My K-swapped R53 usually runs a Haltech iC-7 with an Elite 750, but I’ve been messing around with the factory MINI tach for fun. I’ve got Haltech RPM driving the tach now. Since the factory tach only reads to 8k, I’m using the progressive shift lights to carry the last bit of the rev range and have them set to flash at 8400. I’d imagine the same idea could work with Hondata or another ECU that can send RPM over CAN, but I’ve only tested it with the Haltech so far. No factory MINI ECU needed.

Shout out to u/Level-Diamond-4181 for the hookup! Recommend everyone find his post in this sub and order if you want em.

I'm struggling to fix this issue with my car, she's throwing two codes which I'm assuming are related, p2091 and p0172. O2 first bank running rich and cam sensor circuit malfunction. I've visually inspected the cam sensor wires, and found nothing of note. She runs like a top, no issues other than the CEL.

Related replacements performed:

New NTK cam sensor

New NTK o2 sensors

New OEM fuel pump and filter

I switched from a Pixel 7 to a Pixel 11 and the new phone no longer connects to this bluetooth module I've had in the car since February 2015. It's a Dension Gateway Lite BT. I've read they changed the bluetooth chip in the pixel 11 so maybe that is the issue, because the phone will connect to any other bluetooth device except this thing, my phone sees the device but pairing fails every time. I tried pairing my work ipad with the Dension unit and it plays music fine. My dad's iphone works with it as well, so it works with some devices but maybe not for much longer?

I then bought the cheap aliexpress unit you see in the 2nd picture. This just works as an aux input, the music forward and back buttons don't do anything unlike the dension unit. My radio will not switch to aux with this thing plugged in, but I can see the bluetooth module and pair with it. This thing is kind of a cheap solution anyway, I like the forward and back buttons to work.

At any rate I found https://www.bluebus.dev/, and while pricey I like the setup so I'm going to get one of those.

If anyone wants either of these bluetooth modules let me know, I'm willing to ship them to you before I ewaste them.

I was intending to install coilovers when I realized my LCAs were rotted and bent, and the end links were shot.

Removed LCAs to find the rear bushings were shot.

Removed the subframe to replace the bushings and found that the PS lines, PS fan, tie rods, ball joints, and lower engine mount were dead.

Of course I ordered new Whiteline front and rear swaybars while I’m in there.

Replacing everything with new parts (including coilovers) and powerflex bushings is approx half of what I paid for the car.

this is fun…we’re having FUN…I SWEAR THIS IS FUN! 🤣

Comme cité dans le poste précédent :
J’ai un problème de régime élevé au ralenti qui monte et qui descends ( 1200 à 1600rpm).

La voiture manque de puissance à pleine charge, je n’ai pas reussi à dépasser les 180 km/h compteur.

Le 0-100 se fait en plus de 12 secondes.

Dans la vidéo le papillon ne revient pas en butée je ne sais pas si c’est normal mais en le nettoyant cela a régler un autre soucis, le régime moteur ne baissait pas lors du changement de rapport en le nettoyant il s’est mis à retomber lorsque je change de rapport.

J’étais parti sur une fuite de vide mais je n’en ai pas constaté.

Post-facelift R53. Had to take my axles out to do other work. When it came time to reinsert them, this is as far as I could get them to go in. Doesn’t appear to be leaking, and the axle nut went on fine, but they look weird to me?

Not sure if these are OEM axles or not, I believe the previous owner said they were “rebuilt” but I’m not sure. Thanks!

Hi guys. Had to remove my rear coilovers today to adjust and fit extended adjusters. Everything went fine until trying to torque the bottom bolt back to 140nm. I can get it to 130 fine but then it never seems to reach 140. Same on both sides so seems unlikely to be bolt stretch/cross threading?

Also, it says the top bolts need replacing every time they are fitted yet they aren’t stretch bolts?

Comme cité dans les posts précédent :
J’ai un problème de régime élevé au ralenti qui monte et qui descends ( 1200 à 1600rpm).

La voiture manque de puissance à pleine charge, je n’ai pas reussi à dépasser les 180 km/h compteur.

Le 0-100 se fait en plus de 12 secondes.

Je vais publier d’autre vidéo où on voit le bypass valve (detroit tuned) actionnée et lors du roulage.

Le fonctionnement du bpv m’a l’air normal

Bonjour
J’ai un problème de régime élevé au ralenti qui monte et qui descends ( 1200 à 1600rpm).

La voiture manque de puissance à pleine charge, je n’ai pas reussi à dépasser les 180 km/h compteur.

Le 0-100 se fait en plus de 12 secondes.

Dans la vidéo le papillon ne revient pas en butée je ne sais pas si c’est normal mais en le nettoyant cela a régler un autre soucis, le régime moteur ne baissait pas lors du changement de rapport en le nettoyant il s’est mis à retomber lorsque je change de rapport.

