2003 Mini Cooper S with lots of power

[HorneyMX5]

I wouldn't be surprised however another MINI owner on the same day had the same problem with much more expensive set up.

Untitled by Nicholas Horne, on Flickr

Untitled by Nicholas Horne, on Flickr

These little things are seriously hard on their brakes.

[Kev_Mk3]

I LOVE them shifters i want one for my suzuki but no one does them cracking car

[J4CKO]

How much power is it running now ?

I have a big soft spot for these, they are so cheap still, lot to be said for small cars with big power, my son has a standard ST and it makes me want one to modify and possibly do some track days in.

[HorneyMX5]

It's currently running around 210bhp at the wheels which is between 230 and 240 at the fly depending on who you believe about transmission losses.

They are cheap to buy but they can become a money pit fairly quickly. This one owes me more than I care to mention.

Long term I'm hoping for 275+ at the wheels with a combination of a big valve head, a Harrop TVS supercharger kit and Link standalone ECU. You get more power going Turbo, but where's the fun in that? I'd also miss the whine, the supercharger is one of the defining characters of these little things. Anyway, it's a long way as I have a home stuff I need to pay for first and proper coilers are higher up the list than more power.

[MDifficult]

Looks fantastic - gets better with every post.

Have you thought about buying driveshafts and wheel bearings in bulk?

[HorneyMX5]

MDifficult said:

Have you thought about buying driveshafts and wheel bearings in bulk?

You joke, but I now have a stash of driveshafts in my lock up.

[MDifficult]

HorneyMX5 said:

You joke, but I now have a stash of driveshafts in my lock up.

Sod’s law means that you’ll never break another one. But the day you sell them on....

[HorneyMX5]

One for the same model thread?

Untitled by Nicholas Horne, on Flickr

Found some blossom:

Untitled by Nicholas Horne, on Flickr

Went to a PH Pub Meet:

Untitled by Nicholas Horne, on Flickr

[HorneyMX5]

A little job this weekend, fit my DRE Sequential Shift Light. I bought this back in 2016 for my Supercharged MK1 MX5 but I never got round to fitting it and it's laid hidden in a cupboard ever since. It was pretty simple to wire up off the back of the OBD port using pin 9 as the RPM trigger feed.

Untitled by Nicholas Horne, on Flickr

Untitled by Nicholas Horne, on Flickr

All lit up

Untitled by Nicholas Horne, on Flickr

Video of it in action: https://youtu.be/ONZrXhVqIsE

Since then I've tweaked the settings a bit so the lights and flashing happen earlier in the rev range to take into account my reaction time etc.

I'm going to get a good friend of mine to work with me to 3D print a mount that will make it fit better on the steering wheel cowl.

I also did some performance testing to see what numbers my Ultragauge thinks I can do.

Untitled by Nicholas Horne, on Flickr

[HorneyMX5]

I went to Mods N Minis night at the Ace Cafe recently. A bit quite but it was a good night and I'd not been for a couple of years. It was good to catch up with a couple of long time classic mini friends who also now own Binis.

Untitled by Nicholas Horne, on Flickr

Untitled by Nicholas Horne, on Flickr

Untitled by Nicholas Horne, on Flickr

A few days later I lost the supercharger whine, about 90% of my horses and the dash lit up like Blackpool illuminations. This was the culprit. The crank pulley/damper that drives the charger had decided that being one part was overacted and decided to be two instead.

Untitled by Nicholas Horne, on Flickr

Rubbed a bit in the process.

Untitled by Nicholas Horne, on Flickr

I could have stuck a cheapo replacement on, or even a genuine BMW one but I figured what the hell, might as well do it proper and give the credit card a spanking.

Untitled by Nicholas Horne, on Flickr

Untitled by Nicholas Horne, on Flickr

Rated for over 800hp and drag racing. I think it should last OK in the little MINI.

So yeah, another weekend off it looking like this .......

Untitled by Nicholas Horne, on Flickr

..... but the new pulley is actually 0.8% oversized due to them not being able to make them any smaller. This means I now have more boost! OK, only 1psi, but every bit counts.

[HorneyMX5]

I competed at Motorsport At The Palace yesterday in the sprint. Such an awesome event and historic venue, I'll certainly be back next year.

I finished 6th in class and the 2nd fastest FWD car, seeing as the class structure was age based I'm happy with the result. Matt Bird of PH Towers with the EnduroKa was my paddock buddy for the day.

My brother and his wife live nearby to Crystal Palace so my niece and nephew came along as my pit crew.

