That would be great, I’m not holding my breath. I don’t know, the guy was supposed to call today, it was only a day early, but I was not expecting it at all we’ll see

Thanks for the personal experience with the DP. Wish you had seen it earlier too, lol. I did know there was some fit issues with the bracket, when I spoke to them I asked and they pointed me to the one I ordered and said that it fits much better. Now I don’t know about it. Well, if it looks like it doesn’t want to fit just right, I’ll just use a different one I suppose and return it. There’s nothing technically wrong with the OEM one, I just got a little carried away, lol. Worst case.... I’ll keep the old one on for a bit.

I know right? I’m totally falling down that damn hole! Lol. That’s funny I just emailed Mario yesterday to ask a question about tuning. I see his name tossed around here a lot and it’s always good. I’ll have to shoot him another one and ask about his downpipes. The good thing is that nothing has been put on yet. I have it all in the packaging still, only been opened to verify contents and inspect the turbo. The DP is supposed to show up today, now I’m thinking about not even opening it. I appreciate the heads up! This is the kind of info I want! Thanks!!

Some days you just feel like slamming your head into the wall......Repeatedly!
Ross from Mini USA called back today.... to tell me that my VIN isn’t covered......ummmm....ok, that’s been established Ross. I started out very politely saying, I understand that, what I want to know is....and repeated the same question again about what they did to remedy the issue between the 2011 & 2012 model years.... his answer “your VIN isn’t covered”
me: “that’s not what I asked you” and repeated the question again, this went on again and again with his only response being about the VIN is not covered. I kept saying that’s not my question and asking again! Finally I asked “can you hear me ok? Because you are not answering the question I am asking!” He said “I hear you, and my answer is that your VIN is not covered”
I got pissed and told him that for a company who’s literature and website spout all about their great customer service, this playing stupid and refusing to answer a simple question is really crap customer service. He was such a Douche I am really mad now!
When I got home I had a response from the state attorney general and so I emailed them back and filled in the details of my last two conversations (if you can call them that), then I sent a message through MINIUSA’s website asking who I need to speak with to file a formal complaint against customer service reps.
not sure what to do next, but I’m pissed about that phone call! I will figure out who else I can bring this up to. I hope anybody on the fence reads this and decides to buy a different brand of car!
Really how hard is it to answer the question that I keep asking them?
If they did do something in production to fix the issue, why would they have any kind of problem with telling me what it is so I know why I’m not covered and that it’s not just arbitrary.

So I mentioned the other day that Wifey didn’t know about a few of the extras I ordered......well, a little while ago she came into the rooom I was in holding up my new DP, saying “What the heck is this and how much $ did you blow on it? Ha ha
I said it wasn’t all that much and besides by putting it on the car too, the warranty on the new turbo will get bumped an extra year (all true).
She shrugged and said “Okay, But it won’t be like, super loud will it?”
My wife rules!
I said “I don’t think it will make a ton of difference” (I honestly don’t know, lol)
She gave me the look that says “You are so full of crap” and walked away.
All while our 17yo son just sat there laughing, totally blowing it for me! Ha ha.
leave it to them to cheer me up!!

My biggest issue (aside from arguing with MINIUSA) is finding the time to set aside to do it. I want to give myself plenty of time to do it, and deal with the inevitable problem that always seems to arise while I’m in there. Because I’m going to replace the oil filter housing gaskets while I’m in there, I know it will take a good while to do. I think I can knock it all out in a day but am going to give myself 2 just to be safe.
Im almost thinking about trying to do it this weekend and then just change the charge pipe when it gets here Monday. I’m just going to have a lot going on for the next several weeks, including taking my dog to Seattle for a cardiologist visit to make sure all is good to have surgery (he has a small heart murmur since he was born) then we have to take him to have his butt operated on! Lol.....I’m only kind of kidding! He has a hernia that needs repaired and they go in right there next to his anus....poor guy! Lol, he will then have to endure the cone-of-shame on top of it all! Lol!
Sorry, got a little sidetracked. So, yeah, busy.
so I’m trying to find the time to do it ASAP because even though downshifting has been a life saver, it still goes into limp-mode on me if I’m not right on top of the downshift. Then the engine has to clock and all that before it will clear, and stacking up 2C57 codes for low boost pressure is just driving me mad. With all of the driving I have to do in the next few weeks, I need to get it done.
On the plus side, thanks to downshifting before any inclines on the freeway, I made it 140 miles round trip today to Tacoma and back (with a stop by Northwest MINI for a new hat) all without a single incident! I was really surprised. I just expected I would have to pull off the freeway at least once each way to reset regular driving, because it’s a very hilly area, but The Little Cooper That Couldn’t actually did okay, although I’m not entirely sure if I’m reading it right or how accurate it is, but I have an OBD2 dongle and Dash Commander (only had it for a day and a half now) but using a boost gauge on it, it appears that I’m barely making any boost at all at this point, I don’t know what the PSI curve is like, but at 2500rpm it appears that I’m pushing barely 1psi of boost, and if I take it in 3rd gear (manual shifting an auto trans) up to 3500rpm it hits about 6psi then maintaining the same rpm, after hitting 6psi the gauge then starts going back down rather quickly. Shouldn’t it maintain around the same amount of boost until the engine rpms change? I could just have no clue how to properly read it, but it seems waaay low to me. I know the wastegate isn’t closing fully, but I thought it would still make a little more than that. If I’m not wrong, then I’m practically driving around in a Justa at the moment!

