Hey guys,
Please to say after two months of owning my vehicle I've finally attempted to tackle the forums and get everything situated. I've set up my signature and posted up a couple of photos, but need some clarification on how this website functions. If I were to ask for help in regards to vinyl work or mechanical work, would there be a particular area I'd have to post in? Or is this 1st Gen section fine?

I am very ecstatic, to say I love my 04' with only 8k miles! Aha, once I got back from the military service I got a beautiful deal on this car

Any suggestions on how to get used to posting, advice on maintaining the vehicle, tips on my mods shown in the signature would be great. I reside in the Queens NY area, so if there are any MEETs let me know!

Thanks.. & WAY your the best

 

2004 with 8K miles? How can that be?

 

My godfather was in the military & garaged it when he got deployed, passed down to me. When in turn I got deployed last year, I garaged it & now its at about 8k miles I've had to only replace the battery thus far, only annoyances I receive are the flywheel rattles.

 

Just picked up a 04 myself but I have 153k more miles than yours does....

 

I'm about to just join another forum as no one here really is of any help. Aren't threads written and forums meant to help people within a community interact? *sigh

 

? Didn't you like, just post this stuff today? lol give it a little time man, this community is great as long as you have a little patience and don't like to start fights

 

Congrats !

First thing I would do is (unless it was already done)
Change Brake Fluid
Change Gear Box Fluid
Change Antifreeze
Change Oil/Filter
Change the tires if they are over five years old.

Enjoy !

 

Search and Google are your friends

 

Yeah, I clearly know that. If it wasn't for you I would've never known google existed, thank you for giving me your time of day with such a clear cut response. I started this thread in order to get people's individual experiences and responses; I know how to search online thank you, if it wasn't for this thread I would've never known there was a car meet going around in my neighborhood, I guess these threads are good for something.

 

Why so serious Jerry? Relax. This isn't the Honda forums.

I let you know about search and Google because the questions you're asking about your mods are clearly a copy & paste function related to search and Google. Much of everything has been covered in more ways than one to include opinions.

The fourth sticky in the section talks about where to post things if you didn't know before.

 

 

Lol, your a clown
I used to be on the Honda forums especially for the fact
That I used to own a k swap 94 hatchback up until it got stolen from me,
So I guess that's where my attitude comes into play. I see so many other users posting new threads and getting many responses back, but I haven't got a single hint on what I could do to my vehicle. I'm
Not here to fight, Ill just read the forums and that's it. I'm an officer of both state and country, there's no need for me to get verbal.

 

Great site. A lot of useful information here.

 

My advice, pending all the necessary maintenance is done as well as preventative, is the following:

- Rear Sway bar, Way as well as many others recommend the HSport Competition Bar (I just got mine, going in when I install my Koni Sports and new Front Control arm bushings).

Then, since you already have the 17% pulley, Alta CAI, and NGK Plugs, if you can get the money to do so, buy some JCW 380cc injectors, maybe a header of some nature, and see if you can get in on this https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...ct-2012-a.html since it's in Norwich and isn't that far from NY. This will make the car run better overall and have a little more zip to it!

From there, it's totally up to you, Coilovers? Koni Struts (FSD's or Sports)? Lowering Springs? More HP.. all depends on what you want to do with the car.

I am imagining that the roads up in NY aren't the greatest (I'm originally from CT and ventured to NY quite a few times), so coilovers or stiff suspension may not be that enjoyable.

Also I glanced at your other thread, if you're getting a lot of hatch noise, consider getting a rear strut brace of some nature. M7 has their rear chassis brace (expensive) or outmotoring has a cheap one. I got the cheap one, will be installing next week, hoping it takes some of the creaks out my hatch area.

 

Jerry, it looks like your R53 is already off to an incredible start with the mods you and your Godfather have done.

When you ask for suggestions about what you could do with your car, maybe we could help more with specifics, if we knew what your ultimate goals might be for it?

Do you want it to be a:
• just a cool daily driver
• stealthy street car
• canyon-carving twisty-lovin' sled
• flashy show car
• SCCA autocross champion
• track car
• rally car
• drag racer

These are just some of the possibilities, (though some are less fitting for a MINI than others). Maybe it isn't just one of these listed, but multiple?

Again, knowing where and how you're going to be driving it will help us all to help you.

 

Also, from your gallery, I see that your stock "S-Lite" wheels were repainted, (or better yet, powder coated, hopefully). The S-Lite wheels, while paying a nice homage to the traditional British S-lite style wheel, are notoriously heavy. They add a lot of weight to the 4 corners.

That makes me also wonder if they're the stock run-flat tires?

Many folks, (myself included), have seen the great benefits of "ditching the run-flats" as we say here on these boards. The idea of a run-flat tire is great. I'm all for that technology. But unfortunately, the technology yields a tire that is uncomfortably harsh and unforgiving over uneven, pot-holed pavement. When put onto a car with a short wheelbase, and where all 4 wheels are way out in the corners, the effect is amplified. Every time you hit a pot hole, you lose fillings in your molars, while you slip 3 discs in your lumbar.

