Where is Horney?

[Rickster]

Nov 8, 2020 18:33:32 GMT batou said:

Nov 7, 2020 21:11:31 GMT Rickster said:

I actually PMd him for advice as I was thinking of buying a mini (in the end I ended up buying another ex BL with a Tailgate McNoIndicate interest - a rover 75, but that’s another story😂)
I had no reply so that did worry me a bit
Hope he’s ok

He did you a favour lol, coming from 8 years of MINI ownership and 5 figures worth of "making it better" money

I have a feeling that my wife would stop me changing too much, she still says I spoilt a perfectly good car with all the changes I made to the 5
.....to be fair she's probably right😂

[batou]

Nov 8, 2020 20:50:03 GMT Horney said:

My plans are all up in the air. I lost my job and at the moment I’m working in a window factory as the odd job man while I try and get myself back on my feet.

Sorry to hear this, on the bright side you've found work in the interim which currently isn't easy so thats something. Can't help you with the fuel consumption on the MINI but I feel you, it is really that bad. I was doing £200+ a week in that thing. I get more out of a 2.5 Subaru STi than I did on the MINI... not by much tho.

Nov 9, 2020 7:55:46 GMT Rickster said:

Nov 8, 2020 18:33:32 GMT batou said:

He did you a favour lol, coming from 8 years of MINI ownership and 5 figures worth of "making it better" money

I have a feeling that my wife would stop me changing too much, she still says I spoilt a perfectly good car with all the changes I made to the 5
.....to be fair she's probably right😂

Depends on the purpose, I runined that MINI in terms of being a daily car... but on track/local fast roads it was an absolute animal when it worked right. Very easy to drive on the limit. They just cost a fair bit to get where you want them, as a road car they are a bit bland and ride like ass in standard form unless you get a GP. I'm being very careful not to ruin this 5 as I'd like to keep it fairly original, and just lightly improve it on the road.

[dave6]

Nov 9, 2020 13:08:32 GMT batou said:

Nov 8, 2020 20:50:03 GMT Horney said:

My plans are all up in the air. I lost my job and at the moment I’m working in a window factory as the odd job man while I try and get myself back on my feet.

Sorry to hear this, on the bright side you've found work in the interim which currently isn't easy so thats something. Can't help you with the fuel consumption on the MINI but I feel you, it is really that bad. I was doing £200+ a week in that thing. I get more out of a 2.5 Subaru STi than I did on the MINI... not by much tho.

Nov 9, 2020 7:55:46 GMT Rickster said:

I have a feeling that my wife would stop me changing too much, she still says I spoilt a perfectly good car with all the changes I made to the 5
.....to be fair she's probably right😂

Depends on the purpose, I runined that MINI in terms of being a daily car... but on track/local fast roads it was an absolute animal when it worked right. Very easy to drive on the limit. They just cost a fair bit to get where you want them, as a road car they are a bit bland and ride like ass in standard form unless you get a GP. I'm being very careful not to ruin this 5 as I'd like to keep it fairly original, and just lightly improve it on the road.

Your Mini was Canoeing nice though, a great build.

As I mentioned on mt a while ago, it was what urged me to buy another.

Still amazes me how many people have/had R53s and mx5s.

[suggs84]

I think it's safe to say 2020 has been awful, for so many people, for so many reasons and my 2020 has been no exception to this! My fingers are firmly crossed 2021 brings better things for us all!

Nov 16, 2020 3:42:07 GMT dave6 said:

Still amazes me how many people have/had R53s and mx5s.

