Cooper S - three months on.

OllyM said:
How come you got an R53 rather than an R56?
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From memory he chose the 53 for the same reason I did, the supercharged version is far more fun to drive than the turbo. I bought a black one so I could garage the 911 a bit more (20k a year on a 911 hurts) and went through the same decision process. Yes the 56 has the nicer interior and some new trimmings on the outside but for me, the 53 with the supercharger was the better car. Not to mention, first thing I did was swap the pulley and remap it so at 220hp, there's not really any reason I'd want to go for the turbo 56 at all!
 
OllyM said:
How come you got an R53 rather than an R56?
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I test drove both back to back and didn't really like the R56 turbocharged engine which made things difficult as I really wanted a car as new as possible so that meant I had to find a 56 plate R53 which are pretty rare, especially with the Recaros that I also wanted.

Hutchy said:
Where did you get the grille and interior bits from?

I really need to do this to my silver mini!
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Mini dealer, costs £51 for both bits. You need to trim the bottom grille with a dremmel but it's pretty self explanatory.

nommy said:
Where did you get the leather dash from and how hard is it to fit? (and also how much if you dont mind?) Same for the balck grille too...
Also, how do you get the speed to show up in the digital display? Mine only shows the outside temperature....!
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Got it from a guy on Ebay, he has the carbon fibre ones too. I just cycle through the displays and it shows speed, I dunno if all Coopers S's do it.

EDIT : Just found him and typically it's cheaper now than when I got mine, doh

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/BMW-Mini-JCW-...CarParts_SM&hash=item335d1f89f1#ht_954wt_1165

It's easy to fit, takes about 45 mins. Just pull the hazard switch and dimmer switch out, remove the 2 screws next to them, lower the glovebox and drivers side knee bolster and pull the bottom edges of the dash till in unclips, pretty straightforward

[TW]Fox;16569916 said:
My point being that I imagine a 2006 R56 was noticeably more to buy than 2006 R53.
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To be honest they're the same price, I just specifically wanted the supercharged engine as it's a much better drive IMO
 
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eidolon said:
I test drove both back to back and didn't really like the R56 turbocharged engine which made things difficult as I really wanted a car as new as possible so that meant I had to find a 56 plate R53 which are pretty rare, especially with the Recaros that I also wanted.
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Ah, fair enough! What didn't you like about the turbo engine?
 
The R56 was a nice car don't get me wrong, better built and quieter but just lacked something, hard to put my finger on what it was really. The turbo engine felt a bit strangled even though on paper the performance is the same as the supercharged engine. I guess I just didn't like the power delivery in comparison to the supercharged version.

I'd still consider a JCW R56 though, I just didn't want to spend £20k on one at the time.
 
Just thought I'll post and say...

I love my 55 reg R53 Cooper S! :D

But thinking of selling it as the fuel bill is starting to hurt, probably coz of the way I drive it. Also own a 09 Ibiza as a day to day car, but even then im using about £50 a week on the R53, with about 120 miles a week use.. :(
 
The_Abyss said:
May I suggest some Roundup for your gravel, at least for spring, and then a proper breathable matting solution underneath for next year?
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Haha! Thats an awesome post & deserves highlighted credit! :cool:

Back on topic - Mini = gay! :p
 
suj999 said:
Just thought I'll post and say...

I love my 55 reg R53 Cooper S! :D

But thinking of selling it as the fuel bill is starting to hurt, probably coz of the way I drive it. Also own a 09 Ibiza as a day to day car, but even then im using about £50 a week on the R53, with about 120 miles a week use.. :(
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£50 for 120 miles, at 120ppl is 13mpg :confused:
 
[ui]ICEMAN;16570761 said:
From memory he chose the 53 for the same reason I did, the supercharged version is far more fun to drive than the turbo. I bought a black one so I could garage the 911 a bit more (20k a year on a 911 hurts) and went through the same decision process. Yes the 56 has the nicer interior and some new trimmings on the outside but for me, the 53 with the supercharger was the better car. Not to mention, first thing I did was swap the pulley and remap it so at 220hp, there's not really any reason I'd want to go for the turbo 56 at all!
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Somebody linked me to some of your previous threads from the Balboni thread, you have a Mini as well? A F430, a 911 and a Mini? Nice collection...anybody got anything better here?:eek:
 
When I drove the 207GTi which has the same engine as the '56, I had similar thoughts. It felt asthmatic, and not very willing at all - there was no encouragement to really drive it at all.
 
Liking the black wheels, but then I would as we have a dark silver R56 MINI with black JCW R105 wheels.

We were initially looking to buy a R53 as we both liked the supercharger but then the R56 came up at a to good to miss price so we went with it.
 
I really like the idea of a Mini Cooper S.

The great thing about early ones is the supercharger. It sounds great fun and really suits the idea of that sort of car.

The absolutely huge issue I found however when taking out a Cooper S Works was a total lack of traction. It was absolutely, 100% impossible to put down the power in 1st or 2nd, and you would constantly get the traction control kicking in for 3rd.

I'm not sure if there is an option of an LSD, or if it even has one, but this was one thing that really put me off. Other than that I really really liked it.

Yours is looking fantastic with those subtle mods, and I do think as you have done Dave having one to acompany your 911 is a pretty good pairing. Granted from a practical point of view some sort of 3 series estate would be better, but it would lack the same go kart fun you get in a cooper s.
 
suj999 said:
Just thought I'll post and say...

I love my 55 reg R53 Cooper S! :D

But thinking of selling it as the fuel bill is starting to hurt, probably coz of the way I drive it. Also own a 09 Ibiza as a day to day car, but even then im using about £50 a week on the R53, with about 120 miles a week use.. :(
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Now I don't know your circumstances so apologies if this is all rubbish, but owning a nearly new Ibiza as a day to day car doesn't seem the most cost efficient way of doing things :)

It's a mini not a 911, surely the costs incurred with owning the Ibiza far outweigh any cost savings on the mini?

Surely sell the Ibiza, keep the mini, happy days :)
 
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