This is my first Mini, looking forward to some track days in it.

 

Congratulations on the new ride! I recently picked up a '04 R53 as well as a nice weather/summer daily driver. Have you done anything with it since purchasing yet?

 

thanks, same to you. I have had it only 5 days and so far I have removed the stock racing stripes. I have new oil, filter, plugs and some brake pads to do this weekend. Have you made any upgrades?

 

Nice! It'll keep you busy, for sure! The majority of what I've been doing is just basic maintenance; brake pads/rotors all around, parking brake cables, both window regulators/motors, and currently trying to work on flushing out this nasty coolant. (old, dirty, etc.) Flushed the majority of the old coolant, but obviously there's still some in there so I've been adding in distilled water to dilute it and have been running it a few days, then flushing again with distilled water till it comes out clear. Once that process it over, I'm going to replace the coolant overflow tank (slight leak.) I'll probably have to take a look at the power steering pump/set up as I'm starting to get a little whining noise when turning the wheel when parked etc. but hopefully that doesn't need much, although the replacement doesn't look terrible for worst case.

Other than my mountain of maintenance things, I added a USB plug so I can listen to some tunes through the factory H/K system from my phone, added some lighter 17 inch Enkei wheels wrapped in Continental ExtremeContact Sport summer tires and just got an upgraded supercharger and crank pulley kit - soon to be installed.

Happy modding!

 

@miniattack Congrats on the R53, a great car for the track. Taking off the bonnet stripes will definitely decrease those lap times from better aerodynamics 😉. I see you're somewhere in PA. Maybe we'll see you on the track in Watkins Glen at some point. You may want to call the local MINI spealership and have them look up your VIN to see if you are included in the power steering pump recall.

 

tcbrady,
sounds like you are busy. I have been getting things up to par also. brakes, oil, plugs, and a deep cleaning. There are some things i need to replace like a tail light and the seat mounts on the drivers side. they started rusting? how?

how did you add a usb plug? this is badly needed for me. just got a supercharger pulley kit ordered as well.

veggievet
i will call the dealership to ask about the power steering pump recall. thanks for the tip. i am actually in Indiana, i will need to update that on my account. Watkins Glen sounds really fun but unfortunately i will have to stick to running it on Gran Turismo for now

 

I ordered one of these aux ports - works well! Easy install, just plugs directly into the back of the headunit.

https://www.fcpeuro.com/products/bmw...iABEgLJ2_D_BwE

Going into the dealership this week as I noticed my R53 did NOT have the power steering pump recall preformed, so hopefully all goes well there.

Hope you've been having fun with your modding!