MINI Mechanic :: MINIblog

40k Miles with my MINI

2007-09-13T09:48:00.001-07:00

Mini hit 40k Miles today...
Originally uploaded by pxlmxr

So it's been 5 years and I finally hit 40 thousand miles! It's not for lack of trying, I've just been lucky enough to have minimal commutes in the past. My present commute is about 50 miles a day and so I'm catching up to reality mile wise.

I do think that this milestone is a good point to stop and reflect on 5 years of MINI ownership. I would say that overall it's been pretty fantastic. The car has been fun, I'm not tired of it and its still running great. Let's take a walk down memory lane though...

*wavey line transition*

I bought the car in Sept. of 2002 and promptly installed white rally stripes on the hood.

Followed by:

Then I put in the Moss Cold Air Intake...

Then the S gas cap conversion...

Garage Door Opener Switch...

Next came "S" dead pedal

Followed by MINI Madness Rear Sway bar...

H&R Performance Springs...

Short Shift Kit...

Chrome Shift Knob...

Gram Lights Wheels w/ Yokohama skins...

Installed RCA inputs in the dash to accommodate my iPod...

Euro Parcel Shelf...

Boot Stripes...

and a partridge in a pear tree..

After all that there have been only minimal maintenance issues including:

Faulty brake lights (fixed under warranty)

Replaced Aux. Fan (fixed under warranty)

Replaced Transmission (fixed under warranty + new clutch)

Along the way I did some fun things...

Best trip taken in the MINI - camping in Angeles national forest '05

Most Fun had in MINI - BMW CCA AutoCross Irwindale Speedway

Favorite Mod - Moss Intake (LOUD AND AWESOME)

Favorite Accessory - Matching 2007 Ducati Monster S2R1000

And that's about it. I will hopefully flesh this post out some more in the near future- but I just had to get my thoughts down.

MINI = OWNED!

2007-06-01T17:22:00.000-07:00

After almost 5 good years - the MINI is finally all mine. I made the final payment a few weeks ago and just received the title in the mail. Anybody want to race for pinks? (kidding) - I think I'll enjoy not having a car payment for a while.

Ok- time's up, My MINI car payment has been partially replaced by...*drum roll*

My new Ducati Monster (S2R 1000) payment! :)

As some of you may have noticed the two vehicles in question share the same paint scheme- no that is not an accident - and yes, I am a big dork. Now my garage looks like the batcave.

I've already put almost 2k miles on the Duc and have loved every minute of it. The bike is fast as hell, versatile and gorgeous. The desmodromic engine has a really unique sound and the music that comes from the dry clutch is addictive.

My main challenge now is deciding what to take to work in the morning. For the time being I'm splitting time equally between the MINI and the Duc and feel lucky as hell to have such a healthy stable.

I'm also fighting hard to squash the mod bug regarding the bike- we have some other priorities at the moment and it looks like funding for exhaust, racing clutch etc. will have to wait for a bit.

In the meantime the good news is that the MINI is healthy and has a suitable garage mate.

Commuting has never been so much fun :)

3000 Mile diagnosis!

2007-03-27T14:50:00.000-07:00

So I think it's safe to say that I've been out of the game for a while- "lying dormant" if you will. While this may be the case, fear not as the mass of MINI related knowledge I obsessivly crammed into my head between 2002 and 2004 has not gone stale. As a matter of fact it proved quite useful just the other day...*wavy flashback transition*

Last Sunday afternoon my brother called me from Washington DC where his car was stuck half way between being parallel parked and half way jutting out into oncoming traffic. He told me that he was in the middle of parking his 2002 MINI Cooper S when his shifter went limp (how embarrassing!) I told him that he probably fell victim to a fairly well documented problem that plagued the early model coopers- where the shift cables had a habit of popping off mid shift- thus leaving the car stranded in the last gear selected (in this case 3rd).

Here is a picture of the cables in question (from when I installed my short shift)

He said he was going to have the car towed to the nearest gas station. I told him that he might be better off going the extra mile and getting it towed to the nearest dealer- because I thought the issue was a recall issue and if the previous owner didn't get it taken care of he might be covered by default.

He found a dealer 20 miles away, which fell within his free tow range, dropped the car off with a detailed note (it was Sunday so they were closed) and waited for the phone to ring the next day.

When they called on Monday they informed him that "his" hunch was correct and the cables had popped off. They also informed him that the recall had been completed earlier but the retaining clip that was installed looked a bit worn. They re-attached the cables and said the only sure fix was to replace them (for about $350) but that he could drive the car home that day and think about it as it wasn't really an urgent fix. They charged him $120 for labor and also informed him that one of his exhaust hangars was broken. He bought a replacement hangar for $53 bucks and plans to install it himself.

He thanked me for the diagnosis as well as the suggestion to go to the dealer instead of the local mechanic.

So that's that- diagnostic prowess still intact after all these years.

BTW- my MINI is running like a top and will be all paid for by the beginning of the summer.

