When you click on links to various merchants on this site and make a purchase, this can result in this site earning a commission. Affiliate programs and affiliations include, but are not limited to, the eBay Partner Network.
LMAO Ordered the belt line black out kit in gloss black from Out Motoring and I have some gloss black 3M wrap left over from doing the trim that I'm going to try on the door handles. That should be fun, and will be the last of the shiny ***** with the exception of the Mini and JCW badges. Hmm...
Originally Posted by randeez
amber wheel arch lights look horrible..I've wondered is the one from the rear (red) fits in the same arch
Never even thought about the arch lights but yep they do kinda scream "Hey look at me I'm an afterthought." I've seen a couple of other Mini's with dark tint on them that blended them in and hid them pretty well so I'll give that a shot.
Went ahead and tented the corner lights. Easiest tint job ever. Interestingly enough it looks like some of the EU Minis don't appear to have these on the wheel arches. If I end up replacing them down the road that's probably what I'll order and just code out the light check.
The not quite finished product. A note to anyone considering doing the belt line. If your OCD like me pay someone else to do it. You'll tear off more tape than you put on the car lol. Luckily, there's plenty of extra on the roll.
The reason it's not quite finished is the door handles. My trusty heat gun of many years flamed out on me as soon as I turned it on. Shot sparks out the end, followed by a nice puff of smoke. But since it was about a bazillion degrees this weekend in South Florida, and I'm stubborn as hell I figured why not give it a try. Besides I had already sweat about a gallon of water just doing the belt line so whats a little heat stroke? The tops and sides came out great but underneath...eh, not so much. Still have quite a bit of the 3M wrap left so I grabbed my backup heat gun from work and I'll give them another go.
Where did you get the black covers for your head light washers?
They're actually not covers. When I wrapped the grill, tail light and headlight rings I also wrapped the washer covers. Wasn't sure if they would stick long term since I couldn't wrap around the edges much, but the 3M wrap is good stuff.
Nice that was my plan to wrap it but if I could buy replacements it might look a little better. I don't really trust myself with wrapping anything ..haha
Nice that was my plan to wrap it but if I could buy replacements it might look a little better. I don't really trust myself with wrapping anything ..haha
I was more concerned that a snap on cover would protrude further into the airstream and be more likely to pop off. They are nice and flat which makes wrapping them super easy. I'm no expert on wrapping by any stretch of the imagination. Unlike the belt line tape the 3M wrap has built in micro channels to allow air to escape. That's means waaaay less chance of bubbles.
Originally Posted by ECSTuning
Much better, Congrats.
Thanks you sir. I noted yesterday you guys sell the 3M 1080 as well. Good stuff there. The custom stripes I'm having made are of the same material. Haven't decided if I'm going to try installing them myself though. Tried running some guide lines with blue 3M painters tape and quickly realized I can't run a straight line to save my life. May try using a laser level above the vehicle.
Been looking at coilovers for a while now. Really like the Furtune Auto's but also had a very interesting conversation with Jerrick at Meister-R. I've seen lots of good feedback on their street setup. Meister-R is also providing the suspension for the Super Cooper Cup Series. I can special order the same setup and since I don't mind trading comfort for performance I'm seriously considering them. My issue will be having to add spacers because of the 235's. Need to do some research into rolling or trimming the metal lip and creating a form to alter the arches, as well as extending the felt. Flush arches look great but I'm not down with Vlad looking like a skateboard.
I was more concerned that a snap on cover would protrude further into the airstream and be more likely to pop off. They are nice and flat which makes wrapping them super easy. I'm no expert on wrapping by any stretch of the imagination. Unlike the belt line tape the 3M wrap has built in micro channels to allow air to escape. That's means waaaay less chance of bubbles.
Thanks you sir. I noted yesterday you guys sell the 3M 1080 as well. Good stuff there. The custom stripes I'm having made are of the same material. Haven't decided if I'm going to try installing them myself though. Tried running some guide lines with blue 3M painters tape and quickly realized I can't run a straight line to save my life. May try using a laser level above the vehicle.
Yes that 3M 1080 is great stuff. Take your time and mark off with painted tape and you should be fine. A ruler and an exacto knife works great.
Hmm... Found an unexpected side benefit of having the Phormula knock sensor installed. I typically drive in Map B and began to notice slight knock under heavy load but it was not consistent. Sometimes around 4000RPM then 6300 or 5200 RPM. No real pattern to it and the AFR's were a little leaner than normal. So I pulled the meth nozzle and put the system in test mode. It's been about 28,000 miles since I installed the Aquamist so really I was past due to check its output. Anyway, when I first installed the system the out put was around 530 cc/min. When I checked it this time it was 450 cc/min. Uh oh, not a good thing at 23 to 24 psi. It was low enough to cause an issue but not trigger the failsafe. Adjusted the pump pressure and now its flowing 570 cc/min and Vlad is happy again. The pump and regulator is a mechanical design which will wear. So don't be a dope like me and check it periodically.
