LinkBack URL
About LinkBacks
Before I loose all track of time I thought I should document the current progress of "Project MAFFAs Mini"Nah just kidding but I thought you might like to know what i've been up to since I bought it in August.
Okay so I only picked up my 2002 R53 MCS on 2nd August 2008 but as with a number of my previous cars I got bitten by the modding bug pretty darn quick. When I bought it it came with a set of 18" Jordan R alloy wheels and looked like this:
2nd August 2008
15th August 2008
First thing I did was just to add a little visual touch with a set of replica Lohen graphics that cost me the vast sum of a tenner
22nd August 2008
Fitted an M7 Induction kit supplied by James at Full On Motorsport. The increased supercharger whine is awesome.
29th August 2008
I eventually saw sense & got rid of those horrible alloys
16th October 2008
Took a trip to Minispeed and got them to fit my NGK BKR7EIX Iridium plugs & KMT 15% reduced pulley that I purchased from Slovenia......yes Slovenia!! This pulley was £40 delivered so I had to give it a shot. If you want to read all about it there is a real long thread here about it:
Guinea Pig - KMT 15% Reduction pulley - MINI2 - MINI Forum
6th November 2008
Burnout catback exhaust fitted by my trusty mechanic. This was $175 from the states
5th December 2008
KW springs fitted. These were £45 brand new & cost me £40 to get them fitted thanks to my trusty mechanic
14th January 2009
12.2 Wilwood BBK fitted with the optional GT discs that are directional gas flowed. Thanks to Todd at TCE for these
5th February 2009
Fitted a 20mm Whiteline adjustable rear anti-roll bar.
£130 delivered from Balance Motorsport. My trusty mechanic fitted it for me for £80 which is a result as the book time is just under 3hrs.
4th April 2009
Decided to get all hi tech inside the MCS by buying an 8GB iPod Nano & a Dension Gateway 100 interface.
With the use of the BMW TIS program on my PC I was able to take the dash apart & fit it myself. I also fitted a mount & cradle to the side of the stereo that looks really neat. Took about an hour in total and was all bought from NewMiniStuff.com .
I'd recommend one of these kits to anyone looking to get some more tunes in their car without the need of 100's of CD's cluttering it up. Can all be controlled from the MFSW as well.
14th April 2009
Fitted upper & lower OMP front strut braces.
28th April 2009
Fitted MSD ignition coil & MSD Ignition leads
7th May 2009
GTT intercooler & red snoot boots fitted
29th May 2009
Quicksilver Supersports cat-back system fitted to replace the Burnout one
2nd June 2009
Went to 1320 for a Newman cam & a remap. They also fitted my Helix 380 injectors. The results were:
223 BHP
181 lb/ft
The only things that held it back were that it was 27 degrees, the clutch was slipping over 6000rpm & that I don't have a manifold.
13th July 2009
Had the following fitted
1) JB Racing aluminium flywheel (4.5kg)
2) Clutchmasters FX 400 clutch kit (6 paddle)
3) Superflex control arm bushes
Man what a difference! The FX 400 is light...so light in fact that we initially thought it was broken. I'm used to it now though & it's awesome.
Did have a real mare bleeding it through though. Ended up with a new slave cylinder and even after that it took a week or so to settle in properly. The biting point was initially mm from the floor & it was either on or off with no forgiveness. I did think i'd made a mistake & ruined my car but nearly 2 weeks on I know I didn't.
The flywheel makes one hell of a difference. More than I could have ever imagined. The engine revs so fast it's almost bike like. I was on a damp road the other day & the traction control light was still blinking in 4th!!!
God knows what's next.....watch this space.
8th October 2009
Engine blows up!!!!!!
HELP!! Blown Engine - Cylinder 4
23rd October 2009
Purchased a low mikeage (26k) engine for £650 on 15th October that got delivered to my mechanic today.
28th October 2009
Got my car back on Monday (26th) & took it to 1320 today for a re-tune. The results were pretty impressive:
239.4 BHP
182.8 lb/ft
That's 16 BHP more than the old engine
31st October 2009
After 250 miles engine no.2 blows up!!! Cylinder no.3 Misfire (Error code P0303)
Diagnosis - Garage who fitted the engine didn't fit the hose to the FRP properly & when I looked for it it wasn't there!!!
25th November 2009
After sending the car back I got the garage to rebuild by engine because of their neglegence. I got it back today.
19th December 2009
After 750 running-in miles engine no.3 blows up!!! Piston through the block.
Diagnosis - None as yet. Garage refuses to touch the car as they say it's my fault due to either my driving or being too highly tuned!! Pleasant of them just before Xmas!!
19th December 2009 - 8th February 2010
Car sit's outside my house in the snow!!
9th February 2010 (My birthday...yay)
Car is transported to 1320 Mini to get the job done properly. They diagnose the failure as reused rod bolts & find numerous other horrors that the cowboys in my local garage did.
9th February 2010 - 3rd August 2010
Car remains at 1320 Mini & is Thomas's own little project. Other goings on are:
- Purchased a TPR-1 head (Thanks Brownpants)
- Purchased 0.5mm oversized JE pistons
- Purchased ARP head & rod bolts
- Purchased 550 injectors after selling my 380's
- Purchased a GRS Intercooler after selling my GTT one
- Purchased an OBX LSD
- Purchased a Janspeed Manifold (for a Tomcat)
- Purchased a complete new crank kit from BMW
- Got a DEKRA independent Inspection carried out on my car
- Instructed a solicitor to sue the cowboys at my local garage for all costs during their work & during 1320's work.
4th August 2010
After 225 non-running days I get a call from Thomas with the sound of my car running in the background. It's enough to bring a tear to your eye!
25th August 2010
Got the car back from 1320 Mini. The result was:
210WHP at 7400RPM
163WTQ
29th August 2010
Changed the bonnet stripes for something different:
22nd October 2011
After a long stint & them being replaced in March by the insurance company the R90 replicas went & a set of 17" Lenso D1R's went on.
29th October 2011
The KW springs were replaced by some Meister R coilovers. I didn't go mental low as I dont have adjustable rear control arms. The fronts could possibly go a little lower (only a couple of turns left) but i'll wait until next time I go on the track to decide if it will compromise handling.
MAFFA
Reply With Quote
Originally Posted by MiniPetrolHead
meh...
Bookmarks