Untitled by Nicholas Horne, on Flickr

Untitled by Nicholas Horne, on Flickr

Untitled by Nicholas Horne, on Flickr

Video: https://youtu.be/_YaIi-fKXLI

[Ranger 6]

HorneyMX5 said:

.....I finished 6th in class and the 2nd fastest FWD car, seeing as the class structure was age based I'm happy with the result. Matt Bird of PH Towers with the EnduroKa was my paddock buddy for the day.

Good result - well done

Also - a Craven MC member was MUK Steward. His photos on FB looked great, we must go and have a look one day.

[HorneyMX5]

As usual, not updated this in ages. Sorry.

Since the sprint at Crystal Palace I've done a few trackways.

First up, my first ever visit to Cadwell. What a circuit! Had an amazing day until limp mode kicked in at about 4pm. Limped it back home (6 hours!) and turned out it was a MAP sensor failure. Pics and vid:

Untitled by Nicholas Horne, on Flickr

Untitled by Nicholas Horne, on Flickr

Untitled by Nicholas Horne, on Flickr

Untitled by Nicholas Horne, on Flickr

Some good footage of me chasing my mate Brian is his MINI in this lot https://youtu.be/1pbeDoiWQ2c

Second up Castle Combe with my Dad.

2434 by Nicholas Horne, on Flickr

0748 by Nicholas Horne, on Flickr

0742 by Nicholas Horne, on Flickr

I have video from this, I still haven't got round to editing it!

Then I went to Llandow for a track day I organised. The exhaust Felxi went on the first session of the day. Damn it!

Untitled by Nicholas Horne, on Flickr

So only short video of the MINI but there is the added bonus of some MX5 content when I was thrown the keys to my mates MK3 MX5 (which he's just bought off my wife!). https://youtu.be/V-mzeN-7PAY

Time for some non track action and a weekend in a wet and windy field in Bristol for The International Mini Meet 2019.

Untitled by Nicholas Horne, on Flickr

Much Cider and BBQ meat was consumed. A great weekend despite the awful conditions.

The weekend after IMM? MiTP (Mini In The Park) at Mallory Park. Would be rude not to do a couple of track sessions!

Untitled by Nicholas Horne, on Flickr

Untitled by Nicholas Horne, on Flickr

Untitled by Nicholas Horne, on Flickr

Video: https://youtu.be/qYQ6FTa5p3w

Finally. Today at the Pistonheads Sunday Service at BMW HQ.

IMG_3145 by Nicholas Horne, on Flickr

IMG_3147 by Nicholas Horne, on Flickr

IMG_3187 by Nicholas Horne, on Flickr

Next up is a track day at Anglesey, Mini Action Day at Castle Combe and the FDMC Sprint Royale. Following that a well deserved winter break. Phew!

Edited by HorneyMX5 on Sunday 1st September 22:08

[MDifficult]

Spotted your car at PH on Saturday, both waiting in the lay-by beforehand and parked up - looks great in the flesh.



Looked for you to say hello but couldn't find you - After seeing you in the car that morning it confirmed my suspicion that we went to college together! I would have looked for longer but my daughter's patience for 'car talk' had reached it's limits by about 11 am

[HorneyMX5]

Oh that's a shame, always up for a natter! Were we on the same course? Seems like a lifetime ago now.

[MDifficult]

HorneyMX5 said:

Oh that's a shame, always up for a natter! Were we on the same course? Seems like a lifetime ago now.

At least one lifetime if not two! Yeah, same course and (if my memory serves) we did the Reading Festival together too at some point. I'll drop you a direct message or something with some details

[HorneyMX5]

New hoops. Some other updates later this week.

74705033_10162509711805322_2815740740615798784_o by Nicholas Horne, on Flickr

74674393_10162509711285322_368706935018487808_o by Nicholas Horne, on Flickr

73472785_10162509711220322_6113074398900518912_o by Nicholas Horne, on Flickr

[HorneyMX5]

NH_R53_THR_Logo copy by Nicholas Horne, on Flickr

[sc0tt]

Looks like good fun.

[DaveyBoyWonder]

Just read the full thread Nick and thats absolutely brilliant. Weirdly seem to be following a similar'ish path to you - had various MX5s, have a daily R55, had an R50 in the past and now looking at an R53 for the post-lowdown commute (no way I'm going back to the train 5 days a week!).

What would you reccommend I look out for if looking for an R53 S? A friend has mentioned that they had a slightl facelift around 2004/2005 which meant a bit more power and a better/stronger engine? Any good places to start looking? Would rather an enthusiast owned one rather than take a punt on something from Autotrader.