My new focus, since I just bought my first house is setting up a killer garage- it will be organized, neat, carpeted and not full of gardening crap and bicycles like my neighbors. So far so good- I setup my workbench and tools last weekend and installed trick overhead lighting. I also hung some mini related swag that I gathered over the years including my race photos and 1st place autocross trophy :). My wife calls it the "man cave" - I can live with that.

Excellent Gadget...

2007-03-15T12:05:00.000-07:00

Came Accross this today and thought I would share... no big whoop.

Cool Magnetic Wrist Thingy...

This is too awesome not to share

2007-03-13T16:19:00.001-07:00

Enjoy...

Bugatti Veyron at top speed
Uploaded by Flabber

Still motoring...

2007-01-22T15:37:00.000-08:00

So it's obvious that my mini-blogging has slowed to just below glacial speeds- all I can say is life makes ya busy folks. It creeps up on you and steals your days.

The good news is that there has been no bad MINI news to speak of since the flurry of mods ceased so many months ago. The car is running great and is almost completley paid for :)

The only issue to mention is that the car is squeaky/buzzy as hell, I think it's coming from the passenger side door and if I don't fix it soon, I fear "the buzz" may start giving me questionable advice son-of-sam style.

So I'll take a look at that this weekend because it's simply maddening.

In the good news column: I just started a new job a few months ago and with it came a brand new and lengthy commute!

That's right I said good news- because as some of you may know, the MINI is a FORCE in rush hour. Let's just say that I weave a golden tapestry with delicate zigs, zags and the occasional controlled drift on my way into work. The new drive consists of some very choice corners on Mullholland Drive followed by my pick of canyon roads to get "over the hill."

I can honestly say that if it weren't for the MINI this commute would have eaten my soul in the first week. Lucky for me that this car makes exploring tiny, windy back roads rewarding enough that I never take the same route to work twice.

In fact, I've made a game out of it- trying to find the ultimate shortcut to circumvent traffic on a daily basis. So far I have found about 5 really excellent and rarely traveled alternate routes across the San Fernando Valley and up to Mullholland drive. I am still convinced that there is one more out there- so the quest continues.

In the meantime I have taken a drive that initially took a total of 1 hour & 25 minutes - down to 55 minutes in the morning and 45 in the evening- but I think I can do better...

Man, where the heck have I been?

2006-03-28T11:27:00.000-08:00

So I haven't posted since the middle of last year and my site stats tell me that the peeps keep comin to the site. All can say is thanks. Thanks for sticking with me even though I'm a lazy bastard.

It's not that there wasn't news to report- that there were just no MINI happenings in my world (because there were). I've just been a busy bee. Changed jobs, moved, got a dog, got a motorcycle etc... you know like you do...

Anyway those are excuses- here is the quick run down and hopefully I can get back into this and keep it going full steam.

2005 in a nutshell...

MINI is pretty much finished. I can't think of one more thing to do to it, except perhaps sell it. Because as it were the thing has held it's value so well that I could basically trade it on a loaded 2006 Cooper S and keep the same payments and finish paying it off around the same time. So that's something to think about. But I do have an emotional attachment to this car like you woudln't believe. So tough call.

My brother and sister have both become MINI owners. So they rule. Bro has a MINI S and my sis just took delivery of an 06 Cooper. I got to do a little work on the S with my brother over xmas- we put in an Ultrik Cold Air intake. Took about an hour and was way fun. Pics and tutorial to follow at some point.

I've had a fog light out for about a year now and never get around to fixing it- that's my fault and it sux.

Took a road trip in the MINI - camping, 3 adults and all our gear. The car was packed to the roof but made it up the mountain (pics to follow)

OH! I took my car to a new carwash and two of the decals on my wheels got ripped. Guess how much it cost to replace them? Freakin sixty dollars. That's right $30 each. When I inquired as to what type of space aged material they were made of- the sales rep told me that it was to discourage the placement of gram lights stickers on counterfiet wheels. I told her that it was way easier to counterfiet the stickers than the wheels and the cost of that prevention shouldn't fall on the consumer that actually shelled out the cash for the legit wheels in the first place. He wasn't amused and I have yet to decide whether I am going to actually apply these very expensive stickers to my wheels or put them someplace safer. So as of right now- decals on the passenger side, none on the driver side. Lucky for me most people have no short term memory and nobody has noticed ;)

Started posting all my mini pics on Flickr.com which is convenient and awesome- check it out.

Perhaps the biggest news is that I am considering the sale of MINIMechanic.com. Why you ask? Well the real reason is that I simply do not have the time to really do it justice as of late and think it may do better in more attentive hands. So if you are interested in licensing the URL, Brand or any of the content let me know- we can work something out. Also ad-space is available at low cost. Just a thought.

Ok so I guess that's all for now- just checking in. Let's see if we can get this thing going again.

-S

May already?

2005-05-12T22:40:00.000-07:00

Hello? Anybody still here? Is this thing on?

So I get disracted for a minute and all of a sudden its May?! Bah! February is not really a month anyway- too short- what kind of month has 28 days? Everyone knows that any self respecting month has at least 30 days. As for April- what can I say I have no excuse- nevertheless here we are...

I bet you are all wondering what's been going on in MINI land- I'm happy to say that there have, in fact been some happenings to relay.