Before I start thinking of negative things, i'm jumping on the Mini train It's a very interesting point in that quote and i've found this too! I also had a supercharged R53 and loved it! It was purely a second car for me (aka garage ornament) which was handy as due to the spec, it wasn't ideal for daily use. Mine was a 240hp 1320 sorted Checkmate that i was very lucky to buy, all done and sorted - it had a full history file and the previous owner's 1320 bills added up to thousands. It had the bytetronic tune, 15% pulley, GP intercooler, 1320 cat cam, 550cc injectors, Janspeed manifold and custom exhaust, KW coilovers bla bla, even had a Devil's own methanol tank in the boot (that I never used lol). I took it back to 1320 myself and had them fit an Orangje airbox and service it etc and it was great fun! The noise!!  The thing I found is that it was awesome yes, BUT was almost wasted on me. It was a missile with the handling to match but i knew I couldn't get the best out of it on B road blasts so when the previous owner randomly messaged me asking to buy it back after a year, i sold it back to him for the price I wanted! He was a big time track day fanatic...... The only reliability issue I had on mine was the fan seized, which burnt out the motor trying to turn it and, well, let's just say I had the smell of BBQ Mini in my garage for a few days! 

Enter the Eunos....... my attempt to still have a fun car AND put some money in the bank as it was worth less than the Mini!

[dave6]

Mine isn't as extreme as that, pulley, cooler, coilovers, rear arb, td1.2s, jcw sparcos, upper and lower strutbraces.... Think that's about it.

Was planning on cam and tune this year, but, y'know....

[batou]

Don't make me pull out the old spec list and go big Canoe mode on the old mini stuff

[suggs84]

Nov 25, 2020 20:09:11 GMT batou said:

Don't make me pull out the old spec list and go big Canoe mode on the old mini stuff

You know you want to! 

...... plus I want to see how you got to five figures, knowing mine was into 5 figures too (just not by me, phewwww!)

[batou]

Nov 25, 2020 20:17:39 GMT suggs84 said:

Nov 25, 2020 20:09:11 GMT batou said:

Don't make me pull out the old spec list and go big Canoe mode on the old mini stuff

You know you want to! 

...... plus I want to see how you got to five figures, knowing mine was into 5 figures too (just not by me, phewwww!)

The source of my drained finances back then.... lol...

ENGINE & DRIVETRAIN 
1320Mini Bytetronik Remap, 7800rpm Redline, 277BHP.
13.20% KMT Pulley
John Cooper Works GP Intercooler
John Cooper Motorsport Air Intake & ITG Air Filter
Bosch 550cc Fuel Injectors
OBX 4-2-1 Exhaust Manifold
John Cooper Motorsport Cat Back Exhaust
Neil Roper One off/Custom Ported & Polished Cylinder Head
G&S Enlarged Inlet/Exhaust Valves
HKS Decked & Bored Forged Block
Wössner Oversize High Comp Forged Pistons
ARP Rod & Head bolts
Mahle Motorsport Bearings
JCW 5th Gen Teflon M45 Supercharger
CatCam High Lift Camshaft
Mocal Oil Cooler
ClutchMasters FX400 Carbon Clutch
ClutchMasters Lightweight Flywheel

SUSPENSION & CHASSIS
KW Clubsport Coilovers
KW Clubsport Top Mounts
Hotchkis Competition 25mm Rear ARB
Super/Powerflex Poly wishbone and arb bushes
Super/Powerflex Poly engine & gearbox mounts
OMP Lower Strut Brace
KAVS Motorsport front arm spacers/Roll centre adjusters
Whiteline Adjustable ARB drop links
SPC Adjustable Rear Control Arms
R53 GP Aluminium Rear Trailing Arm Conversion
R53 GP Flat Floor Undertray
Corner weight and full geo alignment.
1167kg with fuel.

