Nicely done...

That side picture of your car is a really good shot. It still has a great finish and I like the yellow lettering on the blue.

 

I like the stance. Very proper.

 

Maintenance and some minor changes.

Replaced the timing chain tensioner with the latest version (11317607551). The new one is a little longer so we'll see how that plays out. I measured the slack in the chain at 67.9mm. I figure that's safe for now, not sure if I going to just replace it or let it be.

Since I've killed another auxiliary water pump I decided to move it to a safer place away from the heat. If it dies again, it'll only take a few minutes to switch out.

And I finally got around to adding upper rear control arms. I had a little toe out on the driver's side that I couldn't correct. This should fix that issue.

 

Must feel good to get her up on stands again. Great looking control arms.
Also, those white brick walls are beautiful! New digs?

 

It really does feel good. I've had so much going on that she felt totally neglected lol.

Thanks, I finally bought a house and I can definitely say the brick in the garage was a big selling point! The work space just had a certain vibe now. I love it!

 

Garage space is really nice to have. Mine is small, but I still appreciate it...

Seems odd that the aux water pump keeps dying on this car. What are your indications that it has died? I know what happened with mine. Just wondering if you are having different indications...

Will be interested to see where you mount it... Oh, wait... is that the thing I can’t see in the picture, that has the blue pipes... ? Man, things are tight in there.. Yes, I know, it is worse where MINI put it...

 

As I get older, square footage in the garage becomes more important than in the house

The first few times it died I got a code for it. I wasn’t listening for the sound of it running, so I didn’t realize it had passed on. The last two times I noticed the lack of sound after shut down. I’ve gotten into the habit of getting out and listening for it now. My guess it that by removing the heat shielding from the turbo and downpipe, I am exposing the pump to something that it doesn’t like. It’s now zip tied right above the subframe behind the driver’s side brake duct. if it dies again, at least it will be a quick change. Also, if it goes again I am going to wire in a manual toggle for it.

 

I love this video I've been reading a lot about your build today. Man that's some great work and I love this car.

 

Thanks!

 

The exhaust. This is just one of those things I've been holding out for. When I bought this car back in 2015, the first thing I did was remove the muffler. I loved the way it sounded without a backbox and that sound was the gateway drug to modding. As I added more mods I removed the secondary cat and kept the resonator. The exhaust was just one of those things I figured I'd eventually circle back to.

I like to think I'm the kind of person that likes to have a lot of data on hand before I make a decision. My decisions are usually pretty deliberate based on my research and analysis, and very rarely adhere to a time limit. As with anything car-related, there is a wealth of conflicting information and pseudo-science. Luckily turbo exhaust is pretty simple, bigger and less restrictive is better. This led me to diving down the rabbit hole of having a 3" exhaust fabricated.

Then this bit of kit came along.

Scorpion Exhaust MINI Challenge exhaust is exactly what I had been waiting for. 2.75", 304 stainless. Just a straight pipe with a non-restrictive backbox. I'm in love. This exhaust ticks all of the boxes for what I wanted to make. It seemed like a no-brainer to just order this rather than go through the hassle of having an exhaust fabricated. And let's be honest, no one drives my car. I wasn't about to let a shop monkey drive it onto a lift.

The assembly was pretty straightforward. I added some Permatex Copper on the joints and tossed it on. Probably an hour from start to finish. The sound is nice and deep. I wasn't too concerned about volume or drone, my previous frankenstien exhaust was LOUD and a bit droney. This exhaust is definitely more refined with a deeper tone that only really gets loud when you get deep into the rev-range. The pops and bangs are more muted, which is good. The previous exhaust had a tendency to sound like small arms fire, and that was fun while it lasted, but this is a change the car needed. I'll get a sound clip up soon.

So while the sound is good, more importantly the performance is great. the stock 2.25" system was choking my turbo. You can feel the benefit of opening up to a 2.75. I don't have the data to support it, but the turbo is spooling and hitting the target PSI quicker. Like I said, no data to support it, but the car feels much quicker. Granted, and exhaust all by itself won't give noticeable gains, but with everything else I have going on, this was that one piece of the puzzle. I can only imagine what a 3" would do.

