What did you do to your mini today?
#9651
03-02-2013, 01:06 PM
#9652
03-02-2013, 03:53 PM
6th Gear
Good lord, why???
Unless you actually know the people there, I would avoid using any place like that for any car I actually cared about. Or wanted to last for a while. Far too many of them employ people who are half-trained and don't give a crap about your car. :(
If you do know the people there, and trust them, that's a different matter.
But more often than not, you're better off either doing the job yourself or having a trusted specialist do it, rather than trusting a big chain like that.
Unless you actually know the people there, I would avoid using any place like that for any car I actually cared about. Or wanted to last for a while. Far too many of them employ people who are half-trained and don't give a crap about your car. :(
If you do know the people there, and trust them, that's a different matter.
But more often than not, you're better off either doing the job yourself or having a trusted specialist do it, rather than trusting a big chain like that.
#9653
03-02-2013, 04:01 PM
Took Pip to Crevier MINI for some maintenance, rattle fixes, and a few broken interior bits. He's going to be gone until Wednesday! But it's ok, I requested this sweet ride and am in love! I've never driven a justa before let alone a justa auto so I was expecting it to be awful. I'm very pleasantly surprised by how quick it is and how unterrible the slushbox is especially in manual mode. It's actually a combo that I think I could live with. I don't miss Pip and his extra 100hp nearly as much as I though I would.
I was seriously considering an R59 as my next ride but now I'm almost positive about it. Gotta be a JCW tho.
Don't tell Pip I'm having a little affair this weekend
I was seriously considering an R59 as my next ride but now I'm almost positive about it. Gotta be a JCW tho.
Don't tell Pip I'm having a little affair this weekend
#9654
03-02-2013, 04:04 PM
4th Gear
Good lord, why???
Unless you actually know the people there, I would avoid using any place like that for any car I actually cared about. Or wanted to last for a while. Far too many of them employ people who are half-trained and don't give a crap about your car. :(
If you do know the people there, and trust them, that's a different matter.
But more often than not, you're better off either doing the job yourself or having a trusted specialist do it, rather than trusting a big chain like that.
Unless you actually know the people there, I would avoid using any place like that for any car I actually cared about. Or wanted to last for a while. Far too many of them employ people who are half-trained and don't give a crap about your car. :(
If you do know the people there, and trust them, that's a different matter.
But more often than not, you're better off either doing the job yourself or having a trusted specialist do it, rather than trusting a big chain like that.
Sent from my iPad using NAMotoring
#9655
03-02-2013, 04:39 PM
Good lord, why???
Unless you actually know the people there, I would avoid using any place like that for any car I actually cared about. Or wanted to last for a while. Far too many of them employ people who are half-trained and don't give a crap about your car. :(
If you do know the people there, and trust them, that's a different matter.
But more often than not, you're better off either doing the job yourself or having a trusted specialist do it, rather than trusting a big chain like that.
Unless you actually know the people there, I would avoid using any place like that for any car I actually cared about. Or wanted to last for a while. Far too many of them employ people who are half-trained and don't give a crap about your car. :(
If you do know the people there, and trust them, that's a different matter.
But more often than not, you're better off either doing the job yourself or having a trusted specialist do it, rather than trusting a big chain like that.
#9656
03-02-2013, 04:59 PM
#9657
03-02-2013, 05:10 PM
Saw what was left of an aftermarket spiffy oil filter which caved in on itself after just 5K miles reducing oil pressure and subsequent CEL on an R56S today....
The 2nd Gen MINI filter has a patented zig-zag pattern and weaved splines which provide almost twice as much filtering area and helps to maintain uniformed shape for extented mileage intervals....the plain crappy aftermarket filters do not.....
Just compare them side to side and you will instantly see what I mean.....
MINI...............
TYPICAL CRAPPY POS OIL FILTERS USED AT JOE MAGILACUDDY'S...............
This aint rocket science folks........
The 2nd Gen MINI filter has a patented zig-zag pattern and weaved splines which provide almost twice as much filtering area and helps to maintain uniformed shape for extented mileage intervals....the plain crappy aftermarket filters do not.....
Just compare them side to side and you will instantly see what I mean.....
