Did you change out the interior trim yourself , while it seems simple sometimes these things can be more a pain than you'd think, it looks great

 

Yes, I changed it myself. Wasn't too difficult. Center speedo piece just pops right out. The side air vents were a bit trickier and require removing the pillars and some of lower dash and glove box screws. I found detailed photos here on NAM.

 

Drove off into a poppy field while on a road trip, just for the heck of it!

 

Installed the Forge intercooler.

 

Again? You also installed it on the 4th.

 

Disclaimer: I am not a tuner. :-)

Larger intercoolers don't help boost power (much) directly; their main function is to reduce loss of power when driving the engine hard for sustained periods. Under such conditions, "heat soak" is the problem to solve — the intercooler gets hot and can't shed as much heat. A larger surface helps shed heat better, and cool down faster. (This is also why water cooling and water injection is popular: both cool down the incoming air charge. Some people re-route their windshield or headlight washer hose(s) to spray onto the intercooler. Cheaper than a larger intercooler, but requires more driver attention.)

There is still street value in a larger IC if you're building the engine for power. As the http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ideal_gas_law states, as air pressure increases, its temperature increases in direct proportion. The turbo is a compressor, and thus heats the incoming air charge; the Forge's larger cooling surface helps offset this.

TL;DR: A larger intercooler can be a real help in racing, track days, and autocross, but will have less effect on ordinary road driving, even the spirited kind. Not zero, but not as dramatic.

Hope this helps. Corrections welcome, as always!

 

Where's the "like" button on this photo?

 

Yes. I have 2 R60s. My wife drives the other.

 

Haha, fair enough.

 

Thanks!! I learned something new!!

 

Cut the factory tips off and welded on Flowmaster tips

 

Looks great , do you know what part number these tips are , I'm looking to do this too , until I can get a full exhaust

 

Sorry, I've had these in my garage for a couple years out of their boxes , I don't even remember where I bought them, I think it was Summit racing.

 

No problem
Thanks

 

Check that, I found the invoice. They are not Flowmaster, I thought they were. They are Vibrant performance #1304 from Summit racing.

 

Outstanding, thanks a lot

 

Since I bought my CMS I couldn't really stand the plastic air inlets in the front bumper. Therefore I bought the original chrome ones.
Last week I finally replaced the old ones. From my point of view it looks much better than before.

 

Added MINI LED DRL, JCW front spoiler, black line side indicators, black line taillights, and then gave it a good wash.

 

That looks sweet!

 

Painted my grille black (paint, not Plasti Dip) and installed a set of Hella 500 lights.

 

DRLs look sweet!

 

Started installing my meth kit.

 

Installed the MINI mud flaps.

 

Looks really good.

Made one pic bigger for you.

 

I like the spoiler. (You can PM me if you want)- Where did you get it, how much was it, and how difficult? Thx!