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Not a difficult project but the Best "HOW TO" is here: https://www.specr53.com/blog/diy/mis...catch-can-diy/
There is also what's know as the "Alta" routing for the hoses which evidently is not the preferred way to route your Catch Can.... not going there.
Got my hose at NAPA and everything else at Home Depot. Amazon OCC came with multiple size fittings. I did add a little bit of plumbers tape to the dipstick just to make sure it didn't leak any air.
I did decide to put the can in the cowl with the ABS controller. Fits nicely and it will stay cooler here. I could not make it fit near the passenger side motor mount with the Cabiro Brace.
Made a little bracket out of aluminum to attach it to the threaded stud on the side. You'll need a 10mm nut. Also gave the bracket a little twist to alight the tubes better with the brake lines.
Grommets from Home Depot worked perfectly. I didn't really want to drill through the cowl but it came out looking good with the grommets.
It's a very simple install with sometimes unnecessarily complicated instructions on line.
1st: Leave the breather side (oil filler cap side) out of the equation completely.
-Remove and replace the hose between the Grey Plastic line and the PCV.
-Run new hose from the PCV to the "IN" side of the Catch Can.
-Run new hose from the "OUT" side of the Catch Can to the Grey Plastic line.
Make sure all the lines are clamped, and it's Breather-Less Catch Can, it needs to be a closed/sealed system with no leaks.
Inside the IC. I'm at 70K miles and I'm guessing it's never been cleaned. I'm going to clean this out as best I can so that I have a good reference point. I don't drive the Mini much in the winter but I'm going to check both the IC and the OCC next spring before and after the next track day. I'm curious to know if daily driving will produce much oil in the can vs track days. I'll report back what I find.
Ok... get back to the Mini after a busy fall and holidays. Schroth Quick Fit has been on my list since pnwR53S showed me his at PIR on one of my first track days. Got one and it's red which adds 5hp.
Hopefully this helps to keep me planted in the seat a little better. Now what's next on the list?
That would be my oil catch can choice of location too. Only it is where the BMW factory alarm is and I am not willing to forgo that function. Still no OCC for Desire. Desire spends so much time on the track that oil condensation in the intercooler is never a problem.
Very neat installation too and I like the photos. I'd never investigated the proper plumbing for R53 as I deemed for Desire there is no acceptable location for the OCC without giving something up.
And congrats with your Schroth harness. I have to cinch the lap belt very tight to not become astronaut in space with the stock seat.
Not a difficult project but the Best "HOW TO" is here: https://www.specr53.com/blog/diy/mis...catch-can-diy/
There is also what's know as the "Alta" routing for the hoses which evidently is not the preferred way to route your Catch Can.... not going there.
Got my hose at NAPA and everything else at Home Depot. Amazon OCC came with multiple size fittings. I did add a little bit of plumbers tape to the dipstick just to make sure it didn't leak any air.
I did decide to put the can in the cowl with the ABS controller. Fits nicely and it will stay cooler here. I could not make it fit near the passenger side motor mount with the Cabiro Brace.
Made a little bracket out of aluminum to attach it to the threaded stud on the side. You'll need a 10mm nut. Also gave the bracket a little twist to alight the tubes better with the brake lines.
Grommets from Home Depot worked perfectly. I didn't really want to drill through the cowl but it came out looking good with the grommets.
It's a very simple install with sometimes unnecessarily complicated instructions on line.
1st: Leave the breather side (oil filler cap side) out of the equation completely.
-Remove and replace the hose between the Grey Plastic line and the PCV.
-Run new hose from the PCV to the "IN" side of the Catch Can.
-Run new hose from the "OUT" side of the Catch Can to the Grey Plastic line.
Make sure all the lines are clamped, and it's Breather-Less Catch Can, it needs to be a closed/sealed system with no leaks.
