My '06 Hyper Blue R53

Alex_MCS · 16-01-10, 15:45

Well I've been on MT for a while and it's a rainy Saturday so I'd thought I'd finally post up a project thread for my car.

November 2008
Picked up the car with 17,000 miles on it, one lady owner in mint condition. It had the following spec:

Chili pack
Limited Slip Diff
Panaromic sunroof
R98 Web spoke alloys
Full leather interior
Chrono pack
MSFW

June 2009
It remained standard until I started reading here a bit in Summer 2009, you bastards

I did a couple of sessions of the Stowe Circuit at MINI United and instantly caught the track day bug. During the track time I cooked the standard brakes, so the first mod I made was to improve them.

I replaced the standard front discs with EBC grooved discs and the front pads with Mintex M1144's. I've now done a few track days and found them to be a decent and non-expensive upgrade, but I'll be going for a better solution this year.

July 2009
Having finally knackered the original run flats (as it was dealer supplied) at Bedford Autodrome, I replaced them all round with Yokohama Parada Spec 2's. Would never ever go back, completely transformed the crashy ride and saved me lots of money in dentist bills.

September 2009
Fitted Dave.F Hybrid Intake, the increased supercharger whine was the start of a slippery slope

Also had my clutch and flywheel replaced under warranty as there was a high pitched squealing when pulling away.

Also fitted front aero grille, need to get round to doing the bottom bit, but I'm lazy, so just primed and sprayed the chrome in matt black.

October 2009
Had a busy month, fitted the following at 1320:

M7 upper strut
OMP lower strut
17% Alta pulley
GRS intercooler
NGK spark plugs

Went from 188 bhp with just Dave.F to 229 bhp and 181 lb-ft

The difference was unbelievable, was getting a bit bored with the car, but the new found power sorted that out.

Whilst up at 1320, decided it'd be rude not to test out the upgrades properly so went along to Bedford Autodrome for a track day the day after on the GT circuit

November 2009
Fitted a Janspeed manifold and sports cat. Hated the noise it made as soon as I left the garage, but have since learnt to love it. The sports cat has since failed, so will be getting that sorted!

Also went to Brands Hatch, it was short notice so couldn't get any track pads except for EBC Red Stuff. They had good bite, but I destroyed them in a day and it looks like one of the pads fell off its backing

Lesson learnt!

Also got to test out some track tyres for the first time. A set of black 15" Imola's (the lightest OEM wheels) with Dunlop DZ02G's on them, couldn't believe how much grip there was. The car just went exactly where I put it.

December 2009
Had my exhaust one-balled by a local garage. They're developing a "reversible one ball" kit, which doesn't require welding so is easy to turn back to stock. After talking with them a bit, I allowed them to use my car to test out a prototype kit. So far so good! It's balanced the exhaust noise out a bit, prefer it to just the manifold. Also it pops and burbles like a mofo.

Bought some 17 x 7.5 Rota Torque's off Rare Rims. Shiny shiny!

I'm either going to use them for track days with R888's or wait until I've sorted my wheel gap issues and use them as road wheels. (I'm getting impatient and want them on the car, so probably the latter).

Jan 2009
I've ordered some SPC rear control arms from the US and fitted a Scangauge.

Also bought some KW V1's and R56 S brakes off Greig

February 2010

I finally got round to fitting the Rota's

Also fitted the VW Sharan aerial

Visited 1320 on Friday 19th and got the following fitted:

KW V1's
SPC rear control arms
Eibach camber plates
R56 S brakes

Wheel gap eliminated

Loving the stance and the handling, feels much more connected to the road.

The Future
I'll be getting the front brake setup sorted with Nitrac discs and Carbotech pads, probably go for Yellowstuff on the rear.

Then I'll go for more power again, 550cc injectors, MegaMini cam (hopefully!) and a Mynes tune.

As for external mods, I might go for some aero side skirts, depending on what the stance looks like when it's on coilovers.

2010 is going to be a good year, just not for the bank account!

Leccy Blue 2 · 16-01-10, 15:59

Looking good Alex, those Rota's will really look the dogs when fitted

I can definately vouch for the fact that the car flies round Bedford

citro · 16-01-10, 16:29

Looking neat, Alex, will look great with the Rotas

richcoopS · 16-01-10, 18:59

Awesome work mate, lovely MINI and choice mods... looking forward to catching up on the track soon

Those Rota's are stunning!

Alex_MCS · 16-01-10, 20:24

Quote:

Originally Posted by Leccy Blue 2

I can definately vouch for the fact that the car flies round Bedford

Haha, it even goes well sideways

Quote:

Originally Posted by citro

Looking neat, Alex, will look great with the Rotas

Cheers, can't wait to get them fitted now!

Quote:

Originally Posted by richcoopS

Awesome work mate, lovely MINI and choice mods... looking forward to catching up on the track soon

Yeah got plans for more track days this year, just not until a bit later in the year. Your car looked the business at SRR btw! Did you find out what caused the dip in the power curve?

antihero3000 · 17-01-10, 11:21

Great work mate, looks like you've got the modding bug now

richcoopS · 17-01-10, 12:28

Quote:

Originally Posted by Alex_MCS

Yeah got plans for more track days this year, just not until a bit later in the year. Your car looked the business at SRR btw! Did you find out what caused the dip in the power curve?

Cheers bud, its just fuelling issues. So really could do with a remap, running a bit lean at high RPM's.

Love the dash and side bars in your car, did you buy it with them colour coded?

JDinho · 17-01-10, 12:40

This is coming along nicely Alex.

I have a soft spot for the Rota Torques, will be nice to see them on a Hyper Blue.

BigShow · 17-01-10, 12:47

Brilliant write-up mate and having followed you round Brands, I know how well your car goes, especially on the dunlops. You're not wrong about the poppage from the exhaust either, sounds mental fro the outside.

Look forward to seeing it develop in 2010 and once you've sorted the brakes, I think your car is a perfect example for newbies on how to mod a Cooper S.