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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.
Just got some nice enough weather to wash her and then use the Top Coat F-11. I cannot believe how good she came out almost 6 years old and she looks brand new. This stuff really brings the exterior plastic back to life. It maybe a little pricey but is does work.
Full detail, paint correction and paint protection...
I know it’s only September 1, but it is the perfect time to get ready for winter... picked up all the Chemical Guys stuff needed to wash, clay, and begin with a paint correction. Mini was pre-owned and a daily rental, saw lots of car washes and had minor swirling and scratches. Fixed paint with VSS and DA polisher in no time, paint came out like glass. Added a glaze and the JetSeal to ensure Mini makes it through upcoming Canadian winter like a champ! Finished with Pete’s 53 carnauba wax and VRP on the black trim. Sigh. 5 hours of polishing and work, but totally worth it!
Getting used to this kind of weekend, though it cuts into my time for otherprojects. Happy wife, happy life, though, so I push through! Typical weekend appearance for an R53. Bypassing the (missing) HK amp to regain a 4 channel stereo for the wife's listening pleasure.
You're a better man than I am. I just do whatever projects I want and try to tell my wife that they're for her.
This one has just proven more time consuming due to faulty parts found through the process. At least it's cheap, I only have $25 in speaker wire in this project.
Getting used to this kind of weekend, though it cuts into my time for otherprojects. Happy wife, happy life, though, so I push through! Typical weekend appearance for an R53. Bypassing the (missing) HK amp to regain a 4 channel stereo for the wife's listening pleasure.
Just got some nice enough weather to wash her and then use the Top Coat F-11. I cannot believe how good she came out almost 6 years old and she looks brand new. This stuff really brings the exterior plastic back to life. It maybe a little pricey but is does work.
"Mother's Back to Black" Plastic compound is as amazing too!
Lowered my rear coilovers another 1/4” to even out the ride height. It actually made a bigger improvement in handling than I expected. Also, sprayed some nite-shades on my side repeaters.
So I bit the bullet and got the Milltek catless downpipe. Installed that sucker. (Thanks Mario for the video!) And I replaced the front bumper cover and while I was at it, hit the grill brace bars with some red plastidip.
Finally got to replacing my broken antenna base (thank you automated car wash dryer!), which required a lot of removing stuff in order to lower the headliner enough to reach the nut, and connections for it. Took me around 2.5-3 hours to do, which wasn't bad consider I had never removed any of the interior panels before. The C- Pillar panels were the biggest PITA to remove because there's one connection that is attached to the metal sleeve that hooks everything in place, so you either leave it on, or rip it off, and hope it doesn't break. I chose the latter for the driver side, which ended up working in my favor.
Needless to say, I hope to never have to replace the antenna base again, but I am glad I did it, and got some newfound knowledge in working on Egan. Just another one of the joys of owning a Mini.
Dropped a couple grand on Outmotoring getting parts for stage 3 tune. Wallet sure feels empty now! A little annoyed they emailed me to say it be an extra $100 to ship the Milltek exhaust since it is oversized...but excited none the less
I mainly wanted to vacuum her since there was surprisingly more sand/dirt than I'd think on the floor mats. The job was much faster than my wife's car which always has dog hair embedded into the seats. Then we both washed our cars. Her's was waxed since the water ran off mine. I'm guessing the dealer/new car wax is strong (anyone know how long it lasts?). I'll probably wash her once more in the fall and do a waxing to get ready for the winter.
I also get very envious of states that don't require a front license plate. Cars look so much nicer without them!
Well all my parts showed up for me to replace my inner an outer front tie rod ends. Old ones were seized up an could not be adjusted for front end alignment.
I also ordered a vent mount gauge pod. So I can install my oil pressure gauge.
My scangauge ii mount was shipped out last week. Will be here Monday. Cravenspeed was awesome working with me. I have there magnetic phone mount now. So they hooked me up a new mount to allow scangauge on one side an keep my phone mount on the other side.
How's it sound. I did the same w/ Intake , intercooler , SMS tune. Mad adj sway bar. black Enkis ( 14lbs ) and Oh what bliss. Track monster - snap, crackle, pop, BYE ! OWNED ! an M -3 LOL
I hit 164k miles today, and Egan continues to shine every time. Did not grab a photo of the event because I was busy motoring, but I look forward to the day when I surpass 170k, and beyond. Someday.
I mainly wanted to vacuum her since there was surprisingly more sand/dirt than I'd think on the floor mats. The job was much faster than my wife's car which always has dog hair embedded into the seats. Then we both washed our cars. Her's was waxed since the water ran off mine. I'm guessing the dealer/new car wax is strong (anyone know how long it lasts?). I'll probably wash her once more in the fall and do a waxing to get ready for the winter.
I also get very envious of states that don't require a front license plate. Cars look so much nicer without them!
She looks great !! Yeah I wish we Jersians didn't have to have a front plate. I mean what are they reading when they pull us over?
See us Californians are lucky due to weird laws. My DMV told me as long as the dealer/manufacturer didnt drill in the holes for you to mount a front license plate, you dont have to have it. So when my car got in an accident and i was getting a new front bumper, i told the repair people dont drill the holes for the front lincense plate and it been great since.
I was kind of annoyed when I saw that they just drilled holes right into the bumper. I mean like, they couldn't have made some sort of detachable license plate holder? So even if I got to another state, I'd need to put something there...