Here's the highlights:

MINI gets a new transmission...

MINI gets dirty...

MINI gets an iPod...

MINI gets a new transmission
I mentioned in my last entry that my car had started making some weird noises- was sounding more like a tractor than a german sports car.

You'll all be happy to know that I can, in fact, tell the difference between those two sounds- because when I took the car to the dealer- I drove 100ft with the shop forman before he exclaimed: "It sounds like a tractor?! Is broken, needs a new transmission."

While I was very happy to be validated, and not too nervous because the new tranny should have been under warranty- I still had an uneasy feeling deep down, because this was going to be major surgery.

I have to say that the whole experience started off on the right foot. I was given a brand new 525i loaner- which was fun to play with- a little different to drive- and not as slow as one would think (for being the baby of the 5 group).

The car was at the dealer for a few days before I got the call that they had taken the tranny out and it was - as they thought- shot. They said they would order the new one under warranty and take care of everything.

It was at this point that the first hiccup occurred. I was asked if I would like to replace the clutch while they had the car apart. Here's a minute by minute account of what happened from this point forward...

I got a call Friday evening that the car would most likely be done on Monday- The service rep- also wanted to let me know that while the techs had the car apart (transmission pulled out) they thought it might be a convenient time to replace my clutch.

Here's how that went on Friday evening:

dealer rep: "Hey Steve- the techs took a look at yer clutch and we thought it might be a convenient time to replace it- what do you think?"

me: "Um...is it free?"

dealer rep: "No- we could do it for about $400, which is a great deal actually because you are getting the labor pretty much for free since we already have the tranny out under warranty..."

me: "Is the clutch bad?

dealer rep: "no- not really, this would be more of a pre-emptive repair- for peace of mind"

me: "yeah thats what I thought- no let's hold off on the clutch- just do the tranny- thanks.

dealer rep: "Ok just wanted to ask- Talk to you on Monday"

So that seemed pretty straight forward to me- I'm not exactly hemmoraging extra cash right now so - While he made some sense, when presented with the option I respectfully declined. Seemed simple enough to me.

Here's what went down Monday evening:

dealer rep: "Hey Steve car's all done- one slight problem..."

me: "um...what happened?"

dealer rep: "Well the tech looked at the clutch again and said that it was actually worse than he thought- so he just put in a new one..."

me: "um...ok..thanks?"

dealer rep: "So I know we didnt ask your permission, so technically you aren't responsible for it- but we can cut you a great deal on it- give it to you at cost for around $210 -which is what we paid for it- and the labor would be free...

me: "Um...so even though I told you not to replace the clutch- you put a new one in anyway?"

dealer rep: "Yeah we thought we would save you the trouble of coming back and having it cost $1200- this really is a great deal"

me: "but the car is all done now and I can come pick it up tommorow morning?"

dealer rep: "yep all done"

me: "see you at 7:30- let the service manager know I'd like a word with him when I arrive"

So I went there early the next day- arrived at 8am and was greeted with smiles all around and then shown a destroyed clutch in a box (that supposedly came out of my car- it could have but there's no way to tell).

The rep explained again what a great deal i was getting on the clutch and what a favor they did for me. He sounded sincere. I listened attentivley.

When he was finished I told him that while I had their loaner car I went ahead and installed Nitrous and a Short Shift Kit as a favor- but that it was only going to cost them $1000. We both laughed.

Then I asked to see the service manager.

I usually deal with the service manager anyway- so we know eachother and he's a really good guy. He told me that he had only heard about this clutch business for the first time that morning. Even though I have a good history with this guy, I was sort of gearing up to make my case for not paying for the clutch and didn't expect to have an easy time of it.

That's when I had the best surprise of all. I told him about Fridays phone call in which I declined the replacement clutch. That was it- he said "End of story- have a great day."

And that's how you do business.

Granted it was a mistake on their part, I did benefit from it in the end. But he handled it in such a way that put be back at ease and let me know that they weren't trying to pull a fast one and that it was just an honest mistake.

I'll certainly take my car there again and they have retained my business.

Oh! and the icing on the cake is that before I left I asked one more time about which tranny was put in the car- this time the answer came back "Getrag" - and they gave me the part # on my reciept.

123-00-7-520-071 - so if anyone knows where I can look up that number to verify - that info would be appreciated.

The car feels brand new and is running quiet and awesome again.

And that friends- is my story.

I hope it was worth the wait- I have a few more in the bank, I'm gonna pace myself a bit so keep yer eyes peeled....

It's All Happening...

2005-01-03T09:33:00.000-08:00

Welcome to 2005! It's gonna be a big year...a big year indeed.

I have so much to report that I'm not sure where to start...ok here are the highlights - and since this is not communist China, this extra large edition of MB will be a choose-your-own-adventure- non-linear - read in any order you like- entry. Just click on the list below to jump to a "chapter". And Begin.

