So with many owners modifying their mini how many have recon?

 

What is recon?

 

it's pretty much for any reconstruction of your vehicle.... suspension, rims, motorwork. there's all kinda bs to it. front plate has to be 12" off the ground from the bottom of the plate, headlights center must be 22" off ground, 2" suspension play/bounce, you need affadavit for your exhaust and/or rims (if not, you fail) and cant have a dash cover that blocks your VIN # on the dash some other stuff. yeah, also there's a tie to the safety check is that places wont pass you if you're modded w/out recon. UNLESS you know someone... as most of the guys out here w/out recon do.
you can check it out here

 

My understanding is that if you do modifications in appearance or performance that leave the vehicle within stock specs, then you do not need a reconstruction sticker. For example if you replace a stock tail light with a white one that does not need any additional sticker. You did not do anything other than replace a part. If you took that white light and modified it's colors or bulbs to alter it beyond it's designs then that would be different.

For suspension- I think if you swap out springs and lower the car 1 to 1.5 inches then that is fine. If you do koil overs and dramatic changes then that is recon.
For wheels- if you stay within a close range to the stock tire size and offset then no problem but if your offset causes the wheel to rub alot requiring fender changes drastically or makes the wheel not fit in the wheelwell then that is different.

So far I do not know of any mini with a recon sticker nor do I know of any that needs a recon sticker. A good place to ask is at the dealership- talk to the sales staff and ask "the_beastmaster" I think he would know.

When I replace something I try to stay close to stock specs and I use parts made for the mini and sold by reputable mini tuners. If one races then the rules are even more strict.

I hope this helps.

 

Recon? I haven't seen any MINIs running around with a Recon sticker on its posterior. However, that doesn't meant that we don't need one. Back in the day when I was modding Corvettes and Mustangs, recon was necessary for non OEM wheels and other stuff. We had some full race Camaros on the street and all of them had recon stickers because we didn't like getting hassled by the police.

Twenty years later, the hot cars to mod are the Hondas and VWs. Many of these are driven by those who are younger than us and have a need to prove something. Cops pick up on this right away and will pull a car over and check for the recon sticker (it looks like the cloverleaf design on the safety check).

As we are older and a little more responsible, we can usually get away with such mods as wheels and exhaust. However, the reality is if a cop pulls you over, he can probably ticket us for such infractions as oversized wheels.

A friend of mine has an 11 sec. M3 and he says recon is really strict and they scrutinize your car with a fine toothed comb. If you have stainless brake hoses, you better make sure they are DOT approved, not meets DOT standards. If not, your car may not pass recon.

 

I've tried to get a recon sticker last Thursday but my car didn't pass. One of things that didn't pass was the clear tail lamps. It is not DOT approved without the red reflectors. That may require cutting holes into the rear of your mini to intall the reflectors. Personally, I don't like looks of the reflectors but I need them if I don't want to get cited for the tail lamps. If any mechanic shop puts on a safety sticker on a mini with the tail lamps, they may get into trouble as well. Another way to get a safety sticker is to swap back the orignal factory tail lamps. I've seen some minis with the clear tail lamps without the reflectors. Those of you with them, good luck.

 

HI-MINI:
Why did you need a recon sticker?
Didn't you see my white tail lights and pair of red reflectors in the bottom aero grille area of each side of the rear bumper? I think it is legal the way I did it but I do not see the right reflectors on other MINIs with white tail lights.
By the way the white surfaces all reflect-but it will look white at night.

 

Also, I think if you keep your car low key(nothing visibly different or outrageous), you will have little chance of being pulled over by a cop and getting into trouble for not having a recon sticker. Also, there are many cars out there with modifications and no recon sticker, some of them are blantly outrageous.

 

>> One of things that didn't pass was the clear tail lamps.

So what else didn't pass on the mini. did you get all the necessary affidavaits for your rims, etc...

 

I need to look at your car again. I believe if I put reflectors on the grille too it wouldn't look so bad as when they are on the rear bumper. Also, I don't mind as much to put holes on the grille area. Is it okay to put it there.

 

>>So what else didn't pass on the mini. did you get all the necessary affidavaits for your rims, etc...

Two stickers on my windshield(easily taken off), clip on large rear view mirror(they reflect/emit blue light-don't what the inspector meant but I could easily take them off), no affidavit for the 18" rims from the Justin, and very very stiff suspension with no 1" bounce 1" rebound(alignment specs to factory specs was voided-he said if I readjust the suspension for play I would need to get an alignment again).

