alex on Legit Street Car (youtube channel) using it and he's in Chicago so I figured he gets more snow and rust than we do so I I tried it. There's a guy that does testing of various products and the cree oil seemed to be one of the better ones. As I presume most of us do not have a lift, try and jack the car as high as you can so you can get under the car easily. Then go crazy for a few days spraying the penetrant to let it soak in. It will need a little time to work. Also make sure you have a good hoist and a load leveler (I got mine from Harbor freight and it was a huge help.)

Pro tip: pull the entire engine harness off the car. It is super easy and the best way to do this project.

And yes, I found pulling the plastic fender wells and suspension off made it that much easier to pull the axle shafts and just easier to reach stuff all the way around. Be prepared to make a mess with the coolant (I had a huge pan and it still made a mess). Also, a turkey baster for removing as much of the PS fluid as possible. Drain all the other fluids while engine is in the car.

Another pro tip: Go to costco and buy those blue shop paper towels in bulk. You will use them. I also purchased a couple of cases of cheap brake cleaner off of Amazon to help me clean as I went.

Engine and trans come out in one piece. Make sure you have a place to set the assembly. Then the subframe is cake to drop. Be prepared to tackle rust. Since you've now dropped the front subframe, might as well do the rear while you've go the grinder and the paint out. AND you can often get free shipping with larger orders so I made sure each order qualified by ordering in bulk.

Pro- tip #3: make sure your gas tank is as close to empty as possible. When you drop the rear subframe, the power wire from the battery box that runs all the way to the front is clipped to the tank so, you have to drop the wire and the tank and the tank will be heavy if it's full.

2. I did not mess too much with the alignment of the car so it's not yet been aligned. It does pull a little so I will be getting that handled but at least with everything new and lubed it will be easy to do. Tuning had nothing to do with alignment. Adrian had me purchase the cables I needed and to let him know when I was ready. Since we both had about 20 minutes to spare when I was asking him about the cables, he remotely loaded all the software to my laptop and then it was ready to go for our appt. When he tuned the car I would simply switch cables, and press a few buttons or the gas. Once he was done (less than an hour) he told me to take it for a drive and report back. Car was a beast. He checked a few more things and that was it. Then I happily sent him his fee.

3. ^^ See above

4. Replacement clutch was stock Dual mass (I cleaned it up and re-used it) and a new LUK clutch kit from Amazon - like $100 or so.

As for pulling the engine and doing the head, it's not complicated. Just take your time. This is a super easy engine to work on so it will not be complicated at all. Just make sure you buy the correct gaskets, sealers and new head bolts (and probably a new valve cover gasket kit and new valve cover bolts). Timing is way easier than most cars out there.

As for the LSD, probably the easiest part of the project. Lots of video's on this as well. I went with the one I did because the price was good (saved about $340 over the fancy brand), the build quality was solid and it felt like I'd be paying a premium for the "Quaife" name. And I don't track the car so an even more expensive OS Giken was not even a consideration.

If I were you and doing this again, I'd pull everything and tear it all down first and then order parts in stages. It's tempting to order what you think you'll need and then you end up with parts sitting around too long and you will sometimes end up overshooting your ability to return pieces you do not need. (ask me how I know)- Luckily I have another R53, so nothing here goes to waste.

Hope that helps a little. If you have other questions please let me know. Happy to help.

 

Tremendous help, thanks friend. I'll keep folks updated, between work, family, and travel it'll be slower than I'd like but aiming for completion by Spring.

 

Anytime! Our project dragged on several months as well- The benefit of having another car and not being in a rush.

 

Just thought of something I wanted to make sure you were aware of- the pinch bolts on the back of the carriers for the front struts. Spray them with penetrant for several days and be prepared to use a torch. Mine were rusted solid, snapped and had to be drilled out. NOT COOL. I expect that if your car has seen Chicago winters it will be an issue. So, just a heads up!

 

Good call - horrible experience getting them off my old Honda prelude. Had to use PB blast, a torch, an upgraded impact wrench, and use my Irwin bolt extractor for the 14mm pinch bolts. Few things in life as as satisying as when a bolt like like starts turning, but even with all that I still broke one off on one side. Here's hoping I fare better - sucks when one bolt becomes a multi-hour project.

 

Any advice for my setup....
I have a 04 JCW so far what I have is obviously JCW head, JCW exhaust, 17% pulley, dinan air intake, JCW 380cc injectors, msd coil pack, colder spark plugs, intercooler diverter, removed resonator. Adrian tuned my car after I put all this together, it runs really good but I feel I need more😊
My question for you guys that have the experience what should be my next move. I'm thinking ew02 cam with 550cc and tune. Any advice? My goal is to get it to at least 240/250hp and I'm done... Well I might also do LSD but till my clutch gives up
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Alikzanbro, the one key element that seems to be missing in your list is a header to replace the stock exhaust manifold, which you will definitely need to hit your horsepower goal. If the concern in not including it is noise-levels, the JCW catback you have does an excellent job of moderating sound behind a header without costing you horsepower. (My RMW "shorty" header w/cat and the JCW exhaust works well at the 285 HP level.)

On cams, the (Kent)EW02 is not very common in the USA, who is selling them? I have seen some dyno comparisons of the EW02 vs. Newman PH3/4 here, and here, and the belief is while the EW02 may be slightly superior with a stock head, that with a well-ported head the PH3/4 will excel. So you want to consider your head plans, because it is difficult to exceed 230HP with a stock head on a properly calibrated dyno. FYI: I have the RMW Dominator cam (by Newman) which is either similar to, or same as the PH2 depending on whom you are talking to.

 

@Alikzanbro I went with the Newman cam as it was refererred and high rated by @MiniManAdam who runs this setup. You can get them from Orranje performance out of the UK but it takes a couple weeks to arrive!

I look forward to seeing where your next step up takes you! I'm hoping to hit around your HP range as well.

 

Mini_Crazy..... Thanks for that info my man surely I will go with headers, cam, ,550c and a tune.
I'm thinking scorpion headers, ph2 or 461 on the cam since I don't like what Im reading so far on the 469 and that erratic idle. I'm not gonna track my car or anything I just want it to make more ponys and also it's my daily. I have some 440cc deka injectors will that do it or should i do the Bosch 550c.

OutlandishnessDue... How is that ph2 working for you? And if you where to do it again would you still advise to go with ph2 or other type. Thanks guys

 

Haven't installed it yet, but I'm in the home stretch of pulling my engine for a rebuild. I have limited downtime for this project, but aim to have it complete in the next two months. I'll let ya know how it feels once the car is on the road.

Also, for clarification I bought a Newman PH1/2. I've heard the higher revving PH2 is great but I'm aiming to enhance the performance as much as possible without compromise to daily driving (e.g. blipping the throttle to keep revs up at a stoplight = not ideal!)

You also mentioned 550 vs. 440 injectors. I'm going 440 given how far 330s can already take you, but perhaps I should have gone higher. I'll have an A/F meter installed and confidence in Adrian's tuning if I end up hitting the limit.