Hi everyone.

A few weeks ago I picked up an '03 R53 to use mostly as a daily driver. BRG with black stripes and roof, has the panoramic sunroof that I don't care for. It only has 67K miles, has brand new run flats and just had the power steering recall done, all for $4500 so I couldn't pass it up!
(I will post pics soon, I swear)

One oddity I have noticed is it seems to not like first gear. If I try to take off from a stop and anything under 3k while feathering the clutch it just crawls away. It drives great after the initial flutter. Is this just something I need to get used to on the Mini or does this seem odd? Ive had MANY cars most of which were manual and this one just feels strange taking off from a stop.

It's averaging 23+ MPG on my commutes mostly 70-80 MPH highway. But also on this note, it gets HORRIBLE fuel consumption in town. If you reset the MPG computer with the stalk and watch it fresh, at idle it's getting about 8MPG. Driving around it will go up and up then idling at a stop it drops like a stone. Is THIS normal too?

I think ALL of the bushings on the car are shot. I KNOW the strut mounts, upper motor mount and control arm bushings are for sure. So some suspension work is in order, so I'm thinking might as well upgrade! I will surf around on here for ideas of course

I want to wrap the roof, at least, to be white. The black roof here in Texas makes the interior unfriendly in the summer. I would LOVE to wrap the whole car but don't really want to shell out that much. So I think the roof and change the bonnet stripes to white and get the white mirror caps and call it a day.

As soon as I wear out the brand new run flats I will likely get some non-runflats and different wheels. I really like the look of bright lime green Sparco Assetto Gara's. Anyone have experience with these on their Mini? Wanting to make sure they aren't super fragile, with all the crap roads we have here don't need to bend or break a wheel first time out.

And I think I've rambled on enough for an initial post

Lewthor

 

Congrats on the find and welcome to the forum! .....waiting on those photos.......

 

Welcome

Changing roof color from black is great as I wouldn't want a black car here in GA let alone TX.

 

Welcome to NAM, Lewthor. Those are some low miles for an '03! Good find. Do you have any maintenance records of the vehicle? I'd be curious how old your O2 sensors might be. If you need help throwing together suspension items, and upgrading to items such as Powerflex, shoot me a PM and I'd be more than happy to throw a list together for you to review. We have some pretty awesome kits that have everything you need to do for a suspension overhaul/upgrade.

 

How do you start the car from a stop? You can't just roll off the clutch in this car; you must mix in some throttle or else you will get shuddering. The car just doesn't have the torque.

Don't trust the OBC for gas mileage. Forget it exists. If you want to track your MPG, do the calculations yourself.

Curious, why don't you like the sunroof? Just that it gets the cabin hot? The sunroof is one of the best features of the R53 to me.

 

Sounds like something isn't right, these are extremely easy to drive manuals. Pics now!!

 

Hi Lewthor, congrats and welcome to NAM! Sounds like quite find - please post some pictures when you have the chance. Be sure to check out our articles and free application guides for service, maintenance, accessories and performance upgrades on our website. There is a great deal to choose from for suspension modifications, etc. and we can help. We've been working with the brand for over 40 years on the street and track. So, feel free to ask any and all questions!

Do you also have a problem shifting into reverse as well as first? I recently picked up an '04 R53 and just love it. A couple times I found myself not pushing the clutch all the way down as it is fairly stiff. Others with the same problem needed a cable adjustment or lubrication.

Drive Hard. Drive Safe. Keep Grinning.

 

Gear shift is fine no problems there. It just seems like it bogs down more than I'd think it should when leaving a stop.
I had an E39 manual and you could basically just release clutch at the same rate as you press the accelerator and off you went. The mini won't move if I do that. Have to bring RPMS up to 2k then start to let out the clutch. If the RPM drops from releasing the clutch faster than road speed dictates it bogs down like crazy. It could just be how it is and I just need to live with it. Like I said once it's moving and over 2500 it's fine it's just different than what I'm used to.

I don't care for the panoramic roof mostly for the sunlight it lets in but it's also awfully heavy. I'd prefer a solid roof, but when I wrap it I will have it covered up. Still usable but should block out most of the sun.

 

Hi and welcome

Yes, they can be a bit lazy to get moving, I usually only find this when I'm swapping between cars. I've found all my 1st gen MINIs like this, I don't think it's unusual.

Technically at idle you're getting 0mpg, 8mpg is as low as the OBC reads. Fuel economy isn't a strong point, but the OBC is likely fairly inaccurate.

I also love the sunroof in my R53, but even in rainy old England it can sometimes get irritating that I can't shut out the light/heat at times, never mind TX sun and heat.

 

Like I said, sounds pretty normal. I drove a '99 F-250 with a 7.3L turbodiesel making 500lb/ft of torque for a month recently and you can just roll off the clutch and go, no problem. I could literally leave the thing in gear and it would pull me along at 500 rpm without me having to touch the gas pedal at all. With the R53, I never let the rpm's drop below 1,500 or so when I start from a stop. It's shuddery and the car obviously doesn't like it.

The sunroofs completely transform the driving experience. I guess if you're one of those people who wants to look cool with their tinted windows and keep the cabin dark all day, you wouldn't like the extra light the sunroof allows in. The heat and weight is a small price to pay for a much happier car, IMO.

 

Just purchased my 2nd Mini, first one was an R50 without the sunroof, just got an 06 MSC with the sunroof, love that thing. I have the sunscreen which blocks out a great deal of light, is that not a standard option with the sonroof?

 

Have an '04 R53 with sunroof and just love it. Please post some photos of your '06!

Drive Hard. Drive Safe. Keep Grinning.

 

Just uploaded a few pics. I just got the red one Monday, once I get her cleaned and polished, I'll post more. Didn't realize that supercharger put so much kick in that lil thing, can't wait to do a new pulley and other mods....

 

It can pack a good little whallop. I still laugh at the look on the guy in the Lexus who thought he was going to drive by me.

Drive Hard. Drive Safe. Keep Grinning.