06, R53 .. I have figured out that the stock 'cup holders' in the front .. are pretty much useless for anything except a can of soda. Truth be told, it's so much fun driving this thing, it's probably best not to have drinks in it when you're driving. The rear cup holder is good. I'll probably try to find on of the fancy cup holders that hang off the side of the radio.

I'll also be looking for the center arm rest that sits over the e-brake.

Some of you guys have gauges that sit in under the radio / climate controls / window buttons. I think I'd like to some gauges to mine - like a battery / volt meter (does it plug straight in to the battery? and perhaps other things - any ideas what other gauges and also how / where to plug them in? Is there a good face plate to plug them into?

 

beuler .. beuler.

 

I just installed the OEM auxiliary gauges in my R53. They read battery voltage and oil temperature, but they are NLA now as I got the last set

The voltmeter power lead taps into the cigarette lighter power wire. I really love the gauges, and I plan on adding a boost gauge up by the tach at some point too. CravenSpeed sells some Marshall units that look nice. They offer pretty much any gauge you could want.

Here's my post on the auxiliary gauges install:

https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...ml#post4205497

 

I run a scanguage under the center council, I'll take a pic tomorrow. It plugs right into the obd plug and gives me all the info I want. http://www.scangauge.com

Nik

 

The OEM gauges are awesome looking but are now NLA :( otherwise you could get the Alta / or P3 Cars:


https://www.ecstuning.com/Mini-2005-Cooper-R53-S-Coupe-L4_1.6L_W11B16A/Interior/Gauges/


Alta:




P3 Cars:

 

If you still want i useful cupholder I use these http://allfabinc.com/mini/details.ph...s=cup%20holder
form Mini Fini

 

The down tube cupholder.... Uninstalled by many, was the fix for the useless cupholder...
It's not pretty...but it worked pretty good for most US sized beverages...just becareful if drinking anything that has sugar... It splashes onto the radio buttons and can cause issues, so use a lid or travel mug...
A dab of water and contact cleaner can unstick the buttons and make them work when it dies happen if you are handy...
As for armrests...
Many were introduced.... Many were flimsy or got in the way...
The MINI "euro" armrest was IMO the best add on, and in some ways better than the one that was optional starting in late 2005 (the cover broke, and the top would slide).
Install is easy...is bolts to the floor, sharing the seat rail bolts, it's OEM, so it fits, and the lather matches if you have any..same texture, but in black. It's firm, not wobbly, and looks like it matches.
Only issue (other than finding it at times, it was a "gray market import cause it was not us crash tested) was when you pull the ebrake to park it is kinda in the way...but you learn to fold it up or do a funny reach under to pull it up while leaving it down after a few uses.

For guages...the scanguage with a craven mount was a good option...only issue it it simply pulls the info from the ECU...so install is simple, but no real redundancy if you want that.
You could install various 3rd part gauges and make them look OEM pretty easy...pick you items...volts is simple to install...than many like a boost...
Oil psi is nice...but harder to install.

 

There was already a boost gauge in mine when I got it (I think you can see it on some of my pictures).

 

Good info. I have the chrono setup, so I have oil temp and pressure, water temp and fuel level. I don't have voltage - but with just that one, it might look stupid with 1 gauge down there.