Hello,

anybody in here?

I am from Ford City which is near Kittanning up 28 and 422.

 

Hi! A few of us check the forums occasionally.

I'm from the Latrobe area, but I work in Plum which isn't tooo far from you.

Tell us about your MINI!

 

Hello
It's an 06 MCD grey with black roof and black rims..... That I would like to get rid if and go to 15 or 16" rims. The motor is strong and interior is clean. The exterior needs a bit of work but for the price I got it for only having 46k on it it was worth it!

I will actually be at a friends house in new ken tomorrow to try and adjust the rear camber since it is out of wack.

I hope to just fix the car and try and keep it clean and running strong! I drive to cranberry for work everyday and put 100 miles a day on the car.

It's been like having my old VW's because mini owners wave all the time. I see people on 28 and 228 all the time!

 

2006 was a good year, you'll love it!

If you haven't already join http://www.meetup.com/motoringtheburgh/ and you'll get notifications about all of our events. Next weekend we're actually having a Winter Driving event at BeaveRun Race track. It's a great place to learn how to drive in the snow! (Or just play in it!)

The winter driving event is $5/person and you can register here: http://pittstopmini.org/content.aspx...item_id=207647

 

congrats n welcome

 

Hello, anybody know of any local shops to do a 15% pulley and belt? I heard that C&G Performance Inc. in Sewickley works on coopers. I am wanted on a call back from them.

Or if someone has done one before and has a place to do the install that would be great as well.....and save me tons of money!!

 

The two shops that I know work on Coopers (other than the dealership, of course) are Schade's Auto in Irwin (http://www.schadesautorepair.com/) and McB Autosport (http://www.mcbautosport.com/) in Bridgeville.

Schade's is kind enough to host Garage days for us twice a year, as one of our club officers works there.

This is the first time I've heard of C&G Performance.

 

Thanks! I talked to both shops and Schade had the best price for labor. Any idea when the next garage day is?

 

The next garage day will be mid-March (probably the 10th). But I don't think a pulley is the kind of thing you'd want to try to tackle at a garage day... I believable it's a pretty involved job.

 

You are right...it involves lifting the motor and having to need a pulley puller and belt tensioner etc. which are tools i dont have. Plus it takes about 3-4 hrs....i just wasnt sure what was involved in garage days.

I dont mind doing the work if i have access to the special tools needed and someone with the experience in doing the install.

 

So, i just wanted to put this out there if there is any interest. I have some 17" black rims that i got with the car that i am looking to trade for some 15 or 16 rims with good snow tires. I might buy some 15" steelies but, before i pull the trigger on them i wanted to check locally.

I can send pics of the rims. They are a 5 spoke black rim with blizzack tires with about 50% tread. I would like to get some factory 15" or 16" with snow tires for trade.

 

The most popular garage day activities are usually oil changes, swapping winter/summer tires, and suspension work like struts/springs/swaybars.

You may want to start a new thread for the tires... you can also post on the club's message boards http://www.meetup.com/motoringtheburgh/messages/boards/

 

Thanks for the heads up. what is the price for garage days?

 

There is no cost for garage days, but the shop will accept donations.

 

Sounds good.

 

So, all i can say is wow! I got my inspection last week! All i had to do was replace the front right lower control arm ball joint to pass my inspection. With some research i found one at Turner Motorsports for about $37 plus shipping. Everyplace else was over $50!

I replaced it the same day i received the part a few days ago. (FYI - it was a pain to replace! Very tight spot to work in and the one bolt below the CV boot was a pain to pull out since it is about a 3" bolt and the CV boot was about 2" above the bolt!)

Well, next day i was driving to work and my DSC light and TPMS light came on. My steering wheel is off about 5 degrees as well. After some research on the forums i read that i needed an alignment since if the steering is off the DSC and TPMS light will come on.

That being said i work in Cranberry off 19 and there are tons of tire places. I called Goodyear, Firestone, Sears, Flynns and none of them can do the alignment on the cooper because they needed the "special" steering reset tool!!

I then called Schades and they have a place in Greensberg that can do the alignment. I also called 3 more local tire shops and none of them will do the allignment.

I finally called Flemings on 228 in Mars (i take 228 everyday to get to work) and they said they have the tool and can do the alignment!!! I have an apointment tomorrow after work. I will post my how it goes. They charge $99 plus $15 to reset the steering. Which isnt bad since the shop in Greensberg charges $99. I chose Flemings since it is on my way to work. Greensberg is about 45mins to an hour from where i live and out of the way.

Fun week!!

 

Wow! Hope you get everything sorted out!

We'll be having a garage day at Schade's on March 10th. http://www.meetup.com/motoringtheburgh/events/53173402/ Feel free to come hang out even if you don't have any work to do on your car. We can always use spare hands!

 

ugh no alignment last week! I have about -1.8 degree camber on my front passanger rim! I have to get adjustable camber plates for the front so he can do a full alignment. I have found some front kits that do +/- 2 degree camber so that will be a easy fix.....after about $160 bucks of course!!

 

So, i got bored last weekend and and got a few cans of Plastidip!
Hood, Hatch, handles, scuttles, gas cap.

see i have a gravel driveway!





driver side


here is the dealer pic from about 3 months ago....Ohio.




I did the hood and hatch to cover up some paint chips. Plastidip is cheap and temp. fix.

I am going to a friends house this Saturday to do the one ball mod and i will also being doing my own little custom intake this weekend as well. I will post pics.

Anybody up for a pulley party in a few months?

 

welcome to the area and the club! I also have an R53 with some mods on it for performance. The garage days at Schade's are awesome combined with great car people and great projects. If you ever have any questions about performance stuff I can help direct you. If you are interested in autocrossing there is an event called Fast Track Pittsburgh that is a charity event. Some of the MINI people in the area are going to in May. Hope to see you there!