"Filthy" doesn't mean the oil is bad. It's supposed to get dirty quickly. You can change your oil every other day if you want, but it's no myth that it will last 10k.

 

For sure: My Invidia exhaust made my car's burble sound better and the tips are cool--even my dogs can hear me coming down the street now. The Shrader Rear Seat Delete made more room for said dogs. The window tint makes it cooler inside and looking that way out, the aero grill and Aesthetic Creations side stripes also made it look better outside, and finally, just as of Wed, the M7 16% pulley made my car faster. Oops, two more, the HKS sway bar improved handling and the boost guage in the air vent stopped that pesky air from blowing on the wifey's hand at 10/2 when she drives the car and it's fun for passengers to watch the needle and I can see it went from 11lbs of boost to just shy of 15 with the M7 pulley, at the gauge, not sure of actual calibration.

Pretty sure: The Helix CAI made my car sound cooler, not sure it's faster, maybe CAIs aren't supposed to make it faster? The TSW engine damper looks cool with teensie weensie grease fittings, and it did add a vibration I don't mind and my butt dyno says it improved throttle response. The Wet Okoles look good to my wife--she picked out Hibiscus flowers for me, not sure they really look good?

No improvement: My viper stripes are too narrow to look cool, the dragon and track decals are okay, but create minor drag and some may find them cheesy, the MINI Motoring hearts badge could be considered bragging, taking the cup holder off improved the passenger leg room but left some scuffs on that column doodad b/c I'm impatient and now I'm left with just the dinky cupholders in the console. The shelf in the glovebox looks organized but stuff still falls out under acceleration, just from different places. I don't have colder plugs b/c I'm not convinced I need them and frankly Dan and I forgot to put them in b/c we were watching Red Green on YouTube with our buddy Steve instead of working on the car.

I left out things like the Alta stubby antenna b/c we all know losing the RC look is a must, and my V-spokes are heavy pigs but I'm leaving 'em on b/c so many people change wheels it's like I have something unique on my car. ;-)

 

Well, here's a few from the first-gen owner's manual:

1) Despite what the manual says, you can NOT save a different set of vehicle preferences for each key.

2) Even after MINI changed the lug bolts on the first-gen cars (around mid-July 2006), the owner's manual continued to list the old torque spec (88 ft-lbs), instead of the correct spec for the new larger bolts (103 ft-lbs). For all I know, the 2007 and 2008 convertible owner's manuals might *still* list the old torque value - I haven't checked.

 

10k is possible, but I've had three oil analyses done on different batches of the Castrol 5W-30 that MINI uses (two of the analyses were on the factory oil, one was on dealer oil). In all three cases, the oil was at end-of-life by 9-12,000 miles. In one case, the oil was pretty much shot by 9,000 miles.

So, while I'd be *okay* with going 10k miles on the MINI oil, there's no way in hell I'd go the 20k miles that my OBC is recommending. (I changed the oil per the OBC recommendation at 12,500 miles, then again at 22,600 miles without resetting the OBC. I'm now at 30,000 miles, and the OBC is saying I still have 2,000 miles left to go). I shudder to think how the oil would test after 20k miles in the car.

 

The one I find interesting is the #2 blow-out. IF all are installed correctly with anti-seize and proper torque why is it always the #2. My #2 blew out last year with the denso's, after my new head I replaced with OEM's and have had zero problems. You would think if installed improperly you would have a all #'s sparkplugs blowing out, but the only ones I have heard about is the #2

 

My 2007 owner's manual has the updated torque spec of 103 ft lbs. However, the tire store that I had put on my all season tires when I got rid of the run flats still had the old spec in their computer.

 

Yes, but it sounds like you have an R56. Since the owner's manuals were re-written from the ground up for the R56, it makes sense that you would have the new torque spec.

I was specifically talking about the 2007-2008 *convertibles*. Since they're still the old R52 body style, it wouldn't surprise me if their owner's manuals still listed the old torque spec, even though it's been over a year and a half since the lug bolt switchover.

 

IMO, on a -10 to +10 scale (I am only rating my mods and tuners)

1. RMW tune +10
2. 15% SC Pulley +10
3. CAI +3
4. CB exhaust +3
5. Koni FSD shocks +7
6. Rear sway bar +8
7. DFIC +1
8. Whalen Shift Machine +9
10. Central Coast Coopers +10
11. Mini Corsa +10

 

andy@rosstech helped keep down the BS

mini equivalant of VAG hasn't become a reality.

19% pulley still works on my car, although it now seems it makes more heat than benefit??

