R56 Cooper S - Car enthusiast worthy or Teenage girl's dream?

[Hvmbone]

My replacement decals came in the mail yesterday. I'm stoked with how well they came out. The wheels are getting closer to being finished..

IMG_0225 by Alexander Hamby, on Flickr

IMG_0223 by Alexander Hamby, on Flickr

IMG_0219 by Alexander Hamby, on Flickr

IMG_0228 by Alexander Hamby, on Flickr

Just one problem: Wheels were manufactured in 2000 so the guy is shipping out new spec. decals free of charge. Located in Asia though so it may be a while. They'll go in for powder coat in 3 weeks.

[Hvmbone]

Didn't have as much time to work on the car as I wanted, but still got a couple things done. Replaced the spark plugs:

20180430_183802 by Alexander Hamby, on Flickr



And added new spacers. I originally had 5mm in front and 10mm in back. Moved 10mm to front and 15mm to back.

Here's some before and afters. Not a huge difference but I think it helped. There's no way I can get any larger spacers without smaller tires, which I don't plan to do anytime soon.

Fronts, Before:

20180430_180904 by Alexander Hamby, on Flickr

Fronts, After:

20180430_180856 by Alexander Hamby, on Flickr

Rears, Before:

20180430_180843 by Alexander Hamby, on Flickr

Rears, After:

20180430_180834 by Alexander Hamby, on Flickr

[Hvmbone]

Received my Definitely-Not-Fake center caps from eBay today. Yes I know they aren't accurate TE37 caps and if any purist tries to talk trash, I definitely deserve it.

I got these for two reasons; first, they'll go seamlessly with the black/white color scheme and second, I was worried that if I got the solid color genuine caps, I wouldn't be able to match them exact to the wheel color since they'd have to be painted instead of powdered.

IMG_0217 by Alexander Hamby, on Flickr

Car is sitting at 99k currently, so tomorrow I'm replacing spark plugs. Also have some rattle from one of the airstruts that I'll have fixed and begin test fitting the cheapo aero I impulsively bought.

[Hvmbone]

I think blackening those chrome parts will look good with those white wheels!

Fitment with these vienna's would have been awesome

That's what I'm thinking too. We'll see if the wheels last long enough for me to refinish! Found a new set that I may have to go after.. And yeah, the SSR's woulda been killer if I had more time and money to sink into them at the time

[jotemha]

I think blackening those chrome parts will look good with those white wheels!

Fitment with these vienna's would have been awesome

[Hvmbone]

looking good keep it up!!!

i agree with you, forums are so much better than stupid Instagram.

Thanks for the kind words! #MakeForumsGreatAgain

[Hvmbone]

Sick man, im a huge fan of minis

As am I. Appreciate it!

[C2_mad]

looking good keep it up!!!

i agree with you, forums are so much better than stupid Instagram.

[slurms mckenzie]

Sick man, im a huge fan of minis

[Hvmbone]

When I had my first mini, I bought some 17" SSR Vienna Kreis from Japan through a friend. Took a few months to get here and by then, That car was totaled and planned to put them on the current car. But one problem after another made me decide to go a different route. The fitment with those would've been so good but with it being a daily, and not wanting to buy another entire set of tires to make them work, I sold them.


20171222_101336 by Alexander Hamby, on Flickr

20171222_101607 by Alexander Hamby, on Flickr

20171222_101328 by Alexander Hamby, on Flickr


I found the OG TE37's with a build date of May 2000. I got them with a fresh set of Toyos on them for $1000 and was stoked. They do need some work though. Still have the original finish. I want the car to be simple in nature so I'm gonna match the wheels to the rest of the car better. I ordered some dead match replacement inner barrel stickers and genuine spoke stickers. But replacing the spoke decals with black/white instead of blue/white. Also ordered some knock off eBay centers caps for the time being.

They've got some super shallow curb rash all over. I'll be able to take a dremel to 95% of it and after that, they will be going to a shop to get a minor bend repaired. From there, they'll get powdercoated gloss white and have the decals put on. Here's a bad render of what I'm going for. I took this photo before window tint so had to photoshop that in as well:

IMG_0053 by Alexander Hamby, on Flickr

mini white wheels 4 by Alexander Hamby, on Flickr


Also debating on dechroming everything gloss black:

mini white wheels 4 blackout by Alexander Hamby, on Flickr

[Hvmbone]

What's up SW, Like many, I've been a long time lurker of the forums and have finally decided to start contributing to the spectacular community here. I really dislike how a lot of the scene has moved to IG and Facebook to update builds; this has always been my preferred platform.