MINI Get's Seat-Pulls

MINI Get's BOOT Stripes

The MINIMechanic Get's A Helmet

MINIMechanic Get's Famous

MINIblog Get's Serious

MINI Get's Seat-Pulls

This year I had a few MINI things on the old Christmas list- they included-
- Seat Pulls (from MOSS MINI)
- The New MINI Service Manual
- Boot Stripes (from Cooper Flags)

My Mom was generous enough to make sure that all of these arrived just in time for the long holiday weekends. So I was able to get everything installed before coming back to work.

For those that don't know- the "Seat Pulls" are a must have. They install in about 30 seconds (simply remove the rear headrests- slip on the seat-pulls and replace the headrest.)

But what do they do?- Simple as the clever name implies- they "pull" the "seat" back up from the folded down position. This may not seem like a big deal but for anyone who has laid the seats down in their mini - then tried to put them back up from the Boot - you know how hard it can be and that you practically have to climb into the car in order to accomplish this.

Well not anymore- the simple addition of these seat-pulls makes this task SO much easier. As you can see in the picture below- its simply a nylon strap with a small piece of velcro on the handle (to help stow it when the seats are up.) This is one of the best creature comfort mods I've done yet and would say it's a must for all MINI owners.

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MINI Get's Boot Stripes

One of the other great arrivals was a set of "Boot Stripes" for the back of the MINI. I dunno if I just got bored and had to meddle, or if I had the idea for the rear stripes in the master plan all along. Either way I decided that I must have them and this time, unlike the Bonnet Stripes, I was going to install them myself.

Install them I did- and it was pretty easy.
They came from CooperFlags (courtesy of Mom)- The kit included- about exactly twice as much material as I needed to complete the install. This made me feel better because it meant if I screwed it up the first time, I could try again. In addition to many feet of high quality 3M White Vinyl separated into two LONG stripes, they also included detailed instructions and the much needed "Squeegee."

I had seen the installer do my bonnet stripes, so I was fairly confident that I could handle this myself. Nevertheless I decided to take it slow and try to do it right.

Here's what I did:

1. The first step was to clean the boot. I hosed it down and wiped it off with a lint free cloth.

2. Next I had to cut and pre-position the stripes. I did this with a razor-blade and some masking tape. This was probably the trickiest part. The boot is pretty curvy and is not as symmetrical as the bonnet due to the "Cooper" logo on the passenger side. I could see I was going to have to make some decisions regarding how the stripes would deal with the Cooper logo and the little flag that is sitting beneath it.

Since removal of the logo and flag were out of the question- I figured I would cut the stripes to fit- this was a little difficult but I think it turned out pretty nice.

3. Now that I had everything cut and taped to the car in the correct position- it was time to do the actual install. The main thing to know about this is that you need a spray bottle full of water and a little bit of DAWN dish washing detergent- this is KEY. Before application you have to remove the plastic layer from the sticky side of the graphics and spray the exposed surface down with this mixture as well as the surface of the car. This will allow you to slide the graphics around and make sure they are in the proper position before they set- once they are in the right spot...

4. Squeegee the living hell out of them! Make sure you get all the air bubbles out- pushing from the center to the edge. Once they are on pretty good- let them sit for a minute then remove the top layer of protective film from the top side of the stripe - then wrap the squeegee in a soft cloth and go over the stripe a few more times.

5. Done. Allow to set for about 24 hours before washing the car.

The hardest part of the whole thing was cutting and positioning the stripes. I think the result was pretty good- not perfect, but I think I'm the only one who will ever spot the imperfections. Truth is - that if they still bug me after a week or so, I have enough material to try again- so no big deal.

Here are some pics of the finished product:

Moving on...

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The MINIMechanic Get's A Helmet

So as you know I've been autocrossing the MINI as often as I can, and both the car, and I, seem to enjoy it a great deal. I felt that since I plan on continuing this activity it may be time to invest in some essential gear. I happened to recently aquire a gift certificate to AMAZON.com and could think of no better use for it than a HELMET for autocross.

I know, I know- stop screaming let me explain- So I bought a helmet on the internet- seems silly- maybe even a little unsafe- to you I say "You're right".... but- I was bored and had free money- cut me some slack. Te helmet was reasonably priced and I figured worth a shot- and I could always return it if I wasn't satisfied.

That said- everything turned out great. I emailed my measurements to the company (IronHorse Helmets) and they shipped me a helmet that was a PERFECT fit.

When it finally came (about a week later) it was shiny and black just like it was supposed to be- it fit great, but was badly in need of some customization.

Having just ordered some MINIMechanic Vinyl Window Stickers I thought this would be the perfect place to try them out. I have to say, I think they look pretty damn sweet.

Here is a pic of me wearing my new helmet, reading my new favorite book:

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MINIMechanic Get's Famous

In other news- It has recently come to my attention that MINIMechanic.com has been featured in the UK's "goMINI" magazine. To those guys I would like to say- thanks! you have great taste :)

We were featured on page 73 in the "WebWatch" section along with 3 other sites.

Here's what they had to say about the site:

I would say that is fairly complimentary- thanks guys!

Here are some shots of what the layout looked like:

(MINIMechanic appeared in higlighted section)

If you would like to subscribe to GOMINI (its a pretty cool mag) Click here.

