I’ve been a R53 guy for a long time but just picked up a low mileage (74k) R50, 5 speed. Other than need to bleed the brakes and clutch ( little tough getting into reverse), what do I need to know.

What’s the usual items I’ll need to look at? I’ll be doing a tune up, strut mounts, oil change and air filter of course this week.

The coolant is not the blue BMW, so I guess I need to do a drain and flush.

Where else should I spend my money? Lol

They're mostly just a slightly more reliable R53, unless you have a Midlands gearbox - the Getrags are better. The coolant tanks don't explode, no supercharger or gear-driven water pump, different crank pulley. Easier to work on, too, without the supercharger and intercooler to deal with. Not all compatible coolants are blue, so it could be fine.

My 2006 R50 daily driver is coming up on 297000 miles. Do the regular maintenance with Original or O.E.M parts and it will be just fine.

Is the coolant supposed to be the blue BMW coolant? I took off the cap and it green but the overflow looks like dexcool.

The spec is the same stuff that the R53 uses - a HOAT, IIRC.

If you are used to a r53, there isn't going to be a whole lot of differences. Others already have said the main ones, I hope for you you picked a post facelift one (or one where the "weak link", aka the gearbox, has been fixed).

Coolant color is the source of a lot of debate, but in the end, for street driving, it comes down to choosing one that won't damage aluminum parts. A good explanation here: https://www.lohen.co.uk/blog/which-c...n-my-mini.html
Bottom line: color doesn't matter, what's important is that it's HOAT and changed every 2 years. As with every fluid, if you don't know when it was last changed, the right time to change it is now.

And just like for r53, "lifetime fluid" is a lie. Change your power steering and transmission fluids every once in a while. I can attest that changing power steering fluid makes a difference in how hard you have to fight the wheel (and thus how hard the pump has to work).

Junk the exhaust. Keep nothing. I've only ever tuned NA engines, my R53 is my first supercharged vehicle. Every car i've worked on has been badly restricted by the stock exhaust system. Bad headers,bad join sections & bad mufflers. R50 is no exception.

So far none of the performance exhausts for mini's i've seen have good mixers, where 2 pipes join into 1, but the ratios of primary to secondary looked not too bad on the JCW R50 kit system pictures.

Besides junking the exhaust, second easiest single thing to perk it up is dropping in a good road cam. Regardless of what any other weak area / restriction the standard power band has, its dominated by the cam. I would be willing to bet the airbox also has some tiny little hole its sucking thru, I know the R53 ones is puny.

Any big increases in breathing will require remapping. If you don't need a remap then your exhaust isn't really doing anything.

I'm confused. I assume you're talking about the exhaust manifold, but there never was a JCW header for the R50, was there? I thought both the sound kit and the tuning kit only had cat-backs.

The picture ive seen was in a JCW brochure. It could have been for the R53. The JCW R50 package only added 11 hp, so it could very well have been cat back only.

Huh. I didn't think the R53 JCW packages had a header either, but I've never looked closely into everything that was produced.

From the JCW Register website, no header was included as part of the R50 JCW tuning kit:
Guide to the John Cooper works Tuning and Sound Kits for the R50 generation of the Mini Cooper R50 Tuning Kit (Dealer Fit)

Whereas from the same source, tubular headers were shown as part of R50 & R53 John Cooper Motorsport Clubsport track packages available through John Cooper Garages:
John Cooper Works Clubsport

Ooh. Okay. That header is a nice looking bit of kit. I was wondering if it might have been something motorsports related, but I didn’t realize the challenge parts were sold as a kit.

I had an R50 from 2004 to 2019.
Mods:
Megan Racing Euro 2 coilover
https://meganracing.com/suspension/t...-cdk-mc02-4445
The MR Euro 2's were also nice and would have lasted a good 5 years of DD and once a year track days..

Megan Racing cat back exhaust
https://www.ecstuning.com/b-megan-ra...BoCGbcQAvD_BwE
The MR cat back was nice; not too loud, not too quiet. Looks good as well and may still be the least expensive one available.

Vibra-technic upper motor mount
https://www.vibra-technics.co.uk/mini_bmw
Vibra-technic is a one and never do it again mod. Go to their .co.uk site and not their .com site. You will save nearly $90 USD if you do; and that includes shipping. They sent it 3 day mail to me for $36USD and I still saved about $90.

aFe Magnum Force Stage 1 CAI w/Pro 5R filter
https://afepower.com/afe-power-54-10...-intake-system
The aFe wasn't a true CAI but it was mostly closed off from the rest of the engine compartment. It did seal against the bonnet.

Do find a nice light set of 16x7 wheels though. The much wider width wheel really allows for more use of the chassis inherent stiffness. The stock 15x5.5 wheels get overwhelmed very quickly.

The aFe was my favorite mod. The video below, the audio, is why. Yes, that is what the car actually sounded like with the stock header, cat back and the aFe. The mic was under the bonnet next to the ECU but that is unedited raw audio and video.

That is me and my old R50 on my very first track day in the sig.