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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.
I would have peeled it off sooner if I knew how easy it would be. I was in a accident on the other fender so when they fixed it I asked not to have the plastidip put back then it looked stupid having it on just one side. So I peeled it.
First gen Minis don't seem to lose their driving luster. At a family get together in July of 2008, I got to drive a friend's R53 that had over 63k on it and was blown away by how tight everything in that Mini felt. Tracked and rode like a new car. He had maintained it himself, too. He didn't have run-flats on it, but they were new Continentals. Anyway, it really convinced me that I should be driving a Mini. The seed was planted.
Thanks, man! Yeah, Egan does deserve a rest I think. On 4/15/14, Egan hit 111,111 miles. Today, as I drove him back to my garage, it was at around 160, 710. So in a span of 2 1/2 years, I put on nearly 50k miles, 22k of which were from June of last year to January of this year. I work in road construction primarily, so I drive a lot, and I also felt it was time to have a vehicle better suited for that particular work.
Egan has gone above and beyond in getting me through everything over the years, and has run like a champ every step of the way. And when I went on my 3,443 mile trip this summer to the Appalachians, including a few runs on the Tail of the Dragon, I had never felt more safe and happy driving Egan as I did on that trip.
Long live the R53!
I see people asking about reliability and longevity of MINI's. My 2008 was very reliable. You'd be a great testimonial for those doubters. For long trips too. Again enjoy every mile!
Got my 2016 MINI Cooper on November 4, so here's a little catch up of what I've done in 24 days...
Plastidipped the license plate (you gotta start somewhere!)
Plastidipped the mirror caps
Applies stripes to the boot and bonnet
Didn't like that the stripes didn't perfectly match the mirror caps, so I plastidipped the stripes
Installed CravenSpeed phone mount (first time ever in my life removing anything on a dashboard to install something!)
Applied black glossy beltline tape
I was never a car person before, and certainly not someone who modded their car! I am now in love with my car and addicted to modding her.
And she desperately needs a bath (her wheels look brown!), but I need to go pick up supplies.
. . .
I was never a car person before, and certainly not someone who modded their car! I am now in love with my car and addicted to modding her.
. . .
I hear ya! When I got a bugeye WRX a few years ago is when I found myself taking pictures of it and sometimes just stopping in the parking lot as I was walking away to look back at it. Now I have entire photo collections of my last few cars. HaHa!
Sadly, I don't have the bugeye anymore, but I have my R53 which has round headlights, a scoop, and is boosted. So it keeps me happy.
Welcome to the club!
Installed the Rennline skid plate. I ran over a semi truck's tire tread that had come off on the freeway several months ago.
Well done. Yea its extra insurance for junk on the road. And being winter it will not be long for ice and snow. Not that you get too much on that down south
I see people asking about reliability and longevity of MINI's. My 2008 was very reliable. You'd be a great testimonial for those doubters. For long trips too. Again enjoy every mile!
Originally Posted by MiniRoadstah
At Snaps...
First gen Minis don't seem to lose their driving luster. At a family get together in July of 2008, I got to drive a friend's R53 that had over 63k on it and was blown away by how tight everything in that Mini felt. Tracked and rode like a new car. He had maintained it himself, too. He didn't have run-flats on it, but they were new Continentals. Anyway, it really convinced me that I should be driving a Mini. The seed was planted.
Glad that you kept your Mini.
Egan has overall been very reliable now that I mention it. It has only ever had one CEL, and that was for the o2 sensors back when it had around 60k miles. I just erased the code, and to this day, I still have the original o2 sensors on.
As of this post, currently on its third set of brake pads and rotors, oil changes mostly in the 7.5-10k mile range (a couple pushing over 15k miles), forth set of tires (2nd on the Rota RBs), 2nd ignition coil, 3rd serpentine belt, 2nd dipstick, 3rd upper motor mount, 2nd valve cover, 2nd battery, 3rd set of spark plugs, original shocks and springs, original clutch and supercharger, etc, and of course if you skim my sig, you know the mods I've done to it.
What is not shown on my sig is that I replaced all the bushings for the lower engine and tranny mounts to powerflex, and as for the upper motor mount, I went with the Vibratech upper motor mount, which is not hydraulic, so it'll never leak (YAY!). I went through two OEM upper motor mounts, the last of which only lasted around 22k miles before it started leaking, and at that point, I had enough. The vibratech was definitely a TIGHT fit though; so tight, it damn near almost did not fit. But after some fiddling around, and tightening the screws, that thing will never move...ever. It is solid. Obviously, it means more vibrations throughout the entire cabin, but after a decade of driving, I've mostly tuned it out. To be honest, I feel most of the extra vibrations I'm getting now are due to the exhaust tips touching the rear valance, something of which I'm planning to fix at some point (after some of those Dragon runs, the tips got hot enough to melt part of the rear valance).
