The Black Machine

My first R53 on mine and its first track day 2018

This is my Mini, i bought it in 2017 after driving my sisters Cooper S and just fell in love with it instantly. In the past I have owned many cars some fast and some not so much but this by far has the poise precision and power that I have always sort in a car. Not only that modifying them is affordable, fun and fairly easy!

Shortly after buying the car the airbag light came on, this has meant that since October 2018 the car has been off the road and I have been battling with it to get the light off as the OBD port hasnt been working , this is now fixed and shortly we will be back MOT'd and ready to go!

So a bit about the car, its modified, but not as much as i would like, I have been working through it slowly and methodically to make sure that the power doesn't overtake the handling, at the end of the day these aren't renowned for their straight line speed, its in the twisties they really come into their own.

So the modifications it has so far are:

18% reduced pulley,

Larger Airtec intercooler,

Ebay High flow sports cat,

Hornet resonated cat back exhaust,

Strut brace,

XYZ lowered and adjustable suspension.

16" MG alloys,

R56 Brake upgrade with EBC Discs and Pads and HEL Braided lines all round,

Uprated supercharger bypass valve,

8mm handmade HT leads,

cooler spark plugs,

boost gauge with alta pod,

Airtec induction Kit,

MSD Ignition,

Larger 40mm core Radiator,

red silicone piping.

aluminium coolant reservoir,

Lightened crank shaft pulley in +1 sizing,

cabrio bracing to engine bay,

5mm wheel spacers all round,

rear wiper delete,

black bonnet vents added for additional cooling,

Powerflex front control arm bushes,

Powerflex TCA bushes.

link G4+ ECU

AFR Sensor with gauge,

version 3 sprint booster

OMP Front lower Strutbrace.

Rear GTT Strutbrace.

Bosch 550CC injectors.

Silver project adjustable control arms,

Adjustable droplinks all round,

20mm rear ARB,

Helix quickshift,

Uniroyal Rainsport 3 Tyres,

Future plans.

So with the above in mind and there is probably stuff i have missed! I plan on changing to high lift cams by cat cams at the same time it will have to have some rolling road time this will enable the tuner to set the car up properly and get the most gains out of the car. From here the Mini will have a lot of head work done by Robert Cox engineering to get a few more ponies out of it and then once that is done another rolling road session. from there the car will benefit from a Harrop Supercharger and again another remap. I have thought about the turbo upgrade but with the roots of this car being supercharged i just feel this isn't right so the Harrop seems like the logical progression for me.

Whilst doing all this there will be lots of other parts that will be replaced along the way like Vibratechnics engine and gearbox mountings as well as complete polybushing of the front subframe which will all aid the long term goal. My dream is to reach the 250-300BHP mark and i feel that with the above this is a goal that could easily be achieved. This is a long term though so will be done as and when time/money allows.

Once the above is complete I am almost certain that i will find some more to do to the car but for now I just want to get it back on the road!

Thanks for reading and make sure you come back and keep updated with the bits we are doing and how to's :)

Jon @modamini