Project R53 :: 2006 MINI Cooper S

Discussion in 'Member Garages' started by Zillon, Nov 30, 2015.

  1. Zillon

    Zillon Well-Known Member

    Jul 12, 2014
    702
    632
    93
    Central NJ
    Ratings:
    +633 / 0 / -0
    2006 MINI Cooper S (2015-11-30 22:26:25)
     
  2. Zillon

    Zillon Well-Known Member

    Jul 12, 2014
    702
    632
    93
    Central NJ
    Ratings:
    +633 / 0 / -0
    Meet the replacement for GP0173.

    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]

    Needs:
    - Cooling fan
    - Passenger side motor mount
    - Glovebox latch
    - 3rd brake light
    - Front hood emblem
    - Sunroof gasket
    - Sunroof front glass
    - Dashboard top (previous owner got glue on it)
    - Some TLC for the paint, and some PDR work on the hatch

    Mods planned:
    - OEM R56 JCW BBK
    - Swap 17x8 wheels from GP
    - Raceseng shift knob from GP
    - Suspension (not sure if I'll go coil overs or springs/struts for simplicity)
    - 215/45R17 Direzza ZIIs
    - Rear wiper delete


    But for $5k and only 49k miles, and a factory LSD, I can't go wrong.
     
  3. ColinGreene

    ColinGreene Well-Known Member
    Motoring Alliance Sponsor

    May 15, 2009
    438
    293
    63
    Male
    Orange county Ca
    Ratings:
    +293 / 0 / -0
    I hope you wont be driving this in the winter.
    I have motor mounts in stock for the car..
     
  4. Zillon

    Zillon Well-Known Member

    Jul 12, 2014
    702
    632
    93
    Central NJ
    Ratings:
    +633 / 0 / -0
    #4 Zillon, Dec 1, 2015
    Last edited: Dec 1, 2015

    God no.

    That's what my poverty truck is for.

    [​IMG]

    As far as mounts go, I snagged a replacement OEM one for cheap for now - but plan on upgrading all 3 mounts down the road.

    Also, I see you only have the passenger side mount in stock. I could always return the mount I have, but would you recommend running only the passenger side Vibratechnics mount without any other mounts upgraded?
     
  5. Eric@Helix

    Eric@Helix New Member
    Motoring Alliance Founding Sponsor

    May 4, 2009
    1,154
    1,257
    0
    Shepherd
    Philadelphia
    Ratings:
    +1,257 / 0 / -0
    Congrats Z! Now save for that house.

    You can no doubt add lower control arm bushings to your 'need' list, but drop us a line before you put OEM bushings in the car. Now we know what the wife should get you for X-Mas: *COUGH*pulley*COUGH*
     
  6. Zillon

    Zillon Well-Known Member

    Jul 12, 2014
    702
    632
    93
    Central NJ
    Ratings:
    +633 / 0 / -0
    #6 Zillon, Dec 1, 2015
    Last edited: Dec 1, 2015
    Yes, house with a garage bigger than the house. :ihih:

    Actually, the front LCA bushings are brand new/recently replaced. Fresh brackets and bushings on the front sway and LCAs - so they're not on my immediate to-do list. Engine mount is leaking, so that's an immediate item to address. Same with the oil filter housing gasket.

    Also, the sunroof seal has drooped in the front corners, and the PO installed a stupid weather-tech sunroof deflector that damaged the glass, so I ordered a new gasket through work, and I found someone parting out a 2005 R53 that I'm snagging the front glass panel from. I also have him pulling the dash top out of his car, since there's some glue smeared on the right corner of the dash in this one from something the PO did. And the glovebox latch is broken, too - so he's getting me the glovebox as well.

    For upgrades I'm looking to get the brakes and suspension sorted first, then tires (wheels are coming over from the GP), then pulley.

    Brake-wise, I'm working on putting together a custom OEM R56 JCW BBK. Centric sells remanufactured 4-piston JCW brembo calipers, and I'm going to do Centric high-carbon rotors all the way around, new pads in the rear, and stoptech stainless lines on all 4 corners.

    Suspension I'm not sure what route I'm going with yet. I do know Colin has his custom coilovers, but (and no offense here) I'm going to need some convincing to go with those over Bilstein or H&R offerings. I want something stiffer than stock, but still streetable - basically on par with the coilovers in the GP.

    I will be adding a 19mm H&R rear sway - I don't want to go too aggressive and upset the balance of the car.

    Pulley is on the eventual list, probably an early spring deadline, right before MOTD. Maybe I'll combine that with an ignition tune-up (new plugs/wires/coil) and knock that all out at once. Should probably add a coolant overflow tank to that list, too - the one in this car is looking pretty yellow.

    I also ordered the cabrio braces to add to the front end and hopefully eliminate some of the cowl rattles in the car, too.
     
  7. Savvy

    Savvy Well-Known Member
    Lifetime Supporter

    Apr 16, 2010
    6,832
    2,011
    113
    Mechanical Engineer/DA Civilian
    DE
    Ratings:
    +2,024 / 0 / -0
    If you want to feel the ride of his suspension... come on down I-95 to DE. You can take the Check-less-mate out for a spin.
     
  8. Zillon

    Zillon Well-Known Member

    Jul 12, 2014
    702
    632
    93
    Central NJ
    Ratings:
    +633 / 0 / -0
    Aside from overall ride quality, my other concern is long-term durability. How long has everyone been running the Greene coilovers so far?

    I also rode in Whales' car, as well - seemed pretty good at the time, but that was back in May.