Inside the IC. I'm at 70K miles and I'm guessing it's never been cleaned. I'm going to clean this out as best I can so that I have a good reference point. I don't drive the Mini much in the winter but I'm going to check both the IC and the OCC next spring before and after the next track day. I'm curious to know if daily driving will produce much oil in the can vs track days. I'll report back what I find.
Thanks for the pics! This is on my list... A very long list. .
So I decided to try the OMP Pedals off Amazon. I have small feet and I really don't like the pedals on the mini... especially for braking (heel/toe)
Here's what comes in the package. OMP OA/1010
OMP Clutch Pedal vs Mini Cooper Clutch Pedal. Both the MINI pedal and the OMP pedals have a slight curve to them. It doesn't match perfectly but it's close.
The gas pedal is pretty tricky to remove. (You'll need to remove it to make sure you are not drilling through something critical)
I found this post was helpful but in additionally note that the tab the you need to release with a small flat head screw driver had 2 (yes 2) catches on the gas pedal side. See RED arrows. Once you press the tab flat to get it by the first catch you think you got it.... but no... there is another one that takes a very small (almost angled) screw driver to get over.
Once you have the gas pedal off you'll need to check the backside for where your holes are going to come through. I painted my pedal black. Looked kinda weird with the chrome coming through.
The gas pedal is not flat. hmmmm.
When you tighten the bolts the plastic conforms to the OMP pedal. All good.
I ended up not using the hardware that came with the kit. The brake/clutch pedals are pretty small with not a lot of options for drilling. I use 10/32 bolts which are smaller (the head sits a little lower in the pedal too) so I could drill smaller holes in the brake and clutch pedals. I used 1 inch long bolts for the gas pedal and 3/4 inch bolts for the clutch/brake. Home Depot has them in the specialty drawers. I picked up a new drill bit (for metal) too. Drilling is slow going.
I was thinking about a 3rd bolt in the bottom due to the curve of the pedals not matching perfectly but after installing the 2 in the middle of each pedal, I decided to wait and see. You can see how close the holes are to edge of the Mini pedals. Gota be right on with your drilling.
OMP Pedals DONE. I'll report back after driving with them on how I like them. But so far so good.
After installing the OMP pedals I thought I would try the OMP dead pedal. I want a little more height to the dead pedal position, so I don't have to lift my left foot so much to put it on the clutch.
Unfortunately the OMP pedal is to wide for my liking. I think it could be mounted all he way to the left and the clutch would get by but it just feels way to big to me. Going to return it and keep looking. But if your curious... this is how big it is.
Nice write up with good photos. You did a great job in making the pedals work for the Mini. I want to keep mine stock as I like to drive on the road sometime bare feet when I wear flip flops. The OMP pedals look super deluxe compared to what come in the Lotus. The ones in the Lotus are as minimalist as they get. They look a kind of cheap but it is all form follows function.
pnwR53S - Thanks for the compliment. I got the Mini out today and I'm pretty happy with the feel of the pedals. Little drive in the sun and had the camera in the car. Feels a little like spring.
I think I might get the windows tinted for the summer.... Hmmmm.
Had the Mini out a couple times after the new pedals and things have gotten weird. Sun roof wouldn't work, Turn signals didn't work, Airbag and seat belt lights came on, radio didn't work.
Did some research and here's where I'm at.
When I was installing the pedals, I killed the battery. Left the radio and the interior lights on and killed it dead over about 2 days. Charged it back up and thought I was good to go. Then the above list of things happened and I tracked it back to a sort of "protective mode" where the ECU disables some features.
Disconnected the battery, (mostly for a reset) charged the battery full, re-attached the battery, cleared the codes for the airbags and GOOD to GO.
***Not so fast. Here we are a couple weeks later and the mini is doing it again.
SO... going to check the battery and maybe get a new one.
In the mean time I've been reading here... https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...roblems-2.html
I have no issues with moisture... Car lives in the garage all winter.
