R50 R53 Past its time but still allot of fun

I did not really get involved with MINIs until I retired and by then the Gen1 already have two newer cousins. Having lots of time I played around with different Gen1 mods. Made more than a few enemies but also made so many more friends. I admin a couple of FB groups dealing with Gen1 mods and even there the amount of people into the Gen1 gets smaller every day.

After using three different larger superchargers and before I got too old to be able to my own wrenching, I bought a transmission less R50. The goal was a Tritec Turbo. From the posts made during the heyday of the MINI Forum Wars, turbo builds were far and few between. What power a turbo W11 could take was not that much better known than how small of supercharger pulley would cause the coolant to boil from spinning the pump impeller to fast. Just a few years ago a turbo build was still a major money project for a car pushing 20 years old.

The R50 coolant system is made for a turbo build so after I got the car home I went about figuring out what turbo I wanted. I settled on a K04-064 from an Audi S3 with the P8 engine. A shop in Cyprus that has build numerous Tritec Turbos came up with a CNC adapter plate that allows the K04 to be mounted. The coolant and power steering tanks do not need to relocated and I also thought I could create an enclosed intake system so no under the hood hot air was used. The kit costs about $2000 and from the pressure maps is capable of between 300 and 340 whp with a BVH.

I purchased a used R53 engine that had about 50,000 miles on it and a used JCW 6-speed that had only 30,000 on it. I already had some JCW 4-pot Brembos, added both R56 front seats and rear trailing arms along with MeisterR coilovers with adjustable camber plates. Throw on some 7x17 rims and I was ready to start. Through my FB Groups I met a European Tuner that has tweaked both the prefacelift and facelift Siemens. So some new rings, a set of K1 rods I had laying around and some cutting for a FMIC I had my Tritec Turbo.

If you have never driven a Tritec Turbo you are missing out big time. I see 15 psi by 3500 and from 4000 up I run 20. I could easily get 22 to 25 psi but then IMO the oem fuel system is beyond its properly functioning level. I don't care about doing a dyno as i will let the guy in Cyprus do that. From the torque steer I would think I am over 300 whp.

The question is how well would this kit have done 10 years ago?

 

I have never chased numbers and never been into following the rest of the pack. I have ideas and I pursue them. Of all my hacks I only had 1 attempt that did not work well.

The guy in Cyprus has built so many Tritec Turbos that he knows what mods, with what turbo, produces what power. He also knows what the oem axles, transmission and LSD will withstand. My Tuner uses Winols and although the Siemens is old technology it is still able to function well with a turbo if the maps are set correctly. IMO Europe is much further along with Tritec Turbo builds, tuning and logging than the US. I use a $30 MPPS interface to read/download and a $90 Portuguese MS App to log. This app will work with either an Innovate or an AEM AFR gauge that I have. Although I could squeak by with 550 injectors on my M62 builds that is not the instance with the turbo as I have 630's. I made my own FMIC system with the intercooler, piping, fittings and clamps for around $250.

Unlike the Gen2 engines with higher piston compression ratios the Tritec does not have that and a R53 engine without the supercharger is less potent than the R50 at lower revs. The rush of a Tritec Turbo is taking that low compression non aspirated motor with short intake runners and putting a 150 to 200 whp shot of power to it. Its like NOS with a bottle than never empties. Without the supercharger and with a properly sized turbo the engine will rev up faster. I had the car at the TOTD twice this year, once with a M45 in the spring and then with the turbo in the fall. I don't really see the need for more power now. I have a car that still is great fun on twisties but with the turbo is now just as fun to drive in a straight line.

As far as no supercharger whine, I will take the turbo power any day. I have a car that approaches the handling and power of a GP3 for a fraction of the cost.

 

The Little Yellow Bastard as I call has gone through several different forced induction builds. After dropping the W11 engine in I put one of M62 supercharger builds under the hood. During the cooler winter months in North Carolina it ran fine and pushed about 21.5 psi. I left the R50 hood in place and modified my battery box so that I could install a filter to pull in outside air. The tricky part was getting the tmic to fit under the hood. I found that if I removed about 5/16" out of the middle of the supercharger discharge horn I could get everything to fit.

I with the high boost I did run water/meth to keep my IATs lower with custom tank in a box with the pump mounted in the boot. It was allot of fun but without the R53 hood scoop the interstate cruising had higher than I wanted IATs.

 

I have gotten pretty good at plastic welding so when I went from supercharged to turbocharged I modified my battery box to fit an Odyssey. This smaller battery box would allow me to route my intake between the reshaped box and the valve cover. I have a custom made bracket that holds the battery in place.

 

It is time consuming but red stitching can be added to the seats and other leather and/or vinyl trim. I use upholstery thread with a larger needle. I will measure the distance involved, double it and then add a little more. I do not pierce the covering, rather I feed the thread through the exposed stitching. The first loop is knotted off a couple of times and then you proceed. Loupes help as picking the existing thread loop is not always easy. I have done both R50 and R56 seats in this manner along with the shift and emergency brake boots.

 

Not related to my current car but I did have a GP1 that I purchased and spent allot of time refreshing. It sold at the time as the highest priced high mileage GP1. I made my own GP floor mats. First I created my own GP vector that was pretty close to the original. The carpet mat companies do the embroidery before laminating the back so I had a local shop embroider the logo on some carpet I bought. I laminated a rubber backing on and then used cotton rope that I dyed red to create the border. I put some 2mm clear vinyl tablecloth material on the driver side to protect it. They turned very well and I had allot of GP owners wanting me to make them some but I declined.