 

Despite what it says in the manual, the speed/volume sensitivity cannot be adjusted on the H/K system

 

They just mean the oil will not begin to break down until 10,000 mi. Even if the oil is dirty, it will still provide lubrication...however, I prefer to change my oil when it turns BLACK...which is generally about 5,000mi.

As for the air filter, as long as you avoid any "dirty air", it should be fine at 45,000 miles as long as you don't mind having a black filter and losses of power.

 

What about VGS making the engine run very hot, and therefore not worth it? when i did it to my car i felt the engine was more responsive

 

Red minis are faster...BUSTED

 

BLOW OF VALVE.

Stock MCS, stock intercooler!

Can it be done?
Bust that myth!!!

 

 

How about light bars adversely affecting the intake?

 

How about the one about the MINI chassis being so stiff that it doesn't need any additional bracing, as argued for years by Randy Webb, among others?

(I've got three different frame braces installed on mine, and they all add noticeable rigidity.)

 

My car is so stiff now that the back wheel comes up as much as 3" when entering or leaving a driveway with a slight pitch. scared the hell out of me the other day, I entered the driveway a little to quick and felt the tire "pop" off the ground!
I don't know if i want my chassis stiffer

 

here are some things to concide about the pulley:
1- yes its lighter but you still have a 30lb flywheel that will offset most gains
2- even though its lighter the radius is smaller-less difference than u may think
3- the dampeners added by the origional design team are there to reduce resonance in the serpentine belt not to make the engine last longer ( i know someone will argue that but..)
4 - these things have been around for a long time so therefor there some engine that have them that would now have fairly high miles on them and most are still running

therefore will it automatic kill your engine...probably not..will it make a real noticable difference as a stand alone mod...probably not

 

Here's my $.02 for what it's worth:

#2 plug on my car blew out - installed IK22's but didn't tighten to torque spec - ended up helicoiling the thing back in - no problems so far. The other three were loose as well - replaced with new set of IK22's. Don't know if I'm going to stay with those.

Got over 30k with 15% supercharger pulley - no problem - in process of installing 2% oversized Alta main pulley with 5% oversized alternator pulley - will post somewhere on the results. Spoke with Jan and was advised that I should go with JCW injectors to avoid leaning out the engine.

Throw-out bearing exploded at 53k miles - in process of installing new CM FX200 clutch and CM flywheel.

Going to get rid of demon spark pack and reinstall OEM one. Shark Injector doesn't seem to make a difference either.

B&M shortshifter works great, but very stiff shifting vs. stock - about the same as my 91 E30 M3 w/ shortshift kit - had to deform the heat shield because the box underneath is so big, was causing problems with the Miltek resonator.

David
04 MCS - Indigo Blue, Miltek Exhaust, Alta CAI, Alta 15%, B&M Shortshifter, Screamin' Demon Coil Pack, Magnecor Wires, IK22's, Shark Injector

 

I'm already working on the plasma booster. I'm doing this by taking my trip odometer divided by gallons filled. I'm actually trying to hit 500 miles on less than 14 gallons and in the process decided to dust off the booster. I've had the booster since its introduction into the MINI community so I have "nothing" to lose by trying it again, plus it was given to me - so bonus.

So far, I've logged more than 1600 miles at a consistent 35-36 mpg average without the booster, getting around 490 miles each time on about 13.5 gallons. Math says I should get 500 miles on 14 gallons at 35.7mpg. However, that would mean I'll hit 500 miles on fumes according to the manual's fuel capacity (12gal. w/ 2gal reserve - or 14gal) - which is pretty risky unless I carry a jug.

According to the Ignition Solution's website, I can expect a 10% increase in MPG with thier Plasma Booster. With the data I've gathered, that means one of two things:
(I'm flying by my seat right now having worked this out just a few days ago in a conversation with a co-worker)

1)an additional 30 miles on a tank, or basically gain another gallon of gas. This would mean 520 miles on 13.7 gallons - which doesn't sound realistic given my attempts at 500mi.

or
2)I'm actually only going gain 3mi over a tank. This sounds low to me when I consider the restraint it takes for me to continually hit 35-36mpg on tanks and watching my high/lows. If this is the more accurate, the booster is a farse.

Maybe my math is off but that is one reason I'm doing this - cause I don't know the results given all the variables in actual driving (traffic, aero, humidity, head wind, etc). My best mileage so far was 495.2 on 13.44gal at 36.8mpg with a high of 497mi (can't find the reciept so it doesn't count), but 500mi sounds doable with the booster.

I want to log two more tanks stock (keeping the reciepts) before I install the booster. Then I'll log no less than 4 tanks with the booster (1600+mi).

We'll see...