How my Modified Mini R53 Surprised Me: Eye opening discoveries by 1320 Mini

[@Camelhooof]

1320 tuned my last R53 and it was awesome, these guys are the best in the game 😁

[@DamoDrives]

I obviously don’t need to tell you how good the team is at 1320 and really made time to talk through what was happening and not just because I was filming

[@stevegreen9257]

Cracking Video, the lads at 1320 Mini are really at the top of their game. I took my GP1 there many times. It’s a bit of a trek for us Sussex lads, but so worth it. Can’t wait for the next instalment of this. 👍

[@DamoDrives]

Glad you enjoyed it and I agree there are an amazing group of people and so happy to talk through what they were doing and film it as well (have been to other places that won’t let you) GP1 is 1 of the only minis I have not driven. Next video is the drive with Tom and I straight after having most of the work done (wheel bearing was noticed on the drive so done after) will need to go back up to 1320 for some more work but need to save up again lol. It certainly is a drive and worked out about £70 in petrol and that’s motorway at 70mph in 6th. BMW must have worked hard to get such bad fuel consumption 😂

[@teknomanning]

I wish we had this across the pond. My used car salesman is honest!😊 Said don’t take it to Mini! It’s used they will rip you off. Told me where to go,Les than a mile from my house 👍🏿❤😊I’m 72 yrs old, my first mini 2020 Countryman Classic .Love it,and you are just great

[@DamoDrives]

Finding the right person that cares about the car 1st and money 2nd is very unusual and 1320 talked me out of spending money. As you saw fixed it up, gave me a list and the car is so much better. Luckily I have found a great mechanic on 1 of my mini groups local to me that is doing a lot of work and saving me a small fortune. Have replaced top mounts , cv boots , thermostat , drop links, chain tensioner and next is inner and outer track rods, tie rod boots, full service and brake fluid. The r53 is very unique with its supercharger but is a money pit lol. Glad you are enjoying your car as well 🤜😊

[@MiMicheIIe]

I wish we had places like this where I live! There's a Mini specialist here, but they're never too keen on a chat, just seems like they want to get your car done as soon as possible.

[@mikerichards9196]

Wow Damo, that was a bit of a shock - your mate's blunt reaction was accurate then 😄 Now it's got the performance to match all the noise! Since mine has had the blower serviced and 15% pulley plus remap, putting foot to floor is like unleashing a tiger

[@DamoDrives]

it’s great to drive , just need to sort uprights / new suspension setup.

[@mikerichards9196]

looking forward to the video

[@edwardgurhy100]

Good all round video. Nice to see a decent, general warts and all interesting day at 1320 and your experience. really nice, balanced content.

[@DamoDrives]

Thank you glad you enjoyed the video , I learnt alot from the day as well 😊😊

[@Mini-Mike]

Nice to see you back and looking healthy mate... 👍🏻 I had my clutch changed at 1320 and was able to watch the whole process. Cup of coffee, good biscuits, stroked the dog and really enjoyed the whole experience... Looking forward to the next update... ☺️

[@DamoDrives]

Thank you Michael, was a really enjoyable day and I agree being able to watch the process you know they can be trusted. Henry is a lovely dog although he get a bit excited with a bit of my camera equipment 😂. Have got a 1st drive with Tom coming next and just taken it out for a proper blast this morning and really enjoying the car

[@darrencottrell5541]

Fantastic watch mate. Shocking to see the unsecured injector rail and loose bolts. Glad you got the car checked over and prevented anything seriously bad from occurring.

[@DamoDrives]

It was concerning , glad they found the top mount issue as well so they have been done along with the cv boots. Timing chain , drop links and services is next

[@eurothrasher2823]

Sadly, no shop like 1320 MINI in the USA.....Great job guys !

[@DamoDrives]

do you get many mini’s in the USA ? Or is it tuning them is not very popular.

[@honestreviewer3283]

Thanks for the video. My R50 makes more at the wheels than that first pull, and I'm not done yet!

