**************CHANGE OF PLANS. REPLACE MONTREAL WITH TORONTO**********************
Hello all:
Well this past couple of weeks have been intense in our studio. Had to give layoffs to some pretty amazing guys for obvious reasons. So my wife and I have decided to take a nice break for a couple of days and head north to Toronto from NYC.
Now this is the issue:
We acquired last October a pretty nice Mini but it only has 310 miles because how should I put this...well we really don't need to drive much in this great city!
Anyways, I've been basically driving this thing guy like a grandpa and treating it really nice when we go out.
I checked the weather and there's no snow coming in until next week so it looks nice.
So, can I drive the car in the highway or bad idea and just have to wait until I reach the good ol' 1200 miles?
Thanks in advance for any advice. Good night,
David
Oh yes, here's the ride.

 

Take the trip. Your engine is already broken-in, your tires have 200 more miles to go, and your brakes can be set in 2-3 70mph to 30mph decelleration sessions. But your clutch needs work.

Here is a secret to breaking your clutch in faster:

While on the highway, shift between 6th and 5th without rev-matching every 30 seconds for a few minutes, then stay in 6th for awhile, then start shifting again, repeat for a few hundred miles. The idea is to work the clutch on the highway as if you were doing city driving. Because, driving highway miles will not break-in your clutch.

 

DO IT!!! i've been driving up to Montreal for the F1 race for 15 years now. i always look forward to the ride. beautiful country up the NY Thruway (I87-N) that you never knew existed outside NYC. i was born in the BX, grew up in NJ and went to Fordham U, so trust me. you'll never think about "upstate" the same way.

 

You are dumping a beautiful drive through the mountains to go to Montreal for a boring drive through traffic chaos to go to Toronto???

The Mini is a car that lends itself to people who love the experience of driving,if you are just going to drive the car like granpa Walton i think they still make Buicks.

 

Go for it!
By the time you get off the island, through the tunnel or up 287, your JCW should be happy to cruise up the thruway,or 17, or whichever route you like.
I would go 17 to Elmira then 86, 390, 90, 290, 190, and QEW into Toronto. The stretch on 17 will be sure your JCW is properly broken in before cruising the 90 system.
Lots of luck and fun on whichever route you choose.
Motor on!

 

Yes by all means go for it and enjoy the drive

 

Go for it! As Nabeshin mentions above, it is important to shift frequently between 5th and 6th gears, to avoid long periods of running at the same RPM. The break-in process needs to have the pistons traveling at various speeds to optimize the bedding-in of rings to cylinder bores.

Many owners, myself included, believe that another useful/essential technique for breaking-in a new engine is to accelerate briefly with bursts of WOT in order to create elevated cylinder pressures which help the rings bed in properly. You should do this in various gears, at various speeds, but in any case not exceeding the manufacturer's 4500 RPM limit until you reach 1200 miles. I suggest that as soon as you return from Toronto you may want to do an oil and filter change to flush out the micro/nano metallic debris particles which result from running-in a new engine. This would also be a good opportunity to install a magnetic drain plug if you consider that a useful mod. Enjoy the trip!

 

Thanks guys, good points!
Let me address a couple of them directly:
1. nabeshin: Thanks a lot, when I picked up the car from Westchester Mini thats exactly what I was doing so seems like we can agree on that one.
2. discodan: I have taken that route before with our R53 (which actually decided to "die" halfway in order to make it Toronto (different story).
My wife's Canadian so I have seen the beautiful roads, especially when driving through the Adirondack Park!
3. jambo101: I hear you, I am not a grandpa, I am 35. Don't really like american cars but thank you for the suggestion and I don't drive bad at all. Love cars, and have owned pretty amazing rides. The change of plans from Montreal to Toronto is because when I was trying to book a hotel I noticed that this coming weekend is a huge deal in Montreal (CFL Canadian Football League Championship, and movie events, needless to say, really packed!) Toronto, I have a nice house there and family. What more can you ask for?
4. djmcgill: I know! Great great roads. I also suggest a nice trip this time of year is to head up to Beacon, NY. Go visit the DIA:Beacon museum, its a gorgeous drive* but more importantly, DIA has an amazing building that used to be the Nestle factory so it is beautifully lit with Natural light. It's serene and you can see plenty of Warhols, Richters, Palermo's... Amazing! Fully recomend the quick trip up there.
5. Diploman: Thanks for the extra pointers!
*Plenty of twisties and barelly any cars around.

