Just got this in the mail and it's going on the car tomorrow

 

^ Congrats



-Steven

 

Perfect timing. Protection from those wayward icebergs at the end of the driveway.

 

Exactly!

 

great start! looks awesome

 

Alright, it's on!
I'm so glad I did this. Now the engine bay is nicely protected

 

Looks good Greg I read that during the development of the GP, Mini engineers spent considerable time working on the aerodynamics of this piece. All those well placed vents are designed to draw hot air out of the engine bay as well as smooth the air flow beneath the car. It's very cool Mini made these available to us. Will you do the tunnels next?



-Steven

 

I'm very happy with it and especially happy to protect the engine from winter attacks . . . we'll see if mpg improves from it. That would be a happy surprise.

We were discussing the subject on the general interior/exterior mod section. I was making the case it was a bit expensive and that I doubt there was a lot of aerodynamic work done on the pan itself (more across the entire car). I didn't make friends . . . but I'll say that now that it's installed I can see some of the work that has been done and how the venting would be designed to draw some amount of air necessary for engine cooling. It's still a relatively flat cover but I'll admit I may have been a little quick to judge

 

I have noticed since mine has been on that I see road gravel on the left and right side under my hood. I have other mods like rear diffuser, mini Fini air scoop, side panels, M7 front grill.

 

Looks really good and great photos. I installed mine today.

~ Alan

 

Very good looking, great pics , great job on the install too

 

I meant to let you know more directly but run out of time. I was hoping you would see those pics... Glad you found them.
Yeah, install was really easy and I just deformed the vent by the auto transmission a little with a heat gun. Not difficult to do at all.
I'm glad I got it. It's great!

+

It's going to be put to the test!
Snow storm tomorrow and Thanksgiving trip testing Highway mpg...

 

im also interested in these answers.
I want to go with a 18" wheel on my 13' JCW roadster. how wide can we go without rubbing and what size tire works best on a 18"?
thx guys!

 

This may help. Here are two examples of 18's…

18X8 ET 40mm tire size 205/40/18







18x7.5 ET 45mm (5mm spacer, net 40mm) 215/40/18





Both of these combinations work great, providing a nice flush stance and with no rubbing at all. I am lowered on NM springs which provide a 1.2' drop.


Steven

 

very nice!
im using the H&R springs. I think I like the 1st set up better w/o spacers.
are those Michelin super sports?

 

Thanks Bill The first set are shod with Super Sports, which is an incredible tire. I may be selling that set, PM me if interested.


Steven

 

fyi:

As a reference point I found out that the OE ET of R112 17x7 is 48 mm
It is usually mounted with 205x45 tires.

This helps getting an understanding of what Blue Toy is showing. You can make simple calculation to find out by how much the outer edge is moving in or out based on that.

For example 18x8-ET40 will stickout about 20 mm out from the 17x7 ET48
That's starts to be aggressive, hence why keeping the tires closer to 205 will help tremendously. As shown 205 on 8" wide is stretching the tire.

18x7.5 ET 45 will be about 10 mm more out then 17x7 ET48


What ever you do always consider the tires in question! not all tires comes with the same profile/side wall construction.
I too have the super sport and one advantage to them is that the corners are not too square which avoid further risk of rubbing.

 

Hello fellow roadsters. I wanted to say Hi and also have a few questions for you guys.
1. I want to start modding my roadster s and was thinking of starting with the NM air charge pipe and the NM discharge pipe. Then also getting the Alta black intercooler. Possibly the NM oil catch can too.
2. has anyone tried the aem CAI and if so does it fit our roadster s or does it have to be modified?

Thank you everyone and thank you for your replies.

 

I finally was able to complete installation of my aftermarket steering wheel today (my one big "Christmas present").

Sourced from Nexon Motors -



I have to thank Steven for the original inspiration (see Post #472 in his "Black Toffee" thread) and encouragement. I was subsequently going to curse him for his role in causing the gaping hole in my MINI modding account; however, my first go with this new interface to the Roadster made me realize it was all worth it. I was primarily doing this for the aesthetics, but it's hard to believe how different and wonderful the driving experience is now with the fatter body, shaped grips, and overall smaller diameter. It is incredibly high quality -- deep and flawless CF, perfect Napa leather front and back, beautiful red stitching, and an exact fit.

There is plenty of steering wheel swap-out guidance buried within the pages of NAM which made the installation quite straightforward and easy. I was pretty slow and methodical while prying off and changing over the MFSW controls because I wanted to make certain I didn't scratch anything or break any mounting tabs or wiring harness plugs.

This is the final CF addition to my interior (caveat: I'll add the tiny center stack piece to fill the gap between the speedo and CD player if CarbonMINI comes through). I like how the OEM aluminum dash panels and door grabs work with the CF bits. (Full disclosure -- the two MFSW overlays are from CarbonMINI...as are most of the other interior bits.)

 

Looks great, so clean too.

 

Wow Gary, you pulled the trigger Incredible right…not telling you anything you don't already know? Your Roadster is looking spectacular!


-Steven

 

Very nice install of a great looking steering wheel! The red line on the carbon fiber to indicate TDC is very sharp.


Any estimate of the number of hours it took to complete the swap?

 

Installed the TSW X-brace last month, but havent driven the car since this week. It feels a heck of a lot more rigid and planted to the road. The only downside is that its sticks out quite a bit. I have already scraped twice...Pretty much have to avoid all speed bumps if possible. I guess its fine for cars on stock height, but it is a challenge for lowered cars.



Recommend?
For track/auto-x/spirited driving - YES
For daily use - MAYBE - Depends on ride height

 

It has been hard to stay away from this mod. I'll have to stay strong, or I'll never get my rims and coilovers. What is worse is this company is right by where I work.

 

Thanks Steve!

Thanks Steven...we have you to thank for establishing the R59 "high bar" for upscale improvements and attention to design details. We all owe you a lot for your Roadster mod trail-blazing!

Thanks. I waited 30 minutes after disconnecting the battery to be safe (from the air bag); then another 40 to complete...and I was going really slow, being extra careful, admiring my interim progress, and taking pictures. If I ever did it again, I could complete the post-battery disconnect swap out in less than 15 minutes.

Yeah, it takes will power...and I ultimately caved. Then I was second-guessing the $$$$ all the way up until the install was done. I'm thinking lowering springs and sway bar may be next but now I need more time to build up my MINI modding cash reserves.