    Price also plays a minor part, since I have connections for Bilstein and H&R products, and I'm trying to keep my suspension budget somewhere around $1200.
     
  9. Savvy

    Savvy Well-Known Member
    Lifetime Supporter

    Apr 16, 2010
    6,832
    2,011
    113
    Mechanical Engineer/DA Civilian
    DE
    Ratings:
    +2,024 / 0 / -0
    Well... I've got about 40k miles on them. No issues. It's a solid setup.
     
  10. Crashton

    Crashton Club Coordinator

    Jun 4, 2009
    19,424
    10,031
    113
    Retired old fart
    Hooterville Ohio USA
    Ratings:
    +11,656 / 2 / -0
    Congrats, you stole that one. Well done!
     
  11. Zillon

    Zillon Well-Known Member

    Jul 12, 2014
    702
    632
    93
    Central NJ
    Ratings:
    +633 / 0 / -0
    Good to know.

    :Thumbsup:

    Since I picked up the Ranger for daily/beater duties, the GP has done nothing but sit in the garage - I've averaged one fill per month since May. My daily commute has me going up and down Route 1/95 and dealing with NJ drivers, not something I wanted to subject the GP to.

    Also, it was making less and less sense to be making payments on my occasional driver/fun car, so when this came in on trade, I figured I'd use it to eliminate my loan balance and get into something that was still fun and would make a good project, and also keep me in the MINI world.
     
  12. 00Mini

    00Mini Well-Known Member

    Feb 24, 2013
    20,844
    2,021
    113
    Retired
    Ratings:
    +2,974 / 6 / -5
    Looks like a great foundation for a fun ride !!
     
  13. fishmonger

    fishmonger Well-Known Member

    May 13, 2015
    984
    769
    93
    Madison, WI
    Ratings:
    +895 / 0 / -0
    Great find. There's still some good R53s out there.

    I've been running Greene Coilovers for a whopping 1500 miles so far :). That's almost half the miles I drive it each year, so it'll be a few years before I can report any change over new. Won't be adding a single mile before April, either.


    "Centric sells remanufactured 5-piston JCW brembo calipers,"

    where do you see those? Come Friday I will have a second R53 looking for a brake upgrade.
     
  14. Zillon

    Zillon Well-Known Member

    Jul 12, 2014
    702
    632
    93
    Central NJ
    Ratings:
    +633 / 0 / -0
    5 piston? :crazy:

    Fixed that. Anyways, I found them on Summit Racing so far, seeing if I can find another source locally for a better price.

    Centric Parts 142.34114 - Free Shipping on Orders Over $99 at Summit Racing - left
    Centric Parts 142.34113 - Free Shipping on Orders Over $99 at Summit Racing - right

    Ignore the images - here's the image off of Centric:
    [​IMG]
     
  15. JackMac

    JackMac Well-Known Member

    Jan 1, 2010
    399
    251
    63
    PA
    Ratings:
    +256 / 0 / -0
    Can't wait to see what you do with it. Sounds like a solid list of priorities.

    Good hanging out this evening and getting GP0173 back to stock too ;)
     
  16. TheModFather

    TheModFather Well-Known Member

    May 15, 2012
    6,023
    5,310
    113
    11 years in the ARMY, 2 years of being a multitale
    North Denver CO.
    Ratings:
    +5,322 / 0 / -0
    Sucks to see the GP go, but that is a nice R53! Love all the color combos, I totally forgot tha dash panel set even existed!
     
  17. fishmonger

    fishmonger Well-Known Member

    May 13, 2015
    984
    769
    93
    Madison, WI
    Ratings:
    +895 / 0 / -0
    Pretty good price until you factor in the core charge, but even then still cheaper than the Wilwoods on my gray car. Have to check into these some more, because I think you need to get the rears to match the fronts, and the R56 JCW brakes in rear are hard to find.
     
  18. Zillon

    Zillon Well-Known Member

    Jul 12, 2014
    702
    632
    93
    Central NJ
    Ratings:
    +633 / 0 / -0
    With the core charge, it comes to about $250/caliper, which isn't bad at all, especially WITH pads.

    Through one of my favorite parts sources, TheBMWMINIPartstore.com, the calipers are $506.21 each, without pads.

    I wouldn't be moving to R56 rears, though. Maybe in the future if I upgrade the rear arms to R56 arms - I don't feel like cutting the R53 arms to fit.
     
  19. TheModFather

    TheModFather Well-Known Member

    May 15, 2012
    6,023
    5,310
    113
    11 years in the ARMY, 2 years of being a multitale
    North Denver CO.
    Ratings:
    +5,322 / 0 / -0
    I would take the JCW's over the Willwoods, I've got 13" Willwoods and the stock brakes honestly perform just as good! So I'm still planning on swapping to R56 justa calipers and running a 15" wheel.
     
  20. Zillon

    Zillon Well-Known Member

    Jul 12, 2014
    702
    632
    93
    Central NJ
    Ratings:
    +633 / 0 / -0
    Good to know - I was going to ask what brakes you were running on yours.

    I'm still throwing around the idea of going with the R56 calipers and 294mm rotors, I'm doing some research to see how well the R53 master cylinder plays with the R56 JCW calipers.

    GP gets traded in tomorrow - spent the evening last night pulling some parts off. Also found out my Helix short shifter will transfer right over, which is a nice surprise!

    Additionally, I was going to order a new armrest lid for this car, but I'm going to convert the center console to an armrest-less setup instead. Parts work out to be about the same for the leather lid vs the armrest-less console. And I hate center armrests in MINIs.
     

Share This Page