Could be the IPOD cable issue???? I have an old iPod plug in the glove box.
Congratulations and welcome. Looks like you found a gem, and very clean one at that, without the common bad mods. Does it has rainroof?
What seems odd is the supercharger had been replaced at such low miles, but hay if the owner is not the home wrench he/she can easily been taken for an expensive ride by sleazy shops. I would also call the water pump, TB replacement suspect, but not surprised with most of these shotgun "debug" mechanics.
No mods are bad mods if it's a performance mod imo.. mines modded to **** and runs n drives great. Just drove my friends r56 with half the miles and every bit of my car was better except for the brakes , but r56 brake swap is coming next.
After installing the OMP pedals I thought I would try the OMP dead pedal. I want a little more height to the dead pedal position, so I don't have to lift my left foot so much to put it on the clutch.
Unfortunately the OMP pedal is to wide for my liking. I think it could be mounted all he way to the left and the clutch would get by but it just feels way to big to me. Going to return it and keep looking. But if your curious... this is how big it is.
Had the Mini out a couple times after the new pedals and things have gotten weird. Sun roof wouldn't work, Turn signals didn't work, Airbag and seat belt lights came on, radio didn't work.
Did some research and here's where I'm at.
When I was installing the pedals, I killed the battery. Left the radio and the interior lights on and killed it dead over about 2 days. Charged it back up and thought I was good to go. Then the above list of things happened and I tracked it back to a sort of "protective mode" where the ECU disables some features.
Disconnected the battery, (mostly for a reset) charged the battery full, re-attached the battery, cleared the codes for the airbags and GOOD to GO.
***Not so fast. Here we are a couple weeks later and the mini is doing it again.
SO... going to check the battery and maybe get a new one.
In the mean time I've been reading here... https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...roblems-2.html
I have no issues with moisture... Car lives in the garage all winter.
Could be the IPOD cable issue???? I have an old iPod plug in the glove box.
I will update this as I go.
Just because in your watch the car has been garaged does not rule out the potential of corrosion or bridged PCB traces in the BCM. Corrosion and bridging conductivity take some time to develop. Also I read there is a ground tree under the driver seat which can corrode with persistent moisture on the floor. Make sure you disconnect the battery before investigating.
If you can start the car the battery is not a suspect.
I would say no... especially compared to the old pedals. The brake pedal is gnarly, as in you could not push on it with bare feet. The smoother looking portions of the gas pedal and the clutch pedal are not smooth, probably 200 grit sand paper, with raised ridges around the holes.
The pedals are great and I would only reserve recommending them to guys with big feet as there is less distance between the pedals. I have size 8 feet and they are much better than the old pedals.
I would say no... especially compared to the old pedals. The brake pedal is gnarly, as in you could not push on it with bare feet. The smoother looking portions of the gas pedal and the clutch pedal are not smooth, probably 200 grit sand paper, with raised ridges around the holes.
After installing the OMP pedals I thought I would try the OMP dead pedal. I want a little more height to the dead pedal position, so I don't have to lift my left foot so much to put it on the clutch.
Unfortunately the OMP pedal is to wide for my liking. I think it could be mounted all he way to the left and the clutch would get by but it just feels way to big to me. Going to return it and keep looking. But if your curious... this is how big it is.
WayMotorWorks Thanks for the tip on the dead pedal. pnwR53S Never heard of the ground under the drivers seat but I will keep it in the notes as I dig in.
Here's my plan: (suggestions welcome)
Reset the ECU
Test the electrical system with jumper cables from my truck battery.
Disconnect the battery.
Check BCM in pass footwell.
Check the other BCM on the drivers side.
Check iPod connector in radio (probably just remove)
Drain plugs in Sunroof (all 4)
UPDATE:
Sooo I checked the battery voltage and it was OK... not strong but OK. Battery was disconnected for about a week, just to avoid any more issues.
Attached the battery.
Reset the ECU.
