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General MINI TalkShared experiences, motoring minutes, and other general MINI-related discussion that applies to all MINIs, regardless of model, year or trim.
let down by ecs today :( they listed the silver mini roof box as in stock and since it's been discontinued I was excited that maybe they had one left over in the warehouse, didn't even mind the 200$ freight charge
turns out they were just ordering it from mini and emailed me to tell me it's no longer available...well yeah i could have told you that and if i wanted a black one i could save a bunch of money on shipping and pick it up at my dealership
I think it is safe to assume in this day and age that no businesses are carrying "inventory", because consultants have charged them exorbitant prices inform them that it is bad business.
let down by ecs today :( they listed the silver mini roof box as in stock and since it's been discontinued I was excited that maybe they had one left over in the warehouse, didn't even mind the 200$ freight charge
turns out they were just ordering it from mini and emailed me to tell me it's no longer available...well yeah i could have told you that and if i wanted a black one i could save a bunch of money on shipping and pick it up at my dealership
That really stinks
Originally Posted by ///Matthew
I think it is safe to assume in this day and age that no businesses are carrying "inventory", because consultants have charged them exorbitant prices inform them that it is bad business.
Regardless, they shouldn’t advertise something is in stock if that part is a drop ship from a supplier. If it’s not on YOUR shelf, it’s not “in stock.”
Well, we have had our new 2022 JCW Countryman for 2 weeks and today I removed the passenger foot panel and patched into the fuse box in the back of the glovebox. I got an adapter that plugs in like a fuse and found an empty fuse slot that had power only when the ignition is turned on. I got a small 12v to 5 volt transformer smaller than a small box of matches and wired it in. (yes, the adapter for the fuse box has a fuse itself). Behind the footwell panel, I found a bolt with a good ground. I put a 5 amp fuse on the tap as my camera draws little power. You can use up to a 20 amp fuse, but use the smaller that you can to protect the car.
I installed a dash cam behind the rear-view mirror and ran the wires up the side of the rear-view mirror base cover (has cameras and sensors in it for adaptive cruise, auto-wipers, etc..) and into the trim above the windshield, then behind the a-pillar to the door seal rubber strip where I tucked it underneath down to the footwell. I attached the camera power to the output on the transformer and stuck the transformer to the back-side of the back of the glovebox, inside the fuse-box compartment.
Now, the camera only gets power when the ignition is switched on. In the 2022s the cigarette lighter/power outlet in the center dash (in front of the shifter, under the climate controls) is powered all the time unless you lock the vehicle...then it will turn off after a couple of minutes. As we do not lock the car when parked in the garage, this meant the camera was on all the time draining the battery. This solution fixes that while freeing up the power outlet for other uses...or just getting rid of the ugly wires running to it.
This is the link to the 12v-5v transformers....they come with a USB on one end I cut off.
This is the fuse slot I found empty that is switched with the ignition. The right side is where the power comes from so install the tap with the wire on the left so the fuse is between the power and the transformer. Install it backwards and the fuse is bypassed. This is the fuse panel in the back of the glovebox. Your vehicle may differ due to accessories or manufacturer changes. Check the tap location with a voltmeter to verify proper function. Again, power comes from the right-side of the fuse slot. Ground connected to bolt behind the very bottom of the passenger footwell panel under the carpet. There is another fusebox behind this footwell panel but I did not investigate it for tapping power.
You can do the same with any model year but you would have to locate the proper fuse location and ground for your model. I will be doing the same on my 2012 Roadster soon and will post what I find and how I end up tapping in.
Just pulled out the little monster out of it's hibernation. Replaced 4 burned out light bulbs (I swear all of them were working before storage), replaced all rusted license plate screws, took out her winter boots off and on with the S-lites (S-heavy but sexy). Requires a nice detailing in and out and she is ready for summer.
Tofu. Funny story. The wife and I were in Bismarck last year and there is an awesome Thai place that we go to whenever we go down there - AWESOME spring rolls and all of the curries are fantastic. There was this super antsy kid in there with his dad... he was hopping up and down and was obviously excited about his food. At one point he literally yells, "WHERE'S MY TOFU!!!"... not something you would ever expect to hear out of the mouth of a kid - maybe 7 or 8 years old. They do really good tofu there.
Great tofu story, but I think I can beat it. My entire family was out for dinner at a Chinese restaurant when my daughter, who was around 6 at the time, was in a "I'll eat anything that's white" phase. She could eat spaghetti with butter and 'sprinkle cheese' for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Well, she also liked raw tofu. So that's what we ordered for her since there was no spaghetti on the menu . The waiter gave us a very surprised look, and when he put her plate in front of her and saw her scarf the tofu down, and said in a classic Chinese way, "This extremely unusual." We all cracked up!
