R53 JCW Mini Cooper S

[Carson]

viper stripes would look soooo good on this

Any examples of what you are thinking ?

 

[Wild Thing]

 

[Carson]

I decided to get my steering wheel retrimmed so picked up a spare wheel on eBay and sent my original off to Jack @ Royal Steering Wheels.

I went for perforated leather on the sides with smooth leather top and bottom, red stitching and red centre band.

Top quality work by RSW as usual. Highly recommended and great customer service.

@ant

Original:

Retrimmed:

 

[Chris Mac]

Lovely, absolutely lovely!

 

[Carson]

Upgraded the side lights to LEDs - much nicer than the original and blend in with the Xenons now too.

Before:

After:

 

[simy]

Where did you get the LEDs from?
I've tried a few but they all ended up flickering like mad after a while, so just went back to standard Halfords cheapies.

 

[Carson]

Where did you get the LEDs from?
I've tried a few but they all ended up flickering like mad after a while, so just went back to standard Halfords cheapies.

Here’s a link bud ..
Pack LED sidelights for Mini Cooper (parking lights) R50/R52/R53/R56/R55/R60

 

[Carson]

Quick, well overdue, bath today ...

 

[Neil_M]

I done the same too! Though It was much darker!

 

[Carson]

I done the same too! Though It was much darker!

I did the Audi after and it was a race against the fading daylight !!

 

[Brennan]

Great looking wee mini, stands out

 

[Carson]

The Mini was in with @BBSBOY for a service a couple of weeks ago.

• Oil & Filter
• NGK Spark Plugs
• ITG Filter
• Samco Intake Hose
• New Dipstick (original snapped)

Great service as usual and even fitted my retrimmed steering wheel which I am really impressed with.

 

[big_pete]

Steering wheel looks great, looks a good bit beefier than standard

 

[Deezer-D]

So clean this I’d love to see it with a black roof and mirrors though and no stripes but that’s personal preference.
Love the wheel too

 

[simy]

Wheel looks great, exactly what I was planning for my spare one.

 

[Carson]

I’ve had a slight creaking coming from the steering when on full lock which has been bugging me. It seems a common problem with the bearing in the steering column drying out and being the problem.

We all know how much @Neil_M loves preventive maintenance so I had given him a heads up a few weeks back.

Well, unfortunately I must have jinxed him as he soon had the same issue but he fixed it by reapplying grease to the bearing.

He kindly offered to have a look and do the same to mine. All being well that has cured it and it’s nothing more serious. I should know in a day or two of driving.

Quick snap of the two Coopers

 

[Neil_M]

I'm pretty sure there is an innuendo there somewhere . Simple fixes FTW.

 

[Boydie]

Fwends!!

 

[Carson]

Mini got some TLC this weekend.
Well overdue and nice to get some dry weather.

 

[ChrisL]

Looks great

 

[Carson]

Realised I haven’t updated this in a while.

So an intermittent headlight washer jet & a friendly MOT tester resulted in an MOT failure - awful timing, however just booked retest and no issues ...

Next up was the brakes.

Unfortunately my JCW wasn’t spec’d with the JCW upgraded brakes.

To be fair I had no huge complaints over the stock R53 setup at all, but after speaking with a few owners & reading online the positive feedback on upgrading to the R56 Cooper S front setup.

Thankfully @Neil_M had all the part numbers so kept me right for ordering the front calipers and carriers.

I also took advantage of one of ECPs many flash sales and picked up Brembo high carbon drilled & grooved 294mm front brake discs and pads.

I decided that I may as well replaced the rear discs and pads at the same time so they were purchased also along with new pad wear sensors, fluid and HEL braided lines.

Front calipers & carriers:

I decided to paint them Mini Chilli red so purchased the primer & paint from @Woodcutter ...

Primed & Painted:

Next up was the JCW stickers. I am not sure how long they will last and withstand the heat etc but no big deal if they come off.

 

[Neil_M]

They look super tidy sir!

 

[Todd]

Great work!

 

[Wild Thing]

Once your head gets round the spongy pedal they are a very good upgrade especially from high speed heavy braking

 

[Neil_M]

Once your head gets round the spongy pedal they are a very good upgrade especially from high speed heavy braking

100% it does highlight how poor the standard brakes are IMHO.