Ha, yeah I don't realise how much I do it until I watch the videos back!

Thanks for taking the time out to watch my video Enzo, I really appreciate it!

Caster is standard. 3 degrees camber and neutral toe I believe. The Mini is stable from the get go, they tend towards understeer, but normally add a thicker rear bar to help with that.

Yeah the stock brakes aren't up to much. I'm running 294mm discs with R56 Cooper S calipers which are so much better, but have their limitations for racing. Be fine for trackdays though, with the right pads they're a worthwhile upgrade.

Yeah was thinking of the R56 upgrade with the 294mm can you still run 16 inch wheels or do you need 17s

@@Glovebox-pg2ui I think it may depend on the wheels. I've put 15" Team Dynamics wheels over them, which just fitted, but you'd need to do some research.

Will do thanks for the advice m8

Haha, yeah they've certainly got quite a bit more torque than us R53s. We're hoping to balance that out as the season progresses, as it's a bit like fighting with 1 arm tied behind your back at the moment!

It wasn't ideal! So I had a bent wishbone, bent bonnet, trashed front bumper and front panel, plus the ABS issue which the guys have swapped the module out and appears to be working now!

Looking forward to it! Hopefully we'll have a better run there! 🤞

Thanks, I tried! Yeah pretty disappointed with the contact, but we live and learn and I'll just take my line next time. I use a Gripper diff.

Yeah, unfortunately was a big end bearing gone

It was the big end bearing.

Yeah, they were fighting and holding each other up so it gave me a nice opportunity! I couldn't believe it, I had space behind, but I was weak going into the chicane as my brake pedal was going long and the brakes kept locking going into there - fault with the abs as they shouldn't lock - so they locked slightly again which sent me wide and I should have taken the route across the kerbs to keep momentum, but I didn't want to push track limits so it put me slightly wide of the line where people had been going through the gravel and spreading it onto the track, so I just understeered wide on gravel and debris... gutted!

@@AndyLangleyRacing super unfortunate but entertaining nonetheless. Excellent racing up until that point.

@@benharley88 Thanks Ben!

Thanks Karl 😊

Thanks Karl, honestly thought that was in the bag, was really gutted after that race

I learned to drive on track in rear wheel drive cars where heel and toeing is essential and when I first started on track in front wheel drive cars I used to do it. But, I quickly changed my driving style and found it actually made no difference to me and actually made me slower and pushed me on in corners so I stopped doing it and now don't bother in the Mini. Might be a benefit in greasy/wet conditions like this race and something I might try again, but I've found a style that suits me and works for me in the Mini!

@@AndyLangleyRacing Interesting! Ya, from a weight balance perspective, there's definitely a benefit there and then there's the clutch wear... Your clutch will definitely thank you for rev matching haha. Anyways, do your thing! It seems to be working for you :)

i want to change my bearing as I got a set of King standard size rod bearings. how as the job seems simple enough I guess to remove the oil pan then the rod bolts to remove the bearing while rotaing the crank to give you clearance for the upper rod bearing. how was your experience I also have an 05 r53

Not good, I feel your pain. If ever there was a sound to make you check your oil more regularly it's this one!!!

Took me a while to figure out, but it's the collar from the bottom of the gear lever. Gear lever kept coming loose and you have to adjust the grub screws underneath the collar so I took it off.

Lightly modified - remap and 1 way adjustable AST coilovers being the biggest changes and then obviously full cage and necessary safety bits. The series they're now in is on the BTCC calendar so they have a few other compulsory items for safety and to aid recovery, but should be able to do one to compete in that for under 10k. Good close racing with cars that are all pretty equal, as no room to mess about with the cars in the regs - all down to setup and driver skill, great fun and wish I was racing one this year!

@@AndyLangleyRacing cause when I’m older let’s say 23 I’m gonna start cause I’m broke right now😂got my liquid yellow r50 it’s on my Chanel if you have a look

@@moonlight_r5622 start saving now, you won't regret it!

Thanks! For this championship we had to run Toyo R888 tyres, which really didn't suit the front end heavy Mini and went off after a couple of laps, hence why I couldn't maintain the same pace as the leader - the Clios didn't struggle as much as we did on those tyres. Suspension was KW Clubsports I believe that had been setup for slick tyres.

