Taking a page from ra2fanatic, I figured I'd finally start up a progress thread on my MINI to share with you guys.

I drive a 2008 R56S with the automatic tranny. It's dark silver with a black roof and mirror covers, carbon black punch leather interior and piano black dash surface. This is what has been done to it so far:

- K&N panel filter
- JCW front grill
- black grill trim
- Vinyl Styles black headlight and tail light rings
- GoBadges Blackjack door pull covers, glove box opener, cupholder inserts
- MINI shorty antenna
- Invidia Q300 DP-back exhaust
- JCW Shift Indicator
- R112 wheels with Michelin Pilot A/S 3 (205/45/17)
- NM Engineering turbo heat shield
- Rear foglights wired as second set of brake lights
- Ziza LED front parking lights and foglights
- Underhood heat shield
- CF hood scoop to replace warped original one

This is how the car looked before the wheels and additions from this past weekend:

Attachment 153006

Swapped the JCW strut bar for the GTSpec strut bar:

Attachment 153007

Attachment 153008

Added the OEM GPS mount to use with my Garmin 2495. Can also see the JCW shift indicator installed:


Attachment 153009

Installed my carbon fiber center console covering from GoBadges:

Attachment 153010

And the big project:

Attachment 153011

Attachment 153012

Retrofitted black xenon housings to replace my faded original housings.

yeahhhhh buddy! :thumbsup:

you gonna get a DNA tune!?

:popcorn:

When funds allow down the road I'm going to decide between the DNA tune and Evolve.

You're working on the small cosmetic stuff. Hopefully you start working on some bigger engine mods! Good luck!

Don't forget the heat shield that installs in the underside of the hood, it mounts to the same plastic pegs that the black soft pad uses. This will actually do a better job of keeping your hood scoop from warping or getting hot, mine only gets warm and I don't have a heat shield at all above the turbo.

Looking forward to your build!:thumbsup:

:popcorn:

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Lol I did have it installed, just forgot to add it to the list. You're right though, between it and the turbo heat shield the scoop is only as warm as the rest of the hood from sunlight now.

"Build" thread.

What are you getting at?

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It was a joke, Sally. Get some thicker skin if a little joke I make, not even towards you, gets your panties in a bunch.

I was simply commenting that it's funny to see a build thread, where I typically expect an engine tear down and build or something of that nature, but it's just a bunch of bolt on/cosmetic parts.

Let me say one more time, so minibx can get it, it was a joke.

Updated original post to show what was added over the weekend. Will detail my list of future upgrades later today.

As with anything, start small and work your way up. I have plans for the performance of the car, so bear with me.

Nice, you actually ponied up for the black bi-xenons. SWEET! I love mine. You don't see it often, but it's always one of the first things people point out!

Yep. MINI of South Atlanta had the best prices on the lights, but unfortunately finding the lights was only part of the journey. Came to find out through research that in order to replace the lights, I also had to replace the ballasts that are underneath the lights. That was true for all the lights available, including direct replacements to what I had. So knowing that, I figured I'd just get what I really wanted, which were these black ones. Pretty cool knowing I'm one of a few, if not the only, 08 Dark Silver with these headlights lol.

Ah interesting. That's good to know. Yeah, you see them a bit more often with LCI R56's, but the 07-10 models, you don't see them that often. I got lucky because it was part of my Camden Pkg (which I still think today, was a waste).

Yea it was an unfortunate surprise to find out, but good info none-the-less. Like my parts guy told me, it's why insurance companies tend to pitch a fit when fixing older cars because MINI changed the connections between the headlight and ballast, so it ups the bill they have to pay.

Glad we could help you with the black camden lights! I've been asked about them before, but didn't know where exactly to dig to find them. Now that someone's ordered them, and I've laid my hands and eyes on them, I can sell them with confidence. We are always interested in helping folks like yourself find the unique and interesting parts and accessories buried deep in the catalog. Please don't hesitate to email us or call for help when looking for the bits you have trouble finding.

by the way, they look fantastic on the grey s! good job!

Thanks again and feel free to use those pics on your webpage or Facebook page if you like.

Does anyone know if there is a replacement mid-chassis brace that will not rattle on the Invidia exhaust? I've got some washers on as spacers, but when the exhaust is cold, it still rattles on the back end of the brace, then when the exhaust is warm and expands, it doesn't rattle.

The engine rattles more when cold, you might try twisting the mid-pipe if it's angled. That's what I did with mine, I notice when installing my Borla exhaust the it was a bit too close to the bracket so I twisted it away from the bracket. If your mid-pipe is straight then I don't know.

Unfortunately I bought the exhaust from a local person and he already had it all welded together instead of the clamps. It's all aligned perfectly, just the rattling on the brace when first starting up.

UPDATE:

Had these installed today after giving the car a wash yesterday to get rid of the sand and grime left over by our freak ice/snow storm.

Attachment 152922

Nice!

Thanks Mike. Yours is looking pretty sweet after the aero kit and fog install you did.