Last edited by Tigger2011; 07-31-2017 at 04:48 PM.
It's been about 28,000 miles since I cleaned the valves and installed the Aquamist. So I figured it was time to revisit the intake and document if meth injection maked an impact on carbon accumulation. In the pictures I've tried to compare valve to valve from the earlier post when they were cleaned.
Cylinder 1 intake @ 30K miles
Cylinder 1 intake @ 58K miles
Cylinder 2 intake @ 30K miles
Cylinder 2 intake @ 58K miles
Cylinder 3 intake @ 30K miles
Cylinder 3 intake @ 58K miles
Cylinder 4 intake @ 30K miles
Cylinder 4 intake @ 58K miles
So I think it's fair to say that meth injection appears to have made a small improvement in carbon accumulation on the head of the valve but otherwise made little difference. Carbon accumulation on the valve stem actually appears worse but that is probably due to the viton valve seals wearing.
Awesome man. Love the updates. Not much to update on mine. Just saving up for water/meth, new full 3" custom exhaust, APR Performance Carbon Fiber huge wing and a few other treats.
APR Performance Carbon Fiber huge wing and a few other treats.
Sweet! I'm really looking forward to seeing the wing. I seriously considered the JCW wing which I think is pretty sharp but wanted something a little different. Also looked at the Revozport carbon wing which is slick but it's about 2 inches shorter than the JCW wing. Eventually I may end up making one since I have the carbon. But between work, tuning, two Mini projects in R&D, programming class plus keeping the wife happy... well my wing is not gonna be happening anytime soon.
not awesome! that looks terrible man, any ideas what may be going on?
you have a catch can on both sides of the valve cover as well, right?
still have my direct port test manifold if you're interested
Yep looked like crap. Thanks for the offer but I've got another manifold drilled and tapped for port injection. But the carbon was about what I expected. Neither meth or an OCC can address the two largest contributors to carbon build up.
1. Exhaust gas reversion.
2. Valve seal leakage.
During engine operation there is a period of time during the exhaust stroke where both the intake and exhaust valves are open at the same time. In boost this is not an issue, but when cruising the vacuum in the intake manifold pulls some of the hot exhaust gases into the intake port and carbon accumulates. This is less of an issue on the N18 with Valvetronic as intake manifold vacuum is roughly half what it is for the N14. The MEVD17.2.2 ECU of the N18 also adjusts the exhaust cam position during cruise to affect EGR further reducing the effects of reversion.
Any valve seal leakage (and all valve seals to a certain extent) allows oil to drip down the valve stem after shut down. On startup, engine heat in conjunction with EG reversion bakes it on.
Since meth only sprays during boost it's of limited benefit. Now a full secondary port fuel injection system that operates from startup to shutdown... and that's all I'm saying about that at the moment
Engine is definitely breathing better. Long term fuel trims went from -6.1 to -3.1 so the ECU is pulling less fuel. Haven't decided if I want to get Vlad back on a dyno or wait till the port injection system is installed. I'll be running four .4mm nozzles and plugging the boost tube port.
Currently revisiting my injection mixture with an eye towards increasing flame speed. So far so good and the butt dyno says quicker spool and more torque but I don't want to report until I'm sure it's safe.
Had the pleasure of tuning a father's and son's Mini's at the same time on Saturday. That was a lot of fun... and I'm sure the drive home was an energetic one.
Anyway, one had a great bumper sticker I had to share as I think a lot of us can identify.
Plus its much classier than a sticker on a ricer that says "Dragon ***"
I've had several customers ask why after a Stage 2 tune they seldom hear the auxiliary water pump coming on. The aux pump doesn't come on until the coolant temp is over 110.25 degrees Celsius or the oil temp is over 140 degrees Celsius. By lowering the thermostat setting from 105 to 85.5 degrees Celsius both coolant and oil temps are lowered. So for normal street driving you'll rarely hear it come on. Feel free to let your right foot get carried away however and you'll still hear it.
Last edited by Tigger2011; 09-18-2017 at 07:20 PM.
Yes Virginia they do exist... Sadly not for Vlad though. These we had custom made for a client who's building a very serious GP2 for the track. Lots of goodies, ported and polished head, meth injection and the smaller 50mm version of our X series turbo. Should be lots of fun
CP 9.5:1 pistons and Pauter X-Beam rods for an N18.
05-24-2017, 09:12 AM
Ordered the belt line black out kit in gloss black from Out Motoring and I have some gloss black 3M wrap left over from doing the trim that I'm going to try on the door handles. That should be fun, and will be the last of the shiny ***** with the exception of the Mini and JCW badges. Hmm...
