Must-have modifications

[MarkSasaki]

What's the spec on these wheels? Any need for spacers for clearance?

NM Engineering Rse12

The wheel specs are:
Size: 18x7.5
Offset: +45 mm
PCD: 5-112 mm
Bore: 66.5 mm
Lug Opening: 14mm Conical Seat

Tire size is 215/40R18

No spacers needed and work with stock lugs, I bought these in 2019 for my Cooper S and they are the 45mm offset for the JCW. I only see a 40mm offset listed if you can find these wheels now but the extra 5mm was for the big brakes on the JCW. I bought these with the intention of getting the big brake kit but I never did. There is some minor clearancing needed in the rear inner fenderwell at the height I have my car and I was worried that with the different flare on the SE I would have more issues. But, the fitment is pretty much the same as on my gas Cooper S. I think if anyone got these in the 40mm offset, they would not have any clearance issues.

 

[LittleWoods]

That’s exciting man! Here’s a a couple photos of mine. I added a splitter and replaced the 2021 SE grille with a 2021 Cooper S grille. RallyArmor mudflaps, tinted taillights, painted my brakes yellow to match the highlights and custom bonnet stripes. I did just a little bit of work on the interior and utilized some red carbon fiber highlights on the window controls on the door handle, the center of the steering wheel, the engine start lever and around the touchscreen display. I had plans to add rally lights on the front, but I’m saving that for the ‘23 Countryman SE that’s coming soon. Thought I’d share what I’ve done to inspire some ideas!

Where did you get the bonnet stripes? I've been looking to add a few more yellow accents that match the color of the mirror caps and like what you've done.

Edit - also interested in the paint you used for the brakes, never done that before

 

[JonR]

Had my SE for 8 days... Mods include, KW coilovers, NM Engineering wheels (from my 2019 Mini), ceramic tint. Incoming is carbon fiber dash overlays and OEM all weather mats. I ordered the car with the black waistline trim and hood stripes. Also, completely de-yellowed everything except the shifter.

View attachment 17210

@MarkSasaki That car looks great! It looks significantly lower than mine too with basically the same coilovers. I noticed that when I had the ride height higher, the ride got better but you mentioned that you really like the ride with your coilovers.

Can you tell measure the fender to center of the wheel on the front and back? Here are mine right now:
Front: 13 1/4
Rear: 13 7/16

 

[SameGuy]

also interested in the paint you used for the brakes, never done that before

I used red POR-15 on my last car, and it stood up through six winters and summers (it’s still intact). But I have since decided that brake dust, especially from semi-metallic or ceramic pads, sticks a little too well, as I found myself constantly cleaning the brakes every time I washed the car. I just ordered black G2 calliper paint for the SE, hope to apply it shortly after taking delivery (less to clean).

 

[LittleWoods]

I used red POR-15 on my last car, and it stood up through six winters and summers (it’s still intact). But I have since decided that brake dust, especially from semi-metallic or ceramic pads, sticks a little too well, as I found myself constantly cleaning the brakes every time I washed the car. I just ordered black G2 calliper paint for the SE, hope to apply it shortly after taking delivery (lass to clean).

Thanks for those tips! Is it possible to paint the callipers without taking the wheel off? I imagine it's easier/cleaner without a wheel in the way, but I don't have an easy way to do that at the moment.

Any suggestions on how to best color match the same shade of yellow on the rest of the car?

 

[SameGuy]

POR-15 and most air-curing paints have a long enough working time to be able to paint one wheel at a time if that’s the only option, but a two-part chemically-cured paint hardens too quickly so it’s best to have all the wheels off and the callipers cleaned and prepped before starting to paint. That said, it’d be impossible to paint the callipers without removing the wheels.

 

[SameGuy]

Any suggestions on how to best color match the same shade of yellow on the rest of the car?

G2 can custom blend to a supplied paint code for Energetic Yellow, but their standard yellow looks close to Energetic, more lemony than orangey. Same goes for POR-15. VHT is more like Tonka yellow, Duplicolor is pretty close.

 

[LittleWoods]

POR-15 and most air-curing paints have a long enough working time to be able to paint one wheel at a time if that’s the only option, but a two-part chemically-cured paint hardens too quickly so it’s best to have all the wheels off and the callipers cleaned and prepped before starting to paint. That said, it’d be impossible to paint the callipers without removing the wheels.

Makes sense, thanks. I'll likely just take it to a place that can raise the car and do it right the first time.

 

[Puppethead]

Where did you get the bonnet stripes? I've been looking to add a few more yellow accents that match the color of the mirror caps and like what you've done.

The Pixel Hut has bonnet stripes with Energetic Yellow pinstripes, hoping to install mine soon.

Also, for the record, here are the Pantone/CMYK values for Energetic Yellow:

Pantone: 612C
CMYK: 0/0/100/23​

Unfortunately I don't have the values for Vigorous Grey, which may not really be on the 2022+ SEs, just for the 2020/2021 SEs.

 

[ghost]

I bought some yellow POR-15 caliper paint for mine, but haven't gotten around to it, yet. I painted my license plate numbers just to see if it matches: it doesn't. Our energetic yellow is paler. For my calipers, it's fine by me.

 

[SameGuy]

Thanks for the empirical comparison, @ghost; I was going by online images for the POR-15 and G2, while I have hands-on with VHT, Duplicolor, and Krylon yellows.

