Mini Cooper S R56 conversion to weekend toy/track car
Discussion
Whilst were at LM in June educating some friends in the benefits of petrol head focused weekends away, the topic of weekend affordable fun cars that could be used occasionally on track came up as some of the cars in the group aren't really suitable for track days and it needed to be driven to/from the track. It was suggested an R56 Mini Cooper S might be worth looking at as one of the wider group had modified both an R53 and then moved onto an R56 with good success with the R56 being easy to extract more power from given it was a turbo charged engine and being that bit newer.
Fast forward a month or two and following plenty of trawling of PH and Autotrader etc. and one of the guys has bought an 07 Cooper S to add to 2x R53s and an F56 Cooper S within the group of friends, as well as an important GP2 that's had an uprated diff and the geo. enhanced. It seems as well that the tuning bug has "bitten" as all of the Minis have been modified in one way or another.
The little car....
The mission is try and create 90% of the Mini GP2 experience for about 1/3 of the new price and a car with all the consumables in tip-top condition that isn't going to be a fair weather garage queen.
The little car has in the few weeks it has been with my friend had its wheels fully refurb'd in gloss black (my friend does this for a living), the callipers repainted in red (it looks faster surely with them red?!) and a full set of Advan ad08r tyres fitted and the rear windows tinted (contentious I know, but there is a genuine reason, honest!).
Whilst my friend was away he left the car with me so out came the rear seats and the passenger seat & I gave the whole inside a serious clean as it "whiffed" slightly.
The weather forecast for this morning was good so the little car went for a its inaugural drive out with another friend who has a 911 and we headed into the Derbyshire Peak District for an early brekkie trip and to understand how it runs with the new tyres etc before the next step of the transformation? I got to watch from the 911 in case you wondered whether I was sat on an orange box in the Mini!
The removal of the seats showed how heavy the manually adjusted Mini seats were. It's been decided to leave the carpet in to retain some comfort for weekend runs out rather than have the sound deadening removed as well as there isn't the desire to chase the last few lbs weight-wise.
The car will hopefully have a pair of Cobra Sebring Pro motorsport seats fitted in the next week with harness bar/harnesses to improve the seating position.
The car will then have up-rated brake pads/fluid; a KW suspension kit and the bushes replaced; fast road/track geo (as the ride height is currently akin to an SUV)
a Milltek non-resonated cat back exhaust and a remap/dyno it is hoped to get between 230-250 bhp, although we will have to see if an up-rated intercooler is needed to get to the upper number?
When we get the group together I'll post up some pics
Fast forward a month or two and following plenty of trawling of PH and Autotrader etc. and one of the guys has bought an 07 Cooper S to add to 2x R53s and an F56 Cooper S within the group of friends, as well as an important GP2 that's had an uprated diff and the geo. enhanced. It seems as well that the tuning bug has "bitten" as all of the Minis have been modified in one way or another.
The little car....
The mission is try and create 90% of the Mini GP2 experience for about 1/3 of the new price and a car with all the consumables in tip-top condition that isn't going to be a fair weather garage queen.
The little car has in the few weeks it has been with my friend had its wheels fully refurb'd in gloss black (my friend does this for a living), the callipers repainted in red (it looks faster surely with them red?!) and a full set of Advan ad08r tyres fitted and the rear windows tinted (contentious I know, but there is a genuine reason, honest!).
Whilst my friend was away he left the car with me so out came the rear seats and the passenger seat & I gave the whole inside a serious clean as it "whiffed" slightly.
The weather forecast for this morning was good so the little car went for a its inaugural drive out with another friend who has a 911 and we headed into the Derbyshire Peak District for an early brekkie trip and to understand how it runs with the new tyres etc before the next step of the transformation? I got to watch from the 911 in case you wondered whether I was sat on an orange box in the Mini!
The removal of the seats showed how heavy the manually adjusted Mini seats were. It's been decided to leave the carpet in to retain some comfort for weekend runs out rather than have the sound deadening removed as well as there isn't the desire to chase the last few lbs weight-wise.
The car will hopefully have a pair of Cobra Sebring Pro motorsport seats fitted in the next week with harness bar/harnesses to improve the seating position.
The car will then have up-rated brake pads/fluid; a KW suspension kit and the bushes replaced; fast road/track geo (as the ride height is currently akin to an SUV)
a Milltek non-resonated cat back exhaust and a remap/dyno it is hoped to get between 230-250 bhp, although we will have to see if an up-rated intercooler is needed to get to the upper number?
When we get the group together I'll post up some pics
chuntington101 said:
look at all the boot space now! 
