R56 It’s a love hate thing
Thread Starter
|
3rd Gear
Joined: Jun 2017
Posts: 247
Likes: 16
From: Whorelando florida
It’s a love hate thing
I’m beginning to hate my mini and it’s partially my fault.
Mistake 1: buying used
In my lifetime I’ve gone through about 15 cars ranging from a 74 stingray corvette to a 2015 Kia Soul none of which have had as many problems or cost as much to maintain as this bmw wannabe. Literally within 4months of owning it Ive had to replace the timing chain, water pump, oil filter housing gasket, vaccum pump, leak detection pump, coil packs twice, throttle body, MAF Sensor, upstream o2, turbo oil lines, map sensor, vaccum lines and evap purge solenoid. If I had bought new from the dealer I could have had a lot of this done under warranty. I didn’t even include the basic tuneup crap like spark plugs, bushings, filters etc. I’m pretty sure I’m in for a turbo soon as well.
Mistake 2: coilovers
Coming from a background of muscle cars and corvettes with custom suspension setups I’m used to coilovers still retaining some travel and actually improving the street manners of a car while also giving height adjustability. This is not so in a mini and whoever tells you that it is (BCs or other mid range coilovers like Megan TEIN etc) an acceptable mod for daily driving is either a. retarded, b.16years old or c.only drives a few miles a day. The mini is too light to add anything over a 5kgmm spring for daily driving no matter how your damping is set. With coilovers you’ll bottom out all the time with a 5k spring due to the “ingenious design” of shortening the shock body too much and adding threads to the end so you’re basically stuck with 6-7kg or higher. Don’t get me wrong on a brand new niceley paved road or a track it is a beast and rides like butter but %90 of the time this is not the case and handling is actually worse. I should have went with FSDs and softer springs.
Mistake 1: buying used
In my lifetime I’ve gone through about 15 cars ranging from a 74 stingray corvette to a 2015 Kia Soul none of which have had as many problems or cost as much to maintain as this bmw wannabe. Literally within 4months of owning it Ive had to replace the timing chain, water pump, oil filter housing gasket, vaccum pump, leak detection pump, coil packs twice, throttle body, MAF Sensor, upstream o2, turbo oil lines, map sensor, vaccum lines and evap purge solenoid. If I had bought new from the dealer I could have had a lot of this done under warranty. I didn’t even include the basic tuneup crap like spark plugs, bushings, filters etc. I’m pretty sure I’m in for a turbo soon as well.
Mistake 2: coilovers
Coming from a background of muscle cars and corvettes with custom suspension setups I’m used to coilovers still retaining some travel and actually improving the street manners of a car while also giving height adjustability. This is not so in a mini and whoever tells you that it is (BCs or other mid range coilovers like Megan TEIN etc) an acceptable mod for daily driving is either a. retarded, b.16years old or c.only drives a few miles a day. The mini is too light to add anything over a 5kgmm spring for daily driving no matter how your damping is set. With coilovers you’ll bottom out all the time with a 5k spring due to the “ingenious design” of shortening the shock body too much and adding threads to the end so you’re basically stuck with 6-7kg or higher. Don’t get me wrong on a brand new niceley paved road or a track it is a beast and rides like butter but %90 of the time this is not the case and handling is actually worse. I should have went with FSDs and softer springs.
Last edited by MiniCooper_S; Apr 13, 2018 at 04:45 PM. Reason: dumb person responding and taking my rant personally so making adjustments for clarification
Thread Starter
|
3rd Gear
Joined: Jun 2017
Posts: 247
Likes: 16
From: Whorelando florida
I love the way this car looks but it was a little too tall for me. I never wanted a radical drop just an inch and some improved cornering without feeling like I’m driving a shopping cart so I went with BC BRs. At first they were great but the over time I’ve realized dampers are inconsistent and have broken in over 25000 miles to feel really sloppy. I’ve spent countless hours adjusting spring perches, damping, ride height, alignment etc and have come to the conclusion that these are just not made for the street as advertised.
I love the way this car looks but it was a little too tall for me. I never wanted a radical drop just an inch and some improved cornering without feeling like I’m driving a shopping cart so I went with BC BRs. At first they were great but the over time I’ve realized dampers are inconsistent and have broken in over 25000 miles to feel really sloppy. I’ve spent countless hours adjusting spring perches, damping, ride height, alignment etc and have come to the conclusion that these are just not made for the street as advertised.
