Welcome to North American Motoring, the North American MINI Community of owners and enthusiasts!
You are currently viewing our boards as a guest which gives you limited access to view most discussions, articles and photo galleries. By joining our free community you will have access to post topics, communicate privately with other MINI enthusiasts (PM), respond to polls, upload your own photo gallery and access many other special features. Registration is fast, simple and absolutely free so please, join our community today!
If you have any problems with the registration process or your account login, please contact our support team.
You are currently viewing our forum as a guest, which gives you limited access to view most discussions and access our other features. By joining our community, at no cost, you will have access to post topics, communicate privately with other members (PM), respond to polls, upload content and access many other special features. Registration is free, fast and simple, so please join our community today!
Exhaust is hot. Don't put body parts near the pipes.
Perhaps that sounds oversimplified, or perhaps I don't completely understand the situation, but that's my initial thought. I haven't ever seen a car with cool exhaust, though i suppose many cars have downward-pointing pipes so it isn't as noticeable.
The MCS pipes are right there which, in my opinion, makes them easier to avoid.
__________________
"You got a great car... Yeah what's wrong with it today?"
Exhaust is hot. Don't put body parts near the pipes.
Perhaps that sounds oversimplified, or perhaps I don't completely understand the situation, but that's my initial thought. I haven't ever seen a car with cool exhaust, though i suppose many cars have downward-pointing pipes so it isn't as noticeable.
The MCS pipes are right there which, in my opinion, makes them easier to avoid.
You just have to be careful.
__________________
MINI owner from APR2004 - DEC2006, now going through a transition in my life.
DC Metro MINIs, MMC #30, Randy Pulley Install #604, MOTORING ID: QUIK060 BlogGoMotoring.com
Got bit by my Borla. Ouch. Still have the scar. I Bought an aero kit and now the exhaust is safely tucked away.
__________________
As Napoleon was deceiving the neighboring farmers he was also tricking his own animals. The scapegoat was again Snowball. "Whenever anything went wrong it became usual to attribute it to Snowball." In fact many of the claims begin to sound ridiculous to the objective mind. Of course, Squealer's mission is to keep everything subjective in the minds of the animals.
Actually I think he has a point... This is the STOCK, OEM exhaust and not a MODded one, so you can't say that a add-on part sticks back too far. Most cars put the exhaust a bit under the bumper or even inside it, but on the MCS it sticks back straight into the center, where (obviously) someone can brush it with their leg when loading and unloading.
I'm not even going to get into a discussion of the hot coffe thing (which was valid, BTW, seeing as how lots of places back then kept coffee FAR HOTTER than any human mouth could stand it to be, simply to be able to use it longer in the pot before replacing it - now they cool it down to merely "hot" instead of "volcanic"), but I'll say that, if this happened to someone in my family or, God forbid, my 4-year old, I'd be putting some pointed questions to Mini about why they made the design decision to put a scalding hot pipe in such a location. I'm just glad that on my Cabrio this won't happen (since the trunk opens DOWN, tailgate-style, on that car).
This is NOT a motorcycle and, for better or worse, constant safety upgrades to vehicles have left us with the expectation that we do not need to watch out for things like red-hot pipes sticking back from our cars. Now I will, but seeing as how others have been "bitten" in this way, I don't think it's unreasonable to classify this as a "design flaw" needing attention.
__________________
~Matt Cook | Dublin, Ohio | '92 Classic Mini Sprite: "Fiona" + Purple Haze 2005 MCS Cabrio: "Dawn". See old MODs from "Nano" HERE - post #166 - many with How-to links!
Ya know, I had a stove do that once to me. hmmm, why isn't there a warning sequence that one has to go through every time someone turns on the burner? I don't see a design flaw in this, more like an issue of not paying attention to your sourroundings.
Be alert, the world needs more lerts.
moral of this story: some things by their very nature are designed to heat up. Don't be surprised when the laws of thermodynamics are applied to the unwary.
