Parked it. We got our first real snow yesterday, so off the road it goes for a few months.

 

Are those numbers correct? The trend doesn't surprise me (more electric than manual in the US) but the raw numbers are low seeming.
And what about an electric car with a manual transmission? https://www.theverge.com/2019/11/5/2...hium-sema-2019

 

We traded in our 2008 Mini Cooper Clubman S for a 2015 Mini Cooper Countryman S All4 this weekend!

We'd enjoyed the Clubman but as I had recently traded in L'il Red (my 2002 R53) for a BMW 328D Xdrive wagon, my wife was jealous. At some point, a mouse had gotten into the cabin air fan (and died) and so there was this faint smell of dead mouse that used to linger in the car. Finally figured out how to get rid of it - traded the car!

Things she loves about the new Countryman is that it has lounge leather, like her Clubby used to, has support for hands-free phone use, a navigation system, and it goes like a MINI! Plus, no smell of dead mouse!

 

Not sure how the EV w/manual trans affects those numbers. I was quoting what a friend told me, and found numbers for the 3rd quarter of 2019 that match what he said. Overall, though, it looks like the actual year end total for manual transmission sales was around 2%. And apparently only about 20% of vehicles sold in the US even offer a manual transmission.

 

Re-Routed headlight washer hose today for a cleaner look since i took off the hood liner. Put the clips on the inside too.

 

I replaced my old shift boot with green stitched leather one. I ordered on ebay. Really nice an super easy to install. Plus I replaced my shift ****. Old one kept popping off.
Then I replaced my right vent next to the window. Adjustable **** broke off.
Next I went to the trunk an replaced the lid shocks. An while I was there I replaced my 3rd brake light with a smoked option.

 

So I decided this evening to take a look at my r50 spare tire. Glade I did. Mine you my mini was in Germany for most of its life before I purchased her. The rim is rusted to hell an back. The inflator hose is corroded solid to valve stem. Plus the metal bracket on the lower plastic storage plate is all rusted an eaten away. So now I got to get my hands on another spare. The plate I can get new cheap. Not real worried about the inflator line. Just finding a spare at a reasonable price is the issue. I wish I had a salvage yard near me with some mini stock. 😥

 

This is the best deal on a new compact spare.
https://www.waymotorworks.com/mini-s...ire-wheel.html

 

I bought a rim/tire combo off a junkyard for $35. Reminder that rims/tires from Scion Xb and some Mazda RX7s have the same 4x100 rim size.

 

Lucky you 😥

 

Gave her a bath. Love my MINI.

 

Drove thru NW Kansas Friday and ran into this crap. And then SW MO on Saturday. And can’t bathe it til Saturday...
hopefully the short video loads.

Dust storm like I’ve never seen.

Route 66 on the way back to TN.

 

Installed Rennline pedals.

 

I finally had the time, and sun, to get all the ice from our freezing rain this weekend chipped off my R53. After that I fired her up, let er' run for about 20mins to warm up, and then sat inside to admire...lol. Since it been pretty cold here in Cedar Rapids, Ia My Mini has been in line for the garage. I've been collecting parts so that when it finally warms up I'll have most everything to do it in one shot. List is ...New Radiator support, fan, New Radiator &Condensor, service supercharger and new coupler, New Alta Couplers for the intercooler,,new intercooler, 15%pulley & Ati super dampener 2% oversized so I can run the stock size belt. New Exhaust from Malian, including the header, and still need to buy some strut tower defenders, haven't decided yet on the brace, or brand.....thats all....lol

 

Cold everywhere...
That is quite a collection of parts. Might I suggest the IE fixed camberplates for strut tower defenders. These go under the tower which is much stronger than the type that fit on the top. Plus they add a bit of much need camber. And, even if the shocks seem to be OK, you might want to consider replacing shocks if your MINI has more than 50k on it. I did shocks on our Base Cooper at about 60k and there was a huge improvement. MINI shocks are not the best and degrade quickly.

 

Just got back from Chicago this weekend... oooooooooo Got snowed on and saw 8-deg... Coming from Phoenix, woof that was cold.

