And why did we all get MINIs if we hate them so much????? :mad2: (this was asked of me when I jokingly said the large speedo was a bad idea in the MINi when your mother is in the car and can see how fast you are going on another, no names needed, forum :devil
it was hardcore jealousy IMO :lol: it's not fair your car isn't super bouncy, doesn't feel cheap as poo, and doesn't handle like crap! i still like GDs, but it's hard to say they're better. - andrew
Better is too subjective, I think the going term for unwelcome improvements amongst cars is "Less pure." It sure was said a bit from the classic fans when the R50 came about.
true....but at some point you have to admit that "pure" really just means crappy and old. :lol: - andrew
ABF recently won first place in the STOCK FWD Redline Time Attack with a JCW R56. This is something we never achieved with all the racing we did. Not to say we didnt podium, but there was no first place podiums. I'll always have a special place in my heart for the R53, just like the classics. You can make any of them as fast as you want. Handle better etc. But stock to stock, Like with anything, it's going to get better, stronger, faster and eventually is going to eat you. It's just evolution.
I don't recall seeing too many R53s in the redline time attacks back in the first half of the decade, at least not in the higher classes that got most of the media attention. It always seemed strange to me since the times I'd see posted for race prepped MINIs around VIR were very close to the best times of FWD unlimited vehicles of a Redline event held there. Since I didn't really get into the MINI world until just before the R56s came about, was there a reason R53s weren't competing in this particular series back then?
hey Tuls, what's crackin? Stock to stock, i think the R56 is a tid bit quicker. From a dead stop, the R56 will jump out ahead while the R53 will catch up at top-end. The stock 6400rpm limiter of the R56 definitely hampers things Mod for mod: it's much cheaper to get a R56 faster than the R53... then again, there's a lot more stuff to do on the R53 simply due to product maturity. For feedback on handling, the R53 feels a lot better than the R56 - the R56 has a loosie feeling.. Personally, i'd prefer the R56 for fun and daily driving. Going at the same speed and distance, the R56 JCW will get me 30MPG while my 06 MCS only gets me 22MPG Plus i prefer the low-end and mid-range power of the R56. On the track: Before the Yellow JCW won the TA Stock Class, it was ran at SOW back in Sept, all it had was Enkei wheel and the Yoko Advan AD08 tires and it ran 1.32... not too shabby considering the heavily modded R53's get around 1:28 to 1:26... Just some personal opinion and some comparison numbers for ya...
I guess part of the problem is knowing when someone is joking. It can be hard to tell sometimes when the tone is gnarly, snarly, and generally unfriendly. I think the clean palate that this site has given us is the best thing that has happened to the MINI community in a long time. Mark
The only thing about the two cars is, the R53 has been proven to make huge hp, where as the R56 has yet to get anywhere near the same. Mike do you guys think the R56 will ever be able to make, and last as long as the R53? I mean me and Steve where talking about this, BMW seemed to think they needed to do some major upgrading, reinforced block and pistons. Different turbo, just for the little more power the JCW has. How can you pump 300-400 out of this thing?
You are right Jim, there's a lot more work that needs to be done on the R56 to get mega power... Here are some limitations of the R56 that need to be addressed before we can make mega power: -the block = in order to extract power, the block has to be strong enough to hold it. One way to do it is thru sleeving ($$$$). Compared to the drop-in pistons of the R53, this is a big deterrent of power. - injectors = with direct injection, we have to find out how much these injectors can take. And what our upgrade options might be if we exceeds the limits. Along the same line, we also have to explore the fuel delivery option as well. - ecu = if we go with bigger turbo, we need to 'unlock' the ecu and find add'l parameters to better control the turbo... The list goes on and on... It would be interesting to see what MINI decides to put in the Crossman... i think that platform will determind the future of the MINI power plant.
Hay Mike you guys tried lying to the ECU? Different MAF, MAP, Injectors and turbo to get the ECU to think it's stock but really flow a lot more air? That's how a lot of FI hacking started. Also read somewhere the Audi DI injectors from some engines were drop in replacements, with higher flow. Keep us posted on the progress hacking the new ECU. Also I stumbled across this site:ecubb :: Index Might have some hints for digging into the electronics. Seem some there are pretty deep into BMW electronics... Matt
Hey Matt, that's a good find, thanks for sharing I know what u mean about the 'tricking' of the ecu, but the problem with the new ecu is that they are soo much smarter than the old one. There are so many safety loops and routines that constantly checks for ecu health, and the 'limiters' are the major inhibitors. We are making progress and we'll see where it takes us next cheers..:cornut:
Way back when... the Mustang first came out, they'd do things like use a MAF sensor that was for 50% more flow, and injectors that were 50% higher capacity. the idea was that as long as the ratio was the same as stock, the ECU wouldn't know that there was up to 50% more air flowing, and it would run just fine with the stock programming. I honestly don't know if this would work on the new engines, as there are more inputs now, but it was a way to increase capacity before people had hacked the Ford ECU. Matt