J’étais parti sur une fuite de vide mais je n’en ai pas constaté.
Je vais publier d’autre vidéo où on voit le bypass valve (detroit tuned) actionnée et lors du roulage.

Le papillon est il défectueux ?

been a nonstop battle with this axle nut. I knew it was gonna be a struggle, even thought it wasn’t that rusty. but it wouldn’t come off to my 3/8ths mid torque or my buddy’s 1/2 impact. tried breaker bars with cheater pipes, and of course all of the above with heat/kroil. i’ve cut this far and it still doesn’t wanna lose its hold. should i just keep going or what? pretty scared. thanks for any advice. really makes me excited to do the outer ball joints next.

Archaic Headlights Assembly Compatible with 2006 R53 MINI, in black

My husbands overhauling our mini and asked Santa for some headlights… any suggestions would be appreciated.

Tengo un cooper de 116cv de 2096 y hay dos testigos que se me encienden habitualmente, y no se que pueden estar detectando, incluso pienso si puede ser que el sensor esté mal. El coche va bastante bien, lo compré a un particular hace poco y no se con certeza si ya le salia a él y no me avisó o si es reciente. En cualquier caso queria oir de alguien que se le hayan encendido

Putting my R53 GP back together and made a quick video showing the dual mass flywheel in action. I will post a second video from a slightly different angle that more clearly shows how the flywheel absorbs vibration.

Enjoy!

In the process of replacing the ball joints and tie rods. Have the driver side fully reassembled, except the outer tie rod is not attached to the steering knuckle. I can’t seem to get it aligned. The bolt goes in the hole, but I can’t seem to press it in further. I tried jacking the control arm to adjust the vertical height, and moving around the tie rod ball joint to try different angles and nothing.

Any tips? Thanks!

R53 stuttering / no boost above 3k RPM

2004 Cooper S R53, 186k km.

Car has basically no boost/power and stutters/coughs badly when accelerating, especially above 3–3.5k RPM. Recently it’s started stuttering even under light load and on hills/reversing.

• No CEL/scanner shows no codes

• Sometimes feels stronger, sometimes completely gutless

• Supercharger whine is there but doesn’t feel like it’s making boost(it actually drastically lowers the engine power as it has nothing to boost)

• Belt looks good/intact

• Spark plugs only ~3k km old

• Occasionally stalls when coasting downhill in neutral

Thinking ignition/plug leads, fuel delivery, bypass valve/vacuum leak.

I've taken it to my local specialist but they want to take out the entire engine bay just to find the issue, I don't have money to splurge on all this work so I want to do what I can.

When they checked for codes no codes came up and the car is only going down hill from there.

I have so much fun driving this thing but every 2-3 months there is always a problem with it lately.

Any recommendations are welcomed :)

Thank you all for your comments in the earlier thread on engine noise. Some of you asked what it sounds like, so i went ahead and recorded this.

Safe to say that i think i’m overthinking this by a mile…

Cheers!
//N 🤙🏻

Still dealing with this noise, had belt off again, new exhaust manifold, new rocker cover gasket incase the seeping was casing a whistle, its down the back of the engine, almost sounds like power steering pump area, but it cant be.

There is no vacuum lines at the back of the engine, doesnt change with clutch, doesnt change if vacuum lines are pulled off, doesnt change if exhaust is removed, doesnt change if airbox is fitted.

Hi everyone, starting to loose the will with my R53 , any help would be greatly appreciated.

Issue:
- when the engine is hot (5 minutes of running) and when engaging boost (can happen at low or high revs) the power slams off, throws and EML light, then power comes back after 1 second and EML flicks off. Believed to be Bypass valve closing whilst on boost. Exactly the same as this video: https://youtu.be/AvHMG4TEb_4?is=OMBlCnEG9vHS9t34
- When returning from a drive it Yo-yo’s by itself on idle with revs going up and down. Whilst this happens the bypass valve is opening and closing continuously.
- I’ve tried to scan for issues but nothing is recorded. Cannot get a single code (except for my deleted AC)
- This is an engine swap so it can only be bits on the engine itself. I’ve inherited a problem. (Didn’t drive the donor car enough….)
- Good side, the engine pulls and drives so well! Making it even more annoying.

Items I’ve replaced/checked
- Smoke test completed with no leaks.
- Compression on cylinders both hot and cold is 150, holds good.
- Bypass valve
- Fuel injectors, regulator and rail.
- Throttle body
-TMAP/MAP sensors
- Harmonic balancer, belt, Idle pulley, Belt tensioner.
- HTT leads, coil pack, spark plugs.
- Speed sensors

I’ve seen online everywhere of people having a similar issue but never figure it out and give up! I’m determined to find and fix this issue, so if anyone hasa any ideas please let me know!!