So this is kind of huge for the site and indicative of the kind of attention we've been going for. I'd like to thank those who read/visit the site often and hope that you find it helpful and entertaining. I have big things in store for the new year.

Which brings us to...

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MINIblog Get's Serious

Up until recently MINIMechanic has been fully funded by me- this is cool, and fun- but I would like to be able to expand the site, and provide a bit more to the readers. In order to achieve these goals, while simoultaneously reducing the strain on my wallet- I have setup an adserver for the site and will be offering VERY limited ad space to a select few advertisers that I think have usefull and quality products that could benefit my readers.

So MINIMechanic is all growns up.

I am also working on ways to increase traffic and readership in an effort to enhance the community aspect of the site. Speaking of community I recently put up a message board where you can go and discuss MINI stuff (I know, I know- another message board?) I know there are a bunch of great message boards already out there- but maybe this one can be great too? (It's just an experiment). The idea is to make the blog more interactive- no more one sided ranting.

Like I said before, this is not communist China.

And in conclusion...

So why the SUPER Long entry? I admit that I could have dragged this out for 3 or 4 entries and saved myself some time or effort- but that's not what I'm about- I give it to you all at once, hold nothing back- that's my motto. 'nuff said.

That and - the LA Carshow is next weekend and that's entry is gonna be a monster as well- so I figured why not get this stuff out of the way presently.

Ok- That is all. Hope everyone had a great holiday season.

PS-
Interested in Ad space? or have suggestions of some great companies who deserve attention? Let Me Know

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Blah blah... blah blah blah

2004-12-03T10:38:00.000-08:00

So I realized today that it's been a little while since my last post- Not to make excuses but I think there are two reasons for this:

The first reason is that I think I've been waiting for something "blog-worthy" to post. I decided today that this is a ridiculous system and should be immediately abandoned. So from here on out- anything I say is blogworthy - 'nuff said.

The second is that I've been doing way too much side work lately- which is good for me but bad for the MINIblog. So I have to make an effort to find the time to pay attention to this site. In keeping with that effort, here I am, back in the saddle.

Great- so what do I talk about- let's see, anything going on with the car?

I guess the most recent development is a horrible noise which seems to be coming from the transmission. When I say "horrible noise" what I mean is a sound that is more akin to that of a John Deere tractor than a fine German automobile. It's the kind of noise that you can hear over the radio and just sounds generally disheartening and sickly.

I've done some research into what the cause may be- and found two schools of thought on the matter. The first confirmed my initial thought which was that the throw-out bearing is shot and needs to be replaced. Apparently if the above stated symptoms subside when the clutch is depressed - that's a good clue that the bearing may be to blame.

The second diagnosis was found on the BMW TIS CD - it states that a noise of this nature - which is very loud at low RPM etc... is indicative of a faulty flywheel. I could see how that might make sense though I'm a little unclear as to how the flywheel could have been damaged- or do they just go bad? Not to my knowledge- but hey, you learn something new everyday.

Since the car is still under warranty the obvious course of action is to bring it into the dealer and have them check it out - and that is exactly what I would do if I could get an appointment before January (I called them in the beginning of November) - so that sux :( . I also have to bring the car in for the recent software recall.

Oh and did I mention that a mysterious rattle has developed inside the dash?- anyone been dumping peanut M&M's in my vents? because that's what it sounds like.

All in all the car is still great- I love the RCA jacks I installed a few months ago that let me plug directly into my MP3 player- that was a great addition and makes for better motoring.

I've also recently moved offices and on my new commute it makes good sense to take the freeways - 90, 405, 10. While the 405 is always a bloody nightmare- the 90 and the 10 are usually pretty empty and lets just say that on a good night I'm able to weave a beautiful tapestry across the asphalt.

Ever feel like all the other cars on the road are just pylons to be negotiated?

Oh I almost forgot- what's on my MINI Xmas list this year?

Here's the short version:

Nylon "Seat Pulls"

Boot Stripes (boot, standard vinyl, white)

MINI Service Manual

>>BLATANT SELF PROMOTION<<

Oh and lastly- I've noticed an increased interest in the MINIMechanic Shop - November was a great month- and MINIMechanic stuff does make a great gift :)the favorite item seems to be the MINI Mechanic Baseball T (I have to agree- it's one of my favorites.) So if you haven't visited the shop yet- have a look around, you may see something you like.

Anyway- I'll keep the updates coming regarding the noisy transmission- maybe if they have to replace it I'll get grandfathered into one of the new Getrag boxes- (that would be cool.)

It was a dark and stormy...

2004-10-18T15:40:00.000-07:00

morning?

Well yeah it was morning- 4:45am on this past Sunday morning to be exact- That's what time I got up to get ready for the latest BMWCCA Autocross at Irwindale Speedway.

Sure it was pouring rain- but the track is about an hour away- it might be dry there..

Fast Forward To:

6am:
I'm standing in a 4 inch puddle outside the locked gates of Irwindale speedway- chatting with a few other car nuts- in the dark- oh and it's still raining.