[@DamoDrives]

Sorry do you mean The 120bhp or 193bhp ?

[@honestreviewer3283]

@@DamoDrives The first 120 hp pull. My R50 currently makes 130 whp. Intend to have a bored/stoked 1.8 built next year as my current engine has ~150K miles on it. I've owned the car from new in 2005.

[@douglasangelflores6796]

Very Good video!

[@DamoDrives]

Glad you liked it!

[@johnhibbs6508]

Thanks! I need to get a remapped ecu

[@DamoDrives]

It’s really worth doing but as I found with 1320 (I am sure some other companies do as well )they check the health of the engine to make sure it can take the power and can suggest other supporting mods. It was great watching the team working , yea and biscuits and a really nice and slightly mad dog 🐕

[@id0nthav3anam33]

Is there a video about your interior? Please, PLEASE make one if not. I absolutely love it

[@DamoDrives]

It’s on the cards to do a full video

[@farangtravels3956]

Excellent 👍

[@Kai77884]

Hello a great video perfect 👍👍👍greetings from Germany 🇩🇪 👋👋👋 Kai 🙏🛠🔊

[@DamoDrives]

Hi Kai thank you for your kind words

[@Camelhooof]

I had BC Racing Coilovers which were really good

[@DamoDrives]

Now I have new top mounts , drop links, track rod assembly and another alignment it has completely changed the car. Going back up next month so hopefully Tom will be able to see what he thinks

[@Camelhooof]

I'm sure he will love it 😁👍. I miss my R53 and wish I could buy it back lol, you going to mini in the park at the end of August?

[@DamoDrives]

Might do but it’s 300 mile round trip

[@daanvalkenburg929]

Hey, I see that you have a media screen in stead of the radio. Where can you buy that media screen or a Apple CarPlay screen in stead of my old radio.

[@DamoDrives]

The 1 I have fitted is a Sony Xav-AX3005db Double Din

[@daanvalkenburg929]

@@DamoDrives is it plug and play? Because it has 2 connectors instead of the original 1

[@7-v4z]

Tip top Tommy 🫡

[@ryeguy88]

BPV are super common to fail on these. not surprised.

[@joebuczkowski8605]

I love those 52? wheels lad! I'd like to push them onto my mini if I get one?

[@DamoDrives]

Quite difficult to find this wheel and size as they don’t make them anymore . I do like them as they are quite rare

[@adamarcadia701]

What tyres are you running ? I’m thinking about getting the same wheels. Love the car

[@DamoDrives]

They are Kumho 205/45/17 , possibly wider 225 might be better but they are fine. Finding those wheels is not easy as they don’t make them anymore either , are the 1s you are looking at 8J ET30

[@adamarcadia701]

@@DamoDrives thanks, yeah I’m looking 8J ET30

[@CMGvid]

Hi , quick one I know it's off topic but was wondering what type radio that is in the car, I like the screen can you let me know as would like to replace my radio

[@DamoDrives]

It’s a Sony Xav-AX3005db Double Din

[@CMGvid]

Cheers Mate

[@Jonathan-qz9kd]

Kw or st is what you want I have kw v2 and they are better than stock adjustable damping also and they use stock top mounts.

[@DamoDrives]

I think Tom (the guy who did the work) has ST on his, KW might be a bit pricy and for a car I drive 100 miles a month and not on track maybe over kill , but let’s see what the bank says (aka my wife)

[@haule4426]

What your wheel and tire size, offset

[@DamoDrives]

They are 205/45/17 8J (not sure on the offset I’m afraid)

[@Histoshape]

my car surely needs some 1320 care 🙈 but living in Germany - here they already have problems while changing ABS Sensor...wrong higher signal 🤔

[@DamoDrives]

Might take a while lol ROAD TRIP ……..

[@JessicaBrown-tx9xc]

Didn’t know jay from the inbetweeners owned a garage

[@DamoDrives]

I am sure he will love that 😂😂 hope you enjoyed the video

[@wiwelwiwel9141]

Running 9.7:1 AFR - and yet you decided not to remap it? That is seriously rich mixture..

