First Drive In My 17% Supercharged MINI R53 Cooper S! The Sound Blows My Mind!

First Drive In My 17% Supercharged MINI R53 Cooper S! The Sound Blows My Mind! Once I get the R53 MINI Cooper S running perfect it will be so so good. The Supercharger sound now with the reduced pulley is brilliant and i am loving how much fun the R53 Cooper S is to drive!

Check Mod A Mini out here:
Full MINI R53 Supercharger pulley and Intercooler install Video Here:
Buy the products I have here:

[stephenweenink]

If you ditch the 17" wheels and go down to a 16" lightweight wheel with a standard (not run-flat) tire, it will change the handling and acceleration noticeably!

[blackkeymaestro]

Have exact same ride with 17% and 2% crankshaft pulley, except it is the convertible (R52). Had the same hesitation, which went away as soon as I installed the Bypass Valve from Detroit Tuned. The tighter spring made it so that the supercharger would stay engaged. I consider the BPV upgrade a must if you are going 17%+ on the S.C.

Also be mindful of possible lean mixture at wide open throttle (WOT) causing excessive heat in the compression chamber and melting valves/piston. At WOT, the R52/R53 does not do accurate mixture readings due to the O2 sensor being a narrowband sensor and therefore won't issue "engine too lean" codes when it is lean. This can occur most often when you are pulling 17.5+ psi boost (cold days/nights) and not providing enough fuel due to small injectors or hickups from fuel pressure regulator (vacuum line problem), fuel injector (dirty or faulty) or fuel pump / filter (dirty or faulty).

Lastly, if you are a fan of the whine, install a cold air Intake that grabs the air from the windshield cowl vents. The sound is phenomenal. And don't forget to turn off DCS 😁

[MrRoyck]

This car is well sorted with that epic whine from the supercharger, very sensible modifications, well done Stef.

[brendandrives]

Did a track day a decade ago with a slew of these supercharged minis on track and they sound incredible in person

[georgesandiford]

The hesitation is the same as what i had, totally identical, it is a sensor unplugged under the supercharger snoot on the left hand side, there is another video on youtube about this, but it can easily be knocked when changing intercooler and boots, you will also notice another significant power gain when it is plugged back in.

[BigCol]

I love the sound of these things. I’m looking at doing similar mods to mine when money allows….. Just had to have a clutch and flywheel that’s eaten away at my fun pot :( it will be good to see how the mods improve the standard car though. With the higher bhp you mite want to look at upgrading your stopping power to some r56 callipers etc or something more spicy like the green brembo’s on the Abarth you had.

[ccleve]

So glad to see more people doing this, put a 17% and a CAI on my r52 jcw last summer. Best decision of a lifetime!

[stefanlee]

It's very happy to see the same car as mine, the same model and color except for year, the transmission and mileage.
In korea, the only automatic transmission Minis have been imported and mine is 2006, automatic transmission and 53, 000 miles. Anyway, you customized yours very well.
Mine is the factory state, not custo izing at all. I envy you so much, especially supercharge whine.
Bye!

[darrenlucas]

I did the same here, and then fitted a plus2 super light crank pulley from GTT, binned the Aircon compressor for less drag and fitted a shorter belt and to balance it up went plus5 on the alternator pulley.
Still on standard map, injectors and cam but it's so lively now and spins up so fast I'm not even sure it needs more power....but once you start, it's hard to stop.
Biggest fear is that two much power might turn the steering to a nightmare.

[MrAshleydickens]

Sounds bloody fab Stef!! Love the sound of a supercharger!

[NotDecided]

I got mine adjusted to 11%
200bhp.
She flys!
Got MoMo quick shift too.
It's like a rally car.

[timking]

That noise!!! Intoxicating - little Go
Kart

[eurothrasher]

My stock 2003 R53 manual stick with only 17% SCP achieved 34mpg highway all day long....Wasn't until after adding 380's, JCW exhaust and JCW tune did it drop down to mid 20's. Frm the factory is was a true Jackal and Hyde car depending on how heavy your foot was.

[seizedkeyboard]

There is the law of diminishing returns when tuning, but I went the whole hog at 1320 and got a millteck exhaust, headers, airbox mod, 550cc injectors, an more aggressive cam and a custom map. 225+bhp at the wheels and 6 seconds to 60 mph. Drank fuel like anything - was actually better when thrashing it than economy driving. Think I saw 30 mpg once on a long run. 99ron as well :(
Loved that car - felt like it could keep with anything on a winding b-road.

[LearnToRace]

I took my standard checkmate on a rolling road, no mods apart from a pre installed cat back exhaust and got 178bhp, should definatly go and get yours on a Dyno

[johnhibbs]

I just bought a R53 checkmate. Installed a 15% pulley. Many more mods.

[Muzzaa]

I do love mine I've had it for 3 years, but the time has come to trade it in.

[BigPerformance]

Good morning chap. Another great video. Keep up the HARD work my friend

[BLUEMEANIE]

Stef it Probably needs a by pass valve mine did Also fit a manifold and air intake makes a big improvement 👍

[BillyJo]

Great review mate, they are so much fun mini 👍 ❤