Great tofu story, but I think I can beat it. My entire family was out for dinner at a Chinese restaurant when my daughter, who was around 6 at the time, was in a "I'll eat anything that's white" phase. She could eat spaghetti with butter and 'sprinkle cheese' for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Well, she also liked raw tofu. So that's what we ordered for her since there was no spaghetti on the menu . The waiter gave us a very surprised look, and when he put her plate in front of her and saw her scarf the tofu down, and said in a classic Chinese way, "This extremely unusual." We all cracked up!
In our house it's called "shaky cheese" and she drinks "tickle water." She'll be 6 in August.
From the start it looks high end coming double boxed with the interior flat black box branded with the Eventuri logo. Instructions are not included but can be downloaded for each model car the system is made to fit. Those instructions were without question the best I have ever seen. They were detailed and included photographs demonstrating each step.
There are also a number of videos on YouTube which may help. I found the one from tweedbean to help me the most. I think anyone can install this on their own without specialized assistance. My competence level under the hood is really low. For instance I had to watch a video on how to use a socket set before step one! (In my defense it had been many years since I needed to use one last.) So if I can install it, anyone can do so.
Was it worth it? Without question it makes a tremendous difference in decreasing the lag between giving it gas and the car actually responding. It also improves the engine sound. It now has a deeper, throatier voice which is very pleasing. It is not obnoxious, just sounds like a baritone rather than a soprano.
I got the black plastic rather than carbon fiber. If I was involved in shows where folks looked under the hood, maybe the carbon fiber could be justified. I corresponded with Eventuri and the thermal improvement if any between the two was very little. So I saved the $600 to use in another project and went with the less expensive option. Even in flat black this looks wonderful when compared to the rest of the things under the hood. Carbon fiber would have been sharp but how often will I really see it? I had already blacked out the chrome everywhere so I wasn't thrilled initially with a carbon fiber scoop and thought I would spray paint it black. Don't have a cow, after installing it, I decided it was dark enough to work with the black trim pieces everywhere else and will leave it as is.
I would without hesitation recommend the Eventuri cold air intake. It is beautifully made, improves performance, enhances the engine sound and can be installed even by a novice like me. I did take videos of the engine sound before and after. If I can figure out how to edit and upload them, I will do so at a later date. If you are considering this, go for it. I doubt you will be disappointed.
Cleaned up one heck of a grease slick on the back of my driver's side front wheel. Took the wheel off, cleaned the back side and cleaned the wheel liner. This happened sometime when I was on the way back from the Minneapolis MINI dealer having the PS recall done. Black grease sprayed in a line all around the wheel liner, the back of the wheel, bottom of the shock. I though I would be having to replace the outer CV boot on that side. But, I found *absolutely* no crack, no hole, nothing. And both clamps are tight and solid. Weird. There was a lot of construction coming back, suppose I could have run over a blob of grease, but in exactly that spot? The cv boot was greasy on one side, but I probed it all the way around with my fingers and visually as well. Strange.
From the start it looks high end coming double boxed with the interior flat black box branded with the Eventuri logo. Instructions are not included but can be downloaded for each model car the system is made to fit. Those instructions were without question the best I have ever seen. They were detailed and included photographs demonstrating each step.
There are also a number of videos on YouTube which may help. I found the one from tweedbean to help me the most. I think anyone can install this on their own without specialized assistance. My competence level under the hood is really low. For instance I had to watch a video on how to use a socket set before step one! (In my defense it had been many years since I needed to use one last.) So if I can install it, anyone can do so.
Was it worth it? Without question it makes a tremendous difference in decreasing the lag between giving it gas and the car actually responding. It also improves the engine sound. It now has a deeper, throatier voice which is very pleasing. It is not obnoxious, just sounds like a baritone rather than a soprano.
I got the black plastic rather than carbon fiber. If I was involved in shows where folks looked under the hood, maybe the carbon fiber could be justified. I corresponded with Eventuri and the thermal improvement if any between the two was very little. So I saved the $600 to use in another project and went with the less expensive option. Even in flat black this looks wonderful when compared to the rest of the things under the hood. Carbon fiber would have been sharp but how often will I really see it? I had already blacked out the chrome everywhere so I wasn't thrilled initially with a carbon fiber scoop and thought I would spray paint it black. Don't have a cow, after installing it, I decided it was dark enough to work with the black trim pieces everywhere else and will leave it as is.
