Hey guys, I'm Steven and Im fairly new to the MINI scene, but not to racing. I grew up in a motorcycle racing family, dad was pro in the AMA and my brother races pro in the north american Super Moto series. I'm currently active duty in the US Army as an Infantryman, but due to getting blown up by a hand grenade in Afghanistan Ill be getting out soon. I bought an 04 Cooper S when I returned from over seas and I absolutely love it! Its a blast to drive and a blast to work on. Currently Im looking to upgrade my supercharger pully and exhaust system, already put a K&N high flow filter kit in it. Ill eventually be looking at turning my MINI into a track car, and will need alot of advice in doing this. Im fairly handy with a wrench, but am used to working on an old VW, so all the technology on the cooper is a little overwhelming! Ive been reading through alot of the threads on the forums here and it seems like there are alot of extremely knowledgeable mini fanatics here, which seems like a great place to be to me. Im currently stationed in the Mid south of the US but will be moving back to the South West, so if anyone in those areas knows of any local mini groups let me know. Props to the admins on the site and I look forward to talkin mini **** with you guys!

 

Cool same year as mine! The blower pulley will make a WORLD of difference. Also I would look into removing the resonator..
I'm active duty air force btw

 

Oh sweet man, now I'm going to sound like a newb here but what exactly is the resonator, and what are the benefits of removing it? I pretty much need to be brought up to speed on alot of this stuff lol. (damn grunts right?) And can you answer me what the "one ball" thing is I keep hearing about?

 

Ok being that the exhaust system looks like ********* one ball is when u just cut the resonator off, removing three chambers from the exhaust...

 

No tips on modding, just wanted to say Thank You to you both for your Service and Sacrifice!!

 

Ahhh ok makes sense now thanks brotha

 

AW2mini, I just left Campbell in Feb also on a med board. I am currently looking for a Mini right now. I have gained quite a bit of knowledge on this board and I can't wait to get one and start modding. This board comes in handy when your sitting and waiting on your PEBLO. It's a good time killer reading all the threads.

 

Welcome from the sunshine state. Thank you so much for your service to us and our great country. You guys are awesome.

 

Sweet man did you go through the WTB? And yeah its definately left me with alot of time on my hands, where all I can think about is what I can do with my car haha. Good luck getting a MINI, I found mine for just over 11 grand in great condition. The dealership knew absolutely nothing about MINIs so I got a great deal on it for its condition and all of its add ons.

 

Nope, my unit didn't want me to go to WTU but they didn't want me to go to work either so I was kinda just in limbo. Yeah I actually have to head back up to Clarksville to get some of my stuff my friend has and I found 2 online for decent prices. If you have any questions about the IDES shoot them my way. I had to basically figure out everything on my own since we were the first to go through it. Enjoy that Mini!!!!