I should also point out, as I think this is relevant, I live in a colder climate, AND it was mostly garage kept when sitting for most of those ten years of ownership. Hell, the battery was original up until last year.
EDIT: And as an added bonus, under normal driving conditions, I keep the revs in the 2-3k range, and I will downshift almost any chance I get. Some people I've read about say that using heel-and-toe downshifting is useless for normal driving, but completely beg to differ. Cars with automatic transmissions downshift to when you brake, so why should I not in a manual? Not to mention it means I get back on the power right away, and since I drive a 2005, the gear ratios are closer than the 02-04 models, so I'll be in 6th gear by the time I reach 50mph.
Installed my new ATI Super Damper, new T/stat and housing, and a new valve cover gasket.
Speaking of that Super Damper, I installed one on mine a couple years ago, and one of the things I immediately noticed was more growl in the engine revs (around that 2-4k rpm range) compared to when I had the OEM one on. Have you noticed a difference as well?
And with that valve cover gasket, no matter what I do (replaced it once, and then had to replace again when I got a new valve cover itself), the thing will find a way to have a leak, usually on the rear of the engine since I see oil build up there. And I know everything is torqued down correctly.
So, this all happened on Friday, but it feel it's just a relevant to mention now as it was the other day.
So, after 10 years, 4 months, and 27 days, I officially retired Egan as my daily driver. Got him on June 29, 2006, and on Nov. 25, 2016, it was the last official day I drove it as a daily driver, and begun my new daily driving adventure. I DID NOT however sell Egan. Hell ****ing no would I ever get rid of it. Instead, it will become my first weekend/project car, while I daily drive my new 2014 Jeep Cherokee Trailhawk. I am very happy with this change as I can now put away Egan for the winters ahead, while I barrel along in the Jeep...and maybe take it on a few trails.
My next endeavor with Egan is to replace some parts this upcoming winter season as part of my Winter Project (I'm planning on making a thread detailing it all), which includes mostly suspension, but also a few other odds and ends as well. Egan has just over 160k miles on it, all still on original suspension, and clutch. Still drives, and runs as well as it has ever.
Great to hear that Egan is going to stay in the family and you are going to keep him going. I just bought an 04 MCS with 160,000 miles to restore and drive occasionally, so we are in good company. Looking forward to your post. Cheers
Took the R50 out for a ~25 mi drive to try to investigate why the shifting was so stiff and notchy last night (turns out it just gets really stiff at ~32F and takes forever to warm up, still thinking my cables might be out of whack or wearing out though). Ended up crossing the 140,000mi mark while out and about.
I did my shifter cables. They became tight and then the end loop socket popped off and I could not shift. You will need you last 7 of your Vin and if you are condition A or Condition B.
I did my shifter cables. They became tight and then the end loop socket popped off and I could not shift. You will need you last 7 of your Vin and if you are condition A or Condition B.
I'm going to have my mechanic take a good look at it when I bring it in to have a oozing thermostat gasket addressed. I'm still not sure if it is the actual cables or if there's something in the mechanism. There's a bit of a catching point getting into 2nd, 4th, and reverse that makes me wonder if there's something in the way of the motion into the lower gates.
I was about to put new struts on Mini Red today; got her off the ground took tires off and proceeded to remove the pinch bolt from the the strut housing, the head sheared off, PI$$ED! off. Does anyone know how I can get the rest of that bolt off? Thanx in advance...
I was about to put new struts on Mini Red today; got her off the ground took tires off and proceeded to remove the pinch bolt from the the strut housing, the head sheared off, PI$$ED! off. Does anyone know how I can get the rest of that bolt off? Thanx in advance...
what year/model?
You're talking about on the front where the strut mounts to the spindle? i think the pinch bolt is keyed through the spindle, you take the nut off and beat the bolt out, iirc.
what year/model?
You're talking about on the front where the strut mounts to the spindle? i think the pinch bolt is keyed through the spindle, you take the nut off and beat the bolt out, iirc.
It's 06/R53. If it were only that easy, the bolt is threaded all the way through. The nut is already off, that is what sheared off. Drilling it out seems to be my only option other than replacing that whole knuckle..If someone has any ideas, please offer, thanx.
11-27-2016, 03:51 PM
