The Flamers replacement - Mini Cooper S

[Djw John]

Same! After this length of time I'm unlikely to bugger off. The fact that the info you get on here is usually better and quicker is a bonus!

 

[yeecup]

Mini looks good, I have a soft spot for them, the flamer, interesting..........

 

[BigDaveRotary]

Sweet! Always been a fan of the 'charger minis since I took one round Donnington!

 

[Djw John]

Gotta be some advantages to being an old fart, added it to my policy until the 1st of March when it runs out. £22. Done.

 

[johnpidge]

Swwwwwweeeetttt - I have also gone the MCS route - dont bother with a 15% pulley go straight to a 17% but you wlll need a better intercooler - I fitted an Airtec - plugs and a gates belt - Orranje CAI is on order and a new stainless system - then listen to the whine - weeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee ha ha

 

[M10lrr]

I have a brand new in the box pipercross air filter if your interested?

 

[Djw John]

Panel or IK?

 

[M10lrr]

Panel

 

[Djw John]

Think I'll hang fire just now but thanks.

Finally got it home today, still can't tax it but trade plates borrowed and brought home. Nice to finally get it out on the road properly.

Not very long later it looked like this

Wife is complaining I've ruined it before she's even seen it! Wait till she gets home and sees it all in the kitchen!

 

[Djw John]

Last night I also took the MD player out of it to double check which wiring adaptor I need

I also dewipered it but no pics of that.

Had a spare 15 minutes earlier so gave it a hoover to get rid of the crap from under the seats and popped the sidelights out

Went from this

to this

Eventually I want to (not in this order)

• sort the rusty boot
• get gloss black or DS mirrors
• get new plates
• fit aero wipers
• r56 brakes
• smaller wheels
• orranje stealth box
• 15% pulley
• intercooler
• lower it
• buckets with 3" harnesses
• rear safety devices cage
• colour code the fuel cap
• beltline kit

 

[ForceIndia]

I'd go 15% over 17% unless you're planning further mods (cams etc). And I was specifically advised to avoid airtec! Ended up with a gp intercooler, which is definitely the best if you can get one, but they go used for the same as airtec etc new.
Grs motorsport is the one to go for if gp isn't possible.
The mods you're planning are spot on tbh, I ran mine with a bucket for a while, silly fun little car.

 

[Brookie.]

For road use I'd go 15% too. The main advantage being that an uprated IC is not needed, keeping cost down.

 

[Gally]

Great little project mate! Look forward to see how it goes!

 

[Djw John]

Cheers all.
Yeah I never see me going down the cams route, at the moment I think I'll have it for a year or so, don't want to go too nuts with it! 15% apparently keeps the characteristics but with more power. I'll hopefully do at least 3 track days this year, keeping an eye out for a second hand intercooler.

Ordered my Alpine stereo just now, would've kept the old one but its a good chance to get bluetooth in it. My pressed plates also arrived today, popped the front plinth off whilst I was at it

Gave the engine bay a quick wipe down and checkover, no after pics but think I'll get a new expansion bottle for it as this one is very brown!

I also stole the silvervisions out of the clio but its such a subtle difference I didn't bother with a pic.

 

[imprezaworks]

Looks good.

No flamer though

 

[Djw John]

Nope, it's got a tough gig to follow. And tbh I doubt it ever will.

 

[imprezaworks]

i hope it does John

 

[scotiamr2t]

I have recently been looking at these R53 MCS's to replace the clio trackcar, still weighing up whether to do so or not

 

[Timmsy]

I'm coming round to the R53 shape Mini thats for sure! i may need to find someone somewhere to let me have a test drive and a proper look at the interior as im still not taken by that

The supercharger idea pulls me towards them a bit though!

 

[Daz.]

I love them, just not enough to swap the Megane for one

 

[Djw John]

Well hopefully I end up loving it. Having only done 1 journey in it its hard to say how I feel about it!

Just sourced some body coloured mirrors and a new bootlid in the right colour so that'll improve it a lot

 

[Daz.]

I must admit I miss getting a new car and swapping bits over to make it better/more your own!

 

[Djw John]

Yeah something quite nice about it. First time I've been able to do what I like to one for a while. All the other cars I've had recently have been for the wife to use too. This isn't.

 

[Brookie.]

Nice progress mate. The colour coded bits will be a nice addition!

 

[Budgie]

I have recently been looking at these R53 MCS's to replace the clio trackcar, still weighing up whether to do so or not

@Sir_Dave has had both as dedicated track sheds so can offer a pretty good idea.

 

[scotiamr2t]

@Sir_Dave has had both as dedicated track sheds so can offer a pretty good idea.

