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Been lurking about here for a while now. I've been an active member on bimmerforums.com for many years and am a diehard BMW guy. This being my first Mini, I have now fallen for the go-cart like handling and the joys of turbonium.
I have spent many hours tinkering and tuning my 2009 Clubman S 6-spd. I've added a AEM ram air intake, Alta FMIC, NM Engineering rear sway bar and 18" wheels, Alta Tuner ( though I think it just killed my car), Madness Motorworks polyurethane engine bushing (best $75 you'll spend on your car), Auto Sport Plus control module, and a 3rd brake light pulsar module.
This is one of my favorite cars to date; and that's saying something. Ive had several BMW's (03 530is, 98 328is Coupe, 01 740i Sport). I'm a car guy through and through. I've never left any single vehicle that I've owned in its stock configuration and have no plans to ever do so.
I look forward to contributing to this community; whether it be through shared experiences or knowledge, or lending you a tool. Let me know.
I bought this car in the fall of 2014, when my 740i's alternator died for the 5th time. I know I wanted something that was quick and had considered all sorts of cars. Then by chance, walked into the lot at Mini NW and saw, for the first time, a Clubman. Sure, I had probably seen one in the road but just never noticed. I opened the drivers door and was pleasantly surprised by the amount of room. Then the sales guy showed me the 3rd door on the passenger side and the barndoors out back and I knew I had to have one. I have a daughter and wanted something that she could get easily into and out of and something that could keep me from being bored on my 65+ mile daily commute, but I needed good fuel mileage too. The Clubman fit the bill and was still a BMW. Yay!
It didn't take long. Within a week I had installed the polyurethane engine bushing (if you haven't yet; you should) and began searching for an Altaport tuner. Luck would have it that I found a guy in Seattle who was taking his car back to stock. So I bought his Alta FMIC, NM wheels and NM rear sway bar, and his Alta BOV (though never installed it). The next week I found and installed the Altaport tuner. Instant change.
Over the coming weeks I installed the FMIC, sport plus module, rear-sway bar, and 3rd brake pulsar. I was really happy with how my car was coming together. But, as is often the case, I wanted to do just a bit more. So, I did my research and came to the conclusion that an AEM ram air intake was just the thing to get. A week later it arrived and I literally installed it at work in the parking garage during my lunch break. No time like the present right.
Regular oil changes at the dealer, since it's by my work and they give it a quick bath, is all that's been required. I did go ahead and change out the spark plugs at 70,xxx miles (more on that later). Other than the oil changes the car has been great. Right up until about 3 weeks ago...
Last edited by Absolutjh22; 12-04-2016 at 09:57 PM.
Welcome to NAM and the World of MINI Motoring! Would love to see some pix of your Clubman. Sounds like you are well on your way to making some helpful mods. Let us know if you have any questions, or just stop by our website for application and upgrade guides and service/maintenance information.
A few months back I was driving up the freeway, under load, and heard a significantly discomforting sound; we'll call it an exhale. My car was still running, but with a noticeable lack of power. I pulled off the road and did a quick check of vacuum lines and boost hoses; all were intact. No easily discernible source of power loss, so I limped it home and grabbed my truck.
After a few very busy weeks I was ready to lift the hood and see what I could determine...
I was able to verify that each of the ignition coils was working by swapping them across the cylinders. Problem seemed to be no spark at cylinder 1. I pulled the spark plug from cylinder 1 to find that it was melted and broken. So, I installed four new plugs, but no better. Honestly, I wasn't very hopeful that it would work, but it was worth a try.
Next came a compression test. Cyl. 1: 0 psi, Cyl. 2 : 152 psi, Cyl 3: 158 psi, Cyl. 4: 153 psi Not good. So off to the dealership to get a leak down test.
Dealership doesn't do a leak down test but does insert a camera in cylinder 1 and tells me that at least one valve on cylinder 1 is broken. Quote to repair the head $5,500??? WTF!
During this time I have been searching for a MINI repair shop that I would trust to rebuild my motor and ran across Madness Motorworks. Challenge being that Madness is in Tigard and I am in Seattle. So AAA to the rescue...
I spent a few weeks waiting for a final diagnosis from George and his technician. Turns out that the broken piece of valve from cylinder 1 got sucked into cylinder 2. Due to this piece bouncing around cylinder 2 has major scoring in the walls and a dent on the piston.
Madness got some bad reviews for the online store on this forum. I always stayed away from them.
I have liked my interactions with George and his team thus far. I will report back after the build is complete and let you know my experience. Too often people only write about their bad interactions and take very little responsibility for their own part in the transactions. Even more often people fail to write about all of the good interactions.
From the first time that I contacted George, which was shortly after I bought my Clubman, he has been willing to share his thoughts, experience, expertise, and opinions and all without ever asking for anything in return. His openness earned him my business. Time will determine if I was correct.
10-10-2016, 01:23 PM
