In my book the only thing a second gen car has over the R53 is the 480 watt, 10 speaker stereo available in the '11. I have the HK premium sound in my '06 but would kill for the newest package.

 

I haven't picked one up yet, I am still searching but it will be one of the first mods I do to the car, along with rally lights and a shift ****.

it looks like most of the 2006 R53s are around 50k in miles, so Ill have to be extra thorough when checking out the cars.

 

Well, my '06 MCS was totaled last night. (I'm still kind of in shock, very scary almost head on, but for my track training I think). My husband is in a state of shock as well, and keeps trying to make me feel better by saying we can go test dive MINIs today and buy a brand new one. I, meanwhile, am determined to find another '06 PW/B and mod it just like the last. I have driven the newer models and love them and if that's what I end up with will be pleased as punch, don't get me wrong. But not without doing a thorough search for an R53 first. I loved that car, the whine still made my heart go thump and I really liked the way the clutch felt.
Anyway, I don't think you'll be miserable either way, but sounds like you'll just get more of a thrill from the R53.

 

OMG! I hope you & your passenger(s) weren't seriously hurt!

I just saw your post and haven't searched to see if you've created a thread about the accident...if there's a thread, please post the link.

 

WOW!!

really glad you were all able to walk away, the carnage creates a sobering image.
I had a wreck recently with equally disturbing imagery.

(That's celebratory pizza in the background, I got carry out and had a family picnic in the living room after my crash)

I have scoured cars.com and Autotrader, there are some good ones out there. (anywhere else I should be looking?)
If you get the same year (or at least compatible year) you should just swap your intact mods over from El kabong to the new one.

On an up note
I have found another MINI that I have fallen in love with, but its a little out of my current price range so I will try and scrape some extra cash together fast to grab this hot R53 JCW before its gone.

 

I'm planning on salvaging what I can. So far it looks like the wheels, the cold air intake and the pulley are trashed, but I can save my white taillights and some interior stuff.

As to the R53 JCW !

Annette

 

here is one you may be interested in that I came across.
http://www.cars.com/go/search/detail...1&aff=national

 

In any auto buying decision there will always be pros/cons especially in the used market.You are going about it the right way and getting valuable info on both gen's. There are both biased and unbiased opinions.Ultimately the decision is yours.So many mistakes have been made by impulse purchases.Just take your time and there will be the "One"out there for you.II found the best decision is an educated decision....Do all the homework you can on each and whatever makes you the happiest.

 

I'm sure you had tons of fun with it but it isn't the quickest MINI. they've gotten faster just about every year.

How much money do you have to spend to get 400+ hp? $20,000++ and you have to change out pretty much everything in the engine?

How much money to you have to spend to get 300lbs of torque out of a R53 engine? $15k? $20k? Is it even possible to get that much torque out of supercharged r53 engine?

It cost me about $1,500 and 3 hours of labor.

I've driven a R53 that had 350+HP. Ran like crazy when you floored it. It also died every time the idle fell below 1100 rpm. This guy spent over $20k getting a helluva strong engine that was completely useless for a daily driver.



hmm.. you know you are spouting baloney? Did you not know BMW designed the engine? Or that Puegot only casts the block for BMW? Or that the MINI engine is built in HAMS hall in England? Or the the JCW version of MINIs r56 engine is assembled by BMWs M division in Germany?

Or perhaps that diesel noise is the sound of the fuel being pumped directly into the cylinders at insanely high pressure?

That part is right.

 

thanks!

I was very afraid that I was asking the same question most people ask when looking to buy a MINI. I had heard many things from many people but not often from MINI owners themselves.

personally I like a tight ride and love the supercharger whine but didn't know if its power band was smaller than the twin vain turbo or not. Peak power has and probably never will be my concern, usable mid range power rules on corner exits and fun factor.

the R53 JCW I found is amazing but alas out of my pricerange at the moment, unless I decide to sell my camera and gear.
But that's a whole other bag of worms...

 

So your completely wrong on the first part, the ABF drag Mini had over 600hp with the STOCK crank. Try that with a R56

Secondly here's Wiki on the Prince engine:

Prince is the codename for a family of modern automobile straight-4 engines developed jointly by BMW and PSA Peugeot Citroën

The engines’ components will be produced by PSA at their Douvrin, France, facility

The Prince family shares its basic block dimensions with the previous PSA TU engine family. Some of the engineering was provided by BMW, including their Valvetronic variable valve lift system on the intake side.

The 1.6 L engine is used in the second-generation MINI and various Peugeot 207 models.


And thirdly: That wonderful noise you here, well Mini has decided to essentially warranty that system for life as it SUCKS. My wifes died a little over a year in Dude not hear to argue as we own both but my statement here in the earlier post, "Think of it.....BMW seemed to think it needed to reinforce the block for the JCW and it only added what? 25hp? So how do you think that block is going to react to 200 more hp?" How do you explain that?

 

How much money did that engine cost? seriously.. how much? $30,000??? include all the wrench time and not just parts. Heck, I dunno, it might have been $80k including labor.

