Hi all,

I'm the new, happy owner of a 2005 Cooper S. The prior owner took it to BR Performance and had it slightly modified: https://www.brrperformance.com/mini-...muter-go-kart/

As far as I can tell it has the following modifications:

Bilstein PSS9
Vorschlag camber plates
Powerflex front control arm bushing
Powerflex? front sway bar bushing
Alta 19" rear sway bar
Alta 15% pulley
Schroth quick fit harnesses
Rear seat delete
OZ Ultaleggera 17x7 with Conti Sport Plus 205/50
Hella front light bar

These mods were done about 9 years and 50k miles ago. Still feels great and at near 20 years old with 116k miles I'm amazed how well it was taken care of. Tight steering and looks great at 5 foot.

The big appeal - no sunroof, I need space for my noggin with a helmet. Anyway, without documented service history the car is going to get a minor spruce up. Since it'll need to go into service mod, I figure I'll knock out as much as I can. I have a quickjack and am working out the needed tools. Here's my plan - happy to get any feedback/suggestions what to do.

• Oil change + filter (liqui moly 5w30)
• Transmission fluid flush (Motul 300 75w90)
• Supercharger service (ECS kit inc. new water pump and seals)
• ATI harmonic damper (5.75") and new front seal
• New spark plugs (what is recommended?)
• New passenger side upper engine mount

Things I'm considering

• M7 180 degree thermostat
• Cabriolet front chassis braces
• Rear chassis brace (M7?)

Any other 'while you're there' items I should add to the list? Belts? Good idea to reinforce the strut tower tops? Valve cover looks dry, I don't see any wet spots or trouble indications - that being said, we'll see what pops after the first outing. The car will be used strictly for a local time attack series where we run on a go-kart track. The laps are about 50 seconds long, 10 turns and the straight gets up to about 70 mph. We do 3-4 laps in succession per sessions and 3-6 sessions in the night, no warm up or cool down, think of it as an autocross deluxe. It runs every other Friday evening, $40 per session, loads of fun, anyone in SoCal is welcome to join.

In addition to the servicing above - I'm convinced the brakes need to be upgraded. I typically run EBC yellow's with RBF600 in prior cars and never had issues with fading. But these brakes are... wow. Something to be desired, for sure, and sounds like I'm not the first to feel that way. Wilwood appears to be the value leader for a quality kit. Deciding between the 4 piston 11.75" rotor 'race' kit plus SS lines (~$963) or the 6 piston 12.88" rotor kit inc. SS lines (~$1360). Is there $400 premium worth it? I've got clearance with the 17x7 OZ wheels. If the 4 pot's are lighter and adequate for the use-case, I'd prefer to pocket the cash and save some unsprung mass.

To note; I've got an Odyssey PC680 battery sitting on a charger from a prior car, is there a recommended battery tie down/bracket for that size battery?

Lastly, while I'm not looking to increase power, but getting a few more rev's out of each gear would be appreciated - I'm in California so a set it and forget carb legal tune is convenient however not a disqualifier. Dinan stage 1 ($120) or Shark Injector ($280). Again, not concerned about power, just want the extra real estate on the tach.

Thanks all - looking forward to participating in the community.

Cheers,
Colin

 

Welcome to NAM from this SoCal refugee...

Looks like you scored a fun R53. My own had been highly modded for tracking for the former original owner but so-stated never used for that. Component choices back then were 2006 era thinking, which in some cases differ from contemporary perspectives and choices. No intention for tracking by me (I did some time trialing with my from-new '74 ALFA GTV at RIR), so I've tamed much of the harshness with exception of the perhaps too large front sway bar for streets and highways usage. You can see a summary of known mods on mine here.

Your Vorshlag adjustable camber plates likely help reduce tower "mushrooming", however you could add M7 (or equivalent) tower plates to effectively "sandwich" those for even more protection (mine: Helix with M7 currently). Cabrio braces might add chassis rigidity, aren't spendy and your FL 2005 is ready to accept them w/o mods (be sure to obtain 8 - M6x14 OEM mounting screws). As to tuning, many of us on NAM (and Euro FB groups too) have used NAM forum member adriancl whom does ECU tuning from his location in Romania. Do a forum search on that or ask questions about the process.

Where in SoCal / what go-cart track? I remember Jim Hall Jr's track in Oxnard but don't know if that still exists (lived in Camarillo 35 yrs before moving to AZ 10 yrs ago).

 

Cheers - thanks for the welcome and input. I thought the camber plates would reduce the mushroom effect, glad to hear the top reinforcement mounts can be added to the equation as well. What a gorgeous car you have, congrats. Lots of drool worthy mods there.

A few of us car friends run at Adams Motorsports Park - it's a go kart track in Riverside off Market. Here's a random youtube video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Eyi8...TrailerJoe.mov

I, too, gave up the fast stuff (ran a 997 with PCA) years ago when my son was born. Between Adams and autocross I'm getting the itched scratched with these cheap thrills and, believe it or not, Playstation with a motion rig and virtual reality headset setup. Keeps it off the public roads, meet new folks and it's a blast to encourage the younger generation to learn car control in a closed environment. Although now the conversations with those friends is turning real dumb with a potential class 9 entry for the 2024 Baja 500

 

Here's your plugs:

NGK BKR7EQUP

I would also consider a larger and adjustable rear sway bar (22-25mm) to help provide a bit of oversteer for racing purposes.

+1 on Adrian Nastase remote tuning with a caveat that California specs may be compromised.

 

^^^ Agreed, NGK BKR7EQUP being OEM JCW spec vs 1-step warmer NGK BKR6EQUP OEM "S' spec...
Part of changes I did in combo with OEM 380cc injectors to better complement prior engine/exhaust mods...

 

I would check out Vibra Technics engine mounts. Kind of pricey, but the OEM mount doesn’t seem to hold up too well and you’ve already seen what happens when it goes. They have all three mounts in race and street versions, or maybe a VT passenger side mount and urethane inserts for the lower and transmission mounts.

Also, an FYI for the hydraulic fluid on the frame rail, the paint under the hood and in the hatch jambs isn’t clear coated and usually wipes off with even the mildest of cleaners.

 

Welcome to NAM!

Some good advice already, although my personal preference is for the "regular" NGK iridium or ruthenium as opposed to the four-pronged BKR7EQUP.

The "while you're in there list" on an R53 can get pretty intense,
example:
https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...here-list.html

Much is actually determined by previous maintenance schedule and/or mileage.

 

Welcome to the forum

 

Welcome, nice r53.