Hey OctaneGuy, what are the specs of your wheels? size and offset?

Did you have any rubbing problems with the 225/45 size? Do you like the 215's over the 225's?

 

I only had rubbing problems when I was fully loaded, and slammed. I could be slammed and not have major rubbing issues if I were the only person in the car. I ran the 225/45 on my R53 with Cross coilovers and didn't have rubbing issues. The 225/45's look like SUV tires on the MINI, lol. They are too big IMO. I just wanted to try the Nitto Invos and that was their smallest size. They claimed to be quiet tires..I didn't find that to be true, lol.

 

I really liked the balloon look the old tires had on your car! Do you know the specs of your wheels/offset?


I just aquired a set of 17x7.5 et35 wheels, and I think 235/40/17 will be too big for the offset, but I don't really want to shrink down to a 215...

 

Sorry forgot to answer that.

Flik Bullet 17"
offset 42

 

I don't know if you found some already, but Hella sells driving lights that appear black when switched off. They're called "black magic" headlights. That way, the Joey-mod will look a lot cleaner.

BTW, I <3 murdered out Clubmans. Got one myself.

 

Hey OctaneGuy, how do you like your magnaflow exhaust? those tips are the best ive seen so far for the r55. any hp gain? about how much louder? hows the build quality? i seen they were selling them pretty cheap on ebay, just wondering if the exhaust is worth it.

 

Sorry, I didn't see this post. I love the exhaust. It sounds great, was easy to install, easy on the wallet, too! Not sure about hp gain but it does feel stronger on the butt dyno. I'd say they are worth it. Build quality is very high. In my R53 days, the Magnaflow was a loud exhaust so i was concerned that would be the same with my R55 but it wasn't. It is louder, as it should be, but not overly loud. Since the mod, I don't fear about getting a ticket for being too loud, unlike when I put a Magnaflow resonator on my Invidia exhaust on my old R53.

 

My MINI has been having a strange issue for the past month. It started out as an occasional issue and up until a few days ago, began to plague me every day nearly making my car undriveable. After some research I realized that nobody else had this problem but me, so after some tests, I narrowed the problem down to a pinched paddle shifter wire that was shorting out as a result of my JCW paddle shifter mod. I know the problem, and the fix. I will be adding that to my writeup when I figure it out.

 

hey thanks for the reply, i think this is the cat back im gonna be goin with. do you know of anyone who is making a downpipe that will fit this? wasnt sure if they made a downpipe that fit the stock style cat back.

I have also thought about getting a alta turbo back full exhaust but from the videos i hav seen, for being a full exhaust it seems too quiet
any thoughts

 

Have you considered an invidia exhaust? BTW the Alta exhaust is LOUD because it is a full 3" exhaust. Videos usually quiet exhausts down a little because not everyone has expensive microphones attached to their cameras.

 

I've since made a few simple changes.

My Yokohama S.Drives didn't last very long. I rotated them once at 5,000 miles and got a measly 10,000 out of them before they were bald. I now have my old favorites, Nitto Neo Gens.

I tinted my front yellow reflectors using VHT Night Shades in a rattle can.






What I did was remove the parts, clean them with 91% alcohol, sand them with 2000 Unigrit to scuff them up, shot VHT tint, took several coats to be even, used a hair dryer to speed up drying. Wetsanded with 2000, did one more coat, and wetsanded again.


I shot two coats of clear, used the hair dryer to speed up drying, and wetsanded with 2500, then polished with the PC. I didn't put enough paint to get rid of the orangepeel, and I didn't care much. I was more concerned whether my tint was too dark, lol. It still works though. =)


Here's my MINI at a Cars & Coffee event in Irvine yesterday. A local photographer took this pic.


As you can see I also have the MINI roof rack. I put this on just before AMVIV.

WMW put on a tune for me as well. Overall my Clubbie is quite happy. Not to many other mods I want to do except for some paint on the interior.

 

Hey Rich, is that paint or vinyl on the headlight rings?

 

It's PlastiDip sprayed on purchased at Home Depot.
Paint won't last due to rock chipping..been there, done that. Vinyl is durable but PlastiDip looks way better.

 

Hey Rich. It doesn't look like you have upgraded your brake hoses to SS. What's up with that??

 

Haha if I did that, I'd also go to a BBK...and as much as I'd love to...I must resist, lol.

 

Car looks Sweet Octane!!!

 

Looks great! You know how those amber reflectors were bothering me so I appreciate you taking care of that .

I just used the black out stick on type on mine but may try the spray on now since it really looks much more finished.

Annette

 

Hi Octaneguy, We are new to MINI so have a lot to learn. Recently picked up a used 2011 Clubman S. Has 225/40R18 tires and Ti Rims. Tires are rubbing in the back with over 2 people in car and no one seems to understand why. I'm thinking the wheels / tires are too big? But they are too nice and expensive to swap out now. I saw on your post about lowering the height of car? Do you think it's possible the previous owner did that? Is there a lift kit available to raise the car a bit? No Mini dealerships nearby so we are trying to learn on our own. Love the car but if you could share some advice on the tire rub issue I'd appreciate it!! Will post picks later. Thanks!!

 

Congrats on your new MINI! My rims are 42 offset and 17" and have no clearance with 225's. On my recent trip to Colorado, my Clubbie was fully loaded with 3 passengers, bags, and inventory for the MITM event and I didn't rub even though I was below the fender line and I'm on coilovers unlike the year before when I was on 225's and my 2,000 mile drive was miserable!

When I look at my old pix from a year ago, my 225's were really too big for the Clubbie..so I can imagine what yours looks like on 18's.

You don't want to raise your suspension for "looks" to sacrifice performance.

Keep your 18's but go to 215's and you should have better results...what is the width of your wheels? 7 or 7.5" or 8"?

Richard

 

Hey Richard, just would like you to know that your new waffel towels are amasing!

Your car looks even better in person, and I still like it better than your old R53.

 

Hahah awesome! Thanks for the kind words.

 

OctaneGuy, Thanks so much for the quick response. I measured the wheels and they are actually 9" wide, so that may be the problem. Leaving as is, and with it not rubbing all of the time, but sometimes, will that really tear everything up in your opinion? Tires are still in really good shape so I hate to ditch them now for 215's.

I'm attaching some pics so you can see. Besides the tires issue, we are really loving it! Thanks!

 

Did you measure the wheels themselves (across the barrel) or the width of the wheels and tire? If it hasn't happened already, the carpet wheel well tire lining will be torn to shreds and check your sidewalls. When I was rubbing, the shoulder and sidewall were literally getting shaved off. There are others here on this forum such as Rally@StanceDesign who are running on 9in wide wheels and airbags for that slammed look...they know more about this than I do.

Richard

 

Hey Rich,

I don't think I would rely on that measurement. Maybe he should remove one of the wheels from the car and look around the inside surfaces of the wheel casting for the size. Most wheel manufacturers cast or stamp the size of the wheel right into the casting. BTW, I seriously doubt he has a 18x9, more likely 18x8.

Just my 2¢! Good Luck

 

Good idea, 2 cents is better than no sense. I'll pull a wheel and look for stamp. Odd, but we're loving the orange and would love to make it work. Thanks