Ditching the run-flats for standard tires gives you a noticeably more comfortable ride. That is why so many people here on NAM swear by this practice. The only unfortunate result is the potential blown tire means you're flatbedding the car to a shop, instead of changing the tire on the roadside, because you have no spare tire.

Some folks carry a can of fix-a-flat or bottle of Slime in their boots, (MINI-speak for Trunk), along with a 12-volt powered portable air compressor.

So my long-winded advice is this: ditch the run-flats if you still have 'em, get some standard construction tires, and wrap them on some sick-looking new, lighter wheels, then get some slime and a compressor.

 

Ok, blue2turbo to answer ALL that great information you have sent me. The rear hatch noise is definitely the most unbearable thing with my car. Like I previously mentioned, every bump and switch of pavement in the road brings about creaks and squeaks. Now is there any main difference between the Rear Strut Brace and the m7 Under Strut System. I know the m7 goes on the bottom of the car making it stiffer, but what should I give a chance first for the fixing of the hatch noise? The RCB doesn't even come close to the suspension points, so what possible good does it do.....? It does not attach at the rear strut towers. It attaches to the interior body shell at the rear seat latches, not an optimum location by any definition.

As for the injectors, I will buy them in time. When I first got the car I modded the whole vehicle and spend a plentiful amount of cash. I will be saving up for the injectors and air ride & a GAIC chip, that’s pretty much all that’s on my list, there is no way I’m going to put coil-overs with the roads we have here in Queens NY.


To jonnieoh, my car would be a mix between just a cool daily driver and a flashy show car. I unfortunately don’t have a second car as a daily driver so sometimes I get iffy on messing with suspension mods etc, because I do not want to ruin the original feel of the car. Do I make sense? I’m also not SO handy with tools, so I always have to be asking friends for help, and it kind of gets annoying at times, for the both of us. I just want LOW END power, I want to be boosting in the 20’s 25’s, I don’t care about top speed.

Also I did get the stock wheels powder coated & I am so happy with the result. I would love to either put those wheels on a new set of tires because I hate the run-flats. They give the car the worst feel when driving or use them as my winter wheels & get some summer wheels, but again that will cost me a good amount of cash. Any tips on what I might be able to do. I'm leaning towards just getting 4 near tires for the S-stock wheels, What do you think?

 

Ok, blue2turbo to answer ALL that great information you have sent me. The rear hatch noise is definitely the most unbearable thing with my car. Like I previously mentioned, every bump and switch of pavement in the road brings about creaks and squeaks. Now is there any main difference between the Rear Strut Brace and the m7 Under Strut System. I know the m7 goes on the bottom of the car making it stiffer, but what should I give a chance first for the fixing of the hatch noise? The RCB doesn't even come close to the suspension points, so what possible good does it do.....? It does not attach at the rear strut towers. It attaches to the interior body shell at the rear seat latches, not an optimum location by any definition.
As for the injectors, I will buy them in time. When I first got the car I modded the whole vehicle and spend a plentiful amount of cash. I will be saving up for the injectors and air ride & a GAIC chip, that’s pretty much all that’s on my list, there is no way I’m going to put coil-overs with the roads we have here in Queens NY.

 

To jonnieoh, my car would be a mix between just a cool daily driver and a flashy show car. I unfortunately don’t have a second car as a daily driver so sometimes I get iffy on messing with suspension mods etc, because I do not want to ruin the original feel of the car. Do I make sense? I’m also not SO handy with tools, so I always have to be asking friends for help, and it kind of gets annoying at times, for the both of us. I just want LOW END power, I want to be boosting in the 20’s 25’s, I don’t care about top speed.

Also I did get the stock wheels powder coated & I am so happy with the result. I would love to either put those wheels on a new set of tires because I hate the run-flats. They give the car the worst feel when driving or use them as my winter wheels & get some summer wheels, but again that will cost me a good amount of cash. Any tips on what I might be able to do. I'm leaning towards just getting 4 near tires for the S-stock wheels, What do you think? __________________

 

when we say google is your friend, we dont mean anything by it.

good luck with the mini. 8k is incredibly low. Im jealous.

 

Congrats on your 04 MCS.
I also have one, but with 76k on the clock.
I would make one additional recommendation for your car.
Living in Queens, NY, the strut towers are prone to mushrooming with the rougher pavement of the city.
I would get some strut tower reinforcement plates installed.

I live in VA and took my first trip to NYC last year.
I hit a hefty pothole at the GW toll plaza which mushroomed my left tower. I just purchased an M7 reinforcement plate that will be installed in due time after I bang the tower back to normal....

Just a thought....
Again - great pickup...Enjoy...!!!

 

Thanks brother,
& trust me I know. Once I joined the forums and did some research on common problems, mushrooming came up. I instantly purchased a DINAN strut tower brace, polished it up and torqued it onto the MINI for peice of mind. The only thing I'm looking to fix now is a clunking issue I posted another thread about coming from my front right passenger side fender... Many NAM members said it could be the motor mounts ( I dont understand how?) & my brakes squealing. Simple issues with a major annoyance you know?