New R53 owner from S.F. Bay Area
#1
09-18-2012 | 11:55 AM
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1st Gear
Joined: Sep 2012
Posts: 18
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From: Bay Area, California
New R53 owner from S.F. Bay Area
Hello everyone,
My wife and I are longtime car nuts who have owned a huge variety of different vehicles. We currently own a highly modified 2010 Jeep Rubicon and a 1969 Morgan Plus 8, and we just picked up a 2006 R53 6MT with 40k miles from a good buddy. Before we even bought the car from him, we installed the WMW 17% OD pulley since we had to tear into the front-end to replace the A/C compressor and condenser. The pulley seemed like it would be a nice complement to the JCW exhaust, suspension, and 16" Minilites with Conti DWS's.
This car is a hoot! Not many other upgrades are needed, but the aftermarket Kenwood stereo is infuriating to use (I'll probably replace it with an OEM head unit if I can find one) and the sharkfin antenna has the world's worst reception so I'll look into upgrading that to a real antenna. I also need to figure out how to clean up the wiring for the Escort and Garmin so it's not such a rat's nest. At least the UltraGauge's wiring was easy to route out of the way.
It's always fun to start working with a fun new toy, and the Mini is a car we've both always wanted. We're looking forward to learning new stuff and making new friends here.
- minirubicon
My wife and I are longtime car nuts who have owned a huge variety of different vehicles. We currently own a highly modified 2010 Jeep Rubicon and a 1969 Morgan Plus 8, and we just picked up a 2006 R53 6MT with 40k miles from a good buddy. Before we even bought the car from him, we installed the WMW 17% OD pulley since we had to tear into the front-end to replace the A/C compressor and condenser. The pulley seemed like it would be a nice complement to the JCW exhaust, suspension, and 16" Minilites with Conti DWS's.
This car is a hoot! Not many other upgrades are needed, but the aftermarket Kenwood stereo is infuriating to use (I'll probably replace it with an OEM head unit if I can find one) and the sharkfin antenna has the world's worst reception so I'll look into upgrading that to a real antenna. I also need to figure out how to clean up the wiring for the Escort and Garmin so it's not such a rat's nest. At least the UltraGauge's wiring was easy to route out of the way.
It's always fun to start working with a fun new toy, and the Mini is a car we've both always wanted. We're looking forward to learning new stuff and making new friends here.
- minirubicon
#2
09-18-2012 | 12:16 PM
Welcome!
You say you have a shark fin antenna, but I thought they changed that in '05. In shark fin cars (no antenna sticking out of it) the radio antenna is built into the rear passenger window. Shark fin cars have Nav.
For radar detector, I ran the wiring under the A pillar and put the detector above the rear view mirror.
You say you have a shark fin antenna, but I thought they changed that in '05. In shark fin cars (no antenna sticking out of it) the radio antenna is built into the rear passenger window. Shark fin cars have Nav.
For radar detector, I ran the wiring under the A pillar and put the detector above the rear view mirror.
#3
09-18-2012 | 12:28 PM
Thread Starter
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1st Gear
Joined: Sep 2012
Posts: 18
Likes: 0
From: Bay Area, California
There is no antenna sticking out of the shark fin, but I have no idea if the previous owners may have changed that out. This is at least the 3rd head unit that's been in the car, so I wouldn't be surprised if it had Nav from the factory.
All I know is that the usability of this Kenwood is dreadful, its FM reception is horrific, and the AM reception is completely nonexistent.
Regarding 12v accessories, what are the recommendations for upgrading from the one cigarette lighter in the console to power multiple devices? I could always hardwire the RD or GPS, but I'm not yet "educated enough" on Minis to start cutting and splicing wires.
All I know is that the usability of this Kenwood is dreadful, its FM reception is horrific, and the AM reception is completely nonexistent.
Regarding 12v accessories, what are the recommendations for upgrading from the one cigarette lighter in the console to power multiple devices? I could always hardwire the RD or GPS, but I'm not yet "educated enough" on Minis to start cutting and splicing wires.
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