well i had been busy in meetings all week, now i am dog sitting my x-girl friends dog, he is a bernese mtn dog (spl?) so i have been away from the computer quite a bit... i also have been trying to cut down on my at work on line time as i feel better about my productivity, and go home liking my job much more....

My car is lovely, always dirty with the rain we have had since i got it....only 125 miles on in since the 2nd of November.

I am so excited though, i am off from wednesday the 15th through the 25th, i am packing up the running shoes and bike and heading to the coast to stay and play and drive. i know some great roads, windy and scenic...and i have a great place to stay, hot tub and home theater...i have not had a vacation since february!

Rachael, nice story and name for your mini.....

As far as a name that sticks for my Mini, well perhaps my road trip will yeild the much needed stimuli and kindle the fires of a name that sticks!

get on the floor and dance with your bad selves.....

-C

 

Hooray for vacation! Can't wait to hear what name you come up with for your MINI!

Met up with the super secret orange county mini cooper club (longest club name ever!) last nite... the club just started and it was our first meeting.. lots of fun! We met up at an irish pub/restaurant, and there were about 15 of us. Now we're planning a track day and hopefully some fun rallies. You guys should get involved in some sort of club if you get a chance, it's cool to meet people with a similar interest, and of course all MINI people are so cool and nice! (homer where were you!?)

That's about all from here... my bday is this Fri., so hoping to get some stuff for 'ditch'!

Hope everyone is having fun motoring!!

Rach

 

Happy Early Birthday, Rach! What are you, like, 19??!!

 

Ha! I'll be 26

 

26?!? - I've got shirts older than that.... Sorry - couldn't make the SSOCMCC meeting - family conflicts and all that. Next one!

I'm up to 1050 miles - only 200 to go!

 

Hey... only a week younger than me... OK and a few, ok ok ok.. more than a few years..
Happy Early Birthday!

 

thanks aiiee! so, basically i'm still downshifting when I need to slow, but know that I will continue moving, but when approaching lights or stop signs, i'm slowing in whatever gear i'm in until i need to put the clutch in, then putting in neutral and braking. so there's nothing wrong with gliding in neutral? (as long as the clutch is out of course). by the way, i saw a guide to "heel-toe shifting" but can't remember where... anyone? and what does double-clutching do for a car like this? I thought that was only for big rigs!

------------
rachael... happy early b-day!

psb... have a great trip!
------------
I finally got my M7 plates and will put those on soon. wanted to put them on first day, but they were delayed. My first "real" mod.

glad to hear everyone is doing well. cheers!

 

I've been following about the same method as you for downshifting/braking mini_dreams... (you should change your name to mini_reality, btw

Who on here has a clearbra? If you do, can you take some pics of it? I have had the thought in the back of my mind about getting one, but never really was serious about it ($$) The other day I saw a very chipped up black mini... made me scared... i always thought everyone was exaggerating when they said they chip easily... but sheesh!

Rach

 

mini_dreams: you got it. at least that's what I do. The idea is to minimize the work the synchros have to do. I learned this the hard way by wearing out a set of second gear synchros by downshifting a lot in my old Mazda. It's just a car hygiene thing, like not riding the clutch. So this is what double clutching does, and you are right, it's just like in a truck, which doesn't have synchros in it's first gear, at least they didnt used to, so to get in and out of 1st gear you want the engine and trans to match speed, one lets the clutch out and blips the throttle to approximately match the engine and trans speed and then lets the clutch back in. The idea is that when the engine and trans speed almost match, the synchros have very little work to do. Sure there's an extra engagement/disengagement of the clutch but the wear is non existant really.

Heel and toe is a misnomer, it's usually left side of right foot on the brake and right side of foot on the gas, at different times during the double clutch described above. It's really not necessary I guess, but it does result in a little less jerkiness when double clutching.

And all this stuff is only necessary for downshifting. When upshifting, the trans and engine naturally are running at near synchronized speeds.


Seems obsessive I guess, but i think it is fun

 

Rachel star, if you look at the pictures I posted of Gordito, you can barely see the clearsheild. I got mine dealer installed. I would highly recomend it. I was afraid it would really stick out, but you have to know it is there to see it. I will try to get some more detailed pics.

As far as the whole shifting thing. Do what comes natural. If you worry to much about trying different stuff, you are going to be grinding gears. If you want to learn, borrow someones beater and learn there, not on your MINI. Always remember if you need to stay still when starting out, use the parking brake, the MINI brake will hold you from going backward. After that shift away. Oh and release the parking brake.

 

First dry day I'll try to get a pic of it on here...

 

Ahhh GPowner

my car is sooo dirty, with all of the rain washing it has not happened yet, maybe thursday..... though if i had only gotten off in time today!?! Argh!

 

A warm bucket of water and some soft cloths does the trick in between real washes psb. That's what I've been doing with my lil blue, it has to be the easiest car to wash that I've ever had.

Soon as we get some clear days though I'll be slapping a good coat of wax on her. Starting to feel like a Mini-goose up here with all the rain.

 

I couldn't agree more. Just go easy on the synchros

 

kaja, that is such a simple good idea i never thought of that! I will be doing that tommorow! I always want to go freako and detail the heck out of it, i never thought of a maintinance wash

 

With all the storms and windy days we've had, Little Mitzi keeps picking up leaves around the wheel wells, that completely drives me nuts! I can't help but try to keep her pretty. The most time consuming part of the quick wash is the rims, all the little spokes to work around.

