East Bay quoted me $450 for tinting done "right". I'm going with a guy in San Ramon who did my friend's neighbor's MINI a few weeks ago. turned out great.

 

You guys, that's way too much! I am paying $229 for all around including sunroof. Life time guarentee. The product is made by formula one. I had the same tint on my BMW, and numerous friends have gone to the same place. 500 is way over priced. I would check around. At the dealership you are paying high labor rates.

You are right Kissmys. I have a serious shopping addiction right now!! And Handn isn't helping me either. Now I may have to buy the Koni's FSD.

 

Hey Climbergirl
Have You looked at Altas Turbo Kit? It's only four grand and it comes in some nice packaging not to mention it can kick up the power to 400 horses. Go on you know you want it. Besides it will boost your MPGs, yeah that's the ticket, it's economical. Hehehehe.

 

Who? Me?

Seriously, though. I'm just in love with my FSDs. They've far exceeded my expectations. Coming into work this morning, it was STILL impressive. A lot of the rough spots in the road just... weren't.

For those that don't know about them, the Koni FSD are shocks... amazing shocks. A bit pricey at around $800, installed, but IMO, worth it. If you're feeling that your ride is a bit harsh, especially if you're in Cali having to deal with our lovely freeways- this is the solution you're looking for. My MCS is my daily driver and I could not be more pleased with the ride now.

If I had it to do all over again and could only have one mod, ever... it would be the FSDs. Really.

(and, no, I'm not a pusher-man sent by climbergirl's credit card company to make sure she feeds her MINI habit )

 

So you know which series you got? I looked at F1's website and there are several grades of film...

 

I know, I need to take some pictures! But I went straight from the dealer to work last night, and didn't get a chance. And now she's all dirty already (damn bugs!). So this weekend for sure, after I get a chance to get her all cleaned up.

I already have to clean up washer-nozzle-drip today before I head out, so keep your eyes open for that - it stains!

 

JJ — What's your take on choosing the 35% window tint as opposed to 20? I'm still not sure which way to go... now I'm thinking 20% all around except going 35% on the back window (better night rear view visibility.) I've talked to a few 20%ers and they say they've never been pulled over for being too dark... even with it on the front side widows (which is technically illegal in CA, but most everyone who bothers to tint at all goes for it with no problems with the law.) When do you pick up Merlin?

 

I've got to second that opine on Koni FSD's. I simply love mine. I also recommend sticking with the sport springs for the MCS. Other springs may drop too much. They did for me and I'm considering going back to the sport springs.

As to a boost in serious power, sure the turbo solution will get you serious power but it does not respond like the smooth delivery of a super charger solution. If ultimate power is not your bag but you still want a lot more power than stock then you need to look into M7's upcoming M62 kit. It replaces the stock supercharger (Eaton Root M45) with the Eaton Root M62. There are no hp numbers yet but I hope to be around 250 by next weekend. I've taken a ride in one of the alpha test cars and all I can say is it is simply breath takingly smooth power. Before you know it you're going very fast but it doesn't seem like it until you look at the speedo. If you want ultimate power and don't care how it's delivered then turbo away! You can slap one on and you really will get +300hp quite easily with nothing else added! With a few more mods (port matched intake, cylinder head, header & exhaust) I know of some that are sitting around 500hp and I've heard of others as high as 600! That's not for me. It just depends on what you want.

 

I did the comfort series. 30% all around. I am going with Limo tint on the sunroof. Definitely been pleased with the product.

 

I wouldn't mind increasing the power. The M62 kit looks interesting. I had planned on changing the exhaust, pulley, and air intake. Would I still need to do that? I don't need 500hp. but 250 wouldn't be so bad.

JJBlue, you instigator! FYI, I've been paying cash for those mod's. Don't tell my fiance that he is going to starve for the next month!! I'm going to tell him that the grocery stores are on strike and we can't get any food!

 

I live in Colorado, when I'm in town I'm one mile closer to the Sun and if I'm in the mountains I am 2+ miles closer to the Sun. We get 300+ days of sunshine up here. 35% is the legal limit. I will do just the sides and back in 35%, sunroof in limo and nothing on the windshield. I did buy the sunshade for the window.
My MA still has not called me to arrange for pick-up. He stated, they need a week to ten days for delivery. I would imagine that since Schomps is a BMW/MINI dealer they have a lot of cars to prep. I do hope Schomps service department is better than thier communications department. Every bit of info I have gotten on my MINI I had to call for. I recieved the email that my car was schedualed for production one week after Merlin had already been built.