MINI...............
TYPICAL CRAPPY POS OIL FILTERS USED AT JOE MAGILACUDDY'S...............
This aint rocket science folks........
#9658
03-02-2013, 09:31 PM
Went for a drive to Whistler along the sea to sky highway. Off the highway in some backroads (where the real twisties are), I hit a pot hole and heard a crunch but a quick inspection didn't really notice anything and the car drove fine, so when I got home, I noticed....
Muffler and everything else looks to be in the right places so it looks like just the tail pipes and the aluminum shield underneath got bent.
Muffler and everything else looks to be in the right places so it looks like just the tail pipes and the aluminum shield underneath got bent.
#9659
03-02-2013, 09:49 PM
Moderator
Installed my new Alta 22mm rear sway bar, . Hey, the car is red, the RSB is red, it was the Valentine's day sale, I had to. At least that's what I told my wife.
The install took about 2 hours, pretty easy. After hitting some back roads and going around a cloverleaf - all four turns - all I can say is "HOLY JCW Batman!" Understeer is gone, the car feels much more solid and planted, it goes right where I want it without a hint of pushing or front tires scrubbing, and it is easy to adjust the line through the corner with the throttle. No drop throttle oversteer or other bad effects either. The car has gone from great handling to amazing. If you care about handling and you haven't upgraded your RSB, you gotta do this.
The install took about 2 hours, pretty easy. After hitting some back roads and going around a cloverleaf - all four turns - all I can say is "HOLY JCW Batman!" Understeer is gone, the car feels much more solid and planted, it goes right where I want it without a hint of pushing or front tires scrubbing, and it is easy to adjust the line through the corner with the throttle. No drop throttle oversteer or other bad effects either. The car has gone from great handling to amazing. If you care about handling and you haven't upgraded your RSB, you gotta do this.
#9663
03-03-2013, 09:24 AM
2nd Gear
Join Date: Oct 2011
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#9664
03-03-2013, 11:02 AM
Yesterday, took her on the first PDX MINI Run of the year...Wooot Wooot!! Was rippin' them Twisties!! 
We started out at MINI of Portland, who were awesome hosts...we did a driveby through the Service area for some pics. and video!!
From there we headed up into the West Hills of PDX for a leisurely 62mi. run, there were 29 cars on this run, split up into 4 groups, Molly and I were Sweep for the Blue Group!! 
We started out at MINI of Portland, who were awesome hosts...we did a driveby through the Service area for some pics. and video!!
From there we headed up into the West Hills of PDX for a leisurely 62mi. run, there were 29 cars on this run, split up into 4 groups, Molly and I were Sweep for the Blue Group!!
Last edited by RJKimbell; 03-03-2013 at 11:13 AM.
#9665
03-03-2013, 11:41 AM
...
#9666
03-03-2013, 12:14 PM
That's the exact tire I'm lookin at for my 2012 MCS! I've never heard
anything but kind words about the Conti DW tires. One of my friends runs them on his 2009 Cobalt SS
(300whp) and the other on his 2006 Pontiac GTO (400whp) and they both say they love them.
So that's what I'm going with.
anything but kind words about the Conti DW tires. One of my friends runs them on his 2009 Cobalt SS
(300whp) and the other on his 2006 Pontiac GTO (400whp) and they both say they love them.
So that's what I'm going with.
The Dunlop Direzza ZII was tempting, but too much tire (Extreme Performance) and not enough
wet performance or tread life, the Bridgestone S-04 sounded perfect but only comes in 205/55/16
and also weighs a ton (24#) compared to the DW (19#), and the BF Goodrich G-Sport Comp 2 is
only UHP instead of Max Performance.
Those were the other 3 choices I was considering.
They're mounted and balanced, but haven't put them on yet.
I suspect the only thing I won't love about them is their alleged soft turn-in
response, but I plan on running them at 36-38 psi instead of my usual 34 psi
on other tires to help with that. I was also concerned about the "2009 production"
listing on Tire Rack, but the salesman told me they would be fresher and they were
(Dot ... ... 4511 on all 4 = November 2011 manufacture date).