There is a tiny voice in the back of my head saying- "what is wrong with you? you have a cold- you're gonna get really sick-you do realize that you're standing in the dark, in the rain- waiting for someone to come open the gate so that you can drive around an empty parking lot for 5 hours?"

I dunno what it was about that voice- but it was making alot of sense. Only problem was that I had been looking forward to this event for quite some time and the next one is months away.

tough decision-

I decided to compromise- I would wait inside my car and see if the weather cleared up - if it cleared- I'd stay - if not I'd bail. Seemed fair.

7am:
I'm on the 605 headed home -guess what happened with the weather- GOT WORSE!

So there I am skating down the 605, make my way towards the 10 - and the rain is pouring down in buckets- the freeway is starting to flood, but luckily there isn't too much traffic - So I'm taking it easy- be home soon enough.

Then I noticed something strange out of the corner of my eye- at first it didn't make any sense- took what felt like a few seconds to compute-

processing... processing...

Why is that car is coming accross the road sideways?

HOLY SH*T! totally out of control..

There was an 80's style Ford Thunderbird wheels locked & completley out of control -headed directly for my driver-side front quarter- I knew better than to try and turn-so I just SLAMMED on the brakes- I was able to narrowly avoid that collision but the light-duty pickup that had been riding my passenger-side blind spot had no idea what was coming and slammed full speed into the passenger-side front quarter of the t-bird!

The two collided just a few feet infront of me and the force of the impact sent debri and car parts flying in every direction- I was still on the brakes- the t-bird began to pin-wheel around- the truck didnt seem to have any intention of stopping (perhaps the driver was knocked unconcious from the impact)

As both cars started to shift and turn while their collision continued- I knew I needed to get the hell out of there if I was going to keep myself and the MINI intact.

Now approachnig a reasonable speed- and with little traffic coming up behind me I decided to downshift before losing all forward momentum- and hammered the gas- I was able to swerve around the still evolving wreck and get clear before any damage could be done to me or my car.

I surveyed the scene from my rearview- both cars were now stopped and in the wall. The t-bird was badley mangled and had impacts on 3 sides. The Pickup wound up perpendicular to the freeway and was blocking two lanes of traffic.

There was no great place to pull over- So I decided rather than get my self run over trying to play hero- I would call it in to highway patrol. So I did. I have no idea what happened or if anyone was hurt- I would be surprised if both parties escaped unscathed. Highway patrol was quick to get all the info that I had and said that they were dealing with an increased number of collisions due to the rain- but thanked me for my call and said they would send some people out.

So that happened-

Incase my written description didn't do this event justice- I have pieced together an animated reinactment to help you visualize:

(Flash 5 or higher required)

Crazy right? So what can we take away from this little misadventure?

#1- turns out that the MINI has unbelievable stopping power (even with the stock brakes)- I was able to stop quickly and controlled under extreme circumstances and the car felt great the entire time. Two thumbs up for MINI.

#2- I have Jedi reflexes. (Duh)

#3- Whoever was driving that T-bird did a bunch of things wrong to find herself sideways on the freeway- My guess is this: Since she came into my view at great speed from the left- I can only assume that she was travelling in the left lane - going way too fast and hydroplaned- then panicked and locked up her brakes- and maybe tried to steer out of the puddle for good measure- the result was obviously catastrophic. I really hope nobody got hurt.

Ok enough scary talk- Since I did not race this weekend I have no new pictures to show you- but I do have the video from the last race- courtesy of my friend Dave.

Enjoy:
MINI Cooper Autocross :: MiniMechanic.com

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Nicked-Swiped-Pilfered- JACKED!

2004-09-03T13:35:00.000-07:00

Warning: you may find what you are about to read to be shocking and disturbing.

I would like to begin by stating that I have spent a great deal of time trying to work through the innate paranoia that comes with growing up in the NY , NJ area. There is a certain understanding that most people share in that part of our great nation- "if you left it unattended- it WILL NOT be there when you get back." It's known in some parts as the "if nobody's using it" rule. This is pretty much a constant- I dunno if it's because people assume that anything of value left unattended must have been discarded and so is fair game? Or if it's based on the assumption that since everybody knows the rules- its just part of the game to walk off with whatever you can.

Whatever the reason- growing up where I did has ingrained in me the habit of locking my doors and chaining my bike- (yes even when I'm just running into blockbuster for 2 seconds to drop off a movie.)

It's true that most of my friends often laugh at me - there is a running joke that if we don't lock our door at all times "the crazy guy" will come running in. So in recent years- I have made it a point to try and rely on the good in people and attempted to adopt the idea that not everyone out there is looking to rob or stab me. After all people are basically good right?

Wrong- that is wrong! and false! and perfectly f'ing naive! That has to be the answer because I came downstairs into my garage this morning to find that my Craftsman 3 ton Jack, set of Jack-Stands, and rolling Work Seat had all been taken. GONE.

Now I have to say that stealing another mans tools should go against even the lowest thieves ethics- I mean it's just not done!

There are only two rules among men- don't touch my beer- and don't steal my tools- that's it. Period.

