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General MINI TalkShared experiences, motoring minutes, and other general MINI-related discussion that applies to all MINIs, regardless of model, year or trim.
Today was spent installing my replacement ignition coil and wires after discovering a slight misfire under WOT at 5k rpms. The plugs are new with my pulley install, and I suspected the coil may be an issue as it was the original with 10 years and almost 100k miles under its belt. Growing up in an aviation-based family, I am a staunch supporter of preventative maintenance.
Also installed was my newly acquired US Mill Works tag bracket (I used leftover parts from an insurance job, so no cost to me - a few scratches don't bother me).
And finally a nice cleaning:
I'm enjoying this car as much as or possibly more than my E30 M3s, which is saying a lot.
Very nice! That's something that has been said a lot lately about people making the switch from BMW to MINI. Preventative maintenance is a very good move and will definitely be helpful with prolonging the life of your MINI. If you ever need anything just let me know.
Besides giving the MINI a nice interior detailing, I broke off the oil dipstick about 6" down the stick! How do I best get it out of the tube????
You can use a long flexible spring bendy with a grabber on the end , but it has to be the smaller then the dipstick tube , or a very small
magnetic telescoping wond thats flexible. .
Today was spent installing my replacement ignition coil and wires after discovering a slight misfire under WOT at 5k rpms. The plugs are new with my pulley install, and I suspected the coil may be an issue as it was the original with 10 years and almost 100k miles under its belt. Growing up in an aviation-based family, I am a staunch supporter of preventative maintenance.
Also installed was my newly acquired US Mill Works tag bracket (I used leftover parts from an insurance job, so no cost to me - a few scratches don't bother me).
And finally a nice cleaning:
I'm enjoying this car as much as or possibly more than my E30 M3s, which is saying a lot.
Same here went from an E30 convertible to a R52 MINI convertible, much more fun.
I love the center stripes. If I didn't have stripes already, I might go that direction.
I would have gone Knight Rider and put it in the grill.
Hers had stripes too, we did not like them.
Originally Posted by mishanja
Did you already mounted it, or just measuring? If mounted, how did you do it?
Just mocked up. if I do mount it on the roof, I'll drill through and bolt down at the same time as I replace my headliner, seeing as it will need to be removed anyway to install the light.
Ah, I see. For the specific color you can always use www.mightystripes.com as they do custom stuff all the time. Looks good either way.
They are still just using material from the major suppliers, 3M, Avery, Arlon etc. though aren't they? We already checked the major ones, no close match yet.
Really like the center stripes as opposed to the angled stripes. It makes it possible to do the back hatch without it looking stupid. Great job. I have the volcanic orange with the black angled stripes. Would like to switch out. How did you remove w/o damaging paint?
You can use a long flexible spring bendy with a grabber on the end , but it has to be the smaller then the dipstick tube , or a very small
magnetic telescoping wond thats flexible. .
I think he has a supercharged 1st Gen MINI with W11 Engine = Fiberglass dip stick. Magnet will not work unfortunately.
Really like the center stripes as opposed to the angled stripes. It makes it possible to do the back hatch without it looking stupid. Great job. I have the volcanic orange with the black angled stripes. Would like to switch out. How did you remove w/o damaging paint?
Heatgun and a plastic scrapper will get you started. You really need the heat to help release the glue. Then you will need some adhesive remover like goof off (my preferred). BUT remember, depending on the color of your paint and it's age, you may have "ghosting", a fade pattern showing where the stripes used to sit. You will need to take that into account.
Well heard back from the dealer last night. The rust warranty only covers "perforations". They are saying my water leak is coming from the 1 o'clock position outside and wicking it's way inside to the bottom.
Water at the bottom..
They say this seam is not leaking and the rust has not perforated it yet so they are not covering it.
Of course they need parts for the airbag warranty of the passenger's seat. So I may get my car back late Wednesday. ..
And yesterday I was working on figuring out where/how to mount my light bar. Yes it will be goofy, but goofy is what I'm looking for.
Not sure how that light bar is going to work up there. Goofy, yes, and you'll be making holes in the top that eventually could leak. That wont be good for the new headliner.
If you drive this car at highway speeds, you may find that the light bar mounted to the roof is going to make a bit of wind noise. It'll be a rumble, roar or a variable whistle or combination of all.
Most LED light bars aren't focused, so will definitely not aid visibility in fog/rain/snow/dust.
That's a nice looking Mini... I'd find a way to install the light bar behind lower grill if you have to have it on the car.
Not sure how that light bar is going to work up there. Goofy, yes, and you'll be making holes in the top that eventually could leak. That wont be good for the new headliner.
If you drive this car at highway speeds, you may find that the light bar mounted to the roof is going to make a bit of wind noise. It'll be a rumble, roar or a variable whistle or combination of all.
Most LED light bars aren't focused, so will definitely not aid visibility in fog/rain/snow/dust.
That's a nice looking Mini... I'd find a way to install the light bar behind lower grill if you have to have it on the car.
I have a fair amount of experience with mounting things to roofs and properly sealing them. 3 years going, no leaks on at least 3 of my projects.
There are several ways of reducing the wind noise, and because this is one of the "single row" bars it produces even less.
Most bars yes, but this is not a cheap China bar, the Rigid optics focus the light quite well. Either way, it is not intended for dust/snow/fog just overall low light conditions.
I would prefer to mount it in the grille, but I really like the insanity of roof mounting this sucker. I love different, and that is truly the point of the MINI.