I really wish I could, but the cost is prohibitive at the moment, after buying the parts I e got already and then having to fork out $6K for my dogs surgery, I’m going to have to wait on the tune for bit. I did email Mario the other day though to ask him a question about tuning. He was super prompt at getting back to me and had some very helpful suggestions, so I’m pretty much positive that he’s who I will go through when I can finally do it.

I have no idea, but I keep asking! And they keep calling me

Well the downpipe from CNT arrived yesterday. I’m definitely keeping Scotty_R56’s experience in mind. It looks good! The welds are well done. I’ll just have to wait and see how it wants to fit, but they told me that it should not have the fit problem that some have had....only one way to really know... put it on and see!
If it doesn’t want to fit right, I simply won’t use it, and put the OEM one back on until I get a different one. I think it will be ok though, I will have to swap the OEM back on for emission testing anyway, but a few hours

work every 2 years seems pretty minor.

hey there again, I had a pdf of torque specs for this dang car and now I cannot find it for the life of me, does anybody know of a site where I can find this again?

hey there again, I had a pdf of torque specs for this dang car and now I cannot find it for the life of me, does anybody know of a site where I can find this again?

never mind, found it

Well dang! I haven’t heard back yet since the last phone call, from MINI USA or from the attorney general, but last I heard, my complaint is filled and they are going to contact MINI. That’s what I know at the moment. Not much, lol.

And to top it off, my repair is delayed! That damn mechanic! Oh yeah..... it’s me...ha....Sorry, attempted humor. Turns out between Wifey, Dog, and myself, I have appointments the first 3 days of the coming week. Sooooo, now I have to delay it until Wednesday or Thursday. I would like to start Wednesday evening, but coming back home 35+ miles in traffic at 3 or 4 in the afternoon, it’s going to take a while before it’s cooled off enough to work on the turbo. So it’s probably going to be Thursday. If I wanted to try to knock it out and hope for no issues I could try it, but....nope! I want to take my time and since I’m doing the oil filter housing gaskets as well, I don’t know how long it will take me. If I wait until Thursday, then I’ll have 2 free days plus the weekend, so 4 total, although I really only think I need one.

Well I got antsy yesterday and went out and threw on the new charge pipe from M7, ha ha. I was really surprised as I really didn’t expect much, but it make a pretty noticeable difference! Nice!
Now ive got 2 appointments today, one with my dr one for the dog, then this afternoon I can get everything ready and start either tonight or if it’s not cool enough, tomorrow morning.....wish me luck....when you hear from me again hopefully it will be to say I’m finished.

Really? Hmmmm.... I’m intrigued. Unfortunately I think I will have to put it into the service position because I have large hands for one thing, and because I’m going to replace the oil filter housing gaskets too, I probably will need the room. But I figure I’ll start out and see, and if I need to put in on service position I will.
thanks for the tip!

Nice

Well, here goes nothing!! About to start my ordeal :-)

Thanks for the help everyone..I’ll be back when it’s done

Well I’ve got everything in and the oil leak fixed, just got the downpipe bolted up, but I ran out of daylight to finish putting it all back together. I will finish in the morning. Good thing I planned for 2 days. It’s tight in there! Lol