Thank you. I’ve come from a N/A clio then a Clio turbo, not had the 53 out on track yet 😁

@@pastyhauler you'll love it! With some decent tyres on it'll be great fun!

Thanks marco 58! There wasn't a lot to see out front, Josh kept me on my toes so definitely more interesting from behind!

You must be a joy at parties

You must be gay

P.s. my glove box does that too. 🤣🤣

Thanks Steve! So in this video it's got - 17% pulley, GRS Intercooler, Vogtland lowering springs, Ferodo DS1.11 pads. I've now added a thicker Whiteline anti roll bar, Meister R coilovers and it's now got a roll cage and I'm waiting for a few more mods to be done, so hopefully will have some more vids soon when I start testing again. You have to start somewhere, get along to a track and bed yourself in. There'll be varying abilities, just take your time and build up, try not to go too fast too soon and just have fun! You'll love it, especially in a Mini!

@@stevewalker9888 haha I've taken mine off now!

It's got the R56 calipers on it, so much better than the original R53 ones which are plain scary! Braided hoses and Ferodo pads which makes for a good setup IMO.

@@AndyLangleyRacing I thought you might have the r56 ones on it. Do you know if they fit behind 15" wheels. What wheels are you running?

Definitely, the bigger caliper and disc makes sense for track use. As for 15s over those calipers, that's something I'd like to find out myself! Pretty sure the standard Mini wheels won't fit but maybe an aftermarket with a different offset or spacer?? Currently running a Team Dynamics Monza wheel in 17".

@@AndyLangleyRacing 15" wheels would help massively with unsprung weight reduction, possibly a team dynamics 1.2 may still need a spacer though, hubcentric one shouldn't be an issue. Looking at 15's also makes tyres way cheaper. Let me know if you find any info out ☺ please

@@PhilzDizcoveryTV I'll see what I can find out as I'd like to try 15s on the next track day! 😁

Haha yeah that's been taken off now!

Hi Darren. Yes front is standard - although in the original Challenge race series they used to put a Mini One front bar on, which was thinner, and leave the rear standard. Definitely don't put a larger front one on as it will induce understeer or help get rid of oversteer. I don't know exact reasons but I think the larger rear bar helps to pick up the inside rear and reduces roll of the car. No worries, once coilovers are on I'll find somewhere to test them and let you know the results! 😁

@@AndyLangleyRacing quick question Andy.....have purchased same springs to run with Bilstein non adjust gas dampers..about 30 mm drop.....I'm having conflicting reports saying that if you don't replace the rear bars with adjustable,s then the rear camber will be too much( about up to -3) and needs to be adjusted in, hence new arms. I actually want the rear to feel glued and at the expense of premature tyre wear, so be it ,so in your experience is a drop ok without worrying about the increase in neg camber if it's just a tyre wear point, or is it better to dial it back using adjustable bed bars.I always thought neg camber increase was a good thing for handling . Apparently the front doesn't suffer in the same way when dropping ride hight but due to strut design, but any advice there helpful too. Cheers always Andy for help. Daz

@@darrenlucas2768 I think it's a good idea to replace the rear lower control arms with adjustable ones - I'm pretty sure that most people that race them have around than -2, so -ve camber is good, but you can have too much. I've got the rear lower adjustable arms on this car. I need the adjustable top mount on the coilovers for the front to actually dial some more in, so that's correct in that it's not quite the same.

@@AndyLangleyRacing, thanks for reply.....the boys at Mini Mafia in Mansfield where I got the car really know there stuff, sell and modify 53,s and 56,s and they told me that just fitting a good set of springs

Darren Lucas sounds good! Were you on the road or track?! These aren't known for being loose so worth looking at tyres and getting alignment checked. On the track you normally have to run a bigger rear anti roll bar to get the back moving and play with the geometry. Think some people run them nose down as well to make it looser. Gearbox is OK on mine, not the smoothest and 2nd gear is normally a pain to get in when driving quickly as you can go past it when coming down the box! Standard brakes are terrible! You either need to upgrade to R56 calipers or the R53 JCW calipers which are the same. I had yellow stuff pads in when I used it on the road, but they got cooked on track. Think my geometry is not far off standard as I can't change camber atm, bit of toe out on front I think - it's been so long since I drove it! I do have a 21mm rear anti roll bar on it which helps to get the nose in.