@Sir_Dave it woulds appear you are the fellow to offer some advice on the comparison of a clio or MCS as a track car

 

[Sir_Dave]

@Sir_Dave it woulds appear you are the fellow to offer some advice on the comparison of a clio or MCS as a track car

I've briefly touched on the differences in my thread here: http://www.cliosport.net/threads/another-mcs-the-track-day-toy.755737/
But essentially after a trackday at Bedford:

Handling wise, in the morning (damp) on the Continentals (Meisters set to 17fr/9r), the car was incredibly playful, good front end turn-in, but the ability to steer on the throttle whenever i wanted, oversteer on demand basically. Perhaps not the quickest way round the circuit, but certainly epic fun!! Myself & Tom were quite simply driving around giggling. Turn-in, lift, oppo, power. Brilliant!! In the afternoon (dry) the R888's went on & the rear dampers were turned up 2 clicks (now at 17f/11r). Compared to the morning, soo much more grip, incredibly turn in, at any speed, similar properties to previously re: LOOS but obviously at much higher grip thresholds. It was genuinely rapid.
Only issue all day was the brake pedal went a bit long (Minispeed didnt use the high temp fluid i gave them), so they need re-bleeding before the next trackday. Actual braking power was superb, there is simply no need for anything more than R56S fronts with XP8's imho, no fade at all, even after some seriously late braking lol.
In conclusion, i think ive now created something better than my beloved Trophy, the handling is the same (if not slightly more direct steering wise) and it has the power to overtake things that would previously have held me up on the straights. The extra bhp is also very useful for straightening the car up when staring out of the side windows.

The Trophy was however ALOT more forgiving than the Mini on the road, the Sachs dampers were just sublime - perfectly damped for A/B roads, making it an incredibly good off the peg track/road car.

The way the mini is setup now, its very similar to the Trophy on track (as i intended), with a great ability to steer on the throttle etc. Main difference is the suspension/braking/tyre setup costs to make it track worthy:

Trophy: standard dampers, camber bolts, sportlines, whiteline Rarb, CL RC5+ pads, 15s with R888's (£500 2nd hand)
Mini: Meister Rs, whiteline Rarb, omp upper/lower braces, rear camber arms, R56s front calipers/dics/XP8's, 16s with R888's (£1700 2nd hand)

In effect, my moniker that the mini is a "posh clio" is evident again, it needs ALOT more work to be good, whereas the clio is brilliant out of the box (Trophy or not). On the flipside, whilst it costs a bit more, the mini is a darn sight easier to get power out of! Although, the extra cost to buy the car would buy ITB's/ECU for a clio. Swings & roundabouts etc.

 

[scotiamr2t]

Fantastic summary, cheers fella!

 

[Djw John]

Anyone got a spare suitcase full of cash so I can make it as good as the clio?! Did a bit to the clio last night by putting it back on too to the standard shocks and springs and then today took the yozza off it and put it onto another 172. Having pissed about with them I decided it was time to piss about with the mini.

Clio wheels need spigots but share a PCD with Minis and imo, have a better offset. Seeing as how I have them anyway it would be rude to not see what they look like. If nothing else it highlights how desperately it needs lowered!

The willys do look tiny but if they fit over the R56 brakes then I'll happyily run them on track! But seeing as how I had access to turinis it seemed daft to not see them on it

The exhaust trims have been doing my head in as they're fitted upside down and squint. They've actually melted the bumper slightly but unless you're at eye level you'd never know. So I set about removing them. Popped the rubbers off which is why its sitting so far over to the right and then delicately hammered the f**k out of them until they came off.

I might just rehang it and see what I think. I very very quickly wire wheeled the left one to see how it would look. Less rusty is the answer! I quite like the rough and ready look though. If that looks s**t though I do have a plan so all is not lost.

 

[Daz.]

My god the willy's look tiny! Not a fan.

Turinis always work

 

[Djw John]

Aye I really like the turinis, just not in black.

 

[Flat Eric]

They'd look nice in a really fresh silver.
The turinis that is.

 

[Djw John]

Yeah, agreed. @Djw Dave has some that I might nick for a trial fit.

Quickly chucked this in this morning

 

[Sir_Dave]

If you outbid me on ebay for that ill be angry lol. Been trying to buy a hobo ute72 for weeks !! Is it any good?

 

[Djw John]

It was £67 from car audio direct iirc just get it bought!
Yeah I like it, my brother got one about a year ago and it's been great

 

[Poopensharten]

Good progress already mate! Hopefully see it at knockhill some time this year

 

[Djw John]

Hope so! It'll get there, this is just all the wee things, once the flamer is gone I'll start getting it track ready

 

[Djw John]

So as I've said before I hate the exhaust trims a lot and figured I had nothing to lose by cutting the ends off them and seeing how it looks. Well I've got the answer and it's not good!

So tbey got taken off and it's left like this now. Which whilst not ideal is better in my eyes.

I should really adjust the right pipe as its pulling the whole thing over but I'm not sure I can be arsed! Will eventually get a half decent system for it anyway.

 

[Daz.]

That offends me. At least straighten the thing!

 

[Djw John]

I might. It's just a s**t exhaust unfortunately.