Started that car....and things are good again. (Turn signals worked, sun roof worked, radio worked, seatbelt light went off when I plug in my seat belt and I was able to clear the airbag code.) SWEET. Something tells me this maybe short lived but it's sunny out so I'm going for a drive to see what happens.
UPDATE #2
No issues for the last month... I'm going to say that the problem was the battery voltage. Just needed a good charge and reset.
I have come to the realization I am not a chrome guy. My car HAD chrome everywhere.
When I first started, I went for plastic-dip with inconsistent results. The gas cap is pretty bad looking. Other pieces are better.
The good new is.... the plastic-dip comes right off... that pile on the left is the plastic-dip removed. I was a little worried about the removal.
I think we'll try vinyl next. And while I'm at it, I think I'll try the interior chrome too.
I forgot to take pictures before I took all the interior chrome but here basically what I had.
So here is BEFORE:
I have come to the realization I am not a chrome guy. My car HAD chrome everywhere.
When I first started, I went for plastic-dip with inconsistent results. The gas cap is pretty bad looking. Other pieces are better.
The good new is.... the plastic-dip comes right off... that pile on the left is the plastic-dip removed. I was a little worried about the removal.
I think we'll try vinyl next. And while I'm at it, I think I'll try the interior chrome too.
I forgot to take pictures before I took all the interior chrome but here basically what I had.
So here is BEFORE:
I did my gas cap, door handles, headlight rings, belt line, and boot handle with vinyl. Gas cap is challenging. I ended up having to make a cut. I suspect a pro can do it without having to cut somewhere. Plan ahead and put the seam on the bottom edge, and no one will see it. Same with door handles.
I didn't do the chrome rings on the interior, but I did do the dash in (close to) body color. I really thought these would be easy. 😳 There's a lot more curves there than you would think.
The great thing about vinyl is it's cheap, and easy to clean up if you need to redo it.
I highly recommend it. Watch several different videos, particularly on cold pre-stretching and triangles.
So couple of thoughts on wrapping.
Besides what Husky44 mentioned above. There are many different kinds of vinyl and each has it's own pros and cons. I used Avery Dennison 900 because it's really payable and easy to stretch without a lot of heat. But I used VVIVD XPO Black Carbon Fiber on some dash pieces and it does not stretch as easily but it's seems thicker and I like the dark carbon fiber look.
VVIVD XPO Black Carbon Fiber
Avery SW900
The dash trim pieces are just about impossible to wrap, at least for me. The Avery SW900 is super stretchy and the fact that I was able to make it around these inside and out is amazing but in the end I can't live with the edges like that. I think I'm going to paint them.
Husky44 is right, I think the 3 main dash pieces are going to be really tough with the carbon fiber vinyl.
So my overall impression of vinyl wrap:
1) It's easy for pieces that don't have a bunch of compound shapes.
2) The (fake) black carbon fiber look from VVIVID looks great but not as easy to conform to curves or compound shapes as Avery Dennison.
3) The matte black from Avery Dennison is about as stretchy and easy to use as it can get.
4) Sometimes you just gotta go with paint.
I peeled the Plastic-Dip off the rear hatch trim and the gas cap and did them both with flat black Avery Dennison. The hatch trim results are perfect... couldn't be happier. The gas cap is tough... so many compound shapes but it is waaaaay better than the Plastic-Dip.
Interior ended up being matt black paint on all the round chrome pieces. Lightly sanded, cleaned, and painted three coats. Thank the faux carbon fiber on the three main dash pieces and the steering wheel.
Here's some help with the dash pieces:
11-09-2019, 06:40 AM
You did a great job in making the pedals work for the Mini. I want to keep mine stock as I like to drive on the road sometime bare feet when I wear flip flops. The OMP pedals look super deluxe compared to what come in the Lotus. The ones in the Lotus are as minimalist as they get. They look a kind of cheap but it is all form follows function.