@@AndyLangleyRacing Thanks Andy for reply. Was just road work( private obviously,cough cough) your advice is helpful. The handling is nearly there, it just felt more like it was going to oversteer and that surprised me...but I think a track session with lots of run off space will teach me a bit more about it's character.... Reminds me of an old 1.9 GTI I had years back , that would oversteer dramatically on lift off.Been driving an RX8 around for last five years and I think I expected the mini to feel a little easier to drive with commitment, infact it's not but like you,ve said it could be a number of factors. Pulls like an absolute bastard though.....but engine light and traction control triangle warning both came on ,on the trip home.....looks like my wallet is coming out! Any advice on a good set of sticky tyres that suits is welcome too.i will be going with the R56 brakes.👍

Have you got any cooling to the brakes? If not you'll struggle with fade. This has got DS1.11 pads in the front, plus no fog lights and no wheel arch liners so the air can get through and I had no problems - I wasn't pushing the braking that hard as we had no ABS and I've had one of these swap ends with no ABS before!

Can't imagine driving anything else now to be honest and I'm a big rear wheel drive fan! Running on Nankang NS2R i believe, standard dampers with Vogtland lowering springs, 17% pulley, GRS intercooler, Milltek exhaust with Janspeed downpipes I think - was already on car. Plugs were a grade cooler but not sure of exact spec off top of my head. No ecu mods but needs a tune really as she's running a bit rich and would seriously benefit from some coilovers, but still great fun as is!

@@AndyLangleyRacing got my car yesterday.....very similar spec, minus the manifold and intercooler( on my list)......yours is more like 220 from what I can gather from the boys at Mini Mafia where I got my car....makes alot of sense as a driver's car, hardcore machine

@@darrenlucas2768 sounds good, gotta get that intercooler though! Had mine dyno'd last week by the guys at the College of West Anglia www.cwa.ac.uk after they'd fitted a roll cage for me and it was 195bhp at the flywheel which I'm happy with. I know guys who race these with a cam and a remap who are getting 220-230 so I knew it wasn't at that level. She's gained about 50kg with the cage, but I now have some nice, shiny new coilovers that need fitting and testing, can't wait!!

@@AndyLangleyRacing really surprised, I thought the 17 KAV was worth 20bhp on it's own! But the rollers don't lie.....mine is a late model r53, feels v powerful in it's state of tune but I guess it's not as powerful as I thought...I intend to change the intercooler and fit an MSD coilpack , the springs you are running too were advised as being good too.....then just enjoy as the tuning can run out of control in the pursuit of numbers I guess.for the record yours looks bloody fast and was a focus to what I wanted....happy days bud, I'll subscribe and keep tabs on how yours develops

@@darrenlucas2768 well, yours may be running a few bhp more being a later model. I'm well impressed with those springs, thought it would be awful, but is a good, cheap mod. I normally wouldn't get too hung up on power figures, but mine is purely a track car with a view to doing a race or 2 at some point, so I'll throw bits at it as and when I can afford it! Ditto, be good to see where you go with yours and I'm sure you'll have lots of fun whatever!

It makes a great noise doesn't it! Not had it dyno'd, but judging by other people's cars with similar mods it should be around 180-200.

Unfortunately it was the big end bearing as I suspected :/ had to get a 2nd hand engine...

oke :( couldn't you change the bearing? Is this the bearing at the end of the cameshaft?

MrSwassie I didn't want to risk it, could have spun a shell again, but didn't fancy having to take the engine out again if it didn't work. No it's the crankshaft.

Thank you so much! Think i am going to change the bearing, hope this will solve the problem...

MrSwassie good luck!

Andrew Hubbard will post once i know, but it doesn't sound cheap!

Andrew Hubbard yeah that's what I thought, not good at all I'd say ☹ in garage atm awaiting verdict...

Andy Langley what was it?