If I've learned anything in life, it's that you have to pay to play. I cheaped out on coilovers and camber plates on my E36. It made for a harsh noisy ride and a constant fear that the equipment was going to fail at any minute. With my R56, I spent way more money and bought quality kit. The result is a smooth quiet ride that handles like it's on rails. Also, knowing that good equipment backed by a big name is on the car gives peace of mind. Of course after all of that I cheaped out on a downpipe, lol. You can imagine how that ended, I'm currently replacing the garbage downpipe with MarioKart's downpipe. I don't mean to lecture, but it is definitely worth it to save your money and mod later, rather than mod cheap right away.
Good luck.
Last edited by scotty_r56s; Apr 13, 2018 at 02:38 PM.
Thread Starter
|
3rd Gear
Joined: Jun 2017
Posts: 247
Likes: 16
From: Whorelando florida
There's your problem.
If I've learned anything in life, it's that you have to pay to play. I cheaped out on coilovers and camber plates on my E36. It made for a harsh noisy ride and a constant fear that the equipment was going to fail at any minute. With my R56, I spent way more money and bought quality kit. The result is a smooth quiet ride that handles like it's on rails. Also, knowing that good equipment backed by a big name is on the car gives peace of mind. Of course after all of that I cheaped out on a downpipe, lol. You can imagine how that ended, I currently replacing the garbage with MarioKart's downpipe. I don't mean to lecture, but it is definitely worth it to save your money and mod later, rather than mod cheap right away.
Good luck.
If I've learned anything in life, it's that you have to pay to play. I cheaped out on coilovers and camber plates on my E36. It made for a harsh noisy ride and a constant fear that the equipment was going to fail at any minute. With my R56, I spent way more money and bought quality kit. The result is a smooth quiet ride that handles like it's on rails. Also, knowing that good equipment backed by a big name is on the car gives peace of mind. Of course after all of that I cheaped out on a downpipe, lol. You can imagine how that ended, I currently replacing the garbage with MarioKart's downpipe. I don't mean to lecture, but it is definitely worth it to save your money and mod later, rather than mod cheap right away.
Good luck.
Criticism is useless unless it’s constructive.
A. I $1000 isnt necessarily cheap to most.
B. If you don’t mean to lecture then don’t.
C. Of course I know these were a bad decision. That’s why I labeled them as a mistake and admitted fault. In general coilovers are a mistake for hundreds of miles a day of street use.
Way Motor Works custom KW v2. 60-140 rear, 60-170 front.
KW and BC are worlds apart.
Look man, I was just offering my opinion and sharing what I went through, you know, with this being a discussion board and all. I guess I'm just a "retard" because I have coilovers, drive 100's of miles a week and am not 16. My car is also not falling a part.
Like I said, good luck. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
KW and BC are worlds apart.
Look man, I was just offering my opinion and sharing what I went through, you know, with this being a discussion board and all. I guess I'm just a "retard" because I have coilovers, drive 100's of miles a week and am not 16. My car is also not falling a part.
Like I said, good luck. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
OVERDRIVE
Joined: Mar 2013
Posts: 5,489
Likes: 629
From: Fuquay Varina, NC
In stock form the MINI is a well handling vehicle. You do not note the year but with the timing chain there could be a "14" in your engine designation so not too much more is needed to be said there. On the BC's there are those that like the BC/Megans and those that hate them.
I can do a great Appalachian twistie run and be home for supper, something that I could not have done when I lived in the Tampa Bay area. You can do the suspension modes all day long and if all you have are pancake flat roads with the on-ramp being the daily "wow" for the day, you will never know what a MINI is capable of doing.
Oh and I do have coilovers, Konis to be exact with Koni/Eibach springs on the front and ASTs on the back.
I can do a great Appalachian twistie run and be home for supper, something that I could not have done when I lived in the Tampa Bay area. You can do the suspension modes all day long and if all you have are pancake flat roads with the on-ramp being the daily "wow" for the day, you will never know what a MINI is capable of doing.
Oh and I do have coilovers, Konis to be exact with Koni/Eibach springs on the front and ASTs on the back.
