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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'm in the middle hole, and it now feels dead flat taking 90° neighborhood corners without slowing from 25 MPH.
No, you just have to remove bolts from some of the rear attachment points and pry the rear subframe downward. Saves you from having to disconnect brake lines and everything else that attaches to it.
Changed the oil and filter with a little help from my friend. He has an oil pump we used to empty the oil instead of draining the oil pan. Anyone else change their oil this way before?
Seems like we only pulled out 4 quarts. I thought the engine took 4 1/2 quarts of oil. I put 4 quarts back in.
The dipstick shows it’s filled right below the top notch after a 30 min drive and the car is driving great so everything seems ok.
Should I add 1/2 a quart more? I don’t want to overfill.
Changed the oil and filter with a little help from my friend. He has an oil pump we used to empty the oil instead of draining the oil pan. Anyone else change their oil this way before?
Seems like we only pulled out 4 quarts. I thought the engine took 4 1/2 quarts of oil. I put 4 quarts back in.
The dipstick shows it’s filled right below the top notch after a 30 min drive and the car is driving great so everything seems ok.
Should I add 1/2 a quart more? I don’t want to overfill.
I use a Mityvac 7400 but can't ever seem to get a complete extraction so I also open the drain plug to get everything out.
I cleaned and installed my $21 junkyard factory CD player. Unlike the one that came with the car, the rotary encoder **** works electrically (even though the actual **** is missing). It also looks like it saw very little use as the buttons have nicer lettering on them and the illumination is much brighter. Now I just have to decide if I want to keep it stock as I like the look, or go aftermarket to add a few features. I also painted the consoles with some satin black bumper and trim paint yesterday and they look great! Just the right sheen so as to look right. However, to my horror I discovered that they should have been a dark charcoal color instead of black but... I think I'll just paint the tray under the dash to match as it is the only thing that is a little off.
Got to instal my JCW 380s today. Hope nothing else fails. First time doing this. Just wanted to say thank you to the BAM community. This site has helped me a lot.
So upon installing it. I have the injectors in the fuel rail. O rings well lubed and just placed them in. And i tried to push and it feels like it’s as far as it’ll go. Then i cranked the 13’mm bolts. Everything looks tight excel the 3rd one is a slightly up.
Primed it before starting. Started no problem. Gonna take it for a spin and see.
Got my oxygen sensors on. Waiting on my order of ignition coils from ECS. Not sure what to do next. I’ve replaced so much at this point. Might take my wife’s advice and start playing with the car finally. She wants me to make my car louder.
Decided to do a mock up of my clinched flares and new 17x9 wheels wrapped in 235/40/17
the flares are taped above the exiting flares. That’s why there’s wheel gaps.
Still debating if i should cut it before the rear bumper or have it go all the way.
Need at least an inch or inch and a quarter wheel adapters. Any recommendations on spacers/adapters?
Decided to do a mock up of my clinched flares and new 17x9 wheels wrapped in 235/40/17
the flares are taped above the exiting flares. That’s why there’s wheel gaps.
Still debating if i should cut it before the rear bumper or have it go all the way.
Need at least an inch or inch and a quarter wheel adapters. Any recommendations on spacers/adapters?
I got wheel adapters for my Jeep off of Ebay and have zero complaints. They are 1.25" and convert from 5x4.5 on the Jeep to 5x5 to run 2016 Rubicon wheels. The set of 4 was less than $70!! Definitely worth checking Ebay.
I also had some really nice Adaptec adapters that were hub centric on both sides to mount Porsche phone dials on my 97 Golf. They were 30mm and 35mm thick and went from 4x100 on the car to 5x130 wheels. They were also over $300...
I got wheel adapters for my Jeep off of Ebay and have zero complaints. They are 1.25" and convert from 5x4.5 on the Jeep to 5x5 to run 2016 Rubicon wheels. The set of 4 was less than $70!! Definitely worth checking Ebay.
I also had some really nice Adaptec adapters that were hub centric on both sides to mount Porsche phone dials on my 97 Golf. They were 30mm and 35mm thick and went from 4x100 on the car to 5x130 wheels. They were also over $300...
awesome . Ya found some on amazon. Hubcentric spacers.
But i might need different sizes from front and rear. Found someone here in Florida that can do custom ones. Even do 56.1 inside diameter to 73.1 outside diameter to fit my wheels.
I can return these rings. Don’t know if that makes a difference.
Just been driving Grumpy, he's doing well since the clutch install. The gearing is so different than my e46, it takes some getting used to. Still have a list of items to tend to on him when $$ and time allow.
Last edited by Yjsaabman; Jun 26, 2019 at 07:06 PM.
Agreed. Cheap fuel and (reasonably) cheap insurance don't push people away from an excess of vehicle in this country. That's what helps the small car succeed in Europe.
Put my Moon disc's (google it), back on the front after finally finishing up installing my adjustable camber plates and adjusting the camber.
Mike
Enough with the tease! I want to see a Mini with Moon Discs! POIDH! Always liked Moon Discs, although my preference was Baby Moons on chrome reversed rims.
Started installing the aero grill. Yes I know I didn't paint the back brace black. That's because I don't know if I will keep it yet.
Also. The slat on the bumper cover appears to an integral part of it. I read that it was glued on the back with double sided tape but this one looks like it's part of the bumper. This is on a 2007 r52. Anybody else did this on 07/08 convertible?
Anyway, I removed the chrome trim and hood scoop to plasti dip black. I'll see if I like it like that and finish it off.
Also found 2 mounting tabs broken off on the scoop and a 3rd one barely hanging on. I epoxied that one but looking for a new scoop.
I can't say I disagree. I like my MINI, but would never buy a new one for all of the above reasons plus a few of my own. Number one among them is cost of ownership. Not only are these cars expensive to buy new, they are expensive to run too. They need to be able to handle regular gas and be rock solid reliable. If Toyota can do it for thousands of dollars less globally, for similarly sized cars, then BMW had better figure out a way to do it too. Parts prices are absurd for such a small car and it's not like you are paying for quality. If you were, there would be little need to replace things as often as you must with one of these cars. BMW MINIS were NEVER cheap to buy either. The window sticker for my justa was over $22k- in 2005! That would be expensive even today! The entry price should be around $15-18k and come with a good selection of basics like power windows and locks, a radio with Bluetooth and A/C. Nicer things should be available too, but don't try to bleed a MINI buyer like you can a 3 series buyer. It isn't the same market segment.
Haven't done anything in particular to the MINI yet, but I did just order some parts, specifically:
Antenna Base (the other one broke)
Supercharger Oil Service kit
Water Pump
WP Hose
Scangauge II
Radiator Fan Resistor (my low-speed does not work, so I'm hoping this'll fix the issue)
All parts ordered from Way.
My plan is to do all these preventive measures, plus also buy new suspension for it (bushings and mounts in front are already done) later this summer. I hope Egan gets a breath of new life in it when I'm done with it. I also hope to make some cosmetic changes to the interior, and exterior.
Got my alexa echo auto in today. Been on the list for 8 months. Now the only issue I have is I can't drive my car for at least a month. Rotator cuff surgery today. 😭🥺🤕
- I totally agree with the author.