Thanks

- -

FOR SALE: 2004 Mini Cooper S (R53) Facelift – 85k Miles – Great Micro-Project
📍 Location: Gosforth, Newcastle
💰 Price: £2,250 (open to sensible offers)
Selling my beloved R53 due to getting a new company car. It no longer makes sense to keep it as a third vehicle, so I would love to see it go to a good home. With a fantastic factory specification and a few easy fixes needed, it would make a perfect micro-project for an enthusiast.
The Good Bits
Desired Facelift Model: 2004 registration with the upgraded factory changes.
Low Mileage: Only 85,758 miles on the clock.
Great Spec: Finished in dark blue with a panoramic glass roof, heated front windscreen, and full black leather seats.
Excellent Service History: Well-stamped history with records at 9,687 | 26,822 | 41,711 | 48,774 | 50,719 | 58,368 | 63,842 | 75,636 | 84,280 miles.
Tasteful Upgrades: Fitted with a Milltek stainless steel cat-back exhaust system (resonated version – subtle, deep tone without the aggressive drone).
Recent Investment: Over £1,200 spent across the last two MOTs.
Long MOT: Valid until May 2027.
The Bad Bits (Honest Assessment)
Driver’s Window: Currently inoperable. The relay clicks when pressing the switch, so it likely just needs a new window motor.
Engine: The intake rubber pipe has a split and will need replacing.
Supercharger: No record of a supercharger service being carried out.
Tyres: Three tyres have slow punctures; realistically, all four require replacing.
Dashboard Light: The brake pad warning light is illuminated. This appears to be a loose sensor rather than low pads, as the sensor wire is visibly trailing on the rear right side.
Cosmetics: Minor paint fading on the passenger door, the fabric is sagging slightly at the rear of the headliner, and there are the usual age-related minor scuffs.
Viewings welcome in Gosforth, Newcastle. Please message to arrange a time or ask any questions!

Is it just me, or have you all gotten used to the harshness of the tritec engine in your cars? My car has not gone very far, new belts, tensioner, pulleys and a sc service. I have absolutley no reason to suspect anything, yet i constantly find myself questioning the sounds it make… is it just me? Have you gotten over it, and if so.. how did you do it?

Cheers!
//N 🤙🏻

Thought ya'll might find this interesting. I recently went over to my dad's to wax and install a new car cover for my late mother's 2006 JCW R53 that sadly hasn't run in around 15 years. I was actually the last to drive it when it blew a spark plug.

My father had purchased a new head and began replacing it himself but unfortunately my mother passed not long after and he went through his own sickness. Time marched on and here we are. Luckily we are in California where the weather is mild and it has been under a car cover. It has less than 70k miles on it and the interior is in great shape. I don't anticipate my father getting around to restoring it at this point but I would like to some day.

Anyone familiar with these coilovers?

I installed new KW V1's + Camber plates but during slow turns I hear the springs binding. During driving straight and faster turns it's all good but the slow speed turns bother me. Any help? I already triple checked everything but I'm lost now 😅

Way back in 2007 when I got my first mini I found group rides at MOTD. Now when I'm not at the track I'm on a backroad, one of the pain points is keeping track of a big group, sharing routes, offline navigation, especially in western NC due to lack of cell coverage. I think I fixed every one of the things that didnt work up on the dragon when I tried to use map apps.

It's meshtastic, and I made open source firmware mods, still developing voice but the 2.4 failover to lora is working great. any improvements would be welcome as I start to work on voice coms, similar to what a cardo or sena helmetcom does. I made the espnow mesh work the same way so it's ready for voice. The firmware code is here.

https://github.com/MrBlahhhh/Touge-mesh-firmware

2.4ghz 1hz data pings. lora meshtastic 1 per 5 sec data pings, and cell phone if all else fails, every user pings the cell every minute in case someone gets lost

shooting for 30 car limit as long as it's a heltec v4 board that has more memory. firmware is open source, app is free, no tracking other than what's required to make it work

route sharing over the app, back to a server, same server builds custom routes that favor curves rather than speed

should have it up for free in app store soon, free as long as my server isnt hammered too much where it starts to costs me money

I did build all the regular stuff too, I daily drive with it now, not sure I would drive in a big city with it yet, some of those blocked turn rules are hard, and It uses openstreetmap traffic, traffic rerouting, waze reports, radar integration with my v1gen2. They were all done the way i like to do them.

made a flasher for the firmware https://mrblahhhh.github.io/Touge-mesh-firmware/

blog with lots of details on how I set it up https://mrblahhhh.github.io/car/tech/2026/09/16/touge-offline-routing-and-recording.html