NICE!

Really nice!

robj

 

Thank you! Eagerly awaiting to buy your strut bar as soon as it is available!

I just checked out the facebook page and followed. JCW, 43k miles and slick top...that is the dream R53 spec.

Thanks! it's getting there.

Appreciate it!

 

That clean up looks quite nice. Tell us your secret!

 

Thanks! Nothing special, I spray some citrus degreaser over the engine compartment and then power wash everything (strategically) and wipe everything down. I've been using Mother's back to black on the plastic and rubber components for a few years now and it leaves a pretty nice clean finish, not greasy like Armour-All can be.

 

Nice find, a beautiful combination! Going to have to look into the r52 braces for ours, it seems. Also a gorgeous e36, and I spied it in the background in the one pic before it got mentioned. We're an R53/E46 household. The wife drives the 03 R53, I drive an 03 E46 Touring. They fit together so well!

 

Thanks! I agree, there are lots of things on the Mini that remind me of late 90's early 2000's BMW as far as feel and build quality go.

I installed the R52 braces the same time as I did the lower brace. In combination they made a very noticeable difference. I wish I could tell you which one is more beneficial than the other...the lower bar is considerably cheaper compared to new R52 braces, however.

And E46 wagons are great!

 

I couldn't agree more. I love them both and are very different but the perfection of each brand.

 

Josh, nice cars! I've had 3 E36 M3's over the years and have always wanted an E46 M3...someday. It's a bummer that m3forums.net folded :(

Posting this as a reference point, I just happened to look down at my odometer yesterday as I was leaving for work and noticed I was at exactly 75k.

 

Allow me to give you hope by telling you that Grumpy, our 2003 R53, is over 182,000 miles at this point!

Josh, nice cars!

 

Thanks all! I am pretty damn proud of them. I tell my wife all the time that they are like children and I couldn't ever choose between the two.

 

On somewhat of a whim I ordered an Ultra Racing Brace off of eBay for the underbelly of the car. I couldn't find a single review or post about it so I was curious to check it out.

Looks and feels like a quality product and it fits great. Not sure if there is any negligible difference in stiffness. On my drive to work this morning i couldn't really tell any difference.









I ordered a M7 strut tower brace with the tower defenders (wanted the Way Motor Works brace but this was the first to come off of back order) which should be here next Monday. I think that will be the last of the bracing for a while lol

 

I finished sound deadening the rear hatch of the car this weekend. I only took one crappy picture about mid way through the progress. I covered the Killmat with a thicker foam sound deading material the same as I did in the doors. The car is very quiet now. I think I've killed 90% or so of the rattles and noises I heard when I first got the car.

 

I did sound deadening on the floors in the back when I did my rear seat delete, but not the side panels. Did it make a difference? Just saw where you did behind the doors and filled the door tubes. Looks like you thought that helped a lot as well? I've got an intermittent buzzing noise from the PS that I can't trace, but it makes me crazy. I'm wondering about the tube, since I couldn't find the noise when the door panel was off.

 

Every time I kill one rattle, I hear another one from a different part of the car .

My front end is very quiet now, and I think the majority of my rattles came from the A pillars, glove box, and doors. I do think filling the door panel helped. The smallest amount of pressure on the armrest would make a terrible creaking noise, and now they are very solid.

The dash still makes noise going over bumps sometimes, I am hoping the strut bar helps with that. And I do have something in the back I can faintly hear; I need to have someone drive me around in the back seat to pinpoint it.

FWIW, this is the stuff I used in conjunction with the Killmat. One roll was just about perfect for the amount I've needed on the Mini.

 

I get this annoying rattle/noise when the sunroof is vented or open...anoying as Hell! 😡

 

I really dislike sunroof's and I leave mine closed all the time. Not sure if your's rattles when it is closed as well but I put some velcro strips on the flaps in front that hold it shut. I don't have any sunroof rattles that I can hear, at least yet.

 

I spent some time on the Mini today and installed the M7 strut brace. The Way Motor Works brace was my first choice but they have been backordered since I bought the car.

I never really looked at my shock towers too closely and assumed they would be mushroomed but the studs are all perfectly parallel. Th reinforcement plates went right on. I was expecting to pull the struts to straighten the strut mounts but didn't need to.



I also clay barred, polished, and sealed the paint today. Looks WAY WAY better and cleaned up pretty nicely.