The other thing I did was pick up a couple of bottles of detailer which I keep in the boot, two soft cloths, one just for vinyl and rubber trim, one for paint detailing. So if I get a chance at lunch and it's not raining I can do a touch up then as well.

(Yes, I am neurotic about keeping my car clean) Now I just need to find a place to vacuum her out near work.

 

Hey,

I haven't posted in the W38 group in a while. Gus is broken in. I have gone above the RPM range twice and was Awwwwesome!

As far as people complaining about take off, I find that 1st is a very small gear meaning i get going and almost immediately shift to 2nd. However, 2nd has a sweet spot around 2500 - 4500 rpms. I find that by the time I am going to third if I am on the gas I can easily be going wayyyy to fast! Every gear is awesome on Gus including 6th. I don't even have to downshift to 5th to pass on the highway! I have been a motorcycle owner/rider for years and would compare the trans of the MCS to a bike! I love it!

Gus is FILTHY as it's been a rough few weeks of weather in Chicago. We are going home to Michigan next week for Thanksgiving so I'll probably wash it before we go to a bunch of holiday parties!

Anyway, thought I would pop in and say hi!

Happy motoring!

 

Brad,

My Wife and I are going to the Mini on the Dragon this May. We got a room at the Microtel Motel in Robbinsville, NC.

We tried to get closer to the action in Fontana Village but everything is booked that we wanted.

We are looking forward to this trip.

Goliath is going into the paint shop in a week or so (probably after Thanksgiving), seems they strip some paint off above windshield down to bare metal when they were prepping Goliath at the dealers.

I didn't notice it until that following Sunday when I was washing Goliath.

Hope all is well with Gus and your guys.

Happy Motoring

 

Good luck with your paint touch up! The Draggon is AWESOME!!!! I've done it several times on my motorcycle! Enjoy yourself but be safe!!!

Brad

 

today the first day of my vacation and the day before i hit the road for a week.... well my driving lights that where put on at the dealer prior to pick up (which i personely love) where not working i thought it was just the button as it seemed stuck.

Since i was going to be on the road for a week and i was going to aim my mini towards some twisty roads and perhaps after dusk, well i stopped by the dealer with no appointment and walked in, and told them my small issue. I great lady in the service intake area asked for my keys and said she would get it taken care of right away, and by they way could they wash it for me?.... maybe i am easily pleased, but wow! The wash job was great, they even took my rubber mats out and washed those. They did a great job washing and fixed the button all in twenty minutes!.

My dealer is Rasmussen here in Portland! I just had to share as it meant i did not need to wash my car, and it gave me more time to go on another run!

Hope everyone is having a great day!

Kaja, thanks for the tips! I will add a touch up kit to my boot!

 

Oh you just gave me a reason to go have my entry system configuration changed psb! Free car wash! Have to run down to NW Mini this weekend or something

Have fun during your time off psb!

 

I bought my GP from Jarid at Rasmussen. I can tell you, these guys rock. MA smart, service dept smart. Ready to help at the drop of a hat. I asked them to spray my car off (not to wash it), and guess what, they sprayed my car off. No wash, as requested. Way to go guys!

 

That's awesome that your dealer is so cool, GP... now upload some friggin pictures of your pimp car!!!!

 

My car likes to talk to me.

In 1st/2nd at low RPM's, I get a rattle from the left airvent/dash

If I'm in 4th and I turn the AC/Heat on full blast, a nasty rattle from the speedometer area

While doing unmentionable speeds last night, 'ditch' made a squealing sound that came from the center of the windsheild/dash that, if you listened closely, was kinda like 'wooooooooohooooooooo!'

Doesn't really bother me too much, I think it's kinda cute. And going to the dealer and having them tear things apart to find these noises makes me cringe!

Anyone else have a talkative car??

 

Yep, i've been getting some sounds. First got some squeaking in the speedo area. When I pressed against it, it usually stopped. And it isn't constant. Have heard some other various squeaks here and there. I also get some noise from the windshield while crusing speedy... it almost seems like the areodynamics of the windshield/roof aren't that great, but nothing to worry to much about.

I emailed my MA about the speedo thing and he said "don't worry, it will go away" ... lol... translation... "don't bother me." if anything, i would imagine squeaks would get worse. we'll see. I hope not... i'm very sensitive to little sounds like that.

----

other than that, i've been trying to experiment with my shifting. i can drive a stick fine, i'm just not used to it. I didn't drive regularly for 15 years while in NYC (i was a straphanger), and then for the last two I was driving automatics, so I'm just not used to doing "all the work" all the time. still, knowing how this car responds to the manual, i'm not sure how i'd feel about an auto, even though I have driven one and it was still a MINI!

----

also, all this talk about wanting to go faster after break-in, i can't understand it exactly. First of all, it feels like i'm really zooming just to push my RPMs up to 4,000. So far, I don't think I've gone over 4,000. I can't imagine getting close to red line. Maybe it's just because I've been driving wimpy 4-cylinder automatics most of my life, so the idea of really pushing the RPMs is strange to me. Also, where exactly can you do that type of acceleration anyway? I had a friend that used to have a manual Integra and would always push the RPMs when accelerating to get on the freeway, but most of the time would have to slow down again since the traffic was always bad.

----
finally no rain here today! I can clean Grover this weekend!!

happy motoring weekend PW38ers.