Name's Alex, I'm 22 from Kansas City and currently the owner of a 2012 Mini Cooper S. I look at threads within the 'Builds' section generally as more innovative and meticulous long term projects, whereas this may not deserve that title. But I decided to put it here because I will be updating it regularly and perhaps being here will also give me motivation to stop being soft and actually make this into something cool.

I grew up always around 'cool' whips. My dad has made his way through a couple Porsche 944 turbos, FC RX7, '65 mustang, '67 fastback, 350z, and currently restoring a '64 Thunderbird. I remember being little and being rewarded with Hot Wheels for just about anything I did right and would "help" pops work on his rides even though most the time it was nothing more than holding a flashlight and chasing after tools/being blamed for losing tools.

So like a lot of us, I never stood a chance. My first car was a 2001 Isuzu Trooper. I was the fourth owner (all within the family) and she was a beaut. But didn't last long. Next was a WRX bugeye wagon. I was obsessed with that thing. Half a year later, I had riced it out nicely.... 5zigen wheels, intake, turbo back exhaust, hella horns and rally lights, the whole she-bang.


But it was an auto. Nope.


Next car was a 2009 Mini Cooper S. I wanted something that wasn't extremely 'played out' and was a bit more practical than a 2 seat coupe (or so i told myself.. lol)
I bought the car from an older woman and got jokes from my friends all the time about its teenage girl fan following. But also lots of compliments from "our kind." Car had a couple bolt ons, BC coils, some AMG wheels that people either loved or *****. But I never really got into this car. It had 3 or 4 separate gasket leaks and a bit of an electrical issue. The BC's I'm 99% sure were not the right model, as the photos below show how low they got me MAXED OUT and I had spoken to other low r56's who had the same coils and were laying frame with no other mods. I bought the Extreme Lows but then contacted BC about my concern of not having the right model; they told me they don't even make Extreme Lows for my car... weird. Not much of a BC fan.







Then this happened.









That sucked.

For a new car, I looked at a few GTI's and Volvo c30's but I quickly realized they didn't have the charm that I felt with the Mini. So, like a magnificent Phoenix, my fallen vision to make a cool Mini had risen from the ashes as a newer, stronger, brighter version of its old self: a 2012 Chili Red Cooper S. Compared to the first one, I have been extremely satisfied with this car. This gen was built between '07 and '13. But in 2011, it got a major mid-gen update. New bumpers, headlights, taillights, more powerful, less faulty engine, quicker throttle response, etc. I'm sure someone else could have more insight on this topic. The biggest factor why I wanted this car was the interior. All black trim, with wood grain accents and OEM Recaro seats, a $3k option from the factory, all made me realize I 'had' to have this one. I'll post photos of interior eventually...

I really wish I was able to take more photos of the things I've done so far, but unfortunately didn't. It has a long way to go, but as of now I'm happy with it. The air suspension doesn't get me nearly low enough, it's honestly very disappointing. I tried working with Airtekk to get them lower but they're not much help. I should've just went with Airlift/Airrex. But oh well, It's not the biggest of my worries right now. Since it's current suspension doesn't allow for it to be slammed on its nuts, I'm leaning more towards a functional/track aesthetic. I drive this car 70 miles a day, including several weeks of intense snow and ice and it did great. I personally like how its looking so far, and I still have the ability to do some seriously spirited driving much harder than all my buddies with static garage queens

Current mods (or lack thereof):

2012 Cooper S
6 speed Manual
17x7.5 OG Volk TE37C's
Airlift V2 management system
Airtekk airstruts
JB+ tuning piggyback ECU tune
Drilled and slotted rotors
Fubrication GP Wing
eBay hood scoop
dechromed light/grille trim
20% tint all around
m12 stud conversion
Rear Seat delete with False Floor













I currently have full exhaust, front lip, and side skirts all sitting in the garage waiting to be installed. The wheels are getting restored as well, which I'll put in a follow up post. Just received a spare set of OEM front fenders as well that I will be cutting up to add some super rad non functional vents.


Future hopeful mods:

Functional CAI
short shift adapter w/ weighted shift knob
ebay intercooler
air flow pipe bits
Manic Custom Tune
And more along the way

I don't really plan to sink too much time/money into this car, as its a daily that will slowly but surely get beat down and also I am working towards a Cayman S within the next couple years. But still want this to progress a bit.