My friend has a dog and the ability to put him (he's a Springer Spaniel) in the back of the car is an important factor, even if it very rarely occurs and is only for short journeys - this is also the reason why a harness bar will be used rather to allow the dog a clear floor rather than using the original seat belt anchor points (which is another possibility).The little car will start its next stage of the improvements on Thursday hopefully and will post up the pics as and when - the exhaust and KWs have apparently arrived and I will see if a picture of the seats before installation can be posted as I think the mountings are to be developed to put in cars "with carpet" and will still allow forward/rear adjustment to cater for different drivers.
MrC986 said:
chuntington101 said:
look at all the boot space now!
My friend has a dog and the ability to put him (he's a Springer Spaniel) in the back of the car is an important factor, even if it very rarely occurs and is only for short journeys - this is also the reason why a harness bar will be used rather to allow the dog a clear floor rather than using the original seat belt anchor points (which is another possibility).The little car will start its next stage of the improvements on Thursday hopefully and will post up the pics as and when - the exhaust and KWs have apparently arrived and I will see if a picture of the seats before installation can be posted as I think the mountings are to be developed to put in cars "with carpet" and will still allow forward/rear adjustment to cater for different drivers.
Chuntington....I like your style! My friend just needs to get his hound a leather flying cap and some goggles and he's suitably equipped for the part....
Anyway, presents are starting to arrive for the little car...the first is a non-resonated cat back exhaust - whether there is a need for a decat down pipe is something that will need to be considered. I'll leave the main photos for when the bits are installed.
There is also a discussion at present about how wild a remap the car should have as there are a couple of tuners that offer 1-3 stage maps to give the car some flexibility for track/road work and the little devil sat on the shoulder of my friend is inclined to have a programmable map so that when the car is not on track, it will have plenty of "small mortar" explosions when driven with some spirit
We also had a discussion about whether the seats should be fixed to the floor or have runners to allow adjustment to the wheel. The thinking on having the seats fixed to the floor was for more headroom when wearing a helmet although with the availability of different thickness base cushions, this isn't considered necessary.
One last thing....the target is 247 "ponies" on the car after the work
Anyway, presents are starting to arrive for the little car...the first is a non-resonated cat back exhaust - whether there is a need for a decat down pipe is something that will need to be considered. I'll leave the main photos for when the bits are installed.
There is also a discussion at present about how wild a remap the car should have as there are a couple of tuners that offer 1-3 stage maps to give the car some flexibility for track/road work and the little devil sat on the shoulder of my friend is inclined to have a programmable map so that when the car is not on track, it will have plenty of "small mortar" explosions when driven with some spirit
We also had a discussion about whether the seats should be fixed to the floor or have runners to allow adjustment to the wheel. The thinking on having the seats fixed to the floor was for more headroom when wearing a helmet although with the availability of different thickness base cushions, this isn't considered necessary.
One last thing....the target is 247 "ponies" on the car after the work
Good luck getting it ready, I always love watching cars get turned into track cars!
I'm doing the same with my Impreza at the moment and also have multiple maps with an anti-lag map that creates the effect you mentioned although I don't use it because it makes the car brutal to drive.
I also achieved your figure but for the wrong reasons! My car did that number because something is wrong!
- It should be about 100bhp+ higher so its in getting investigated!
Have you done many track days before?
I'm doing the same with my Impreza at the moment and also have multiple maps with an anti-lag map that creates the effect you mentioned although I don't use it because it makes the car brutal to drive.
I also achieved your figure but for the wrong reasons! My car did that number because something is wrong!
- It should be about 100bhp+ higher so its in getting investigated! Have you done many track days before?
AntiLagGC8 said:
Good luck getting it ready, I always love watching cars get turned into track cars!
I'm doing the same with my Impreza at the moment and also have multiple maps with an anti-lag map that creates the effect you mentioned although I don't use it because it makes the car brutal to drive.
I also achieved your figure but for the wrong reasons! My car did that number because something is wrong! - It should be about 100bhp+ higher so its in getting investigated!
Have you done many track days before?
The little car has had the suspension fitted and the new 'zorst which is a tuneful upgrade. The seats/belts are being sorted this week and it just leaves the brake pads (wrongly supplied awaiting replacement), the remap and the geo to be sorted.I'm doing the same with my Impreza at the moment and also have multiple maps with an anti-lag map that creates the effect you mentioned although I don't use it because it makes the car brutal to drive.
I also achieved your figure but for the wrong reasons! My car did that number because something is wrong!
- It should be about 100bhp+ higher so its in getting investigated! Have you done many track days before?