A huge thank you to @ECSTuning for bringing this exhaust to the US.

 

I love those twin shotgun tips out the back!

 

I bought a Torque Solutions BOV plate because of you! It is hilariously AMAZING.

 

The “data” here is easy... r1^2 vs r2^2.... 50% larger flow area.
I did an Invidia 300 system on my first R56 and it made a difference and that was 2.5” dia (I think). But I didn’t like the drone on the highway...

Sound clip...

Report from you next track day...

 

And you can hear the blow-off over the exhaust?! Awesome

 

Oddly enough the Challenge exhaust is not nearly as loud as the mess I had before.

 

Finally got around to updating the door numbers. Still in limbo as far as turbo and tune are concerned. I'm working out some details with Lou at Prototype-R, so we'll see what happens.

 

Numbers are nicely done...

Now you need to update the picture in your signature...

Are the numbers magnetic?

 

Thanks!

The decals are vinyl. I used Siser EasyPSV and a Cricut cutter. The vinyl cutter has been a great toy and has nearly paid for itself lol.

 

Those are so neat! Now I see how you did the nifty graphics.

 

Definitely want to see what you do with Lou, there’s so much to learn about these cars from him and he’s a wealth of information. I’ve been bugging him a lot for guidance on my build and he’s got a lot of crazy ideas for stuff you can do to these cars.

 

Scott - Just a FYI - And I may have mention this before... I see you might be doing another turbo upgrade with a JCW turbo. Were you aware that Alta used to do an upgrade to them? There was/is a thread on NAM about them; not sure where it is, but I did follow it for a while. I also see that Alta has pretty much gotten out of the MINI market. They got slammed pretty bad here on NAM. Maybe you know different, but I saw no reason for it. Not sure if they still will make the turbo mod, but they might be an option. I am pretty sure it was a “send it to me and I will will mod it for you” kind of deal. The increase in flow looked pretty impressive. Just a thought...

And what’s this with racing? Your car looks too nice for playing bumper cars... IMHO...

 

Thanks for the heads up, Eddie. I'm going to stick with the OEM JCW turbo for now. I think Alta hit a sweet spot with their 43mm, but I need OEM reliability. Also I seem to have figured out my auxiliary coolant pump problem! Well, actually Lou may have figured it out. Apparently, some "tuners" adjust the threshold for the aux pump. It would appear that I wasn't triggering it because I let the car cool sufficiently before shut down. I normally turn on the A/C on the cool-down lap and then let it idle in the paddock until everything is under 200 degrees. So I guess this is definitely an operator error lol. That said, I really like where I relocated it to and the longer lines, so I think it is a win.

Swapped out the bad mQubed Motorsports () turbo with a new OEM JCW turbo. Everything feels great, boost spools quickly, and holds at 22 psi all day. It's pretty obvious but, a smaller turbo that works is better than a big turbo that doesn't. If you are looking to buy from Mariokart (mQuebed Motorsport, Mario Palza, etc), be careful. His Downpipe is great, his "tune" (remap, flash, whatever the kids are calling it) is okay, but his turbos are trash. They will fail on you.

Now that this is out, it's time to dive in and see what it was made of...

 

Now that you have this taken out and apart what are your plans for it.

 

The plan is to make it work. This is my first time taking a turbo apart, so I am just learning as I go.

In case anyone was wondering what a $140 rubber reducer looks like:







The only difference between the Cooper S intake snorkel and the JCW is this green piece of rubber. I couldn't find it on its own, so I guess now I have a backup snorkel. Those measurements are by no means precise. I was kind of over it
The S reducer will fit the JCW turbo, but it is really tight. Like, I was afraid it was going to split the plastic snorkel.

 

Epic thread! Nice work on the car! It's a joy to see the progress of a track car that's methodically built, tested, and further refined. I've tracked a few different cars over the years and did some mild to moderate setup on a couple of those cars, but no minis and nothing this involved. A family member has a mini (R60) and I'm taking notes on parts to suggest to enhance his next track day.

How many track days do you have in it btw?
If you don't mind, keep posting videos!

What fuel do you run on track?