[@DamoDrives]

1320 mini are experts in this and said it was fine as the adaptations had been cleared and it would pull itself up as the new adaptations came in BUT I plan to have it tweaked to bring it down further. It was a matter of budget and what to spend the money on, yes I could of had the remap but better of having other things done 1st

[@sionsk887]

this tims old banger ?

[@DamoDrives]

Tim used to own it, hoping you are joking about being a banger rather than knowing something I don’t 😂

[@exgtt2061]

1320 are excellent at what they do and their knowledge & remap hardware is the real deal. However their remaps are bloody expensive - £600+ for remapping cars with an average value of under £3k is hard to swallow. I’m sure there are a lot of folks out there with a 17% and performance air filter playing Russian roulette with the standard mapping and they just need that tweak to the spark table and fuelling. Please 1320 bring the cost under the £400 mark for a simple remap and I’ll be far more inclined to spend the big bucks. However their cam - remap - injector package is value for money. So Damo - what does an extra 70bhp of forced induction horses feel like??? You need to do a reaction vid asap.

[@DamoDrives]

Filmed already and in the middle of being edited 😂. Did that on the same day and just to long for 1 video. As for the change it’s amazing and feels like a different car. The guys at 1320 are amazing and the custom live map from what Tom said was £500, a massive amount of that money is for the software licence (cannot remember exact numbers but £300-£350) then you have an hour on the dyno so in reality it’s not silly money when you look at it as a breakdown but just as a number bs car price yes. It already has a remap from Haywood but it’s not a live custom map just for my car which is ideally what I would like to have done. Other bits need to get done before that though. From the day there I can fully understand why they have such a good reputation and they are just a nice group of people , provide tea and biscuits and the dog is 😎

[@exgtt2061]

@@DamoDrives If they are paying £300+ for a licence to a 3rd party then I get it. I didn’t know they had this cost. I assumed they were recouping development costs, not licensing. I’ve heard good things about Haywood but from recent posts he ain’t doing R53’s anymore. Shame. Look forward to the next vid 👍👍👍 Ps running as rich as you are, might be good to change oil more regularly till it’s sorted. Crazy how loud it sounds with boost hahaha.

[@DamoDrives]

The oil was done a weeks before i purchased it and I have done about 1300 miles since so not a lot of miles but it will have a service in a couple of months. As for the cost I checked £350 for each install then they dyno it and map and tweak. I suppose with this as well my current map is based on 440cc injectors but doing the flow test showed they were slightly less (429 average ) so an exact map and tweak is not possible if it’s not a live map. Will save up a few 💵 and do it some point this year

[@TheDuckseason]

Coilovers.

[@DamoDrives]

Currently I have Tein street coilovers

[@TheDuckseason]

@@DamoDrives Do you like them now that things are tightened down lol .

[@SofaKingTouge]

I just started watching but those wheels are way to big and heavy for a mini.

[@DamoDrives]

They are not that bad at 10kg per wheel, certainly not light though. I agree 8J is a little wide and 7 or 7.5 would be better

[@SofaKingTouge]

@@DamoDrives wow thats really heavy. Just robbing power from that little motor to turn those giant Flintstone wheels. You'd probably be happier on a set of bilstein b6 with stock springs. Will out perform any coilover under $3k. Heck it will probably outperform those over $3k since almost no one really knows how to set coilovers up the right way. Also lowering a r53 is a terrible idea. They have very little suspension travel to begin with. For them not to slap the bumpstops you have to put way to stiff of spring on them. Now you got a mess of a car.

[@black22works]

What a prat 😂

[@DamoDrives]

Who are you referring to

[@black22works]

@DamoDrives You! The fella from 1320 could hardly contain himself! 😂 Fancy driving in there with a loose injector rail 😂

[@Camelhooof]

Great video by the way lol 😆

[@DamoDrives]

Glad you enjoyed it, saving the £££ For a couple of other bits some time in the year. I think a map might be on the cards if I have the budget