BRAKES WHEELS & TYRES
Bronze GRIDV 16x8.0J ET20
Yokohama AD08R 215/45R16
Stud conversion with Muteki SR48 Steel Nuts
R56 S Brake Calipers
R56 S Standard Discs
Castrol SRF Fluid
Carbotech XP10 Brake Pads
HEL Performance Stainless Steel & Brake Lines

INTERIOR
Sparco Evo Fixed Bucket Seats
Buddy Club Type B Shift Knob
Scangauge II
B&S Short Shift kit
Rear seat delete & stripped interior
Innovate MTX-L AFR Gauge (Vent mounted)
Stack Oil Temperature Gauge (Vent mounted)
OMP WRC Steering Wheel & Quick release boss
Carbon Rear Strutbrace

The only things that never went on before I sold it that were in the plan were:
OS Giken LSD, GP/2006 Gearbox, roll cage and standalone ecu

[suggs84]

That's a pretty epic list! No wonder you had the financial drain haha, my Mini also had the scangauge, a nice bit of kit i thought and was quite subtle in the corner of the dash. Interesting yours also had the KW Clubsports, i found them really good quality (should be for 2 grand I think the invoice said) and you could have confidence with them - forgot to say mine also had adjustable suspension arms and adjustable top mounts etc etc

[batou]

Nov 25, 2020 20:57:03 GMT suggs84 said:

That's a pretty epic list! No wonder you had the financial drain haha, my Mini also had the scangauge, a nice bit of kit i thought and was quite subtle in the corner of the dash. Interesting yours also had the KW Clubsports, i found them really good quality (should be for 2 grand I think the invoice said) and you could have confidence with them - forgot to say mine also had adjustable suspension arms and adjustable top mounts etc etc

I only really used the scangauge for checking the IAT and max speed on the straights after I parked up...



The oil temp gauge is probably the most useful thing you need to see on track really. Yeah I drove cars with various suspension setups, hated the orginal meisters back then (there are more options in the range now I think) so I bought Bilstein B14, decent but not enough adjustability, and ride as not where it should be, oh and I was smashing driveshafts if I took too much kerb, when I looked at camber plates etc I decided the best route was just to sell those and buy Clubsport 2 ways with the top mounts, a mate of mine had them and I couldn't fault them so that was that. 

[dave6]

SGII in mine too, forgot about that, boost, voltage, IAT & Coolant Temp....

Coolant Temp has come in handy a couple of times when the fan resistor has a fit & doesn't bring on the low speed fan.

Hobo fixed with an external resistor, twice.

[Horney]

Mines 5 figures as well! (batou, stole your list and modded it).

ENGINE AND DRIVETRAIN
1320Mini Bytetronik Remap, 7200rpm Redline, 245BHP.
Ex MINI Challenge race engine
17% KAVS pulley
Airtec Intercooler
oranje stealth intake
Bosch 550cc Fuel Injectors
Janspeed Exhaust Manifold
JCW Cat Back Exhaust
ARP Rod bolts
JCW 5th Gen Teflon M45 Supercharger
CatCam High Lift Camshaft

SUSPENSION AND CHASSIS
BC RM inverted Coilovers
Super/Powerflex Poly wishbone and arb bushes
Super/Powerflex Poly engine and gearbox mounts
Vibratec Engine Mount
OMP Lower Strut Brace
OMP Upper Strut Brace

BRAKES WHEELS AND TYRES
17 x 8 Bola B10s
Toyo R888Rs
Brembo 4 Pot callipers from a Megane Cup
E46 M3 Brake Master Cylinder
MINI GP2 Discs
PBS Race Brake Pads
HEL Performance Stainless Steel Brake Lines

INTERIOR
DRE Shiftlights
Sparco Sprint Fixed Bucket Seats
TRS 6 Point Harnesses
AMS Fabrication 4 point cage
Coolerworx shifter
Ultragauge
GP Rear seat delete
Motomec Steering Wheel And Quick release boss

Exterior
JC Wing rear wing
TRC Front Lip
Many, Many Stickers

[batou]

Nov 26, 2020 10:02:39 GMT Horney said:

Mines 5 figures as well! (batou, stole your list and modded it).

