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Finally got the second application of ceramic coating on the wheels and got them on the car (just a few minutes ago). I'm very happy with them. You can't see it in this photo but the Gen 3 center caps I used have a small red ring around the perimeter -- it's a nice touch.
Here's a closeup.
Last edited by dmath; Aug 3, 2022 at 01:43 PM.
Reason: Added another photo.
I just finished watching the video below a 2nd time with interest. The detailer stated he worked on that R53 more than 20 hrs, so curious on total cost for labor and products! I did DIY to mine but not nearly as intensively, using Mr Pink car wash and Meguiars products. All by hand, 'cus I don't trust myself with an orbital machine. My buddy and I are assessing work needed on his 2006 Checkmate JCW with just 6k total miles (combo of pro PDR on 2 small ding dents, pro paint correction plus DIY).
@MCS4FUN That's a great video. Not many car videos I watch have high production values but this one does. Also, the work he does on the car is stellar.
Detailing can become quite a rabbit hole. Every now and then I visit the detailing forums at Autopia. Good group of people there and the information is first rate. That's where I learned about the wheel coating I used (Kamikaze Stance Rim Coat 3.0). Inevitably, when I visit I end up spending a lot more time than intended browsing various threads.
^^^ That pro detailer has quite the video library of cars he has worked on and I've watched a few - all done very well. IIRC, he uses his residential garage fully kitted for such work, which then reverts to domestic duties when the customer's car is gone. Nothing like that in my small town - just typical wash 'n wax mobile services.
Same is true here -- no local detailer I would let work on my car. There's a first-rate guy in Madison (2 hours away) and another in Minneapolis (2.5 hours away), far enough that there are logistics involved in going to either of them. Next Spring I'm planning to have a full paint correction done and probably a ceramic coating. I had thought about doing it myself but don't have experience and don't want to experiment on my favorite car.
It was one year ago today that my car arrived on a trailer from Connecticut. Because of engine problems of unknown severity, I didn't start it that day but instead coasted it off of the trailer, down the driveway and into the garage. The time since that inauspicious start has been full of failures and successes, frustrations and satisfactions. There have been bloody knuckles, sore backs, and assorted other maladies. There were days when I wondered if I'd made a huge mistake and saddled myself with a money pit that would never become a functioning motor vehicle. But there was always just enough light at the end of the tunnel to keep me moving forward. Significant mission creep meant that there was always plenty of forward to move to.
A year later, it is not only a functioning motor vehicle but a really good car. Every time I drive it, I involuntary grin like an idiot when the supercharger whines. It's more fun than any other car I've owned. I invested more time and money than I could have expected but the sense of satisfaction more than makes up for any difficulties or investment. I'd argue that you can't put a price tag on that.
I want to thank those here and other contributors to the Mini community for considerable help without which I couldn't have gotten to this point. I'm looking forward to continuing the journey.
My wife’s first car was an R50 that she picked out and bought. When she went looking for a car, she looked at a number of small cars. When it came to the MINI she merely sat in the car in the showroom and said this is the one. And the smiles have never stopped.
Congratulations on finding yours and enjoyment it brings...
It was one year ago today that my car arrived on a trailer from Connecticut. Because of engine problems of unknown severity, I didn't start it that day but instead coasted it off of the trailer, down the driveway and into the garage. The time since that inauspicious start has been full of failures and successes, frustrations and satisfactions. There have been bloody knuckles, sore backs, and assorted other maladies. There were days when I wondered if I'd made a huge mistake and saddled myself with a money pit that would never become a functioning motor vehicle. But there was always just enough light at the end of the tunnel to keep me moving forward. Significant mission creep meant that there was always plenty of forward to move to.
A year later, it is not only a functioning motor vehicle but a really good car. Every time I drive it, I involuntary grin like an idiot when the supercharger whines. It's more fun than any other car I've owned. I invested more time and money than I could have expected but the sense of satisfaction more than makes up for any difficulties or investment. I'd argue that you can't put a price tag on that.
I want to thank those here and other contributors to the Mini community for considerable help without which I couldn't have gotten to this point. I'm looking forward to continuing the journey.
Very well said!
I can totally relate.
My R53 anniversary is Good Friday of 2018 and since then I've driven it 60,000 miles so far and although some bumps in the road along the way made me question my sanity, I've came to the same conclusion as you, that the overall sense of satisfaction is such a great reward and ultimately priceless despite the minor tribulations on the rollercoaster of ownership.
It's more fun than any other car I've owned. I invested more time and money than I could have expected but the sense of satisfaction more than makes up for any difficulties or investment. I'd argue that you can't put a price tag on that.
Bravo!! My anniversary for the R50 was a year ago too.
I could not have said it any better. I feel the same way about my R50. Not the most wanted model and a little beat up but more fun than I could have ever imagined.
When I bought my car, it wore Bridgestone Potenza S-04 tires. I wasn't particularly impressed with them but didn't have experience with any other tire on an R53. Being a Michelin fan, when I ordered new wheels, I added a set of Michelin Pilot Super Sports (unfortunately, the newer Pilot Sport 4S is not available in 205/45 17). I've now driven enough miles with the new tires to compare them to the Bridgestones.
I notice two differences of note.
1. The Michelins provide better grip resulting in better cornering. I rarely drive at the limit so this impression is in spirited (for an old guy) driving but nothing track-like.
2. The Michelins make the car feel more planted in general and less harsh over road imperfections.
Given my affinity for Michelins, my observations may not be entirely objective but I did wait a while, so as not to post first impressions, and try to evaluate fairly. And to demonstrate that I'm not entirely biased, on two of our cars I run Bridgestone Blizzaks in winter.