The friend whose car it is has done quite a few track days....I was a spectator/passenger at a very wet Donnington today in his special M135i and we did comment that given it was a BMW drivers club day, that there were no Minis although there were many different BMWs including a healthy number of 3 series Compacts as well as the numerous M3s etc. I suspect that if it were Oulton Park, there would definitely be a few Minis present.
As a former KW Dealer I can advise you against taking anything bar the two way race ones on track. Most of the KW range V1/V2/V3 and Clubsport are all twin tubed and in the case of the Clubsport massively overpriced for what they do.
I've also helped prep and crew on a number of MINI's in Time Attack in the past and we ran XYZ's & BC's on our R56 and with 220 bhp it was lapping Brands Hatch faster than R53's with 300+. If you want to go big power you will need a fully built engine on the R56. The engine with 240 ish in normal trim should last a while based on the UK Challenge cars, Coastal Racing estimated they were getting 40k of use out of theirs before they needed de coked and re built.
Also ditch the OE wheels as they weigh a tonne, something a touch lighter will work wonders. The challenge bonnet scoop is also a must as R56's are prone to melting the stock one on track as we found out.
I've also helped prep and crew on a number of MINI's in Time Attack in the past and we ran XYZ's & BC's on our R56 and with 220 bhp it was lapping Brands Hatch faster than R53's with 300+. If you want to go big power you will need a fully built engine on the R56. The engine with 240 ish in normal trim should last a while based on the UK Challenge cars, Coastal Racing estimated they were getting 40k of use out of theirs before they needed de coked and re built.
Also ditch the OE wheels as they weigh a tonne, something a touch lighter will work wonders. The challenge bonnet scoop is also a must as R56's are prone to melting the stock one on track as we found out.
Lordf - thanks for your comments. My friend is not looking to competitively race the car and wants to retain some semblance of engine originality and hence the non-res exhaust, remap and maybe an uprated intercooler is about as far as the engine work will go. Equally, the comment about the bonnet scoop is acknowledged although again from research and a friends experience (who is also guiding us on the work having done an R53 MCS track day car which still passes its MOT; an R56 fast road car and now has an F56 MCS which has been substantially tuned), as an occasional track car it shouldn't be needed.
Above all else, the project is to create a greater level of fun from a little front drive car, entertain some bigger engine cars whilst on track and also for a budget less than the initial purchase cost of the car at nearly 8 yrs old.
Well spotted on the boot floor...the tool kit etc. has been left in the car until the car comes back this week from having the main jobs done and will be removed for the geo setup. Whilst the car doesn't have a spare wheel as an MCS, it is force of habit to leave the toolkit in the boot!!
Photos hopefully of the project progress before the end of the week for those watching the progress with a view to doing some broadly similar.
Above all else, the project is to create a greater level of fun from a little front drive car, entertain some bigger engine cars whilst on track and also for a budget less than the initial purchase cost of the car at nearly 8 yrs old.
Well spotted on the boot floor...the tool kit etc. has been left in the car until the car comes back this week from having the main jobs done and will be removed for the geo setup. Whilst the car doesn't have a spare wheel as an MCS, it is force of habit to leave the toolkit in the boot!!
Photos hopefully of the project progress before the end of the week for those watching the progress with a view to doing some broadly similar.
MrC986 said:
Lordf - thanks for your comments. My friend is not looking to competitively race the car and wants to retain some semblance of engine originality and hence the non-res exhaust, remap and maybe an uprated intercooler is about as far as the engine work will go. Equally, the comment about the bonnet scoop is acknowledged although again from research and a friends experience (who is also guiding us on the work having done an R53 MCS track day car which still passes its MOT; an R56 fast road car and now has an F56 MCS which has been substantially tuned), as an occasional track car it shouldn't be needed.
All of my advice still applies, the KW stuff is road only. Theres far better road / track options for the MINI, trust me as I've owned / tested / installed and set up nearly every brand of suspension out the for the R53 and R56. BC, XYZ or Mesiter R would all be better options than KW for your use. Our TA car was still 100% road legal and passed its MOT as it was also driven extensively on the road.FMIC is vital for the R56, Evolve and Wagner make decent options, we ran the Evolve FMIC and tune on ours.
My R53 was built for track and remained 100% road legal, with 220 bhp and the best suspension ever developed for them (bar JRZ), I daily drove as well, commuting and around town. The best things you can do are ditch the stock wheels, I always opted for TDs as they were night and light and strong. The unsprung weight makes a huge different on the MINI.
