For the first time I willingly dropped the clutch from a stop. Was fun to trip the DSC and hear the tires Squeeal.

 

$25 for 13" x 60" roll from Metrorestyling. Found them on Amazon. All I had to do was remove three screws, one from each of the plastic pieces, and wrap them. Fairly easy and only abou 10 minutes total time.

 

I wait until the "miles left" is about equal to the miles since the last oil change, then gather my stuff to do it the next convenient weekend day. Usually, it works out to about 9000 miles.

C ya,
Dutch

 

Got the windows tinted!

 

A short time ago, in a garage not very far away....

Oxygen Sensor Wars

Episode IV

AN OLD HOPE

It is a period of sensor war.
Rebel sensors, striking from
a hidden parts store, have lost
their second battle against the
evil Engine Control Unit.

During the battle, Rebel spies
managed to steal secret plans
to the Engine Control Unit's
ultimate weapon, the Dead Sensor
Error Code, an inescapable code
with enough power to destroy an
entire holiday weekend.

Pursued by the Engine Control Unit's
sinister agents, Prince Nudnik races
home along the Beeline Highway,
custodian of the stolen plans that
can save his engine and restore
freedom to the highway....

-----

Put the original sensor back in, as the car doesn't like the most recent sensor, even after the MINI repair shop reset the ECU adaptations so it could "learn" the new sensor. I'm now frustrated enough with the car being finicky about the sensors to pay him to do the job....

C ya,
Dutch

 

^^^ Awesome. Rebel scum.

 

i ordered a borla cat back exhaust aswell as a cold air intake and a chip which theoretically should boost me up 90hp! i got a question tho!! if i get a maddness 15% reduction pulley would i have to do anything else to the car to be able to handle it???

need your guys help!!
thanks!!!

 

Nerd Alert!!!

 

Ordered Hawk HPS + pads, and SP Performance rotors. Just for those special days at the Track.......

 

OS-Giken GT Clutch arrived today. Cant wait to install this, thank you Waymotorworks

 

Went to the Grand Opening of Tom Bush MINI in Jacksonville, FL and entered Little Wing in the car show.
Great party, great people, and beautiful cars.
We won a MINI umbrella for traveling the farthest to attend!

 

Duly noted, and that's my understanding as well, so far I pay *less* for MINI-branded oil than I've been able to find Mobil 1 or Castrol at Autozone (and I'll keep an eye peeled for sales there, ongoing).

 

I drove my freshly cleaned car in a heavy rainstorm last night as we had no power all day/night and we needed ice and dinner. One of the building's transformers caught fire (twice) and had to be shut down until repaired. I guess the good thing is that the car was cleaned by the dealership this time the day before instead of me.

On a good note the power is back, our food didn't spoil and the car is safe and dry in the parking garage.

I did notice however that the hankook Ventus V12s suck in the rain when kept at 39-40PSI. Wondering if they need to be at 37PSI for wet driving. hmmmm.

 

get on autozones email list

about six weeks ago, i got 24 quarts of mobil1 0w40 european formula (the LL-01 stuff) for $101 and free shipping during an online sale

on top of that, because i spent over $100, i got $25 back on a debit card

final cost of the oil was $3.17 per quart

my dealer sells me oil filters for $8.87 each if i buy four at a time, i told the parts guy i'd like to support his business, but his prices were too high

the dealer price on bmw oil is $5.79 by the case, $6.59 by the quart

scott

 

Installed my new FMIC today, yowsa, nice difference. Excited to get a tune as well, need to see about budgeting for that, then should be around 240HP or so.

 

I'll be signing up...geez, $3-something a quart for Mobil 1. 1980's pricing. Thanks for the tip!

 

for today, June 3rd...Plaza Frontenac in west St. Louis county.

a. wheels off/on so I could wash 4200 miles of brake dust off the back as well as the front. Are your factory rims made in Poland? Mine are! Took a swipe or two at the wheel wells also, that's some weird material MINI uses for wheel well liner.

b. a nice wash overall

c. waxed with Epic

d. Black Wow'd the trim

e. Meguiar's 40 on the tires, clean and dark, not shiny

f. careful wipe down of door jambs, boot/bonnet openings

g. mostly a dusting of the engine bay, and a quick polish of the strut brace

h. MINI mats out, vacuum, JCW checkers mats in

i. Clarity-clean windows in/out

j. Leather conditioner for the dash and seats

I'll have photos from the venue later...looking forward to seeing a whole bunch of interesting cars!

 

Picked up a windshield stone-chip. O joy.

 

I sold it :(

 

W H Y??????????!!!!!

 

Not today, but two days ago - installed first mod, Cravens Cold Air Intake. Want to improve my ad-hock cold air intake hose - any ideas.
Not as deep a difference as when I did it to a Corrado VR6 many years ago - just kind of a high pitched wine - but I can feel it.
What should I do next? Thinking about...
1) Exhaust - Which one?
2) Pully - how hard a job is it, and which one would you buy?
3) Suspension - Heard that I should get rear anti-sway bars, lowering spring (for front), and chamber plates, but don't really know where to start.
4) 18" Wheels and tires (has 17" now)

Looking for a daily driver with added zip & zeal - nothing crazy, might return to SCCA - but mostly just a driver.

Electric Blue, 2004 MCS

 

Took off the remnants of two former accessory things that were clamped to one of the dash struts in my interior, then cleaned up the (hopefully?) spilled coffee goo that was lurking underneath. Also figured out the double-click function on the key, to crack open the windows and the roof automatically. And then checked the oil - it's all there!

 

Enjoyed a nice day at the STL European Car Show!

About 200 cars total...5 MINIs.

A boatload of Porsches, including about a dozen 356's.












More in my gallery album. A dozen or more Ferrari's...McLaren Can-Am racer. Good vibe, friendly folks.

 

First of a box full of Polyurethane bushings.

I crawled under my R53 and put in the lower engine mount bushing in the big end of the torque arm. Not too bad no blood this time. Came to understand that BMW likes to use three parts were two would do.

Anyway its in and everything buttoned up OK. At warm idle the whole interior resonates. Just a couple rpm higher it goes away. Ahh precision german engineering! Next sunny weekend the upper transmission bushing will go in. Hopefully that will make it sensitive at a different RPM and the resonance will go away.

Aside from the idle thing the car feels tighter going through the gears.

After I get the easy stuff in I am getting the dealer to drop the subframe and do the hard stuff. Poly poly everywhere and all the wiggles will stop. ( I hope ).

 

Given a little break-in time, the engine mount will settle in and not make your whole interior sing along any more. Give it a couple weeks....

C ya,
Dutch