 

For most folk doing the pulley, CAI, exhaust, Iridium cold plugs & ECU solution (MTH or Unichip or ...) is enough. These are the relatively cheap power mods to do. The M62 kit or turbo kits are not cheap. If you do the M62 or turbo kits then it is very highly recommended to do the following as it will give you a smoother delivery and a few more ponies for only a relatively few more pennies: CAI, Iridium cold plugs, exhaust & ECU solution. Anything more than that (head and/or header) and you're taking another huge hit in the ol' wallet.

Please remember that you should already have a highly improved suspension in place before you do power mods. This is a safety issue. The stock setup is not recommended to handle increased power. Not to say some do it the other way around. In hindsight I would've put the suspension parts on first and then the power. Gotta be able to handle the power safely.

 

I just gave my MINI his first bath and wax this morning.

Sooooooooooooooooooooo good... I wanna do it again.

 

Urban Elf, that sounded soooooo dirty.....
I'm assuming it wasn't a Brazilian wax, too.

 

Gr8Force
We are talking Climbergirl here. She has unlimited funding and a desire to shop. The suspension should be no problem. The woman is on a mission to create the first $250,000 MINI. We should at the very least assist her in her endeavor, encourage her and stand behind but not support her addiction.

Climbergirl
Do not replace your S-Lites! Have them platinuim plated. That would be so sweet.

Yeah, it would add another 20 pounds but who cares if you have 500 horses under the hood. You go girl!

 

MINI ****!

 

Hey Climbergirl

I have a friend,Freddy the Fish, whose in the art business. He says he can get you an original Salvador Dali for cheap. He has a Russian friend, Boris the Blade, who can install it as a headliner in your MINI. Now that would be really cool.

 

Now JJ, I don't like bling. Refused to place badges on my car because it reminds me of jewerly. I like leaning through sharp corners and, and blowing past the lovely person holding up traffic. And I like convenience. Pssst.. and I hate how the S lites look. Too busy. I don't have unlimited amount of money, after all, if I stopped working my cash would disappear. I just believe in pinching pennies where I can, and spending it where I want! Like food.. food is over rated.. who needs to eat three meals a day? Speaking of, better go marinate the fillet.

 

Climbergirl
I know, bling is over rated but it has been so much fun watching you shop for your baby. I would like to see you at the mall. My frugal wife goes on a shop till you drop day from time to time but, you are a real pro.
So when do you actually get your baby?

 

After a bit of research, it turns out that the film from Formula 1 is made by the same parent company as Llumar: CPFilms, Inc. They are both highly recommended by high end car owners (and of course Minx falls into that category... ) and I haven't read any threads on any forum mentioning that these had problems with yellowing, while 3M seems to. Just thought I'd pass this along...

Oh, and I have six badges coming, but will only put one on at a time (magnetic) for subtle bling. But, as I get bored easily, I'll probably change them out frequently!

 

RG will do quite well with a little jewelry. DS with pinstriped stripes and jewelry? Nope... it would be like a big gigantic broach with pretty earrings. One or the other, but not both.

JJBlue, my friends told me that department stores were going to ban me due to my "please adjust my receipt, because this is on sale now" attitude. Definitely an art to finding the best quality for the lowest amount of money. My fiance is worse. He will just flat out talk you out of something for next to nothing.

Has anyone else received a MINI cake? It was umm umm good.

 

yeah... no thanks

 

I made an appointment to get my windows tinted this weekend! I am taking it to Tint Plus in Irvine, where Irvine MINI gets theirs done. I was thinking limo in the back and back side windows, and 30% in the front side windows. For those of you that have gotten yours done already, what did you go with, and do you have visibility problems at night? And in other good news, I'm also picking up an M7 STB this weekend as well. What tools do I need to install it (as I currently do not own very many)? I have heard it is an easy install but I have never installed anything on any car before so I'm still nervous.

Someone stop me before I spend all my money!!!

 

I know that the bolts you have to remove/replace to put the STB in are 13mm, so at the very least, you'll need a 13mm wrench or socket. You should probably also have a torque wrench to tighten the bolts to 25 lbf-ft, although you can probably rent one from an auto parts store for a nominal fee.

The various pieces of the STB look to be held together with allen bolts, so you'll need an allen key if one doesn't come with the brace.

Scott

 

Thanks for the info riquiscott! I hope the install goes smoothly...