Hello all. I have been a member of this forum for quite awhile, but rarely post. I just had some mods done to my MINI and am quite pleased with the results and thought I should share...

I have had "Alfie", my '05 Cooper S since June 2, 2005. I have been very happy with the stock configuration, but there comes a time, you know when it is, that it's time to upgrade a bit I live in Eastern TN and am lucky enough to live fairly close to the Dragon, and so try to get down there to shoot the curves 2-3 times a month. It came to a point that I was no longer holding my MINI back, but my MINI was holding me back. The run-flat tires had to go, that was for sure. I knew what I wanted out of my MINI and I knew how much I had on hand to spend.

As luck would have it, I was planning a trip up to Michigan to attend an event with my MI MINI Motoring friends, and so put myself in the reliable hands of Chad from Detroit Tuned.
http://www.detroittuned.com/
Chad knows what he is talking about when it comes to MINIs. We discussed my needs, wishes and budget and I trustingly put myself in the hands of a true MINI expert.

I am writing this mainly to say how incredibly pleased I am with the outcome of my upgrades.

I had balded my runflats is just 12,000 miles doing Dragon runs. As well as wanting tires that could perform on the Dragon and road all around here where I live that are comparable to the Dragon, I wanted tires that would be good for everyday driving and I wanted to feel secure about driving in wet conditions and rain. On Chad's recommendation, I went with a set of BFGoodrich g-Force T/A KDW 2s. I am thrilled with these new tires. On way drive home from Detroit (575 miles) I encountered quite a bit of rain, and for the first time, I felt really secure driving in the wet. With my run-flats, I always felt a bit "floaty" but with the KDWs I felt like I was driving on dry concrete, even though it was pouring rain.

After testing my new mods on the Dragon and "Route 66" (a road comparable to the Dragon, but longer and hillier) here are my comments on all the mods I got:

Tires:
I am really happy with the BFGoodrich g-Force T/A KDW 2
I am thrilled with these tires. They have a nice feel and grip the road. Even on "morning moist" curves I felt comfortable enough of drive spiritedly.

Hawk HPS Brake Pad, front and rear:
After jaunts to the Dragon with my stock brakes, my wheels would be so dusty that they were practically the same color as my tires. I am not so concerned with the look of dust, I want performance first, but I have found the Hawks not as dusty as the stock pads. I am pleased with the feel and performance of my new Hawk pads.

ALTA 15% Supercharger Pulley
Goodyear Gatorback Supercharger belt
ALTA Cold Air Intake w/ Blue Silicone Tube:
These items certainly added more zip to my MINI. I am very happy with the increased power and response when I give it some gas. Both for highway driving and spirited small road driving I like having that extra umph. My Regular biker friends at the Dragon also liked Alfie's new sound.

H-Sport Rear Swaybar
I understood that adding this would effect the MINIs tendency to understeer. I was warned to take the Dragon a bit slower until I got used to the feel and reaction to the curves. Well, I can say I really had no problems adjusting at all, to me it just seemed like Alfie can now take corners much sharper.

Alfie is like a new car. I want to give a big shout out THANKS to Chad of Detroit Tuned http://www.detroittuned.com/ for advising me as well as completing all my mods in one day. He did a great job. It was definately worth the trip. It is so nice to really be able to trust someone when it comes to cars.

I had limited budget, but I would say what I invested in these mods was money very well spent

Under Alfie's bonnet:



Alfie happy at home and now sporting a Detroit Tuned sticker in his rear window.

 

Awesome car u got there!

And I get a kick out of your screen name...too funny!

 

x 2

 

VERY nice! You've got a great set of wheels there!

Chuck

 

That's one VERY clean engine bay you got there! Nice.

 

Thanks, I am a bit obsessive I guess. Though I am admittedly no mechanic, I like it clean. Every time I wash my MINI (once a month or so) I lightly spray 303 Aerospace Protectant over the entire the engine bay and then wipe everything down clean, shiny and protected in one step. It works great. I have been doing this since day one and my MINI is over 1 1/2 years old now.

 

Thanks Chuck.
I'll share another 303 trick. After washing and drying your tires and wheels, saturate the tires with, and spray wheels with, 303 and let it set at for least 15 minutes. Then wipe anything that is left off. Your tires will look like new! And the wheels will look great and be much easier to clean next time you wash.