ENGINE AND DRIVETRAIN
1320Mini Bytetronik Remap, 7200rpm Redline, 245BHP.
Ex MINI Challenge race engine
17% KAVS pulley
Airtec Intercooler
oranje stealth intake
Bosch 550cc Fuel Injectors
Janspeed Exhaust Manifold
JCW Cat Back Exhaust
ARP Rod bolts
JCW 5th Gen Teflon M45 Supercharger
CatCam High Lift Camshaft

SUSPENSION AND CHASSIS
BC RM inverted Coilovers
Super/Powerflex Poly wishbone and arb bushes
Super/Powerflex Poly engine and gearbox mounts
Vibratec Engine Mount
OMP Lower Strut Brace
OMP Upper Strut Brace

BRAKES WHEELS AND TYRES
17 x 8 Bola B10s
Toyo R888Rs
Brembo 4 Pot callipers from a Megane Cup
E46 M3 Brake Master Cylinder
MINI GP2 Discs
PBS Race Brake Pads
HEL Performance Stainless Steel Brake Lines

INTERIOR
DRE Shiftlights
Sparco Sprint Fixed Bucket Seats
TRS 6 Point Harnesses
AMS Fabrication 4 point cage
Coolerworx shifter
Ultragauge
GP Rear seat delete
Motomec Steering Wheel And Quick release boss

Exterior
JC Wing rear wing
TRC Front Lip
Many, Many Stickers

Nice list, looks like your doing it properly to me mate! I used to run the same exhaust combo but I moved that around a lot to get the sound I wanted. I see there are a few nice new options available now, I sold up in 2013/2014 and had the car from 2005 when there was very little in the aftermarket around and then when it did pop up it was usually very expensive and not very well researched. The only forum around was MINI2 I think, which turned into TotalMini and seriously, those guys were hard to deal with back then (think about threads asking how to swap "roof caps" out for checkered ones  ). I remember turning upto a frosty surrey dyno day and a few people were there, a bunch of blokes in their own fancy overalls with their tuner car, bunch of regular people and some stock cars and a certain red Mini One driven by a bearded, fairly scruffy looking bloke (as in actually gets his hands dirty and knows his stuff). Stock car was ran as a base, mine did something like 215bhp with just a 15% pulley and diy intake and the fancy tuner car failed to run... the modest looking red mini one however put down something like 250bhp with what looked like minimal work... I got chatting and booked my car in at their place not to long after that, that bearded guy was Paul Webster of 1320MINI, both him Tom and Scott were amazing to work with and I had a great time over the years spending money there. Its nice to see they are doing well and I think have a nice shiny new unit nowadays . 

Probably a bit like this place, we ended up creating a place for ourselves called MiniTorque (which I think had its own issues and went through a bit of faff and a later influx of similar roof cap clots) and a lot more improvements to the platform happened from then on.

I'm guessing this Airtek intercooler you listed allows you to run the 17% properly now, that was always the issue back then is the cooling options were not quite there and a few tried and failed doing the front mount route, there was a lot of noise over what worked and didn't work and most people wanted low down torque for the road which you needed more boost for and on track it was much more risky (I cracked a head with the 17% on).  A lot of people ran meth kits in their cars, for me I was just dead against this idea as the car was driven on the road too a lot, in an accident the last thing you want is something that burns invisble and can rot you from the inside. So yeah this is one of the many reasons why I went high comp, high lift, high revs and lower boost, even then on a hot day IAT was still a pain in the rear canoe with the top mount. 

