I also know a certified Nissan mechanic (retired 30 years), who does all the work for my other family cars. He's thorough, honest, never marks up any parts and charges 50% what the going labor cost is. He told me if I invest in this book (some mechanic book) for my MINI, he would handle all repairs except transmission and compete engine rebuilds. I swear this man must have close to $100,000 in tools in his garage - fully insured.

I just want to give Zippy what's best. It appears I'm going to keep her for the long haul, so might as well be proactive in how I treat her.

Thanks my friend for the tip.

Regards,
David

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Look David, the only wrong thing about your 5K oil change is that it's a waste of money. Small, but it adds up over time. There is no reason in the world, short of submerging the car in water, to change the oil that often.


Blackstone recommended that I use 8,500 intervals and see what the reports look like.


Modern synthetic oil is very different than the old conventional Dino oil. That said, the 15K interval was very optimistic for the way most people drive. It's probably fine if you did lots of long trip, highway miles. But most people don't drive that way. Hell, most people don't check the oil at all. They wait till the low pressure light comes on and the say "whaaa? Huh?, Oh..."


Yeah, it's only 2500 miles, but it adds up.


If you really are planning to keep the car, then tranny fluid is next at 30K...

 

Thanks Richard.

Maybe I'll look into 7,500k change intervals with my next change @ 25k. I say this because I put a MANN filter and on my next change I intend on sticking with RP and maybe a K&N filter. That can get costly but I feel more comfortable letting Zippy ride to 7,500k oil change intervals with a higher quality filter.

To questions come to mind though.

1. Will MINI pay and perform the tranny fluid service at 30k (I have a manual - not sure if that matters), or will the "key-fob" say I don't need it?

2. Any concerns with RP oil? For the life of me, this engine appears smoother and quieter than before. And as the ole saying goes, "If it's to good to be true ....." :(

Regards,
David

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Stick with KY.

What application are we talking about ?

a

 

A tranny oil change on a stick will NOT be covered...not under the free MX, or under any extended plan I know of...
Frankly if you are not a gear grinder, I would not worry if the car is not tracked till closer to 100k....

 

Zippy, I'm sorry but the terminology has me at a loss. Not "tracked"??

Also, every once in a while I do grind the gears. Usually 2nd to 3rd ... it's most embarrassing. :(

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For what it's worth, maybe not much - I'm going to post some pretty interesting observations by this weekend relative to my recent switch to RP oil.

They're all good thus far, BUT I want to continue to observe and listen to what I believe is happening before I post. If my observations prove true, I can't imagine how an oil change can cause such things.

I have been riding hard, AC on and off, holding on low gears, down shifting, and the results are quite noticeable and impressive. Amazing!!

So far:
1- DEFINITELY without a doubt a quieter engine
2- Smoother shifting
3- Ability to hold low gears @ higher RPMs without hearing the engine beg for a higher gear (within reason of course). I'm not talking redlining.
4- After riding hard, I'd park my MINI in the garage and hear the fan going for a few seconds after the car was shut off. That hasn't happened ONCE, yet (not exactly sure why this is).
5- MINI seems more responsive (more power to the wheels maybe?). Maybe butt dyno, but I'll continue to monitor.
6- To early to tell if fuel economy is better.
7- Appears to be less soot on the tailpipe, more time is needed.

Regards,
David Sent from my iPhone using NAMotoring

 

As in "driven on a race track".

 

+1 I'm pretty sure MINI considers tranny oil to be a "lifetime" oil so they won't cover it.

 

Not bad. 5 quart bottle for just over $7 bucks a quart.

 

Thats a good deal! I guess I know what I'm getting next month

 

Seems like the Royal Purple HPS 5w-30w was the best per RS support.

Amazon has 6 quarts for $49.94 w free shipping

Why not use it?

 

yep, they do not cover it. it's probably one of the easiest jobs i've done on the mini though. same fill and drain bolt like any other trans, just uses hex head (i think 8mm).

http://r56hs.com/2014/04/06/2007-201...change-how-to/

i flushed it at about 1k miles, then i raced it all season and flushed it again at the end of the year - surprised how much shavings came out/how dirty the trans fluid was even after that. i'll probably change the trans fluid once a year until the shavings die down a bit, and then go to every other year and repeat. I'm not particularly hard on the gearbox either.

i've tested a few different oils here, going to give amsoil euro 5w30 a shot this year. it's viscosity is spot on with the OE fluid. seems these euro cars like a slightly thicker 5w30, closer to like a slightly thick 10w30. 0w40 IMO is too thick, unless it's a very thin 0w40. even at cold temps most 0w40s are thicker than 10w30s. i tried amsoil zrod 10w30 last time but didn't like that I had some tin come out of the analysis.

personally never used RP because the evos didn't take well to them, and i like a golden color oil lol. it really is more about your personal taste. never tried redline except in transmissions.