I would without hesitation recommend the Eventuri cold air intake. It is beautifully made, improves performance, enhances the engine sound and can be installed even by a novice like me. I did take videos of the engine sound before and after. If I can figure out how to edit and upload them, I will do so at a later date. If you are considering this, go for it. I doubt you will be disappointed.
Install looks great, and I love the fact that you are willing to do it yourself and not pay someone else to do it. If you ever feel like you need a 2nd set of hands don’t be afraid to ask me for some help. My wife’s BF is going to pick up a 14 Countryman S All4 today, not only do I get the pleasure of driving her out there in my R55s but guess who was volunteered into doing her maintenance. I don’t mind it at all, gives me something to wrench on, and happy wife happy life. This will be the nicest car that she has ever owned, so I want to try to get her off on the right foot, tune up and fluids swapped. She already had the pleasure of me giving her the rundown on Mini ownership, basically told her this would be the car that she needs to keep an eye on, you treat her well she will treat you well mentality. First thing, once we get back to the lot, going to show her how to check the oil, she was chatting with the sales lady and keeping her busy while I scanned the car, and check under the hood before our test drive.
question for turbo mini guys, I have the alta spring in my DV and I'm tuned stage 2
The AEM intake makes a rather satisfying vent to atmosphere wahh pshh, but I'm forever stuck as a 14 year old so maybe I want a bit more "wahh pshh", thinking of getting a Forge unit, i see the recirc and the vent to atmosphere.
Now i know the recirc is going to be better for the car as a whole, but the noise those things make really annoy me, i can't describe it but my brain immediately thinks of like a cannon from a space movie or something. But what am I losing from going VTA? I can always contact the tuner and let him know as well, but always got the best advice here
gonna go out and say an oil catch can isn't all that necessary, i 'm happy it's installed and it looks nice and all but 6 months in i did my oil change and there was maybe an ounce of catch in there?
question for turbo mini guys, I have the alta spring in my DV and I'm tuned stage 2
The AEM intake makes a rather satisfying vent to atmosphere wahh pshh, but I'm forever stuck as a 14 year old so maybe I want a bit more "wahh pshh", thinking of getting a Forge unit, i see the recirc and the vent to atmosphere.
Now i know the recirc is going to be better for the car as a whole, but the noise those things make really annoy me, i can't describe it but my brain immediately thinks of like a cannon from a space movie or something. But what am I losing from going VTA? I can always contact the tuner and let him know as well, but always got the best advice here
I have the forge spacer with alta spring and it makes some fun noises. I am planning on upgrading to a forge unit and run the spacer with it as well.
question for turbo mini guys, I have the alta spring in my DV and I'm tuned stage 2
The AEM intake makes a rather satisfying vent to atmosphere wahh pshh, but I'm forever stuck as a 14 year old so maybe I want a bit more "wahh pshh", thinking of getting a Forge unit, i see the recirc and the vent to atmosphere.
Now i know the recirc is going to be better for the car as a whole, but the noise those things make really annoy me, i can't describe it but my brain immediately thinks of like a cannon from a space movie or something. But what am I losing from going VTA? I can always contact the tuner and let him know as well, but always got the best advice here
On the N18, there is no difference going recirc or vent, with the exception of the noises. If you like the noises, get the vent style.
I have a Forge recirc valve with a Torque Solutions vent plate. No issue on my car with either part.
Some power/sound mods... Milltek exhaust + Alta DV spring + Alta intake.
Getting parts delivered has been bit delayed as many others have likely also seen but patience was rewarded... had the Milltek resonated exhaust fitted (downpipe all the way back)... This is the resonated version so it is not much louder than stock, although it is certainly a deeper tone. Also fitted the Alta intake. This is an open filter style with no routing piping so of course depending on traffic conditions could briefly be a HAI, but sound and some "character" is what I wanted out of it and it delivers in spades. Also fitted the Alta stiffer DV spring. Thumbs up to all mods and the power from the 2.5" exhaust is definitely noticeable, as is the sound of the open filter intake and the stronger/longer-in-boost feeling of the spring (can't go wrong with a $26 mod that actually works).
Now with the 2.5" downpipes-back exhaust fitted and already seeing such a noticeable stronger pull from the S you can bet I am planning to complete the system with hi-flow downpipe and tune.
But first (patiently) waiting for the Ohlins coilovers. Hoping ECS gets those shipped out end of June!!
06-08-2021, 12:39 AM
. The waiter gave us a very surprised look, and when he put her plate in front of her and saw her scarf the tofu down, and said in a classic Chinese way, "This extremely unusual." We all cracked up!