Well friends - there is a barbarian in our midst. Because someone has decided that the rules don't matter any more - you hear that? It's the sound of anarchy! Apparently now it's an East Coast style free-for-all right here in Santa Monica. I would also like to let it be known that even according to international East Coast "if nobody's using it" rules- things left under a blanket and behind two parked cars in the darkest most inaccessible corner of a locked and gated parking structure are NOT fair game- and pilfering said items leaves one subject to frontier justice- (know what I'm sayin'?)

I have to say that when I first noticed my stuff was missing I did the same stupid thing that everybody does when something is stolen. I stared at the spot for 5 minutes- then walked around it for another 5. As if magically my lost things would appear- or maybe they had just been shrunken overnight and were really really small?!

Sad truth is that they are gone forever and I will never get them back and now I have been set back years in my trust therapy. And the extra kick in the nuts is that I am out a Jack and a set of stands- bastards!

So what can I do now but ask for a moment of silence for my lost tools (craftsmen nonetheless!) and pray that whoever stole them dies slowly of gonorrhea and burns in hell- amen.

Ok- enough about that- the good news is that MINI wasn't harmed during this crime which probably occurred in the middle of the night within inches of where MINI was docked.- Though I have to ask- MINI where's your defense skills bro?! I mean you just let some loser walk off with your stuff- not cool- we need to have a serious talk.

Though I suppose it was right not to get involved- no good would have come of it- and as it stands now tools are easy to replace but broken windows take longer and are more expensive.

I will say this however- If I see some bum rolling down the street on my craftsman work seat- I may go Bruce Lee- (I'm just sayin.)

In other news...
I think I might finally get to install my RCA inputs in the parcel shelf this weekend- which has been a project I have been waiting to tackle for weeks.

I am still waiting on the video of the autocross- I have seen a cut and its pretty cool. I should be posting that here within a week or so (whenever Dave gets me the file)

And I guess that's it- until next time- lock your doors and look over your shoulder...in the words of Kurt Cobain "just because your paranoid- don't mean their not after you..."

Winner!...well sort of

2004-08-16T09:31:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was my first autocross event with the MINI- what a blast!

Sometime between drifting the car sideways through a right hand sweeper and trying my best to line up and hit the apex of the next corner- I realized that it has been WAY too long since I've done this- boy do I miss it. I miss everything about racing, from the screeeeeeeeeching tires and burnt rubber smell to the feeling of nervous anticipation that I get just before the green flag drops. There's even something cool about getting up at the crack of dawn and driving to a far off land to meet up with other people who are just as crazy as I am. I can think of few better ways to kill a Sunday, and a set of tires, than negotiating some twistys at high speed. Not to mention it's great to have a safe venue that lets you explore the limits not only of your car's performance, but more importantly, your driving ability.

I must say that the car handled perfectly and all the mods I've done so far seemed to work in harmony and withstand the abuse of about 13 autocross runs in rapid succession. The car is a champ.

So here's the run down:

The day began for me around 5am- I was on the road by 5:30 and at the track at ten after 6. There were already some cars there- setting up their pit areas, tents, tools, track tires etc. I unloaded my box of cereal bars, my folder full of magnets and my sweatshirt and felt a little under-prepared.

Autocrosses I've been to in the past were all in New Jersey- and I thought I had a pretty good idea of what to expect in terms of track layout and procedure. Well, I dunno if things have just progressed this much over the years or if the LA chapter is just that much better at hosting an event- but these guys don't fool around when it comes to hosting an autocross.

The last event I attended in NJ was hosted in the parking lot of Montclair State University and the track was a series of gates (two cones that mark a corner at the apex) that made up the track. The difficulty was remembering the layout of the course between runs because the track was not very clearly defined.

At yesterdays event- there must have been 500 cones laid out to make the track- there were cones about every 4 feet and the track was perfectly defined and very easy to follow- which really allowed me to focus on driving the car properly and not memorizing which gate came next.

The other major difference was the presence of instructors at this event. It was always my understanding that the privilege of getting input from an instructor was reserved for those who could devote $ and a weekend to a drivers school (a very worthwhile experience I've heard - but pricey nonetheless). I got to run 4 laps with a very experienced driver who gave me some valuable tips regarding my technique and approach to this course. The other added benefit of having such experienced drivers on hand is getting to watch them run the course. It was a great and humbling education.

Since this event was sponsored by the BMWCCA, the cars in attendance were mostly of Bavarian descent- from bone stock 3 series to carbon fiber clad barebones M3's- all levels of skill and experience were well represented. There were also a good number of Subaru WRX's, one STI - and a new Nissan Z. The fastest car of the day was a tricked out M Coupe driven by a guy who I refuse to believe is human- just way too good. He got fastest time of the day somewhere around a ridiculous 66 or 67 seconds.

There were four MINI's in attendance, three S's and my Cooper. We were all about equally experienced in terms of track time though I was the only one lacking a supercharger ;). At the end of the day I wound up running the second fastest time out of the MINI's 81.779, I believe the fastest time was either 81.769, or 81.679 (I think, Scott H. if you read this feel free to correct me)- either way that's a pretty small difference but that's how it works in autocross. So I wound up being the fastest (and only) MINI in my class- class "A" and all the cooper S's were in class "B" - but I feel good to have placed second within the "MINI Group" especially with my horsepower handicap.

