I sold my 2011 CM today... well, yesterday to be exact.

 

Youthanasia,
Why you sell your ALL4? What you going get now?

 

I'll post something tomorrow when it's finalized.

 

Picked up and bought a ski rack to hit the slopes! Whispbar all the way...

 

just got back from an hour of backroad motoring in +6F clear cold weather

the N18 S motor loves the cold air!

now i know what a tune must feel like, the car pulls from 100 mph in 6th like it robbed a bank and 4th is like being shot out of a cannon

1st, 2nd and 3rd kept the DSC busy keeping the winter tires under control

amazing ...

scott

 

Plastidipped my OEM silver dual spoke winter wheels this weekend. I did them matte black. I never liked the silver wheels with the white car/black roof combo. I have anthracite Tspokes for non winter use. I did the job in the garage with the temp around 40 outside. I was worried it might be too cold, but they came out fine. The car looks a lot meaner. One thing I found out was that it is important to keep the cans warm - not in the garage. I put the spray cans in the sink with warm water when I wasn't spraying. This was absolutely key. I was getting some splotchy spray when the cans were too cold. I also put a couple of coats on the inside of the rims. I think they look better if you do. Otherwise you can see the silver if you pear round the edges of the spokes. JCW steering wheel arrives today!

Sent from my iPhone using NAMotoring

 

the entire install took about 20 minutes with it on a lift, i cut the pipe in place, about 3/4" from the resonator, the cut location isn't all that critical as long as it's within like 1-1/2" i think, there's a lot of slack with the mounts on the muffler and plenty of adjustment on the tips. i'm not 100% crazy about the clamps to put everything back together, but if they're "factory" then so be it.

i love the sound of the exhaust even without breaking it in yet, the pop and gurgle is MUCH more noticeable and can be done almost on demand at that drop from 2400-1800rpm.

 

I spent many many hours this weekend working on a steering wheel cover from Redlinegoods. I'll write something more up later, but here is the finished product:

 

Today, I picked up my 2013 CMS All4!

 

Cool.

 

Nothing!!! And that's the problem traveling for work and I'm driving a Camry rental... much different driving experience and not one for the better.

Waiting to get back home and the chance to enjoy driving again.

 

Looks nice! I'm planning to do a cold air intake on mine too. Let me know how it works for you. Also, I love your black headlight rings (want to swap out all chrome trim for black). Where does one find such parts? Or did you vinyl them? Suggestions?

Thanks.

 

That looks really good. Maybe I'll work up the courage to do it.

 

The last 2 weekends have been mildly productive. This is me MINI with winter wheels/tires. The silver wheels with light white is too bubblegum for my tastes.

Before:



After plastidipping wheels and installation of JCW design pack. Sorry, you caught me ridin' dirty.


After installing JCW shift **** and leather steering wheel. Luv it!

 

Before - admittedly lame:


After - smokin!

 

That wheel is awesome! Cannot wait to the one for the auto comes out after the JCW is out a bit.

 

Installed the Forge BOV and VIP upper stress bar.

 

I agree! the wheel and shift **** should be the default with any S!

 

Pulled an "all-nighter" and installed aero kit. (sorry about quality of iphone pics)

 

Nice! Looks good!

Question about the rear portion. Did you do the part of the instructions where it says to cut away part of the harness and reroute the Tire pressure antenna? I am hoping to skip that part since I am not using the OEM exhaust tips that come with the kit.

 

I just installed the side skirts, not the entire kit. I had purchased & installed the front lip earlier. (Side skirts are now available separately)

But I did get the instructions for the full kit and the instructions for rerouting TP antenna looks simple. It's just rerouting the wire that grounds antenna on dr rear corner. It's bolted to a bracket back there.

 

Oh ok thanks. how easy were the side skirts? It looks like it is way easier than the front, which was a b!tch trying to get those hidden rivets off.

 

It was fairly easy, but still had to deal with a couple of hidden clips. This time it's the ones on the rear side of front fender trim piece (closest to doors). The factory lower rocker came off alot easier than I expected. (They also collect alot of leaves and road debris) It pretty much all snaps together just a few misc screws & fasteners. Install took about an hour & half for both, I spent more time prepping and painting parts prior to install. Also made factory front mudflaps work with a little trimming. (though Mini says they won't fit) Mine fit and no rubbing.
If anyone wants info or help installing, PM me, more than happy to help.

 

Gave Oliver a bath... He's all nice and shiny now.

 

Finally got around to installing the VIP Turbo heat shield. I didn't want to ditch the engine cover so I Dremel'd the plastic so the mounting spacers of the shield sit flush to the cover. Looks pretty good alongside the VIP intake and strut tower brace.

Also cleaned and re-oiled the K&N filter. Used Orange Blast instead of the K&N solvent. Worked great!

Ran an ODBII cable in through the door seals for mounting a ScanGaugeII. The velcro that came with the ScanGauge didn't stick to Athracite so I need to find something better. =/