Joni: Slow Progress to a Quicker Car

Discussion in 'Car Builds, Projects, Idea's Experiments' started by R53Junkie, Apr 11, 2015.

  1. R53Junkie

    R53Junkie New Member

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    Hello all! My name's Tristan, the car is Joni.

    I'm an Ex-Martial Arts Instructor, Landscaper, and Computer Technician, and I'm now a server at the local Chili's. Sophomore in college, studying Business Administration. My previous car knowledge is from working on my dad's '07 Civic, my girlfriend's '00 Beetle Turbo, and lightly on the rest of my family's rather generic, boring cars.

    Let's get right to it: I bought Joni (Joe-Knee) on Monday, April 6th, 2015. She's a one-owner, 2006, Royal Gray R53 with 60k on the clock. While it came with tons of options, the important ones to me are the Sport Suspension, LSD, Sunroof, and Xenons. I also have two sets of wheels for her, some 17" black Prag Racing wheels and some basic silver S-lites. Unfortunately, the prior owner was stupid enough to put the Blizzaks on the gorgeous Prag Wheels, and the S-lites don't really have tires on them. Which leads me to step one of making Joni just a little better:

    Joe at Sleek Motoring took a look at my car and also offered me a great deal on some Continental 215/45/17 summer performance tires. So we'll be in his shop sometime in the next week or so to get those fitted, and do a tire swap, and I also found some H&R 1 inch spacers for a good deal, so I might as well bring those in too. So I should come out of there with slightly wider and MUCH stickier tires, sticking an inch further out than they are now. :Thumbsup:

    I've yet to decide on an order for the rest of my mods, but after being on MINI forums for about two years now, I think I've got it all down :)frown2: I'm always changing my mind)

    -Stickier tires
    -Space the wheels out
    -15% pulley
    -Colder plugs
    -Rear sway bar
    -Upgraded brakes
    -Mod the intake for more SC whine (even at the loss of a little power. I'm about the experience, not the numbers)
    -SOME kind of exhaust. (Honestly I have no idea what I want, but I'm toying with straight-pipe. I'll decide if that's the way I want to go after meeting Dick and MINI5280 on the 19th)
    -Coilovers and all the goodies necessitated by them. No extreme drop for me, just a little lower

    Short-term I'm looking at One-Balling her (That doesn't sound quite right..), SC pulley, and toying with the intake.

    That's all for now! Enjoy the progress.
     

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  2. BlimeyCabrio

    BlimeyCabrio Oscar Goldman of MINIs
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    Congrats on a great car with low miles! LSD is a big win.

    Sounds like you have a plan, and that you're looking for wider stance. Just be aware that on these cars, wide spacing can lead to poorer handling. Messes with the steering geometry. Perhaps you're fine with that trade-off. And you won't know until you try it. But if you change tires and spacing at the same time, and it handles poorly, don't blame the tires. If those are Conti DW, they're pretty good tires. I've run several sets HARD.

    Enjoy your modding journey. You're about where I was, 7 years ago.
     
  3. BlimeyCabrio

    BlimeyCabrio Oscar Goldman of MINIs
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    If you look in your intake, there's a rubber grommet (about 2" across) between the airbox and the plastic cowl wall. That grommet has a plastic plate blocking it. If you knock the plate out (keep the grommet) that will let the stock airbox breathe a little through the cowl. All by itself, that will give you a bit more SC whine. That plus adding the pulley will make it sound MUCH better than stock.
     
  4. Dave.0

    Dave.0 Helix & RMW Powered
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    See my post on RMW, you need longer lugs if you try and use those spacers.

    If you wants to cut and paste my reply on RMW to here that's fine also.
     
  5. BlimeyCabrio

    BlimeyCabrio Oscar Goldman of MINIs
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    I think those really thick spacers usually bolt to the hub, and then the wheel bolts to the spacer.
     
  6. Dave.0

    Dave.0 Helix & RMW Powered
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    Without a picture no one knows
     
  7. BlimeyCabrio

    BlimeyCabrio Oscar Goldman of MINIs
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  8. M1N1

    M1N1 Well-Known Member

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    Don't listen to blimey. He doesn't even know when he's in reverse. :lol::lol::lol::lol::lol: (See blimeys thread about his PDC).


    Sorry, blimey, couldn't resist the temptation. :devil:
     
  9. M1N1

    M1N1 Well-Known Member

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    Seriously, though. Listen to what these guys have to say. If you take a look at their threads, you'll know that they know what they are talking about.
     
  10. Firebro17

    Firebro17 Dazed, but not Confused
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    Great car and a great color! I'm kinda partial to your choice in names too. Enjoy the car and welcome to M/A.
     
  11. quikmni

    quikmni Moderator

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    With 1" (25 mm) spacers you need to be aware of the size of the wheel (dia, width, offset) and tires (width, aspect ratio) to be used to not have rubbing in the rear, especially when you lower the car. With 215/45-17 tires a 25 mm spacer might be too much. The wheel specs should be marked on the back side of the wheel.

    If you just want a slight lowering and do not plan to adjust the ride height, I would suggest just getting lowering springs and shocks rather than coil-overs. Coil-overs just add complexity and cost that might not be needed.

    You might also want to think about front camber plates so that you can increase the amount of negative camber for better handling. Maybe something like the IE Fixed plates. If you go with coil-overs, look for ones that come with camber plates. The camber plates and 19mm rear sway bar are a nice combination.
     
  12. Rawhyde

    Rawhyde Active Member

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    You have a nice ride! Much better than what I had when I was in college. Before you start modding the suspension further, think about putting in some Powerflex lower control arm bushings. With an '06 at 60K, the stock rubber bushings are probably in their death throes. If they're dead or dying, you'll be astounded at the difference it'll make. If you do your own work, it ain't that hard. I've got a thread on how I did it.
     
  13. R53Junkie

    R53Junkie New Member

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    Thank you everyone!

    Yes, they are hub locking spacers.

    And yes, I need powerflex bushings. Haha.

    Lowering springs? Always heard they were garbage (But then again, I mainly spent time on MT before now). Open to the idea though!
     
  14. ScottinBend

    ScottinBend Space Cowboy
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    DO THIS ^^^^^^^^ !!! (2 previous posts)
     
  15. Dave.0

    Dave.0 Helix & RMW Powered
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    If your going to get lowering springs contact Colin on RMW he can set you up with a set of Swift springs.

    All for 25mm spacers,,, that's waaaaaay too much. All your need is a 5 or 8mm in the rear and up to a 16 mm in the front.

    Good free advice is priceless, but spending your money twice to done the job right the second time gets expensive.

    25 mm are going to make your car look like crap and handle even worse.
     
  16. Firebro17

    Firebro17 Dazed, but not Confused
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    I've got a set of 5mm spacers on the rear, while running TSW springs and a 215-45/17 tire. I've got no rubbing issues and like the look quite nicely. It's really all you need.
     
  17. R53Junkie

    R53Junkie New Member

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    My original plan for the car was to do something like DJM motorsports MINIX. I've toned it down, obviously, but I still like the wide stance. I'll give 'em a shot and see how I like it. :)

    And I'll get in touch with Colin about those Swift springs.
     
  18. R53Junkie

    R53Junkie New Member

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    And Firebro17, I just had a look at your car, it looks really sharp, but I'm going for something a little wider than that.
     
  19. ScottinBend

    ScottinBend Space Cowboy
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    .....at the expense of ride and reliability?
     
  20. R53Junkie

    R53Junkie New Member

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    Depends. We'll see, good sir. Like I said, it's free, and I think it'll look nice. Guess we''ll find out soon enough. :)
     

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