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Well the dog woke me up early this morning so I got a good start to the day. I finished installing the control arm bushings which were almost done then I moved down to the motor mount. That's a pretty easy little project, as you'll see in the pictures below that mount was completely shot!
New bushing, drivers side. Old motor mount. Side by side with new mount. The old mount was both torn and collapsed.
The next order of business was the spark plugs. The plugs I replaced this morning had been in the car about a year and had roughly 40,000 miles on them. They are a single ground, platinum plug. They are junk. The amount of erosion on both the electrode and the ground is excessive for only 40,000 miles! It has been getting harder to start the last few weeks and also running rough. I think I found why. I'm honestly surprised it didn't throw a misfire code!
I would love to hear input from anyone that knows how to read spark plugs. I was not particularly happy to see the condition of these plugs.
I did index the new plugs. I moved them around to get them as close as possible without spacers. I only needed spacers on cylinders 3 & 4. Cylinder 3 had the thinnest spacer in the pack and cylinder 4 had the thickest. I doubt it'll do anything but it was entertaining at least.
For anyone interested in trying it yourself, if you snug the plug 180 degrees from where you want it, when you torque it down it'll be in the correct position....at least it was on my car lol. And I torqued them all to 18 ft/lb.
Anywho here are some more pictures.
1 year old (40,000+ mile) NGK BKR6EGP platinum plugs. Cylinder 1 Cylinder 2 Cylinder 3 Cylinder 4
And the new bits: NGK BKR6E gapped to 0.031" and color coded indexing washers. Cylinder 1. The intake is towards the bottom of the picture. The black mark on the porcelain is from a sharpie that shows the location of the gap side of the plug. Cylinder 2. Cylinder 3. Cylinder 4.
Don't buy the $38 eBay muffler lol. It sounds ok with the baffle in it, but the baffle reduces it to 1.5" and has a pipe that is about 5" long that extends up into the muffler creating a whole bunch of back pressure. The car feels slower with the factory cat and baffle installed. It actually pulled harder on the highway with just the header and de-cat. I'm trying to find a decent muffler so I can actually have the 2.5" the whole way back. I've been looking at Vibrant and Megan, maybe Borla. Also wondering about installing a resonator somewhere near the cat. Trying to do some reading on it because I've never really messed with 4 cylinder exhaust before :-/
Without the baffle it is just ungodly loud! The drone literally made my eyes vibrate in their sockets. So awful! You couldn't even tell what you were hearing. It was just noise. Loud noise.
The rest of it I like though. The gaskets don't leak, the car doesn't stink, the SRS light does go on and off now. Gotta figure out what's up with that.
If anyone has built a custom exhaust and know of a good sounding muffler that isn't loud I'm open to suggestions.
Watch this video. I did it just like he did and it worked like a charm. My control arm bushings were completely torn so when I got the arm off the ball joints the whole thing just fell on the shop floor. Half the bushing was stuck to the control arm, the other half was stuck in the mount. I used a reciprocating saw like the one in the picture below and cut through the remaining rubber and the metal sleeve. You'll know when you get through the metal because the sleeve will pop right out just like in the video. If your not all the way through the metal you'll catch hell trying to get it out.
Ah ok ok, I dont have a reciprocating saw, so Im using the same method I have been using on all bushings that I removed and that is to relieve pressure from the "collar" by bashing it in with brute force (chisel and hammer).
I've been super busy lately so not much has been done to the Mini truck. I HAVE tried every combination of exhaust parts I have available though trying to find a solution to the noise but I think my only option at this point is a better muffler.
So far I have tested the following combinations:
OEM cat, baffle in muffler - SES light is on and any one of 4 codes pertaining to fuel trim/o2 sensors/catalyst efficiency, power feels about the same as stock maybe less.
OEM cat, no baffle - SES light go's on and off and drone is unbearable, power feels same as stock.
OEM cat removed and quality resonator in its place, no baffle in muffler - drone is all but gone, car is stupid loud, no SES light and car feels down on torque but revs much faster and takes less throttle to maintain any given speed.