__________________
BLUBELLE - 9/02 production 2003 MCS IB /W 1,2,3 pkgs, Lapis blue interior, Chrome Trim, Magnecors, NGK Iridium IX, Alta 15% Pulley and CAI, Unichip, Scorpion cat-back,Skid Plate, Rear Fogs, H&R RSS Coilovers, Mini-Madness rear suspension poly bushings, RDR Control Arms and Swaybar, PowerGrids end links. Motoring since 10/18/02. I V-1, do you?
I personally really like the aesthetic of the stock pipes, the way they extend beyond the little bumper skirt. I would be greatly annoyed if the company had to redesign it because some people weren't paying attention. I suspect I wouldn't be alone in this.
Just because lots of things have been dumbed down doesn't mean that you're excused from situational awareness. And if you choose to excuse yourself, prepare to be branded by an exhaust pipe.
MGC, I celebrate your entire post
__________________
"You got a great car... Yeah what's wrong with it today?"
This is the third time since Thanksgiving this has happened to someone, so this strikes me as a safety-related design deficiency.
Thoughts?
I'm sorry, but if after the FIRST time people don't remember that the pipes are there, it's their own fault for getting burned.
__________________ 2006 MCS-JCW No. 15543, BRG/W, Sport Pack, Chrono Pack, M7 SRP I love deadlines. I love the "whooshing" sound they make when they go by. - Doug Adams ambientpixel@mac.com
They could easily design a heat shield or something else that would make it safer, is all I'm saying. Of course "hot things will burn you" but that's not the point. Products are recalled ALL THE TIME because it is discovered that, when used properly, there is still a danger of people getting hurt. Are you going to tell someone who's toddler was just strangled by a collapsing playpen that "well, bars of metal compressing the throat will kill you don't let your child play with the release latch - DUH!" or "well, if you slide down in your seat (because there's no restraining bar in the center) then OF COURSE your head will become trapped, cutting off your oxygen - just don't let your kids slide down... DUH!" No, of course not - you'd expect that the manufacturer would fix the problem before more people get hurt.
Is this a huge deal? Probably not. Common sense is a wonderful thing. But I know for a fact that if it happened to me, i'd be complaining. If enough people do, then they'll fix the issue, probably with a voluntary recall and a replacement pipe end with a heat shield. Unfortunately, "business as usual" generally means that no such change happens until someone sues.
__________________
~Matt Cook | Dublin, Ohio | '92 Classic Mini Sprite: "Fiona" + Purple Haze 2005 MCS Cabrio: "Dawn". See old MODs from "Nano" HERE - post #166 - many with How-to links!
I think that an exhaust pipe (which has never, in my understanding of automotive history, been anything but hot) is a far cry from malfunctioning latches on children's swingsets. That's just silly.
If the majority of people have managed to remain unscathed by a non-abberation, it is also silly to change the whole set up for the few people who had to learn the hard way that exhaust gasses, and the metal pipes through which they pass, are hot.
If you get burned, slap on some antibiotic ointment of your choice and consider yourself recently educated and unlikely to repeat the incident.
__________________
"You got a great car... Yeah what's wrong with it today?"
This is NOT a motorcycle and, for better or worse, constant safety upgrades to vehicles have left us with the expectation that we do not need to watch out for things like red-hot pipes sticking back from our cars. Now I will, but seeing as how others have been "bitten" in this way, I don't think it's unreasonable to classify this as a "design flaw" needing attention.
(my bolding)
Time to reset the expectations. All cars have hot pipes sticking out of them (red-hot??) It's not like the boot is that big - it's easy to stand to one side or the other.
I've never been 'kissed', but now that I think about it, it could be the MCS's way of saying "Don't be rubbing against the painted surface that is my bumper."
findude/ImagoX- if the exhaust tips concern you, any muffler shop can set them further back, or cut them off and replace them with non-protruding tips.
Hope the boy heals quickly. If it makes him feel better, have him tell people he was attacked by a giant squid, but got away!
__________________
'04 IB/W MCS w/all the goodies, Ian's auto-up/GDO, MMC#I69/MID CURV169; power folding mirrors
"You can't save the world unless you're willing to make other people sacrifice." - Dogbert, via Pendergast
Linear Mode
