Ever since I've had my R53 way back in 2007 all I've wanted to do was make it quicker in every sense possible. Fast forward almost 5 years and I've managed to get the mods listed on my sig (not much for some, I admit). Actually, the goal I set for my MINI was pretty reasonable: a reliable 200whp. I recently got an RMW remote tuning tool and header & preparing funds for a cam & tune but it suddenly hit me...why am I setting up my MINI for conditions that I'm rarely in?

Then I started to think about going back to my first love...car audio. My 1st MINI (02 R50) had a 1450-watt system but sold everything after a few months because after dragging behind a pack of R53s in a run, I wanted to go all Ricky Bobby So I took all of it out, got an intake & Supersprint catback, 15" Volk Racing TE37s with sticky rubber and took to the track. When I got the R53 in 07 I continued my journey to become even quicker...

Now I'm slowly parting out my MINI to make it more comfortable for daily use. At the moment it physically hurts using the MINI with the road conditions we have here in the Philippines. Although I can't exactly see myself parting with the coilovers because the drop is just right so I'm most likely going to switch to more comfortable tires, go back to the stock exhaust, take out all the polyurethane etc...

Any of you done a complete 180 as well? Any regrets?

 

Yep, been there done that. My last toy car was a 1st generation Miata that I poured a lot of time and money into forced induction, suspension mods, tires, etc. The result was a fast, uncomfortable car with issues. I see many Mini owners trying to do the same thing. If you really want a quasi-racecar, buy one to begin with.

 

True that. A friend of mine who's more of a track nut than I am is buying a Westfield soon & he's been raving about it being a great track toy because in the long run it will be cheaper to run (honda CBR engine, 15" tires etc)

For the planned ICE setup in the MINI, I don't plan to go all out like before. My previous setup included taking out the rear seats to accomodate the huge 13" JL Audio 13W7. Yeah, that was really impractical Especially in a R50 which made it a LOT slower & get less mpg. Talked to my installer & wanted a "practical" trunk setup that looks OEM, tweeters on the pillars & midbass in the OEM location on the door