I just will take care of the tail lamps but I don't think I will take the car back to them. I have 90 days to fix the problems.

 

Well it all depends on which cooper you have with the white tail lights. On the MCS there are two rear black plastic grilles on the bumper. I did not remove them but I think it is possible. Maybe the bumper would need to be removed to do so because there is no way to get directly behind the grille from under the car. You can do anything to the grille to add the reflectors and I have seen round oval or rectangular red reflectors added to the outside edges of the grille area and it looks OK. I took the standard oval reflector from walmart and cut it in half with a hacksaw for a small reflector look and peeled off the adhesive backing and stuck it on the grille. It is a cheap $2 adjustment that can be removed easily. No problems so far after 3500 miles.

In the base cooper the bumper lacks the grille. The aero bumper has the grilles but there is a white grille paper in both sides. So you can add the screw in reflectors to the MC bumper or whatever can work.

I have not seen any other MINI with white tail lights that has any red reflectors added to the rear bumper. They are all running around with white lights only. I have the standard red lights if I want to convert back at any time. takes about 10 minutes total.

I added H-sport springs for a 1" drop all around so I don't think I have any trouble passing the bounce test. Tower brace and rear swaybar are not a problem. intake and exhaust upgrades not generally a problem. Upgraded wheels-centerline RPM 17x7 with 42mm offset and 215/45-17 tires for the track or limited use. I don't think I need a recon sticker. The alignment shop asked if I wanted recon. I declined. It was Island Brake and alignment.

 

i think i saw in the "island previews" mag some ad or fyi section by eurosport about recon. sounds like the shop that does the work has to give you a paper stating what they did and that the parts are safe. this paperwork then goes in to the recon application. i believe it said that it costs only $15, forever. no annual fees. just one time, pau. since i plan on having eurosport do all my mods one time to try cut down on the labor, i'm thinking about this recon thing. i'll at least ask'em about it.

 

Not really a one time deal as you have to update the application with the constant upgrades you are doing to your car.

 

I talked to my "police" source and he told me that sometimes people get the recon sticker but they do not keep all of the parts and mix and match, upgrade further and otherwise void their recon sticker but keep it displayed and don't even bother to keep things up. Then there are another bunch of people (not MINIs) that obviously have a ton of suspension work done and have no recon stickers at all.
oh well. Such is life.

 

Last night I asked again about recon from my "police source" and found the rules are federal but the law is local city and county and supposed to be enforced by the police except nobody seems to agree on what rules to follow. This means that the police do not clearly have a rule book on what is allowable therefore they cannot stop anyone unless it is clearly unsafe. For example if I get stopped and cited. I can get a lawyer that will simply ask the policeman how does he know what law was broken and where does it state that law?

Anyway, on looking further I think that we are needing to be careful and concerned about what mods we are doing should the recon laws become clearer. Beware those who do mods! You may have to return the car to stock. I still have my parts- thank goodness! Oh, well most of them.

 

I think it's like a lot of other things out there - if you attract attention to yourself, it's going to be one of only a handfull of problems you have when the officer comes up to your window. On the same token, if you're not acting like a mongoose on crack I would guess that you're going to be fine. Most police officers I know wouldn't waste their time pulling you over unless you were...well, bein a knucklehead.

I've gotten some looks in the red car from our local "boys in blue", but only once has anyone ever come over to talk to me about the exhaust. He said, "Eh, kinda loud this exhaust, yeah?" I laughed and said, "Hey, I gotta let 'em know I'm coming some how! Look at how small my car is!" He just laughed and walked away. I could have gotten Hary McHardass and gotten some tickets too I bet. ... let's see...front license plate (they're lucky I even have one!) is...oh... maybe a couple of inches off the ground... :smile:

-andy

 

I think if you drive around in the 71' classic red monster with cherry bomb it will be hard NOT to attract attention.
When asked about the exhaust you might mention that it is all of 31 HP. Just a tad more than my neighbor's lawn mower. My police contacts tell me that the wise police will not bother to stop cars that have questionable infractions of recon but that gross errors might be called. Sometimes recon stickers are revoked for infractions.

Just put some of those police support stickers on your windshield and keep your safety sticker current and you should be OK. Look cute in your Mini- maybe the officer just wants a little closer look. Maybe he's seen the Italian Job and is curious.