Also what drove me to end up with a 7,800rpm limit (the head was done by an ex F1/Prodrive tech, and of course as well as the uprated valves it had better retainers and valve springs (possibly Ti) not in that list so it probably could have been 8k) was when I bought the car I nearly bought an EK9 or EP3 to turn into a Kanjo style Civic but drove the mini back to back and it took me back to driving my metro (first car) and mates minis back when I was a kid, you could also feel the potential so I decided I wanted to build a kanjozoku mini instead, I know there is no such thing but I grew up playing Gran Turismo, and then later watching best motoring and dodgy footage (which is all now on youtube) of drift, kanjo racing etc and had a vision. The vision being a bit of a rough looking car on the outside but with all of the right top end parts, big fat chunky semi slicks on deep jap style wheels and minimal ground clearance, I know most Kanjo cars are stickered up but I also wanted it to fly under the radar until it got close (At the time I commuted to Slough and I got stopped a few times in that car for doing nothing wrong). I feel I hit that look in the end, whilst the car nearly crippled me financially (this list doesn't show what broke, what didn't work, bits that came and went, interim parts while waiting for a better solution etc) I still look back and admire what I/we built and I think it helped shape the idea that MINIs are not all about polishing, chrome and checkered roofs.


#iamthespeedhunter: The Ff Theme by 



Kanjozoku JDM Style MINI Cooper S JCM (R53) by batousan, on Flickr

[Horney]

They certainly get under your skin. I too wanted to go for a kanjo style car, although I've gone sticker crazy and had to abandon hope of JDM dish when fitted the Brembos as they need big offset wheels. I've had many a Classic Mini and a few Metros and I agree, they're cut from the same cloth.

I missed off that I have a GP1 box with the factory LSD fitted. Next on my list is R56 rear trailing arms and adjustable inner arms (got some inner arms to fit), some ARBs and then think it's be time to look at Big Valve Heads.

[batou]

Nov 26, 2020 12:56:02 GMT Horney said:

They certainly get under your skin. I too wanted to go for a kanjo style car, although I've gone sticker crazy and had to abandon hope of JDM dish when fitted the Brembos as they need big offset wheels. I've had many a Classic Mini and a few Metros and I agree, they're cut from the same cloth.

I missed off that I have a GP1 box with the factory LSD fitted. Next on my list is R56 rear trailing arms and adjustable inner arms (got some inner arms to fit), some ARBs and then think it's be time to look at Big Valve Heads.

Perfect, so you started Kanjo, decided the street wasn't enough and went race/challenge car instead haha! That looks so at home in that pic. It is stange, even though they were not supercharged it just reminded me of the gearbox whine and the view from the window/bonnet was very, very familar. My mates had Minis but I never ended up getting one, I think seeing my dad underneath his over the years as I was a kid somehow stayed in my mind... funny how I was reminded about that many years later using a scaffold pipe to undo the hub nut so I could replace the driveshafts on an open drive... in winter... urgh.

Yeah I saw the GP2 disks and megane calipers, that would have sorted the braking issues I think. You could get 4 pots from an R56 back then but they were not really any better than R56 stocks with good pads as they still overheated. A set of proper brembos like the subaru would have done it but megane cup ones would do it . Yeah I have the same issue with the STI, all of the wheel face options are not deep due to brembo clearance. Its worth it though.

I was going to get a facelift box with a factory diff at one point but decided to hold out and get a os giken as there were questions about how good it would hold up with 277bhp on track being a clutch type designed for about 100bhp less. Sadly, that never happened and in hindsight I wish I just did that interim solution as the gears were too long and getting the power down was silly (you couldn't use 2nd over the mountain at cadwell and 3rd was way off the powerband) so really that car whilst a screamer didn't have the right drivetrain to match in the end.

Yeah the trailing arms are a worthwhile swap, they look pretty too....



if I may suggest something, get both sets of adjustable camber arms (I only had the one set) and some adjustable drop links and get the geo and corner weights done the extra camber you can get on might be worth it on some occassions. It makes such a difference on that car. Small things add up (or minus down depending on how you look at it)...



In terms of ARBs, I had the 25mm comp bar on full stiff and disconnected the front (the Clubsports had some race springs in so no roll) and that helped the rotation/understeer although the last long corner at Snetterton before the bus stop can be a bit sketchy at tonne if you don't have enough camber (I had -2.4 front, -3.3 rear I think).