OEM cat removed/resonator installed, baffle in muffler - It feels like it has the most power set up like this and the SES light stays out. It stinks with no cat so I don't want to keep it like this, maybe a high flow aftermarket cat would work better? There is no drone and it sounds amazing inside. The problem is the baffle only has a single tiny 1.5" outlet, and the way the baffle fits in the muffler it leaks around the outside and you can hear a noise that sounds like air escaping if your outside the car.
If I could get it to sound like it does now, minus the air leak, with a full 2.5" outlet I'd be happy.
One more thing I notice with this car is before the car is up to full operating temperature it pulls WAY harder. And I am very gentle before the car is warmed up and it is STILL that noticeable. Anyone else with a justa notice this? Or is something wrong with my car? If the car leans out when its warmed up I see a very nice power increase possible with a tune....of fixing whatever is causing that lol.
That's enough babbling for now I guess....
Actually I'll add two more things; I let a buddy take my car to get parts for his truck (I was helping him replace a fuel pump) and the first words out of his mouth when he got back were "that car is bad @$$" Then he went on about everything he liked about the car. It was his first time in a Mini.
After 16 years of autoxing, Dragon Slaying and track days with my RaceR50, sold it with 179k miles! New owner can’t stop smiling!
I'm not gonna lie brother, your car was/is the inspiration for this build... except mine is unfortunately very low budget lol. They are amazing vehicles given their size and price point!
I'm not gonna lie brother, your car was/is the inspiration for this build... except mine is unfortunately very low budget lol. They are amazing vehicles given their size and price point!
A very nice compliment! Thanks. This RaceR50 gave me 16 years of awesomeness! 179k miles! Over 10k miles on the Dragon really pushing it 10/10th’s! I really learned how to drive better. I never had power to fix my mistakes. Will I miss it, of course. BUT, I found a new love with my 2011 R56S!
Are those Bridgestone Potenza tires you have mounted? Do you run multiple sets of tires/rims or are those your daily's?? Excellent choice in wheels by the way!
Are those Bridgestone Potenza tires you have mounted? Do you run multiple sets of tires/rims or are those your daily's?? Excellent choice in wheels by the way!
They are Bridgestone Potenza RE-71R tires, yes. And thank you, I agree, great choice! Actually burned up a set at MOTD! Well, in 3 days and 30+ runs…..luckily found the last set of 205/50-15’s on the Eastcoast ! And was able to have Firestone in Maryville mount them up!
Come on “RE-71RS”! Please be released in the USA soon! Lol
And I have 5 sets of rims. Run 15” Kosei w/Bridgestone Ecopia all season street tires. Have two sets of 17” Kosei w/71R’s. Oem 17” with Indy500 tires. And my 15” x 8” wide race wheels with 71R’s.
(The old R50, I had(and still have a few) 5 sets of white Holie wheels!)
I installed Firestone WeatherGrip true all weather tires on the R50 for the new owner. One of only a few all weather tires with the 3 peak mountain snow flake rated tread!
Nice! I currently have 1 set of wheels. 11 lb Konig Helium's, 15"x6.5". At the moment I'm running 195/50 Ling Long Crosswinds from Walmart 😂😂😂. They only cost $36 each and I drive over 40,000 miles a year so I figured I'd give them a shot. Cheap. Crap. Tires. There actually pretty amazing for the price. I've got almost 45,000 miles on this set and they're doing great. Wet traction is very good (at legal street speeds), fuel mileage is good, they are noisy tires though. Haven't driven in the snow so no clue there. They do start losing grip pretty quick once the temperature gets below 50 degrees. There not great on hot dry pavement either though so no surprise there. And I'm pretty sure my little R50 is capable of exceeding the speed rating on them lmao. I'm looking at the Falken Ziex ZE 950 A/S next. Eventually I'll pick up a second set of wheels, I'd like a set of white holies for daily use then put some decent rubber on my Konigs. But quite honestly that's not a real high priority. I just ordered injectors this morning and I'm getting MPPS V21 interface also. If all goes well I hope to have Adrian tune it either this month or next.
