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I've been considering converting from the xenon low beams to LED and poked around in my headlight housing to confirm the bulb type. I know xenon bulbs use a "D" prefix and "R" or "S" suffix for reflectors or projectors respectively. Realoem and parts catalogs say the OEM bulbs are D2S for the facelift projector housings, but my bulbs are D1S. They have an aluminum box underneath the bulb and a different connector to the D2. Maybe my ballasts/bulbs aren't original? Does anyone else have D1 xenons?
So the car has been basically parked since the lockdown started. It makes me sad to have to leave it sitting outside all day every day, but that's how it has to be for awhile. Can anyone recommend a good car cover or give me some other advice for outdoor storage? The OEM cover is NLA and seems to get poor reviews anyway.
Been purchasing Coverking silverguard custom fit covers for the cars that sit outside. Previously been getting them from Walmart, but they've recently slapped on a $50 freight delivery charge on their item. These covers last about 2 years with use everyday outside here in the SF Bay Area.
I tried the waffle weave type covers and they tend to decompose faster and also if you accidentally drop it on the ground (and you will), it will pick up all sorts of crap that will scratch your paint.
Recently found the same Coverking custom cover from Carid.com for about $110 for the R53 so with any luck it will show up in a couple of weeks and protect the car as it sits outside for extended periods of time. I like this cover since it doesn't scratch, it's light and has held up better than the others mentioned earlier. You do have to be pretty rigorous in terms of keeping the car clean and dust free if you are going to use a cover though. Spray detail and a wipe with micro fiber towel are mandatory before you put the cover on.
Been purchasing Coverking silverguard custom fit covers for the cars that sit outside. Previously been getting them from Walmart, but they've recently slapped on a $50 freight delivery charge on their item. These covers last about 2 years with use everyday outside here in the SF Bay Area.
I tried the waffle weave type covers and they tend to decompose faster and also if you accidentally drop it on the ground (and you will), it will pick up all sorts of crap that will scratch your paint.
Recently found the same Coverking custom cover from Carid.com for about $110 for the R53 so with any luck it will show up in a couple of weeks and protect the car as it sits outside for extended periods of time. I like this cover since it doesn't scratch, it's light and has held up better than the others mentioned earlier. You do have to be pretty rigorous in terms of keeping the car clean and dust free if you are going to use a cover though. Spray detail and a wipe with micro fiber towel are mandatory before you put the cover on.
Carid shows several Coverking covers, which are you referring to? Let me know how fitment goes.
If the fitment is like the others I have purchased, they fit snug and follow the contours of the body. Once it shows up, I'll take a pic of the coverage.
If the fitment is like the others I have purchased, they fit snug and follow the contours of the body. Once it shows up, I'll take a pic of the coverage.
Decided to stay off campus for this semester, so the car will stay parked for another half-year at best. Went ahead and ordered the CoverKing Zsm linked. It arrived today so I cleaned the car as best I could and added a few ounces of Star-Tron before filling up the tank. Disconnected the battery and put the cover on. The fit is decent and I'm confident it'll hold up. It doesn't really hug the car anywhere except the extremities, but I suppose that's all that really matters.
Nice job. I received my cover in July, but it was cut for an R50 and did not fit well. The rear wing on the R53 is the big difference.
The cover you got looks like it fits perfectly. What were the the selections you chose?
Hey Zsm, thanks again for the suggestion. Looking again, I actually ended up ordering the Silverguard Plus. When I selected, I believe "S" was included with the other option packs like Chili and Salt, but now they appear to be separated. My order shows that it fits all those anyway.
Here's another shot from the back. The tailpipe exits are covered. I also removed the antenna, though I think the cover is provisioned so you could leave it on. Easy enough to take off though.
Rained hard for several hours last night. The cover appears to fit closer to the car this morning, and it's quite wet underneath. The cover is meant to be breathable and I suppose without exposure to the sun, it should be allowed to evaporate without staining the paint.
Cover's holding up and I'm getting my driving fix from another vehicle in the meantime, seen in the background here. I did have a no-crank condition a few weeks ago when I needed the car and that was only after 2 weeks of not driving with the battery disconnected. A little disconcerting, but it fired once charged. Hopefully I won't need it again at a moments notice.
You'll likely get at least 2.5 years out of the cover. So glad the cover fits your R53 nicely.
We've had a lot of heat and ash lately and the covers have been protecting our cars with the challenging exposure. Apparently, ash + water can be quite a caustic etching catastrophe.
No pics, but I took the liberty of doing a 6-month checkup today to see how the MINI is holding up. The cover is a little grungy, and there are miniature spiders crawling around on the inside, but nothing concerning. The exterior could still pass for having been freshly washed. The interior, however, was a little moldy. Small spots had popped up on the leather and rubber surfaces; nothing a splash of water and a rag couldn't take off in one swipe, but makes me wonder if I'm doing something wrong. I did notice when I was getting ready to button up that the driver's window was slightly low on the top part of the door seal, but I hadn't hooked the battery up so the little jolt the MINI gives to slightly roll the window up/down when opening/closing the door shouldn't have fired. I'm pretty sure I wouldn't have messed that up when I put the cover on last 6 months ago, so I'm not sure what gives there either.
Well folks, back with some more mystery problems. I took the car out of storage for the fall semester in August and it drove better than I remember. Had to replace the battery (again) a few weeks ago, and the following trip to school culminated in a few stalls after I pulled off the highway, but it seems to be doing okay now. I noticed that the recirculation button on the A/C appeared to have no effect the other day. Pressing it would light the LED, but I could not hear the actuator moving the recirculation flap and it was obvious that recirculation was stuck on, though I suppose that is its failure position. I pulled out the glovebox and checked the actuator; no operation. Luckily, dad's still got his R50 so I swapped actuators expecting the problem to be resolved, but no dice. Still no operation. Pulled out the laptop and pulled codes from the BC1 and there were like 20 errors in memory, though I stupidly cleared them before checking which were current. After clearing, 3 returned immediately: LWR front and rear errors (don't know what that means, turn signal issues?), and a short in the recirculation circuit. Next, I attempted to cycle the recirculation from within the BC1, but this actually caused both the Xenon leveling motors to operate! They both dip down before returning to their original position after a second or so when I cycle the recirculation. I'm so confused.
Back with another short report on the R53. Made no headway on the recirculation operation; just can't be bothered, I hardly run A/C anyways. It is nice to get blowthrough cooling in the cooler months with recirculate off, but oh well...
Front brakes began squeaking last month so I weighed my options for an upgrade again. I had planned to fork over the $1200 for a nice Wilwood 4-piston kit, but I really can't justify it so I decided to do the R56S upgrade. Spent $450 on the following for the upgrade:
- used r56 calipers/carriers (from Allmag Auto Parts, great parts store in Florida that buys/strips MINIs, BMWs, Land Rovers) - raybestos caliper seal kits - brembo 294mm plain face rotors - brembo oe pads - uro pad wear sensors - ecs exact fit ss lines
Also slapped the ECS SS lines I had already bought for the rear on, had them sitting in my garage for years. I expected the new brake feel to be softer with some more bite, and I think that's what I got. Did not do a max effort stop on the way back.
To elaborate, I was a little concerned when I noticed it only took moderate pressure to bottom out the pedal. However, took a couple opportunities to stop from ~35 mph at 80% brake pressure and it felt super strong. I think I recall ABS activating in situations where I wouldn't expect it, like fairly hard slows on dry ground, and that seems to be gone. Perhaps I had a sticky piston in one of the old calipers?
I'll try to get up to using all the stroke from a faster speed on my way home tonight, but I think it might put me into the wheel.
How do you compare the pedal feel to the factory R53 brakes? When we did the R56 brakes, pedal feel felt a little softer and more pedal travel, but the car definitely still stops well - just different.
It’s been a while since we did the mod so it’s good to read your feedback as it sounds similar to what we experienced.
How do you compare the pedal feel to the factory R53 brakes? When we did the R56 brakes, pedal feel felt a little softer and more pedal travel, but the car definitely still stops well - just different.
It’s been a while since we did the mod so it’s good to read your feedback as it sounds similar to what we experienced.
Yes, I had read that's how it would feel and I agree. I did some more stops on the way home tonight from ~60 mph and maybe 90% brake pressure at the end. It felt strong and smooth with little ABS activation (roads were fairly smooth too though). I actually think I prefer the softer pedal because it makes me feel like I have more control; the brake force feels like it ramps exponentially now, where moderate stops didn't use much travel with the R53 brakes/master. I still get enough bite to slow normally at low travel and it feels more "correct" to have to go deeper in the pedal stroke to get more power (and the power is definitely there).
More battery issues, yet again (at least I'm hoping). Car has been behaving oddly recently. One start a few weeks ago was extremely rough and the car took some time to settle to a normal idle. Several times over the past month or so, the car has completely shut down on key off, as if the battery disconnects. Radio resets, trip resets, speedo needle flutters etc. Does it even after driving a decent amount with the battery running at 14v. Two days ago, the power steering failed during a parking maneuver. Haven't driven since then and the battery was down to a little over 11v when I checked today.
With that being said, what batteries are y'all running nowadays? This thing is only 1.5 years old, but it's from NAPA so I'm not all that surprised. Just hoping these issues are all related and ANOTHER fresh battery will solve them together.
Back with another short report on the R53. Made no headway on the recirculation operation; just can't be bothered, I hardly run A/C anyways. It is nice to get blowthrough cooling in the cooler months with recirculate off, but oh well...
Front brakes began squeaking last month so I weighed my options for an upgrade again. I had planned to fork over the $1200 for a nice Wilwood 4-piston kit, but I really can't justify it so I decided to do the R56S upgrade. Spent $450 on the following for the upgrade:
- used r56 calipers/carriers (from Allmag Auto Parts, great parts store in Florida that buys/strips MINIs, BMWs, Land Rovers) - raybestos caliper seal kits - brembo 294mm plain face rotors - brembo oe pads - uro pad wear sensors - ecs exact fit ss lines
Also slapped the ECS SS lines I had already bought for the rear on, had them sitting in my garage for years. I expected the new brake feel to be softer with some more bite, and I think that's what I got. Did not do a max effort stop on the way back.
I know you've been on my 06 build thread, but putting a link here in case anyone interested in excruciating detail on brake pedal issues. I got the Willwood kit and installed an E46 M3 master cylinder. Reading your posts, you would hate it because it's pretty darn sensitive. But I finally solved the excessive pedal travel problem. Also note, not sure how much longer the Willwood kit will be available. When I was looking, quite a few places were sold out. It might be out of production. https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...cw-thread.html
I know you've been on my 06 build thread, but putting a link here in case anyone interested in excruciating detail on brake pedal issues. I got the Willwood kit and installed an E46 M3 master cylinder. Reading your posts, you would hate it because it's pretty darn sensitive. But I finally solved the excessive pedal travel problem. Also note, not sure how much longer the Willwood kit will be available. When I was looking, quite a few places were sold out. It might be out of production. https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...cw-thread.html
Thanks for the information! Looks like you've got a great brake setup now.