I too have been running on Bridgestone Potenza S-04 tires for 12 years now. I don't know modern tires too well these days so I was easily "sold" on these tires = 2wice!
I've disliked them from day 1.
#1_ they are summer warm climate tires. Fine when I lived in FLA
#2_I literally had to run my tire pressure @30 psi. Otherwise I would smoke the tires starting out on every incline.
#3_I never thought I'd ever see snow again. They are definitely don't work in 1"-2" of snow. Equally retarded in wet rainy conditions.
#4_Even when new - I could smell rubber at freeway speeds. Always concerned it might be my crank pulley about disintegrate...
#4_Neither set have lasted over 25k mi.
I am due for new tires.
Tires can be a big PIA. And there are some bad ones out there. There are also some good ones. If you are going to going to experience snow of any amount, and don’t want to be switching to a dedicated snow tire, an all season tire is your only option. Any tire listed as a “summer” tire will be useless in any snow and maybe useless in cold (<40 deg) rain. Finding a good tire, All Season in particular, isn’t the easiest thing to do. One option is to look up tires on Tire Rack and read their tire tests and read their owner’s reviews. I also like watching this guy’s tire reviews:
Keep in mind that this video is of European tires and some of the tires are named something else in the States or not available here. However, it is worth watching as it gives a really good idea of the range of tires that are out there. This guy has done State side tire testing (sorry didn’t have one handy), that would worth looking up.
Keep in mind, also, that the MINI can be hard one the front tires, so tire mileage can be a bit on the low side.
Take your time looking into this before buying. It will be worth it.
Hope this helps a little and good luck in finding some good ones.
^^^ Agreed on Jonathan Benson's "Tyre Reviews". I watched several of his videos before settling on Mich PS4S in 215/45R17. Yes, a summer tire but I don't drive my R53 in winter weather conditions plus PS4S do quite well with tread sipes to maintain road traction in rain, as confirmed during a heavy monsoon downpour week before last. Not avail in OEM size 205/45R17 and relatively spendy compared to Mich's All Season versions.
BTW, one filmed in USA was this one (with my runner-up tire choice) on Corvette C8...
Thanks dmath, Eddie075 & MCS4FUN..
I sourced Tirerack months ago. Much larger selection, price and provided DATA than brick & mortars these days.
' Going with AS. I have 3 choices I like/affordable, in a holding pattern for purchase in the next couple of weeks.
Can't go wrong with PSS or PS4S; I've got a set of PS4S tires on my daily and they're a huge improvement over the PSS that came standard on them. Another option is the Firehawk Indy 500 tires. I've got a set on my R53 and while not as good as the Michelin, has ample grip and isn't too loud or as expensive.
If running 17” wheels, for sure go with the 215-45 tire. That size will open up a lot of options and will have no ill effects on the car.
I thought I'd read that it was important to stick with stock size with my wheels due to the ET38 offset, rather than the stock wheel ET45. Maybe I'm wrong. No matter, I'm very pleased with the PSS.
Monday the car goes into the body shop for a replacement front bumper, a respray of the rear bumper, and a few paintless dent repairs. The front bumper has a gash in it from a parking lot incident prior to my ownership. It's bugged me from the beginning but it took a while for it to rise to the top of the stack. I don't want to drill holes in the new bumper for the front license plate so I ordered a tow hook mount. In a couple of years we may move to a state without front plates. If so, I'll be able to remove the front plate and not have to look at the holes every time I see the car.
I thought I'd read that it was important to stick with stock size with my wheels due to the ET38 offset, rather than the stock wheel ET45. Maybe I'm wrong. No matter, I'm very pleased with the PSS.
The PSS are a great tire. Good you are happy with them.
An ET 38 wheel with 215 tires is what I run on my R56 with no issues. I have also run 225s on those wheels. I know, not the same car. However, the R53 and R56 are very similar, with not a lot of difference in the wheel wells, and based on the tire sized friends have put on their R53s, all the way up to 225s, I would not hesitate to put 215s on an ET38 wheel on the R53. It is not so much for a performance change as it is for opening up options for different tires. The stock 205s are fine for the car. I run that size on my JCW.
Last edited by Eddie07S; Aug 24, 2022 at 06:03 AM.
Reason: Clarification
I promise to not bore everyone with tire testing and I am not trying to sell anyone on Michelin tires... But this video does a lot to explain the difference between different levels of tires within the same brand. The European tire designations are used in this video. The State side designations would be Max performance for the 4S, Ultra High performance for the 5 and the Primicy is a Grand Touring.
Honestly, for the street I am happy with the Grand Touring level of tire on my JCW, which is what I would consider the Continental DW tire to be, although I think Conti would classify it at a higher performance level than that...
Last edited by Eddie07S; Aug 24, 2022 at 11:55 AM.
Reason: Typo
Got the car back from the body shop today. Took about twice as long as planned but that was my fault -- I asked them to do a couple of things we hadn't originally discussed and waiting for the parts took a little while. I'm really pleased with the results. A 19 year-old car isn't going to look perfect without an intensive detail (planed for next Spring) but it's a huge improvement.
The front bumper is new and the rear bumper was repaired. The paint job on both is amazing. I had them add the front spoiler and bottom lip (Mini calls it a trim panel). On early gen 1 cars like mine, replacing the front spoiler requires replacing the pieces that go up to meet the black trim around the wheel opening (because the spoiler changed). They also did some pointless dent repair. I'll post photos tomorrow.