 

[MarkSasaki]

@MarkSasaki That car looks great! It looks significantly lower than mine too with basically the same coilovers. I noticed that when I had the ride height higher, the ride got better but you mentioned that you really like the ride with your coilovers.

Can you tell measure the fender to center of the wheel on the front and back? Here are mine right now:
Front: 13 1/4
Rear: 13 7/16

@JonR, Thank you! I just measured it and it is 12-3/4" in the rear and 13" in the front. I will probably drop the front down another 1/4" this weekend. I also have 18" wheels and they appeared to be slightly taller the 17" Rail Spokes that I took off. What is your fender to ground measurements?

Mine is 25" in the rear and 24-7/8" in the front.

 

[SameGuy]

Not a mod, but after reading all the thumbs-ups here for the rubber boot (cargo) mat, I texted my MA to add it to my order along with the “bibs” ()(mudflaps) and mirror caps. Remind me to demand that my OE black mirror caps are safely packaged in the boot on delivery.

 

[Wreckless117]

That’s exciting man! Here’s a a couple photos of mine. I added a splitter and replaced the 2021 SE grille with a 2021 Cooper S grille. RallyArmor mudflaps, tinted taillights, painted my brakes yellow to match the highlights and custom bonnet stripes. I did just a little bit of work on the interior and utilized some red carbon fiber highlights on the window controls on the door handle, the center of the steering wheel, the engine start lever and around the touchscreen display. I had plans to add rally lights on the front, but I’m saving that for the ‘23 Countryman SE that’s coming soon. Thought I’d share what I’ve done to inspire some ideas!

How did you go about mounting your rally armor mud flaps? Cant seem to find any kits. Don't mind making my own mounts if needed but wouldn't mind seeing others setup before tackling it.

 

[JonR]

@JonR, Thank you! I just measured it and it is 12-3/4" in the rear and 13" in the front. I will probably drop the front down another 1/4" this weekend. I also have 18" wheels and they appeared to be slightly taller the 17" Rail Spokes that I took off. What is your fender to ground measurements?

Mine is 25" in the rear and 24-7/8" in the front.

I have OEM 17" wheels and the fender to ground measurements are:
front: 24 13/16
rear: 25 1/8

I ordered softer rear KW springs to hopefully improve the ride quality so these numbers will probably change.

 

[LittleWoods]

G2 can custom blend to a supplied paint code for Energetic Yellow, but their standard yellow looks close to Energetic, more lemony than orangey.

Just wanted to mention that I decided to give this a shot myself and tried to order a custom color from G2, but they came back and said they would only match body color codes and refunded my purchase. Disappointing, but I guess I'll try one of the other options that are "close enough". Really wanted an exact match since I'm pretty picky about that stuff.

 

[MarkSasaki]

Cool, thanks. I’ll be very interested to hear what you think of them - how well they fit, the quality and if they are genuine carbon fiber.
I had a bunch of interior and exterior genuine carbon fiber overlays on my Model 3, but they were all made here in the States.
Hopefully somewhere there are overlays for the piano black door trims!!!!

@tesrivmini I got the carbon dash overlays from Aliexpress today, I honestly didn't know what to expect after I placed the order. There are some other ABS plastic dash overlays that have the carbon fiber look for much less money, so I kept checking what I bought to make sure they were stated as real carbon fiber. I am happy to say they are real real carbon fiber and that they fit very well. It conforms around the vent holes perfectly and the height is perfect, I was worried it would block the dash ambient lighting but they do not. I also got the carbon fiber start/stop switch and the fit was excellent as well. I typically don't over do it but the side vents look like they need it now. The piano black center gauge goes well as is so I may just get the vents and be done. Still on the fence with the door trim, not sure if I will do them or not yet. Here is a pic of the passenger side dash.

 

[Daniel Palmqvist]

@tesrivmini I got the carbon dash overlays from Aliexpress today, I honestly didn't know what to expect after I placed the order. There are some other ABS plastic dash overlays that have the carbon fiber look for much less money, so I kept checking what I bought to make sure they were stated as real carbon fiber. I am happy to say they are real real carbon fiber and that they fit very well. It conforms around the vent holes perfectly and the height is perfect, I was worried it would block the dash ambient lighting but they do not. I also got the carbon fiber start/stop switch and the fit was excellent as well. I typically don't over do it but the side vents look like they need it now. The piano black center gauge goes well as is so I may just get the vents and be done. Still on the fence with the door trim, not sure if I will do them or not yet. Here is a pic of the passenger side dash.View attachment 17459

Looks really good!! Link to where you bought them?

 

[GvilleGuy]

@tesrivmini I got the carbon dash overlays from Aliexpress today, I honestly didn't know what to expect after I placed the order. There are some other ABS plastic dash overlays that have the carbon fiber look for much less money, so I kept checking what I bought to make sure they were stated as real carbon fiber. I am happy to say they are real real carbon fiber and that they fit very well. It conforms around the vent holes perfectly and the height is perfect, I was worried it would block the dash ambient lighting but they do not. I also got the carbon fiber start/stop switch and the fit was excellent as well. I typically don't over do it but the side vents look like they need it now. The piano black center gauge goes well as is so I may just get the vents and be done. Still on the fence with the door trim, not sure if I will do them or not yet. Here is a pic of the passenger side dash.View attachment 17459

That is tempting. Might think about replacing my piano black trim piece for that. Looks great!

 

[SameGuy]

IMO Piano Black to aftermarket CF is a good choice, but I’ve got MINI Electric, less of a leap (and Electric has none of Piano’s downsides).