OK, I know that I was going to wait until the 26th, but after last night I had to do it.

Last night I met with the guys from MINI2.info (Nuremburg) and had a blast. I nice guy named Harry sent me an invite and I met up with him in Amberg and we made our way via back roads to the location. Of course there was some spirited driving and I noticed a hesitation that could only be my belt slipping. So, I decided this morning that I needed some "me" time and went to the garage.

I installed:

One belt (NAPA model)
One Alta OCC
One Detroit Tuned BPV...

All I can say is WOW! I wondered where my power went. It is now back and I am started to think that my original belt (I was wrong, it was a gatorback) was slipping. THe belt that I posted here origainlly was the one that I replaced it with and it fit fine and only a little deflection was is nice. No slipping happening here...

The BPV really kicked the throttle response up and she jumps a lot harder than she used to. In fact, the snow tires are crap for trying to spin her up quick.

So, now the debate....

I have to do some work on the Mrs. Forester. It is a turbo model and needs belts, oil change, pads (all the way around) and I have an Ipod kit to install. What I am thinking is that I might drive it to Heidelberg for the party rather than the MINI. Thoughts? If I get time before hand to do it, I will but her service is way over due.

 

I'd love to see your car but happy to spin wrenches on anything...

How tough was the BPV install?

 

Not bad now that I know what to do. The majority of it was taking the parts off like the IC and pulling the airbox out and such. It was a lot like doing a pulley install to be honest. Of couse I dropped a nut that I will need to replace quickly but the rest of the install went smooth.

 

One lift, one bay.

Oh, and the drivers here are idiots. Who puts stop lights on a highway? and 55? Who drives 55, other than my stuntdevil kids on their bikes?

 

When I went back for my sisters wedding, the worst part of the trip was driving. Passing on the right... People not clearing the left lane... Low speed limits... Riding my butt only to let them pass and then have them slow down even slower than we were going...

I really think the USA needs a set of federal laws with mandatory driving school and jail time for people caught driving without insurance or license. Tis the only way to fix the madness.

 

Amen, brothers.

 

Holalula !!! Amen... Preach it baby... The Stig is suffering as well... of course there are those of us (not to mention myself or any others) that continue to push the limits... These drivers over here are MAD !!!

 

You drive like a German MINI driver... (just a little crazy).

How you doing Rudy?

 

Suprisingly good, glad its a new year... I'll send an email to ya... too long for this avenue of communication...

 

Rudy!!!

Happy New Year's, hopes and prayers to you and yours!! Hope all is well. Is North Kakalaky treating you OK? Stay safe.

Cheers!!

 

North Carolina is indeed treating me well, although I did have a problem with a local all too recently. I had to get tires put on my MINI (imagine that??? I bet your thinking "really" ? Rudy needed tires???) and the place I went to marred both my rims.... Hmmm... OZ wheels, for more GO FAST speeds...

Honestly I really miss Germany but the MINI guys here at the Tarheel MINI club are nothing short of AWESOME !!! Just wish we had unlimited speed limits and insane twisties...

 

Glad to hear that you are doing well.

You know, you just need to find a mall and zoom through the parking lot. :p

 

My proposal to make this a "weapons free" zone have not been well met. They're insisting on Weapons Tight -- which also sucks.

I've passed on buying more parts while here, to install at the party. Discipline -- this crap is difficult!

 

Resistance is Futile!

FYI, if you haven't read my blog (I changed software yet again), I now have the Abuzavi mod on my MINI. My mount point just fell off....... The metal was crumbling when I touched it.

 

Metal "crumbles" a lot in your area. Maybe it's something in the German atmosphere.

 

It is the curse of Abuzavi!

 

Yep - he qualifies as something in the atmosphere. Or at least his emissions do.

 

hmmm. I wonder if I might be affected. Maybe its al that beer and brats that's creating the fumes.

 

You've not gone to Deal's Gap yet? Dude, that's a moral imperative for you and your car!

 

I'm telling you, the metal was very weak. It actually looks like a fair amount of current passes through there... No worries, I just applied the fix.

 

No worries, we're workin' on it.
He had a conflict for MSSD... but Rudy has an open offer from me to go up with him some weekend...

 

Daflake, you dared to try such a tricky, cutting edge modification without the safety of a pulley party to support you? You rock!

Question is, did you label it as AbuZavi R&D?

I really need to get around to starting a NAM thread on this great MOD. All the cool kids are doing it, clearly.

Anyone need a place to crash? I think my guest room is not booked for the weekend. Cats and kids are involved.

Oh, and this is too funny.

 

Abu, when and where is the link-up for next weekend? Starting to get a little antsy...

Cheers!!

 

PB,

Let me check in at the garage tomorrow (if they're open) and see what their hours are.

Also, I'm going to try and leverage the day to make a dry run on a possible route. Google Earth file of it is here. It covers some of the same ground as what we did at the Odenwald trip last year (GE file), but launches from here in Heidelberg instead. With you coming from up north, daflake from out East, and others from all kinds of places, I thought it would be good to look for a neutral place to end -- someplace equidistant for all when it comes time to part ways and head home. This should put folks in a position to hop onto autobahn 3 or 81 or 7, or slink home through the woods (like me).

Let me know what you think of it. It is, I think, also a decent route if someone needed to break off early and start home before the run is finished. It sort of meanders all over, which one could just stop and bee-line out of there.

 

Abu,

Good route, looks good to me! Just let me know when and where we link up and I'll be there raring to go!!

Cheers!!