[shiftspark]

Finally I have got round to doing a project thread for my R53. I bought it last year and I was looking for a standard car but this came up for sale (it was @bills old car) and had lots of parts that I could remove and sell or just keep it as is.
This thread will be a bit muddled as I cant remember the order I have done things but you get the idea.
Here's a brief spec of how it was after I had removed the KSport brakes as they needed new rotors and were too big and heavy as I had (have) plans to sprint the car although CV19 will probably write the season off.

Spec:

Engine

Rolling road print out 221 bhp

MSD coilpack
NGK iridium spark plugs
JCW air box / ITG filter
Full Miltek exhaust
Airtec top mount intercooler
15% reduced pulley
Red Silicon hose kit

Transmission

Quaife ATB differential LSD
6 paddle organic helix clutch
TTV lightened flywheel
2% lightened crank pulley

Suspension/steering

Standard springs (with eibach lowering springs inc)
Powerflex handling pack
M7 front strut brace
Cabrio front braces ( powder coated red )
Vibra technics lower engine mount

Wheels/brakes

Speedline Turini 17 x 7 et35
Khumo ecsta 2 x 205/45/17 and 2 x 215/45/17
Front - R56 new brakes, inc callipers carriers bolts pads wear indicators discs new Hel braided lines
Rear - R53 standard new discs and pads
Castrol dot 4 brake fluid

Bodywork

Mini aero front bumper
Petrol cap ( gloss black )
Mirrors ( gloss black )
Door handle covers ( gloss black )
side vents ( gloss black )
Genuine carbon fibre boot handle
US spec rear bumper trims
Stubby Ariel
Colour coded light surrounds
Xenons

Interior

Half leather
Genuine carbon fibre JCW gear knob
Alpine head unit

 

[shiftspark]

 

[shiftspark]

First job was to get the Ksports off and fit new R56 front brakes with new calipers,slides and pads and new rear discs and pads.

 

[shiftspark]

I had a small issue with the front hoses as I thought they needed a crush washer and bought some new hoses but found out that these are not needed.

 

[shiftspark]

I put some new standard springs on as the Eibach were rubbing on the back and I didnt know which way to go with coilovers or new dampers, Swift springs and large rear ARB (more on this later)
I then ran it like that for a while but it wasnt used for a few months and sat on the drive.

 

[shiftspark]

The car has been great but it had a very heavy clutch so much that got to the point where I was going to sell the car as it wasn't user friendly !!
After a bit of research I contacted Sean @CarsOrBikes and made arrangements to call over to let him have a look and to see what to do if it was abnormally heavy.
Sean had a try and confirmed it was indeed heavy so we made a list of jobs to be done and I dropped it off with Sean to work through and see what else he found along the way.
In the end quite a lot was done ! including a new clutch and plate, various seals that were weeping, new gearbox gasket and whilst the sump was off new rod bearings were done, thankfully nothing sinister was found in the sump!
Supercharger service, coolant flush and a new top hose as this had rubbed through on the underside. Engine bay was degreased and cleaned, new correct charger belt as even though it had had new pulleys put on the week before I bought it they still fitted the wrong belt.
New cooling fan as only one speed was working. Sean also swapped the nylon gear selector blocks around to take some of the slack out of the selectors.
As you can see everything that needed doing was done apart from a passenger side wheel bearing that I would do myself later on.
A few pictures to tell the story..

Sean was/is a pleasure to deal with and kept me upto date with what he found all the way through the work.

 

[shiftspark]

And a few more images

 

[shiftspark]

The car was so much better to drive after the new clutch was fitted ! I should have had it done a lot sooner looking back but I assumed it was because of the uprated clutch that it was so heavy.
The next job was to tidy the interior up a bit so I bought some alcantara trim a while back and fitted these a few weeks ago and quite pleased with the results as the dash support thingy's were a pita to do.

 

[shiftspark]

I have also replaced the nearside wheel bearing in the last few weeks as Ive been self isolating but didn't take any pictures of the before and after on the wheel bearing.
I also replaced the dipstick with a genuine one after Sean mentioned it, no point in having the sump off last november to have to remove it because the ends come of the dipstick !!

 

[shiftspark]

I have also had time to give the car a really good clean and used ironx,tardis,clay bar ,polish and sealant.Used C4 on the plastics and I think its cleaned up really well.

 

[shiftspark]

Hmmmnn a few views and no "it needs coilovers" posts ?
I'll leave this here.

 

[shiftspark]

After my holidays being cancelled I decided to spend the cash wisely so I bought some Ohlins ! I've always wanted to try a top end set of dampers having already had AST on my Clio that were far too stiff for a daily and lots of research decided on the Ohlins as I plan to sprint and hillclimb my car at some point but it will spend 95% time on the road.
They arrived in 2 boxes and they are very high quality as you would expect.
I'll let the pictures tell the story.

 

[shiftspark]

Few more fitted, have to excuse the scabby rear end as I plan to clean it up and paint it later.
Needs to come up at the rear and I have fitted some front standard mounts that have been modified to give approx - 1.5 neg camber but this means the front is 20mm higher than it would be if I fitted the Ohlins mounts.
I cant fit them as spherical bearings are not allowed in the class I will run my car in.

 

[R53-Luke]

Is this as low as you can get?

 

[shiftspark]

Is this as low as you can get?

Yes as the front collars are right at the bottom of the threads. Looks a bit higher as the front tyres were 215 and quite close to the coils so i swapped them to the back which had 205 tyres which also made the rear look lower.
Think I will give the Ohlins front mounts a try and raise the rear slightly.
Ive bought them to improve the handling not to get it very low.

 

[Holtie75]

The paintwork has come up a treat!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[CarsOrBikes]

looking good, the front doesn't look that high really, it'd perhaps look better on 215's all round especially if you end up with a road legal type semi slick or more track biased tyres as they have a squarer profile but regardless, there's nothing wrong with a car sitting a bit higher on suspension giving full travel managed better, by dampers valve'd right for the springs which Ohlins are more likely to have done better than some others. When I did mine originally it was only around 5mm lower than stock all round, a bit lower now but looks lower anyway with 225/45's on. I had 11mm spacers to clear the coils but you may only need 6mm perhaps assuming you're allowed them. Your Ohlins kit looks smart, it will need cleaning regularly I suspect as they don't always appear to endure our road dirt so well looking at some that get advertised where owners say they're not very old, some neoprene covers might help preserve them better.

 

[shiftspark]

Hi yes I think I will swap the wheels back over and lift the rear. I think there was around 5mm clearance on the front, do you think that’s enough Sean ?

 

[CarsOrBikes]

I think 5mm will do yes mate.

You ok?

 

[shiftspark]

I think 5mm will do yes mate.

You ok?

Ill swap them back over and give them a try if 5mm is enough.
Yes were all ok here but much the same as everyone else in the lockdown. Bored and nothing to fit on the car lol