Did a few minor things while waiting for kids to be ready to head to school: stubby antenna, rubber floor mats, organized some stuff... more to do this weekend...

 

1st time for me with the help of a friend who has done the job before.

In 4 1 1/2 hours we:

Replaced the LCA Bushings
Replaced front Sway Bar Bushings
Replaced clamps on PS hose
Replaces Crank Sensor Or-Ring
Changed SC oil on the pulley side.

Power tools help.

 

I see a lot of talk here about doing this job on 1st Gen's. Does anyone know if the job is basically the same on a 2nd Gen?

 

1st three on the list, yes
Last two, definitely not
(crank sensor in a different spot, no o-ring,
and no supercharger).

 

I put a new hose clamp on the turbo inlet and adjusted the hose/clamp at the air filter. The turbo inlet hose was pulling itself off.

 

There is a new product out there that is promising to keep this from happening. I plan on doing a write up on it in the next week or so. So keep your eyes open

 

Awesome news! Yes, I have all the power tools! This is good... Sizing up the LCA and PS hoses in the same shot. While I am "in the there", also the CPS O-Ring and Dip Stick O-Ring.

Thank you!

 

OK great!

 

I ordered the following but my Mini is in production this week so does that count? LOL

Out Motoring Blackout Beltline Kit
Carbon Fiber Stubby Antenna
MINI COOPER F55 56 AUTOMATIC SHIFTER BADGES - CHECKER
MINI COOPER LED DOOR PROJECTION COURTESY PUDDLE LIGHTS ( smilie face)

 

Gave it a bath.

 

Installed grille blackout kit, carbon fiber door pulls, NM Engineering torque arm insert, picked up new headlights. Some other bits added in the last week.

 

Replaced the bonnet badge.

 

Same here!

As well as reinstalled a new euro plate, new cravenspeed oil dip stick, under bonnet eyes, and plasti-dipped my intercooler cover red. I think I am getting close to being done with my engine bay... FAMOUS LAST WORDS "this is my last mod"

 

Started swapping in the new headlights and ran into a bad mount nut. Apparently the lower outside of these tend to go bad (according to Detroit Tuning's page for them). So standing by to put in the new ones, replacement nuts on the way and have to stop by Lowe's for a new bolt & washer.

Also ordered a spark plug socket while at it.

 

can anyone help me...
i own a mini cooper S mc40 but i don't know the commemorative edition number of my car.

the vin number is WMWRE33424TD88846

 

That vin is coming up as a 2005 r53 MINI Cooper S is that right? What are you trying to figure out??

 

So this weekend I installed BC Coilovers and the HKS competition rear sway bar.

http://imgur.com/jN7GazR

And dipped my rims.

 

switched out the Pioneer coaxials I installed when I first got my car for some Rockford Fosgate components. Initially I tried fitting 6.75" woofers but unfortunately the basket was too wide for the hole and I didn't want to bother with adapting them with spacers or widening the stock hole. What sucks is that the 6.5" version of the same set is considerably smaller, even smaller than the Pioneer 6.5"s that I took out. I kind of wish I had just stuck with the 6.75"s, since the woofers probably have a full inch more cone surface area. But the good news is they still sound much better than the coaxials did. I was never happy with the coaxials - they sounded weak and after reading Integral Audio's post about how coaxials in both front spots would cause lobing and cancellation, I got a complex that convinced me they were spotty in frequency coverage. I also think the components sound better because they were meant to be run in parallel as a complimentary set, whereas running the coaxials in parallel was basically just splitting their available power since the MINI powers both top and bottom door speakers off the same channel. If you're wondering, I removed the magnet, coil and cone from the stock 4" speakers and used their plastic baskets to mount the tweeters to. They work out kind of nice because the baskets allow you to angle the tweeters towards you rather than having them shoot straight out of the hole.

 

I had mine done by a mechanic in the Mini Club in about 90 minutes for both sides. No bumper removal and the other stuff - just unbolt everything from the lower control arm, separate it from the ball joint at the apex, then he had a special tool to knock out the old bushing. He put in the Madness polys and reassembled. Amazing. Stood there and watched for an hour and a half while we visited.

 

Ahh, yes, if you don't have to remove cores, then it's definitely a lot easier. Plus having a lift is a huge advantage

 

I wish I was in this situation, I am going to have to drop the sub frame and I am actually worried to do it

 

What system did you start out with? Boost, HiFi, H/K?

 

It was actually yesterday, but I got my R56 JCW Manic tune stage 2+ by Mariokart. I had the pleasant experience of dealing with him in person. He is an awesome dealer and a great guy. You can easily tell he is passionate about MINIs, and he went above and beyond for customer service! I will post a more detailed review once I get his DP installed and see how it improves the tune. So far, I am extremely happy with the tune and cannot wait to install the dp after my move to Oregon. I also got a ride in his GP and it was a rush and a lot of fun! If you are looking for a Manic tune for your n14 or n18, I highly recommend contacting him.

 

just the base "Boost" system. I have a 10" shallow mount RF sub and small amp in the back. I plan to add a 4 channel "power pack" amp from Alpine or Clarion soon to get some real power to the speakers. I also have my channels swapped currently, but plan on swapping them back because I really don't like the harsh frequency cutoff coming out of the front speakers and I doubt the 6x9 Pioneers I've got in the back are much better than the 6.5" RF's in the front, given the fact I've got a sub installed.

 

I ordered drilled slotted rotors back and front From Adam's also purchased xrc calipers and hawke pads along with the sensors ...now I gotta wait to put them in..rotors are made to order so 3 weeks....But I have a lot of other fun projects for the car till then mostly cosmetic ..installing an oem armrest that I covered to match leather interior black with cream piping and parking brake along with shift boot. Craven dipstick..shorty antenna..oem fogs for the black plugs in the rear for extende brake lights ..expel clear mask for the front of the car and headlights and wing mirrors...and premium carpets to match the interior. Yup it's been like xmas here UPS and Fed ex something new everyday. Now if the weather would co-operate I'd be able to give it a clay and wax.....still in the 30's ...yikes!