The crank handled it.. The stock crank on the r53 engine is forged steel. Guess what. It is on the r56 also. Anything else stock on that engine? Pistons? heads? connecting rods? cam? nope, nope, nope. Which supercharger did it use - oh yea.. it used a turbo.

two can play at the "selectively cut and paste from wiki"

Concerning the Tritec engine:


The high pressure fuel injection system is warranted for life? That would be nice. I doubt it is true though.

[

Quote:

"Think of it.....BMW seemed to think it needed to reinforce the block for the JCW and it only added what? 25hp? So how do you think that block is going to react to 200 more hp?" ..

Nothing wrong with a little beefing up. The standard r56 block is handling much more power than stock without the extra beefing. The 351 cleveland in my old ford had 4 bolt mains - the other 351s didn't - yet they could be highly modified.



I noticed you completely ignored any talk about torque or cost of modifications.



The supercharger whine is very cool. I do miss that. However, for usable power there is an obvious answer and it whistles instead of whines.

 

now that its reinforced I would hope it does well


what are the general opinions on alta intakes and milltek exhaust systems?

quality parts or just bells and whistles?
I ask about these specifically because the JCW has them on it along with an under drive pulley and H-sport lowering springs

the springs sound good enough, they look like they are exponentially progressive, maybe linear progressive, but not stepped progressive so you can at least predict their behavior in corners.
the rear sway bar was also upgraded to a 19mm unit with new links so it should be a nice carver

 

how is roll on passing power with the turbo?
I have never owned a twin vane turbo only a single and it didn't build significant boost till late in the game and it was slow to build after it dumped.
it also came on very abruptly, as did my friend's SRT4 and STI, my car was an old '89 audi so I cant use it as a prime example being as outdated as it was.

 

All of those are nice upgrades.

The lag is very short - you would hardly notice it in lower gears. Only in higher gears at low RPM can you really notice it and even then it isn't bad.
It builds significant boost under 2k rpm. LOTS of midrange power - but a good amount of low rpm power too.

You should really go test drive one then you'll know the difference. Power delivery between the two engines is very different.

Spend $900 on Alta's AP and you'll have a torque monster on an otherwise stock engine.

 

What I see when driving a 2nd gen is all the cost cutting. Everything is simpler and cheaper. If you can find a nice low mileage '05 or 6 You'll be happy.

 

I did test drive both but my test drive of the 2007 JCW sucked, too short and restricted. I never got to see what it really felt like, but the 2006 JCW was a good test drive and I got to really enjoy the car and feel it out.
it felt a little slow but that could have been all the wheel spin off the line.

 

The 2nd gen JCW started in 2009. You may have drove a S with the JCW upgrade kit consisting of intake/cat-back exhaust/ecu tuning. While stronger than a regular S it isn't the same as a factory JCW.

The JCW upgrade kit is nice but it is easily surpassed by aftermarket stuff now. The best thing about the jcw kit is it doesn't affect warranty.

 

Sheesh, just found an '06 PW/B JCW and was all excited and then read the description and it's an Automatic .
Back to the drawing board.

 

yea I knew it wasn't a real JCW, the big giveaway was the tiny brakes

I don't even know what was upgraded with the JCW kit on the turbo car, I do know that the R53 had upgraded brakes head supercharger and exhaust.
most cars with the JCW kit also had factory installed LSDs.

any idea what kind of LSD was installed from the factory?
clutched plate, worm gear, semi viscus, or electronic (commonly via brake control)?

YUCK!!
I just hope I can snag up this one

the chrome will have to go but other than that I am in LUST with this MINI

 

Wow, stunning.
I'm off to Global Imports MINI to see what they have on the lot and test drive the turbo S.
Annette

 

I just hope that they have a manual transmission on site for you to try, there was a very sharp and loaded white '07 S in Missouri with low miles that I was thinking about before I decided that a R53 was the way to go for me.

 

BoCRon I hate to tell you this , buy they never made an 05 or 06 JCW with an automatic. If it was an auto it is just an S.

 

Taken out of context but I thought it presented a contradiction in your intentions.

If this is the case, expect to replace an axle too as its likely seized on the hub. Labor rate goes up with the trans drain/refill involved.

proprietary tools needed in routine maintenance – like changing the belt.

Extended maintenance on any BMW is routinely expensive. I’m starting to see a pattern of a costs concern.

Because if your after numbers you’ll be disappointed at the dyno.

Ahh, there it is… suspicions of a costs concern confirmed. If you can’t afford it now, you can’t afford the maintenance later, let alone the pipe dream of upgrades.

 

very out of context because it wasn't even my car or my comment about the strut towers flexing, it was a friends comment about his own car.

may or may not have been taken care of at the dealership but it was sold anyway

I tend to be a bit of a grease monkey and don't like paying for something I would rather spend a day doing myself.

there are more then output stats I am looking for, like spring rates and torsional loading capabilities of sway bars
when I buy parts for my bike I know what they will do and wont do, I know the CFM of my intakes and the flow rate of my injectors, the change in mass to my brakes and the standard baseline figures for performance parts. that shouldn't be too much to ask when dropping the cash.

again I like to wrench myself, I have had more than one engine in pieces and my bike is currently torn down for my winter upgrades as well.
but thanks for misunderstanding mis-quoting and making assumptions about my personal finances anyway