#9668
03-03-2013, 07:08 PM
5th Gear
K, so it was yesterday *and* today, but, spent some time re-doing my previous attempt at touch-up paint to fix nearly 108k miles of rock chips.
I'm still learning the process and I'm far from done, but the nose is looking a lot better than two days ago, when it looked like it had a case of the BRG measles with all the little dots of touch-up paint....
This is all just a stop-gap until I have the $$$ to take it to a real body shop and have 'em strip and re-shoot the bonnet with the right shade of green. It sucks that my official MINI BRG touch-up paint is the *wrong* color because it's the *right* color. I pulled the wheelwell trim off the bonnet, and the color difference was glaring. Not even close. Whoever re-shot the bonnet before I got the car did a second-rate, scratch that, third-rate, no, scratch that too, 1424527456th-rate job....
C ya,
Dutch
I'm still learning the process and I'm far from done, but the nose is looking a lot better than two days ago, when it looked like it had a case of the BRG measles with all the little dots of touch-up paint....
This is all just a stop-gap until I have the $$$ to take it to a real body shop and have 'em strip and re-shoot the bonnet with the right shade of green. It sucks that my official MINI BRG touch-up paint is the *wrong* color because it's the *right* color. I pulled the wheelwell trim off the bonnet, and the color difference was glaring. Not even close. Whoever re-shot the bonnet before I got the car did a second-rate, scratch that, third-rate, no, scratch that too, 1424527456th-rate job....
C ya,
Dutch
#9670
03-04-2013, 05:22 PM
Didn't take her to work today as I normally would on a Monday and ended up getting a flat with my daily driver. Not sure if that's good luck or bad.
Ordered everything I need (I hope) for a supercharger oil service. Decided to also order new water pump, thermostat, thermostat housing, and radiator hoses since the car was going to be in pieces. Figure an extra $250 was worth it to avoid removing the front end again in the near future for whatever else that may need work. She's 10 years old so odds are one of those things will go bad some day soon.
Ordered everything I need (I hope) for a supercharger oil service. Decided to also order new water pump, thermostat, thermostat housing, and radiator hoses since the car was going to be in pieces. Figure an extra $250 was worth it to avoid removing the front end again in the near future for whatever else that may need work. She's 10 years old so odds are one of those things will go bad some day soon.
#9671
03-04-2013, 06:17 PM
4th Gear
Join Date: Jun 2012
Location: Chicago, IL
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I thought long and hard about it all winter long.
The Dunlop Direzza ZII was tempting, but too much tire (Extreme Performance) and not enough
wet performance or tread life, the Bridgestone S-04 sounded perfect but only comes in 205/55/16
and also weighs a ton (24#) compared to the DW (19#), and the BF Goodrich G-Sport Comp 2 is
only UHP instead of Max Performance.
Those were the other 3 choices I was considering.
They're mounted and balanced, but haven't put them on yet.
I suspect the only thing I won't love about them is their alleged soft turn-in
response, but I plan on running them at 36-38 psi instead of my usual 34 psi
on other tires to help with that. I was also concerned about the "2009 production"
listing on Tire Rack, but the salesman told me they would be fresher and they were
(Dot ... ... 4511 on all 4 = November 2011 manufacture date).
The Dunlop Direzza ZII was tempting, but too much tire (Extreme Performance) and not enough
wet performance or tread life, the Bridgestone S-04 sounded perfect but only comes in 205/55/16
and also weighs a ton (24#) compared to the DW (19#), and the BF Goodrich G-Sport Comp 2 is
only UHP instead of Max Performance.
Those were the other 3 choices I was considering.
They're mounted and balanced, but haven't put them on yet.
I suspect the only thing I won't love about them is their alleged soft turn-in
response, but I plan on running them at 36-38 psi instead of my usual 34 psi
on other tires to help with that. I was also concerned about the "2009 production"
listing on Tire Rack, but the salesman told me they would be fresher and they were
(Dot ... ... 4511 on all 4 = November 2011 manufacture date).
#9672
03-05-2013, 08:08 AM
5th Gear
#9673
03-05-2013, 08:39 AM
Join Date: Jan 2006
Location: SoCal
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#9674
03-05-2013, 08:46 AM
5th Gear