Holidays for my friend and a relocation to Devon for me have slightly got in the way of updating the thread and hence a breakfast was arranged to catch up and also see the car. The car now has the interior/weight saving completed including harnesses/harness bar, new suspension fitted and the 'zorst (the observant amongst you will note that the rear belts are still in as we decided that removing the interior trim just to take these out wasn't worth the effort!). The seats/belts have been customised to match the exterior colour with an additional stripe around the edge and blue stitching/logos with the MCS logos are on a removable padded section of the seat as well. The seats look great and my friend is naturally pleased with the efforts of the manufacturer although "Snoops" doesn't seem to have much space for carriage in the rear for occasional dog wagon duties 
It was also decided that for extra peace of mind, that the seats would be to an accredited safety/test standard and hence the seats are FIA homologated with the relevant "safety approval" - money could have been saved by going for non FIA seats but it just wasn't worth it.
The seats are also mounted on top of adjustable runners to allow drivers with shorter legs the opportunity to use the car in case my friends O/H decides to venture on to track again (which has successfully happened before) although this comes at the cost of slightly less head room and weight. It was discussed whether the passenger seat should be directly mounted to the floor without the runners although for the sake of keeping the seats equal in height (rather than having the passenger seat lower like in a rally car), this wasn't done.
The suspension awaits a geo setup shortly with Lohen as a suitably experienced Mini specialist who will do the remap/give the car a full service so that it's tiptop for its first "day out" in early November now. Whilst it wasn't planned to do a decat upgrade on the car it looks like that will be done as well - whilst the car has had a non-resonated cat back exhaust fitted, it still sounds apparently a little too muted The car also developed a small clonking noise that could be heard once the interior was taken out and this will be sorted as well, even though it wasn't something that was found on the MOT - it just proves how limited the MOT criteria is compared to actually driving the car on the road.
Some new uprated pads had been supplied to add to the uprated brake fluid although these have been sent back as they were the wrong ones - it's no great problem although it would have been useful to have done them at the same time as the suspension was fitted.
I will hopefully update with some more photos when it is in for the geo/remap and the all important dyno graph to show the new bhp
although "Snoops" doesn't seem to have much space for carriage in the rear for occasional dog wagon duties It was also decided that for extra peace of mind, that the seats would be to an accredited safety/test standard and hence the seats are FIA homologated with the relevant "safety approval" - money could have been saved by going for non FIA seats but it just wasn't worth it.
The seats are also mounted on top of adjustable runners to allow drivers with shorter legs the opportunity to use the car in case my friends O/H decides to venture on to track again (which has successfully happened before) although this comes at the cost of slightly less head room and weight. It was discussed whether the passenger seat should be directly mounted to the floor without the runners although for the sake of keeping the seats equal in height (rather than having the passenger seat lower like in a rally car), this wasn't done.
The suspension awaits a geo setup shortly with Lohen as a suitably experienced Mini specialist who will do the remap/give the car a full service so that it's tiptop for its first "day out" in early November now. Whilst it wasn't planned to do a decat upgrade on the car it looks like that will be done as well - whilst the car has had a non-resonated cat back exhaust fitted, it still sounds apparently a little too muted
The car also developed a small clonking noise that could be heard once the interior was taken out and this will be sorted as well, even though it wasn't something that was found on the MOT - it just proves how limited the MOT criteria is compared to actually driving the car on the road.Some new uprated pads had been supplied to add to the uprated brake fluid although these have been sent back as they were the wrong ones - it's no great problem although it would have been useful to have done them at the same time as the suspension was fitted.
I will hopefully update with some more photos when it is in for the geo/remap and the all important dyno graph to show the new bhp
Edited by MrC986 on Sunday 11th October 13:31
Work has got in the way for my friend with his Mini project in so far as the remap & geo is still awaited. In the meantime, some time friendly cosmetic jobs have been squeezed in....
^ with a full dechrome of the front grill and also the headlight bezels - the bezel changes also allowed the O/S headlight to be properly aligned as it was slightly skewed in the gap (we think a bulb change or unit replacement caused this). The mirrors have also been wrapped so that certain friends can identify it when it eventually goes on the track (& can pull over & let it pass!
). The side lights (not photographed switched on as yet) have had LED bulbs added, which apparently make a noticeable difference to the appearance & as one was suffering moisture invasion, it has been swapped as well.
& if anyone was in doubt of the origins of the new seats, the side mounts now leave you in no doubt!
He's also had the roof "corrected" paint wise as the condition of the paint was very poor when he got the car - apparently the paint thickness on the different coloured roofs (compared to the main colour! Is very thin which is why a contact of the friend who details cars was called in to do it rather than us having a play with the machine polisher.
^ with a full dechrome of the front grill and also the headlight bezels - the bezel changes also allowed the O/S headlight to be properly aligned as it was slightly skewed in the gap (we think a bulb change or unit replacement caused this). The mirrors have also been wrapped so that certain friends can identify it when it eventually goes on the track (& can pull over & let it pass!