Trending Topics
Thread Starter
|
3rd Gear
Joined: Jun 2017
Posts: 247
Likes: 16
From: Whorelando florida
In stock form the MINI is a well handling vehicle. You do not note the year but with the timing chain there could be a "14" in your engine designation so not too much more is needed to be said there. On the BC's there are those that like the BC/Megans and those that hate them.
I can do a great Appalachian twistie run and be home for supper, something that I could not have done when I lived in the Tampa Bay area. You can do the suspension modes all day long and if all you have are pancake flat roads with the on-ramp being the daily "wow" for the day, you will never know what a MINI is capable of doing.
Oh and I do have coilovers, Konis to be exact with Koni/Eibach springs on the front and ASTs on the back.
I can do a great Appalachian twistie run and be home for supper, something that I could not have done when I lived in the Tampa Bay area. You can do the suspension modes all day long and if all you have are pancake flat roads with the on-ramp being the daily "wow" for the day, you will never know what a MINI is capable of doing.
Oh and I do have coilovers, Konis to be exact with Koni/Eibach springs on the front and ASTs on the back.
I should have specified hat I was talking about the BCs. They ride like a shopping cart but they will get you around the bend. Ive carved up the mountains on the way to Frederick MD and back down to ATL a few times with them installed and between adjustments. After extensive road testing all I can say is BCs are sub par compared to everything else I’ve tried over the years with other vehicles.
Thread Starter
|
3rd Gear
Joined: Jun 2017
Posts: 247
Likes: 16
From: Whorelando florida
Way Motor Works custom KW v2. 60-140 rear, 60-170 front.
KW and BC are worlds apart.
Look man, I was just offering my opinion and sharing what I went through, you know, with this being a discussion board and all. I guess I'm just a "retard" because I have coilovers, drive 100's of miles a week and am not 16. My car is also not falling a part.
Like I said, good luck. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
KW and BC are worlds apart.
Look man, I was just offering my opinion and sharing what I went through, you know, with this being a discussion board and all. I guess I'm just a "retard" because I have coilovers, drive 100's of miles a week and am not 16. My car is also not falling a part.
Like I said, good luck. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
You realize that puts me in the retard group too right? 😉
I do hundreds of miles per day angryson!
thanks dude!
OVERDRIVE
Joined: Mar 2013
Posts: 5,489
Likes: 629
From: Fuquay Varina, NC
I like to say there are as many opinions here as there are members. I am by no means a racer but IMO most do not have the driving skills to take advantage of the stock MINI let alone a modified one. This "opinion" is based upon being on a group run with an individual, which we later learned drove cars very fast for a living, do things in a R50 Justa that had us shaking our heads in disbelief.
I also Owen a 09 S and yes it had been a money pit from full head rebuilt to anything else you can name I am for sure no 16, have Megan euro 2`s on the car a speed shop has set them up and then corner balanced then over a year and half a go and drives like it's on rails, I do drive this car way more than the other high performance I own, yes it is a money pit but an enjoyable one. Now which one would you like the one you spend $80,000 or the one you spend $7,000 and spend $7,000 more keep it running.LOL
But I hear you loud and clear
Ben
But I hear you loud and clear
Ben
While my mental capacity/state has been questioned before, I can safely say I'm well past 16 years old and drive more than a few miles a day.
I have a set of BC Racing Type RA coil overs on my lightly modified F56. I was considering KW, but a forum member had the BC's for sale at half MSRP and had less than 500 miles on them. I installed them about two weeks ago and have no complaints so far. I'll be testing them thoroughly in a couple of weeks at MOTD. That will included several hours of I-40 travel too. When I get back I'll make the decision whether to keep them or change brands. At this time I'm happy, but then again you have to take my mental state into consideration.
I have a set of BC Racing Type RA coil overs on my lightly modified F56. I was considering KW, but a forum member had the BC's for sale at half MSRP and had less than 500 miles on them. I installed them about two weeks ago and have no complaints so far. I'll be testing them thoroughly in a couple of weeks at MOTD. That will included several hours of I-40 travel too. When I get back I'll make the decision whether to keep them or change brands. At this time I'm happy, but then again you have to take my mental state into consideration.
Thread
Thread Starter
Forum
Replies
Last Post
wantmyMINI
R50/R53 :: Hatch Talk (2002-2006)
15
Aug 27, 2003 12:38 PM