Speed Ventures, never ran with them, but reputable organization. I hear you on the new parts, thought that you may have time to seat it all and figured I would ask, we are running the CW13, your favorite. Want to dial in my suspension after the new rims and tires and give it a go. I am going to do an alignment and corner balance the car for my weight. Will make it handle evenly right to left, left to right. This was done after the coil overs were installed initially and now that the car has settled and the fact that I am installing new rims and tires, no better time to do it than now. But First, will be the walnut shelling of the intake valves next week.

 

Nice. Like I told you though, corner balance is a bit overkill, but to each their own. I'd rather spend that $3-400 on something else than corner balance.

Speed Ventures hosts really good events, you'll be fine. Definitely bring your own tools and a jack, and if you have a portable canopy, you should bring one unless you're under the main awning.

 

Sweet baby Jesus I hope you're not paying $350 for an alignment and corner balance...

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I haven't, but I've been quoted over $3xx for it!

 

$350 at EAS and will need the car the better part of a day...

 

Give West End a call. They're in Torrance. I used to go to them for alignments too. They do it by hand, not digital and they can do corner balance as well. That's another option

 

Darin is the best out there..just usually have to wait weeks on end to get it done! He takes the time to understand what you want he also is in Gardena, somewhat of a drive if I have to leave the car

 

I shall give him a call, to see where he is at for availability. Im sure my car isn't to far out on balance, just want a bit more camber up front and a little bit looser in the *** end with a near 50:50 balance..

 

Oh right, Gardena, not Torrance. Yeah, good guy, knows his stuff. Really can set it up however you want. At least you have the time! I was lucky enough to have the day off!!!!!

 

You were productive on your day off..how's the stoppers, they look wicked?

 

Very smooth. Never had any stopping issues before, but the new kit feels just that much more better. I definitely noticed the 2lbs lost on each corner. Love them.

 

Downpipe shipped today to JMTC to get ceramic coated. Hopefully I'll get everything back before the end of the month!

 

JMTC recommends GFB's DV+T9352 for those who upgrade their turbos, so I didn't hesitate to order it. It's far superior than stock and probably better than what Alta or Forge offers.

With the help of Battle Tuning, they were able to get this ordered for me. Had them order it Sunday and it's already here! It came from Australia! 2 days! I'll get a pick up when I get a chance tomorrow.

 

I've only heard good things about that diverter valve.

Do you know if StopTech will do a custom logo on their calipers or leave them blank? I think it would be cool to get MINI on it.

 

No. Anodized finish on the Trophy kit will always have their logo, especially since it's cut into the caliper. I'll try and take a photo of them this coming weekend so you can see what I mean. You'd have to fill in in the surface then apply new logo which defeats the purpose of that particular finish.

But with their regular bbk, I'm sure it wouldn't be that complicated to get it redone at a shop. I prefer the "Stoptech" name over "MINI" any day though, it's much more of a show stopper than saying MINI on there, just a personal preference.

 

Westend Alignment next Tuesday...$280, a week out not bad..looks like your getting things moving along on your turbo upgrade and ceramic coating..Battle Tuning sounds pretty reputable, might have to go through them for a hybrid upgrade on mine..will be waiting on your results first. All eyes are on you as you test the waters.

Next on the list for Thursday is a quick walnut blasting on the intake, will be interested in the before images, as I drive my car pretty aggressively along with a squirt or two of 100% Methanol. We will see how things look in there as I am at the 57k mark..

 

How much did you get the GFB valve for through Battle?

 

Nice! A week out isn't too bad actually. I remember taking my E92 and it took 3 weeks to finally get in.

Did you book a time with Ivan on Thursday? Wish I wasn't at work that day to check out your valves. Have him take a photo of your valves and send them to me, I'm curious to see how they've held up over 57k miles. When Ivan and I dismantle the MINI in a couple of weeks. I'll take a look at my valves again and do another blast at it too.

 

I should have gone through Battle, but I ended up going directly to GFB so it was $135, but the shipping was what killed me -_-

Total....like $170

 

Tomorrow I should have a time, said he was checking his schedule, had time on Friday, but going to Vegas...said he takes video and pics of the process, will show you the carbon, if any, really intrigued to see what's in there!

 

Nice nice! He primarily works on BMWs, but he's done most, if not all the work on my MINI over these years.

I've slowly started to do my own thing now because of him, but no way would I do my own clutch job or LSD swap....I'll leave that to him.

 

This came in the mail for me today. I had DHL reroute it to me at work since I'm never home to really pick up my mail. I'll put this in maybe this weekend. Not sure I wanna mess with it since I have a bigger teardown in the coming weeks anyways. But I guess I should to see how my butt dyno feels about this before I can't even feel any distinct changes with the turbo and such.

 

Do you think yours is leaking or it won't hold additional boost with the new uprated turbo?..They do make handsome bits for speed, this is for sure.

 

I'm not leaking, but this is to prevent any issues that may arise if the stock can't hold my boost as consistently.

 

I think this is cheap insurance given the likeliness that the stock diaphragm will likely tear at some point, especially with the sort of track duty you're going to put on the MINI lol.