 

Just drive it the way you want to, and don't worry about the break-in, I've never seen road conditions in that part of the country that didn't cause you to vary the speed as you drove - you're not out in the great wild west with it's 500 mile straighaways! It'll be fine, just go and have a great trip!

 

Thanks everyone!...we will do this trip next week. I might post pics after the fact and see how the rides goes. = )

 

Just did the RI to Ottawa trip on 11/4. It was a nice ride unfortunately it was in my Ram 1500 and not the MINI. Work was paying for the gas...
I went via 81 through Thousand Islands.
It was interesting to see a working Amish farm just south of there in NY. We spend a lot of time around Lancaster, PA where there is a large concentration of Amish farms.

 

I encountered Amish farms on a trip this summer through the backroads of Ohio. They're used to cars by now, but not as used to loud little blue cars that speed past and don't slow for sweeping turns, it would seem.

 

The Amish kids in PA really liked my 79 MGB.

fdavid, Have a fun and safe trip!

 

Boy, did you show those Amish!

 

Do you own a car or a museum piece?

Drive the thing!

 

DRIVE! DRIVE! DRIVE! DRIVE! DRIVE!

If you're concerned about rock chips, etc do what a lot of folks do: Grab a roll of that 2-3" thick painters masking tape and tape up all the leading edges - hood, bumper, mirrors, maybe leading edge of roof (well, leave the panel gaps so you can open the hood!) That deflects all but the most serious grit, preserving the paint. You can ignore that, of course, if you had the foresight to install a clear bra on purchase - if you didn't, definitely consider it since the curved front surfaces catch more than their fair share of stone chips.

Break in instructions above are great. Being on break-in, you've got the excuse to avoid interstate highways on the way up there, which may be a great way to go.

Enjoy the trip!

 

Your car was made to run - so run it! Follow all of the above instructions and most importantly, change the oil and filter after you get back. But don't baby it too much on the trip. By the time you get him home he will be a man and be ready for his coming-out party!

Great looking MINI, BTW!

 

For paint protection 3M makes a clear Bra http://solutions.3m.com/wps/portal/3...gard-PPF/Home/

 

I've done the drive from NYC to Montreal a few times. Its OK. Too many hours on the NY Throughway driving straight and trying not to get busted by the cops. Ny to Toronto is a bit far for my tastes but could be a fun trip depending on the scenery.

 

At 1,200 miles, his clutch is broken in already. I never did anything like that and my clutches always last more than 100k miles with track use.

Here is some info from Turbo Magazine about clutch break in
http://www.turbomagazine.com/tech/04...ics/index.html
T: Why is clutch break-in so important?
S: We recommend 200 to 300 miles of mellow usage for our street discs. The purpose of breaking in a clutch is to engage the disc in a controlled, consistent manner to ensure the disc, pressure plate and flywheel all make full surface contact. It's also a chance for the friction material to experience normal heat cycles.

I'm sure more info from other credible sources can be found by Googling.

 

Hello everyone:
I did take the trip but guess what?
We drove to Miami instead!! We had things going on in the warm weather so we decided to use the JCW 09 once and for all. Really fun, I have plenty of pictures and info in regards to how it went that might be useful for everyone. If interested, I can post what happened with the car and different pictures of course. Overall everything went well but like a true mini, some quirks started to appear. Not a big deal. Ok, let me know if I should do a cool diary about this trip, nothing too long. Don't want to bother you guys.
David

 

Do it!(short blog) That sounds like a great drive. I have driven from to NYC to Maine in my mini. Quite a drive. I think ill take the weather in Miami!

 

Montreal, Toronto, Miami... MAKE UP YOUR MIND!

Impulsiveness is good!

 

Ok, I will work on it later tonight. Not really an impulse but rather the smart option when all said an done. Hmmm let's see, ***tty weather or rather been able to open the windows and sunroof while having the day become longer and longer as you drive farther south?...I believe our option in the end was the perfect one!
Anyways, I will post a full set of pics and comments tonight.
D

 

Just go already .I've gone to the F 1 races as well .Great city I would go there.