Just recently got my "new to me" R50 and i want to share my progress with it so far. It's a 2006 model with 5speed manual gearbox, got 90,000 KMs and all stock when I received it from the caryard. Not in perfect shape but i've done my research so I am prepared with the possible problems associated with it.

few things that i immediately replaced:

• Inner CV boots - very unusual as normally outer CV boot fails first on most cars but i guess this is just one of many weaknesses of Minis
• Engine oil and filter
• transmission oil

 

Even before i purchased the car i already knew what wanted to do with it, so I already have a set of lowering springs and wheels waiting for it.

I went for AST springs as they are the only brand that offers at least 45mm drop. One thing I didn't paid attention to is the 45mm version is made for early 02-03 version of r50, since mine is 06 the front springs doesn't fit the top mount of my struts. the pigtail opening of the springs is too small. i have to cut the top of the springs half and a quarter turn to fits the perch perfectly; i was really worried it might make the front end too low but it turned out great, the drop is way better than what i was expecting. i also bought 1.25 fixed camber plates from Ireland Engineering, i like that their top plate is quite wide, i think it would help distribute the load and minimize mushrooming of the strut towers. I'm still eyeing one of those strut defender, something for the future


i also reinforced all engine mounts with powerflex inserts, i really love the difference it made in terms of acceleration and clutch engagement feel but to be honest the cabin vibration is too much for my taste. I might try to experiment with poly sealant/adhesive filled rear mount sometime in the future. i know some are against with this hack but I've got a really good experience with this method on my previous cars - just the right amount of firmness.

 

The car looks great! I love the blue, and the wheels and drop make it look ready to go!

Those full bushing replacement inserts for the motor mount make them really stiff. I’m with you on trying to fill the stock mount with the poly sealant. I did that on a previous car, and it gave just the right amount of resistance.

 

Thanks, the rear mount is not that hard to replace so will definitely try that

 

Finally got the chance to install my Android Auto / Apple CarPlay headunit. One thing that I'm kind of disappointed with the 1st Gen is the lack of 2din option. I've seen a few members here who hacked their center console to fit 2din displays(which looks great by the way) but i don't want to take that route as i want to keep all mods reversible. Luckily floating 1 din headunits are getting common now. I opted for Boss BE7ACP-FT as they are the only one who is offering physical volume **** in their unit(during the time of my purchase). Something I didn't anticipated though is it's now blocking the upper part of my AC control, I thought I can adjust it further up but it's already in its highest position.

 

Just an update on my new ICE install, for days it's puzzling me why the illmumation isn't working properly. Everytime i turn on the lights, the display brightness is switching back-and-forth every second(this should stay dim once the lights are on). I initially thought i wasn't able to connect the illumination wire properly, turns out the illumination wire output is not 12V!. Since the gauge lights are dimmable, the illumination wire varies from 3V-11.5V. not sure why the max voltage is below 12V. To circumvent this i did put a relay in between the illumination wire and tap from the constant 12V wire. now it's working properly.

 

The Scorpion exhaust finally arrived. Since this is my daily driver I went for the resonated version. it's quiter than what I was expecting - which is a good thing. It's pretty much as quiet as the factory exhaust but with a small emphasis on lower notes. took me about 2.5 hours install. Replaced all nuts/bolts with high tensile hardware, also placed new gasket and seal. something i missed are the rubber mounts, mine are still in OK shape but the rears have small cracks so will need to address that in the near future.

 

Finding a roof rack that fits the first Gen in 2022 is a bit of a mission(or at least in my area), most of the options are no longer available. I ended up getting a Yakima system for custom install(skyline towers + landing pad 6). I'm quite hesitant with this configuration as it requires drilling the roof but I think this is more rigid than the rain gutter option. Not sure about the looks but I'm very pleased with the newly acquired versatility

 

Mini's and bike - power combination!!!

 

Short video with my R50 :D

 

Looks and sounds good, care to share how you mounted the rack... I'm trying to find a system like yours. I have a new to me R50 and need a rack. Did you use the stock mount points in the roof? thanks

 

Love the Volks and what you've done with your R50! Really clean example! Looking forward to more posts!

 

You will need to drill holes in your roof. Unfortunately, Gen1 doesn't come with any mounting points from the factory. This is a universal kit from Yakima and doesn't come with any template, I just browsed photos of the original Mini roof rack kit from Google so I can have an idea about the placement of the feet.

 

As far as roof racks go... I use an older Yakima set up. You can see all my notes here:
https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...ml#post4579583

The older towers have "clips" that slide in behind the rain gutters. I just clean them really well before I carefully use plastic dash tools to hook them into the roof behind the rain gutter. No holes needed.

 

I'm finally able to get a complete set of the aerokit. It's pretty much a straightforward swap, the only modification I have to do is to trim the mounting bracket of the parklight/indicator housing and also move the foglight mounting position.

 

Looks great!!! Nice photos.

 

Switched to Evo Regamaster wheels just to spice things up a bit.

 

Planning for the next gold bar heist :D

 

123456KMs