). The side lights (not photographed switched on as yet) have had LED bulbs added, which apparently make a noticeable difference to the appearance & as one was suffering moisture invasion, it has been swapped as well.& if anyone was in doubt of the origins of the new seats, the side mounts now leave you in no doubt!
He's also had the roof "corrected" paint wise as the condition of the paint was very poor when he got the car - apparently the paint thickness on the different coloured roofs (compared to the main colour! Is very thin which is why a contact of the friend who details cars was called in to do it rather than us having a play with the machine polisher.
Edited by MrC986 on Sunday 25th October 14:20
Mmm as an ex r56 owner and track day car nut I must say that interior looks lovely and I can imagine it will be an utter riot!
One word of caution it's really not advised to run harnesses without a roll cage. Should you flip the car (however unlikely) the roof may well collapse a bit and if it does, without a cage your head/neck isn't protected. Ie harnesses hold you rigid and the roof will use your head as the support....
Hence i still run seatbelts with my buckets as many do until I can afford a proper cage...
Don't get me wrong it looks epic, but if you are anything like me and really start pushing on track, if you are to go off it will be at speed and rolling isn't impossible!
One word of caution it's really not advised to run harnesses without a roll cage. Should you flip the car (however unlikely) the roof may well collapse a bit and if it does, without a cage your head/neck isn't protected. Ie harnesses hold you rigid and the roof will use your head as the support....
Hence i still run seatbelts with my buckets as many do until I can afford a proper cage...
Don't get me wrong it looks epic, but if you are anything like me and really start pushing on track, if you are to go off it will be at speed and rolling isn't impossible!
Chr1sch - thanks for the tip. The original belts etc have been retained not only for road comfort but also in case any passengers aren't partial to the full "harness bondage" effect! The sort of track days the car will do are such it isn't planned to be exceeding track limits too far and at worst hopefully only to check the length of the grass rather than the low flying air abilities of the R56 model range! If it becomes more track focused, it might be that a LSD & a half cage were the next step with the little car 
The new challenge with this project is how long my friend keeps it (I know he's not even used it on track yet!) as the car is now possibly vying for garage space/attention with a very low miles series 1 Lotus Elise with a few choice performance upgrades? In true petrolhead behaviour, the Mini was having the seats /suspension done as the Lotus opportunity came along (that will be another thread I'm sure given the circumstances of buying it etc!) & the Lotus was potentially too much of an project to turn down The Mini is also the 2nd project to have been completed & then within 2-3 months to have had a possible ownership change 
The new challenge with this project is how long my friend keeps it (I know he's not even used it on track yet!) as the car is now possibly vying for garage space/attention with a very low miles series 1 Lotus Elise with a few choice performance upgrades? In true petrolhead behaviour, the Mini was having the seats /suspension done as the Lotus opportunity came along (that will be another thread I'm sure given the circumstances of buying it etc!) & the Lotus was potentially too much of an project to turn down
The Mini is also the 2nd project to have been completed & then within 2-3 months to have had a possible ownership change A brief update - as suspected, the inevitable which car gets the "chop" from my friends garage of 3 cars once the Elise arrived sees the Mini looking for a new home. The good news is that I've come to a suitable agreement with my friend in which I'll be buying the little blue car - having had a large amount of influence in what the current enhanced spec should be, it seemed quite an appropriate outcome, especially having read the latest edition of Evo & the feature on the 278 bhp Lohen tuned Mini.
I'm now in the process of making space in my own garage (it'll be bye bye Alfa GTV V6
) & once the car is home, I'll start the next chapter in the improvements (with things like the decat/remap/visit to the rolling road which hadn't been done) & also "the travels" of the little blue machine (including hopefully a trip to France in mid-June 2016 with a few friends & a few PHSS too ). I'm really looking forward to owning another front drive fast little car as my early driving experiences/cars were front drivers, although will be sad to see the Alfa go but I've scratched that itch for 2 yrs now & it's been really good fun too.
I'm now in the process of making space in my own garage (it'll be bye bye Alfa GTV V6
) & once the car is home, I'll start the next chapter in the improvements (with things like the decat/remap/visit to the rolling road which hadn't been done) & also "the travels" of the little blue machine (including hopefully a trip to France in mid-June 2016 with a few friends & a few PHSS too ). I'm really looking forward to owning another front drive fast little car as my early driving experiences/cars were front drivers, although will be sad to see the Alfa go but I've scratched that itch for 2 yrs now & it's been really good fun too.Gassing Station | Readers' Cars | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff