Hey Guys and Gals,
I've been reading NAM for a while now, and just picked up a 2005 R53, 58k miles about 2 months ago.

Coming from a BMW background to a MINI has been a blast, and NAM has already been a good resource for my mods.

So anyway, here it is "The Tesseract"

Mods:

Alta CAI
Alta 15% pulley
Hertz Audio sound system
NGK Wires
JCW plugs
R56 S Front Brakes
Tein Suspension
16x8 et25 Avid.1 AV19 (front is et 22 up front, wouldn't clear calipers with these wheels without a spacer)
Dunlop DZ102 205/45/16

Future:
Tint
Headers
Exhaust
Meth Injection

Thanks, and motor on.

 

Nice clean MINI.

(note to self, I need wheels)

 

Nice MINI!

 

Thanks guys.

I agree, wheels and stance make all the difference for these little guys

 

you don't have wheels after all these years?

 

I did for awhile, but gave them to my son for his CRX awhile back and never got new ones.....

 

I had a 91 CRX Si, Tahitian Green Pearl...loved it !!!

 

It was an 89 Si, panted flat black and lowered. It was originally my dads car, he gave it to my son when he turned 16. Unfortunately some a**hat on some kind of substance turned head on into him a few years later. Everyone was fine, but it ended the CRX's life at 480,000 miles.

I miss that car. My dad bought it when I was in high school......

 

The MINI is a good reminder of it...almost like an evolution.
I have driven a CRX for about 17 years. Totally different engineering when it comes to working on them for so long.

 

You don't need wheels. Don't fall into the pit!

 

Everyone needs wheels!

 

Added an MSD Coil and 75mm Stud Conversion today, getting a tint this week and now that the suspension has settled in a bit Ill post some better shots

 

A 22mm or larger rear sway bar will brighten your smile.

 

Any recommendations?

 

You really can't go wrong with any ECS or WMW sells. Personally, I'll be getting the Hotchkis (H-Sport) 25.5mm RSB because it's light and functions like a 22mm. It's also 3-way adjustable and doesn't really need to be greased.

 

Super clean R53, congrats.


Rear sway bar has to be one of the top upgrades for the R53, We carry allot from AC Schnitzer, hotchkis, and whiteline. Superpro even has one one. H&R just has the 22mm left now.


https://www.ecstuning.com/Mini-2005-Cooper-R53-S-Coupe-L4_1.6L_W11B16A/Suspension/Sway_Bar/2

 

I've done hundreds of sway bar installs and can tell you from real experience the Hsport Comp bar is by far the best. It is lightweight, easy install with the steel brackets, nice zerk fittings, bushings actually have a channel to hold the grease in and they don't make noise. Plus it is the biggest bang for buck handling mod. With other bars we ran into fitment issues, or they would be noisy within weeks of install due to poor quality on the bar or bushings.

http://www.waymotorworks.com/h-sport...-sway-bar.html

 

I've been looking at the Alta 22mm or the H&R 22mm, which is "better" i know the Alta has 3 holes and H&R has 2, but once you find a etting you like then the extra holes do nothing.. What about noise? Grease? those are more what im wondering about.

 

That seems pretty nice too, and comparable to the pricing of the others I've looked at

 

If you're going to get one, just get that one. An RSB is not something that needs to be overthought.

 

Looks great Enormous! My 04 I just picked up has the same paint scheme, though chrome cap. 79,000 miles, and I can't stop grinning.

Drive Hard. Drive Safe. Keep Grinning.

 

Out of those two I'd go H&R as it will be better quality, and better bushings. Seems like every alta bar we see is making noise.
http://www.waymotorworks.com/h-r-adj...-sway-bar.html

But I still stand by my original recommendation that the Hsport is the best, and be lighter than either of those with effectively the same rate. That is the advantage of being a larger hollow bar. It's the same stiffness as the solid 22mm bar but doesn't weight 14lbs.
http://www.waymotorworks.com/h-sport...-sway-bar.html

 

Thanks for the advice everyone, I will add a H-Sport RSB to my "To-Do" list.

It's hotter than hell where I live (95° today and it was 110° a day ago) so Meth injection is probably going to stay ahead of the RSB for the time being

 

I have a 19mm Alta rear sway bar and I love it. So far no noise and I like having 3 options. I run the stiffest for autocrossing (usually) and the car really will rotate, especially if I lift off abruptly in a mid/high speed corner. (Trailing throttle oversteer) I run the softest setting in winter so I don't have to deal with the back end trying to pass me when it snows. I don't think I'd like a stiffer bar but I've never tried a 22mm

 

What mm spacers are you running?