[mOrt]

Recently purchased my first Mini; a 2010 Clubman JCW.

Bought from a friend who didn't realise it had engine issues but he's helping to sort it (ridiculously good of him) so the car is currently with Gareth @ GS R53 Mini who is fortunately only 20 minutes away from me.

It's been running 250hp/325Nm with a few mods;

AEM intake
Decat
FMIC
K04 F21M hybrid turbo
Direnza manifold
TurboSmart BOV
Stance+ coilovers
Sparco reclining bucket seats

The engine will shortly be coming out and heading on down to his engine builder for a rebuild. The spec is;

Forged CP pistons
Forged Bridgeway rods
ARP head stud kit
ARP main bolt kit
Mahle Motorsport bearings (main and rod)
Supertech valve springs
Supertech valve springs
Supertech titanium retainers
Supertech exhaust valves (+0.8mm oversized)
Supertech intake valves (+1mm oversized)
Supertech collets
Supertech valve guides
Supertech valve stem seals
Timing chain kit
Elring/Reinz head gasket & bottom end gasket set

The head will be treated to a port & polish and machined for the oversized valves. The block is also getting a bit of treatment for the oversized (77.5mm) pistons and I think I'm going closed deck too whilst everything is out.

Whilst the engine is out I'll be upgrading the clutch which I'm still deciding which to go for. It's 99% driven on the road and I'm not looking for anything aggressive as the missus will also be driving it. I had found one from Clutch Specialists which may be what I go for - Dual Friction Clutch Kit For Mini Cooper R55, R56, R57 1.6-N14B16A Engine R56

I'll also be fitting new Bosch coil packs, NGK 1422 plugs and a couple of Innovate Motorsports MTX-D gauges to keep an eye on the water temp, oil temp & oil pressure.

I was going to look at fitting a Quaife LSD but for what it will be used for it may be wasted so not sure I will, the only real benefit is saving on labour whilst everything is out.

I'll hopefully keep this thread up to date so if/when I come to sell the car it has a nice history of all the work carried out on it to get it running as good as it can!

Once the car is up and running with everything ran in a little I think I'll take it to 1320 for mapping…unless there are other recommendations

 

[mOrt]

a Quaife surely won't be wasted on a road car any more than a closed deck or ported head would for the use described, less so really, you'll be utilising an ATB way before the other attributes

curious why Gareth isn't building it and just sending the bits to CPL?

will be a nice motor anyway, ready for 300+++

rather surprised if running that with a closed deck and porting it, not to see at least the milder cams available going into it....

I do like the idea of a quick clubby, seb80 on here has one as a track car which looks good, it was tempting to do stuff to mine but have too many really

It's not going to CPL now, using Gareth's builder for the work

Yeah the issue is it never ends. I could add the LSD, and the cams, then turbo, manifold, boost controller, meth and before you know it the car is making over 350hp and temperamental.

Problem I have with adding cams is it's whether I would see the benefit as I'm not chasing numbers but wanting to make things as bullet proof as possible (within reason). Are cat cams the go to on an N14?

 

[mOrt]

Thanks for the flywheel bolts tip! Will put them on the list.

I’m not tied to that clutch but I don’t fancy running a ClutchMasters one due to the cost with the flywheel. I had one on my race E46 M3 and definitely don’t want it on a road car!

 

[mOrt]

I would recommend going for an LSD while you have it in bits. The Blackline ones are good value and an identical copy of the Quaife. It's only about 30 minutes additional labour to pop it in while the gearbox is off and it makes a big difference to the traction.

If you're going for that clutch then fit some ARP flywheel bolts or some stock Cooper flywheel bolts or the rivets on the friction plate assembly will start to touch the flywheel bolt heads as the clutch wears.

Sent from my SM-G965F using Tapatalk

I’ve not heard of Blackline before, seems they’re nearly half the price of Quaife though! Wonder if anyone on here has one fitted?

 

[mOrt]

Can get a Blackline LSD for £450 at the moment. Nearly £300 less than the Quaife. Can't see many reviews on the Blackline online whereas Quaife is used by a lot of people! Are the units identical as they look extremely similar?

 

[mOrt]

rather surprised if running that with a closed deck and porting it, not to see at least the milder cams available going into it....

Spoke to engine builder and he thinks if I go for cams then I should go sleeved instead of closed deck as clearly I'd be aiming for north of 300hp if I add cams. I'm not interested in sleeving though as it's excessive cost for my use so I may leave the cams.

I think he's thinking to be safe/reliable/trouble free the car should be running below 300hp unless I go sleeved.

 

[mOrt]

Yeah it’ll be Quaife or Blackline I go for as it’ll be 95% road use.

 

[mOrt]

Schrick cams ordered!

Scorpion sports cat on the way too along with new coilovers. Need to decide on a clutch next!

 

[mOrt]

Do strut braces make a difference in an R56/55? I've had a few cars where there was a noticeable difference fitting one and others where it was pointless (except engine bling!).

 

[mOrt]

Only took a week to arrive from Germany but my new Schrick cams are here! Much cheaper than getting them in the UK.

Hopefully the engine will be out this week and on its way down to SC Porting to be stripped, cleaned, machined and rebuilt!

Also ordered a Blackline ATB and Yellow Speed Racing coilovers. Should be an improvement on the Stance+ in the car currently.

There’s an UltraGauge on the way too and I need to decide where to fit an oil temp/pressure gauge as it looks likeit could go in a vent or next to the dash dial.

 

[mOrt]

Is it worth getting an oil pump chain kit whilst everything is out? It's not something I've ever changed on other cars so not sure if it's something that wears or not?

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[mOrt]

I would, and maybe an oil pump, at the very least get yours apart to check the barrel for scoring

Thanks! I'll get the chain kit bought and garage to check the pump. I've always changed pumps previously when doing engine refreshes so probably will with this for peace of mind.