On another note, I think all MINI parts are built that way? They are not the best and degrade quickly! hehe

 

Coming from Phoenix, that would be a shock to the system. We have been through a weather see-saw here. Way above average for a while and then into a period with temps down to single digits at night. With that cold, not much is getting done with the MINIs these days except for looking at what I need for this year’s track season (Wheels, tires and brake pad for the JCW.... ). I have signed up for a car control clinic so I can try out my JCW with its newly installed JCW Pro coilovers - Oh Ya. - before taking it out onto the actual track.

I guess I a bit more optimistic than that about MINIs, especially the Gen I models where people are getting some epic miles (250+ k miles) out of them. But I have also read the issues some people have had with them. So a bit of each on durability? My comment about the shocks had more to do with my experience, along with others that I have read, that MINI missed the mark with those, straight from the factory, then they degraded from there. Even some of the basic OEM replacements are better than what came on the car. It seem, however, that MINI may have fixed that with the Gen IIIs, based on my JCW.

 

I can see that. I am just grateful for the aftermarket world providing us owners with upgraded replacement parts (e.g. better performing or longer lasting).

Yeah, whether it’s a crank pulley that fails every 45k miles, strut top mounts that fail every couple of years, the shocks failing/leaking etc. Every time I have identified something that fails prematurely, I replace it with a tested aftermarket piece that will not fail or takes longer to fail. We Mini owners have lucked out with improved aftermarket parts.

With the crank pulley, I had it down to a science with when it would fail. I ordered the ATI pulley so I could replace the OEM pulley at the right time and the Mini pulley failed again while the ATI was on its way to my house. It was that close. A/C coil failed before 90k miles and now I will replace the compressor myself this Spring.

But, not to be a Debbie Downer, there are some components that have outlived my expectations and have been quite good. (e.g. clutch) But coming from Hondas by whole life, it was a bit of a shock in the beginning when I originally purchased the R53. He is running well now but I can see how people stay away from the brand if they are unable to wrench on the car or unwilling to pay for the repairs.

Track Season! That should be fun. Hopefully, some cool videos will come from that! I can see how you start to look forward to that for sure.

And for the weather, it was brutal. I do not know how you snow country guys/girls do it! lol Tip of the hat to you all for sure.

 

Winter around here is for planning things to do in the spring and summer, and for skiing. I have found that skiing is kind-of like taking the MINI to the track or to an autocross course, depending on the run that I am on. Flat out on open run, with space between people (track) or making tight turn through a bump run (autocross). Then there is good warm food to help get through the cold, and a beer...

I have a few track videos on YouTube, under the Eddie07S screen name.

Glad to hear that you are keeping your MINI going. The liquid yellow is one of the best. MINIs do charm most people and that gets those people to keep them rolling... Motor On....

 

Hopefully it was a shower, not a bath =P

 

Last week I tracked down a hatch leak so today I swapped out the leaking chrome rear hatch handle with a black one and a new gasket! Hopefully no more damp interior and surprise shower when opening the boot!

 

Installed another windshield today, less than a year old and already on my third glass.

 

Dang, that sucks. I've never had to replace a windshield in any vehicle I've had but I had to replace my windshield in November for the first time. I'm guessing it has to do with the angle of the glass in our MINIs.

A ding repair in June failed and a crack appeared. After making an appointment, a truck kicked up some debris on the freeway and this happened.

Decided to get Exoshield installed on my new windshield to prevent any new dings. My old windshield had so many little chips that it looked dusty even right after a car wash. It's really nice to have a perfectly clear windshield.

https://www.getexoshield.com/

 

Great Advice for sure. What brand of shocks did you go with? Since It will take a good weekend if not two, Shocks and Struts should be part of my "List", lol

 

I am a fan of the Bilsteins. Others really like the Koni FSDs (or their current model). I have used both and both are a step up from the MINI shocks. If you are looking for ride, with good handling - the Koni FSDs. If looking for handling with good ride - the Bilsteins, B4s or even the B6 or B8s. You could throw in the Koni Yellows into that mix. Depends on what you want. Here is a thread that might be of interest:
https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...fsd-vs-b4.html