Nice! I currently have 1 set of wheels. 11 lb Konig Helium's, 15"x6.5". At the moment I'm running 195/50 Ling Long Crosswinds from Walmart 😂😂😂. They only cost $36 each and I drive over 40,000 miles a year so I figured I'd give them a shot. Cheap. Crap. Tires. There actually pretty amazing for the price. I've got almost 45,000 miles on this set and they're doing great. Wet traction is very good (at legal street speeds), fuel mileage is good, they are noisy tires though. Haven't driven in the snow so no clue there. They do start losing grip pretty quick once the temperature gets below 50 degrees. There not great on hot dry pavement either though so no surprise there. And I'm pretty sure my little R50 is capable of exceeding the speed rating on them lmao. I'm looking at the Falken Ziex ZE 950 A/S next. Eventually I'll pick up a second set of wheels, I'd like a set of white holies for daily use then put some decent rubber on my Konigs. But quite honestly that's not a real high priority. I just ordered injectors this morning and I'm getting MPPS V21 interface also. If all goes well I hope to have Adrian tune it either this month or next.
where are located? I might have a set of white Holies for sale!
Spent some time in the shop this morning. I've had a radiator hose leaking ever since I replaced the radiator. It took FOREVER to ship out. It was backordered. Got that done, changed the oil, rotated the tires and set the air pressure on them, replaced my super jacked up windshield washer nozzles, and decided to test the Braille I've had on the bench for months and months. Removing the stock battery box was easy enough. I have a anodized Braille mount and the bolt holes line up with the original box mounts so that was easy. I read that these AGM batteries don't like extreme temperatures so I decided to cob up a heat shield/battery box out of an old 5 gallon Kaeser oil jug. I don't honestly know how well this battery will work in daily driver so I didn't want to waste too much time or any extra money installing it. Plus I'm still contemplating moving it to the hatch. I'm going to see how it does in the factory location first.
I drove to Long Island NY and back again. Around 1000 miles round trip from my home in NC. I had zero issues with the Braille. It seems to be doing just fine on a DD. I used the AC, wipers, radio, and lights at will and it never faltered. I still want to get a voltage meter just to see what its doing in any given scenario though.
I DID however have to change the timing chain tensioner in my buddies driveway. Fortunately that is a simple task on this particular car. I jacked up the passenger side, removed the front right wheel, removed 1 bolt that holds a wiring harness bracket, then took out the 19mm plug and out came the old tensioner. Compared to the AutoZone replacement it was a tad shorter. I put the new one in "popped". And I'm mentioning that because when I googled how to pop the tensioner BEFORE installation I couldn't find much other than "its a good idea". Its very simple. Just compress it all the way with your fingers a few times. If you can get it in all the way it will release and go to full extension. I read something about submersing it in oil and pumping it up. I think the guy was trying to describe how to get it to release but I'm not sure. I dropped it in a quart oil bottle and swirled it around for a minute prior to installation just for good measure but I doubt that's necessary. The car has had a rattling noise coming from the timing cover/accessory area for a week or two but it was hardly noticeable. By the time I made it to NY though it was loud enough that I was wondering if I'd make it back home. I was already planning on doing a timing service at 150k (it has 133k on the clock atm) so I went with a cheapy tensioner and its already starting to make noise again after the 500-ish mile trip home. My guess is its a stretched chain or worn guides. I have more travel planned in the next few weeks for work so hopefully I'll find some time in there somewhere to swap some parts. I may have to drive my truck if I cant. At 16 MPG that is not quite as cost effective as the 40+ MPG I get with the Mini on the highway! Its also not as much fun...
I've been gathering parts for some needed maintenance and a tune. Also a cheap diy i saw on another forum.
In the pile below are a new timing set with associated gaskets, a harmonic balancer with puller, 270cc injectors and MPPS V21 interface to tune with, and a garage door seal and some double sided tape for a diy front lip I saw on another thread (hardware not pictured).
FYI the Chrysler harmonic balancer puller (OEM brand #27139) works perfect on the R50 crank pulleys.
I'm very skeptical. I didn't realize before I opened the package how soft that rubber is! I put a front lip on the mustang a few years back and the shape is very similar but its rigid plastic. This stuff is so soft I'm not sure if it will do anything other than grab air and fold down. Its for looks mostly and if I ever get around so fabbing up a splitter it will work nicely to seal the gap between the splitter and bumper.
