Just purchased V7 of Ian Cull's module from FES Auto. Auto-up will be very nice!

 

Got a question regarding tires for you folks. I have been thinking about what tires I should get to replace the run-flats whenever I get around to it. I knew practically nothing about tires before today, not even what the numbers meant on the sidewall. So I spent most of today reading about tires and have come to the conclusion that all-seasons are probably my best bet.

As you guys know, I have no plans for tracking the car at the moment and it is my daily. I'd like to get some decent life out of the tires, but with today's technology it seems like even average tires turn pretty good mileage. I'm also not planning on having a dedicated set of winter tires as winters in North Carolina are really not bad. Decent handling characteristics would be nice, but that should take a backseat to comfort and price in my situation.

All that said, I've been eyeing the Continental ExtremeContact DWS 06's pretty hard. They're priced at $113 per on TireRack. What do you folks think?

 

So I pulled the Mini into my school's shop today to check out the issue with the oil light staying on after start until I rev the engine up to about 2-2.5k RPMs. As it turns out, whoever did the last oil change really screwed up the oil filter housing. There appeared to be a 1/4" gap between the housing and the mount, so oil had been leaking out and onto the chassis below, though it wasn't major enough to actually drip onto the ground. After we removed the housing, we discovered that our initial thought that the guy had cross-threaded the housing was wrong and he had actually done worse and pinched the o-ring to the threads so it wasn't allowing the housing to seal. Then he tried to wrench it down onto the mount and gave up before he got even close to closed. What a joke. So I've ordered the 5W30 oil change kit from ECS and will be replacing the filter, o-ring, and oil early next week.

 

Yep people slice the filter gasket , just take your time and line the thread up right the first time, takes a couple times to get the feel right then you can change it each time. No problem.

Thanks for the orders.

 

OK, changed the oil today at school. Forgot to find the correct 36mm socket so I had to take it on and off with a crescent wrench while it was on the lift. Took some time. Everything else went smoothly however and now the oil light no longer stays on at all after start. The car feels a bit smoother as well, especially at high RPM's. One problem taken care of!

 

Awesome,

If you need that low profile socket in a 36mm we have it here:

36mm 6-Point Oil Filter Socket - 3/8" Drive

https://www.ecstuning.com/Search/SiteSearch/ES240945/

 

Yeah I found that yesterday before the stuff came in.

 

ok.

 

Thanks though I will need to pick that up soon.

 

Yea, sorry you did not seen that sooner , saves headaches. Thanks.

 

Been noticing some smells from the car under hard acceleration recently. Whenever I get up past 6k RPM's, a burning smell comes in the cabin. It doesn't smell like oil and some searches on the forum and Google tells me that some people think it's burning carbon. Does this mean I should do an induction service and clean the engine out? Maybe I have some carbon buildup in the combustion chambers?

 

Not much carbon build up on these MINIs ( Gen 1 ) , that's Gen 2 Cooper S / JCW Turbo models.

Possible its burning off some carbon or some residue after an oil change. Does it smell like burnt clutch or something.

 

It doesn't smell like a burnt clutch and it's actually been doing it since I bought the car before I did the oil change. I guess it could be the clutch as I don't know how old it is, but it's not slipping at all so I don't know why it would burn at high revs.

 

ok. Maybe the serpentine belt rubbing or just some carbon burn off. Should not be in the cabin unless is something directly on the engine.

 

OK, Ian Cull's auto-up V7 module installed! No pics as my camera's battery is dead and I can't find the charger. The module is great, everything I expected it to be. The one problem I have with it is that the pins on the module don't slide all the way into the toggle bank connector, so it's just sort of riding loose. I don't think it will be an issue as it's still pretty tight, but that's the only issue I've noticed so far.

 

Noticed something interesting on the way out of the store last night:



I'll never have to worry about finding my car in a parking lot!

 

Almost looks like a black and white picture with a spot of bright color in the middle.

 

And that blue Aveo waaaaaay in the back.

 

Yep. I ignored that one, along with the lighted signs and posts.

 

Replaced the intake boot today as it had a small crack in it near the air filter box. Took way longer than I was expecting as the fitment and space to work in is very tight, but I got it eventually. I replaced the standard clicr-type hose clamps with screw-type clamps as well, since once I got them off it was pretty much impossible to compress them enough around the hose to get them to latch again. The new clamps are much wider so they don't fit in the hose channels, but they're much easier to work with and they secure better as well so I'm fine with them.

 

Spread some dielectric grease on my coil pack terminals. I'm already noticing some slight rust forming on cylinder 3's terminal. Why is cylinder 3 always such an issue? Should I put some grease any place else while I've got it? Spark plug boots? Battery terminals? Can it hurt anything if I put too much? Haven't used this stuff before.

 

Boot on the wires and boot on the terminal, clean the terminals and then slide the boots back on. yea the back side terminal seem to gather the most moisture.

 

People use di-electric grease, a small amount, on the spark plug boot to stop the boot from seizing on the spark plug. Just be sure to not use anti-seize compound on the spark plugs.

 

So just spread some on the inside of the boots?

 

Just remember - as much as you love the bright colored cars that stick out, so do the cops - they can see you comin' from a mile away.