OH!- and I got a trophy! Which is awesome because it says "1st Place" on it- and let's face it, when I'm old and senile I won't remember that I was the only car in class "A." So I won. 'Nuff said.

I've been blabbing for a while here are some pics:

I was able to purchase these action shots in digital format from a photographer who was there shooting the event- I think he did a great job.

I also managed to sell 5 of my magnets- which seemed to go over well. It looks like there is demand for some magnetic "meatball" number sets (which would have come in handy yesterday) so those are in development now and should be available for purchase here soon.

The next autocross event is in October and I think I'm going to try and make it if I can. I just had way too much fun. I would encourage anyone who has even the slightest interest to give it a try at least once- you may surprise yourself.

Special thanks to Andy and Dave who made the trek out to Irwindale to show their support- you guys rock!

Installs Update

I am moving forward with the MP3 player integration- since receiving the Blitzsafe adapter a few weeks ago I've installed it and run the cables through the center console. This process was actually really easy and only required drilling a small hole behind the rear passenger side seat (totally hidden) and removing the shifter console briefly to snake some cables. The next move is to hard mount the RCA inputs into my...

New Parcel Shelf. In order to accommodate the audio inputs, and have someplace convenient to store my MP3 player while driving- I ordered the Euro Parcel Shelf from Moss MINI- installation was SO easy that I'm not even going to get into it (plus there are about a hundred places where that's been posted- no need to go over it again). I like having the extra space and find that it is as good an addition to the interior as everyone always says it is. So nice work me.

Other than that- I don't really have anything planned. I suppose my car is due for service about now- So I'll probably bring it into the dealer for its checkup rather soon.

In the meantime- Stay tuned for spectacular racing footage of MINI in action!

PS- For questions about the Autocross, or how to purchase Magnetic Graphics
just drop me a line.

MINI's goin' racing....!

2004-07-28T10:22:00.000-07:00

I know it's been a while since my last entry- but marvel as I totally redeem myself with the introduction of MINI Mechanic Magnet Graphics!

It all started with my decision to attend the upcoming August 15th BMWCCA Autocross at Irwindale Speedway. Anyway- I was sitting around the office yesterday puttering away at my "day job" when it hit me- in honor of the MINI's first- and long over due autocross - it deserves a little pizzazz.

So as I day dreamed about the event- which I absolutley can't wait to attend- I recalled a cool magnetic bumper sticker that I used to have on my 1980 320i which read "Friends Don't Let Friends Early Apex." (For those of you who don't find that hilarious you can read up on the dangers of "Early Apexing" here). Unfortunatley, that bumper sticker is long gone- but I thought it could use a revival.

After doing a little searching around the internet I located some magnetic sheets that I can feed through my inkjet printer. I prepared some artwork, switched up some settings on my printer- and a few hours later I had my first graphic on the car.

The first one was in homage to my long gone old friend: a "NO Early Apex" MINI Mechanic logo treatment in red and black. MINI Mechanic Logos soon followed - and I have several other designs in the works. All will make their debut at the upcoming event :D

Here are some pics of what I have so far:

I have to say that I'm pleasantly surprised with the quality of the print and the performance of the magnets. The only down side I can see thus far is that when left in direct sunlight (on my black car) some of the edges seem to curl (I assume from the heat). Since I plan on mainly using them for events this does not seem to be a big deal.

I think I'm going to spend a little more time with these graphics and see how they perform. If all goes well they should be for sale soon- and I may even be taking custom orders so stay tuned...

(And no I still didn't get to installing my RCA inputs in the dash- I'm waiting to order the Euro Parcel shelf; so I can install them in there as not to damage the factory interior... but that project is by no means off this list)

Any interest in custom magnetic graphics....anyone?

Stay outta the dashboard Lebowski!

2004-06-21T09:51:00.000-07:00

Due to the cancellation of my weekly beach-volleyball game this past Sunday- I found myself with a totally free afternoon and decided it was time to tackle a few small projects on the MINI. Here's what I had in mind:

Planned Projects:

-Swapped out my stock headlight bulbs for SuperWhite halogen bulbs (12 bucks on ebay)

-Installed Ian's "Auto Up" Window circuit behind my switch panel

-Inspected the radio to try and clarify which model headunit I have in the car...

Surprise Work:

-Replaced the 6 stripped torx screws that hold the stereo, climate control, and switch panel in the dash (more on this later)

And now for the installs:

Headlights:

Why change 'em? Simple- get more light. Though the MINI's stock bulbs are great - that is no reason that they should'nt be hotrodded :) It is important to note that my car does not have the xenon headlamp option. I recently bought a set of SuperWhite HighOutput Halogen Bulbs on ebay for $12 (I think I bought them because I was bored and looking for a project). At first glance they don't look "super white" they look "super blue"

I know from experience that one can get a pretty fat ticket for sporting the blue headlights- but I figured I would trust in the product name and install them- see what color they made when turned on.

The replacement procedure is easy and hard- the access to the light and the method of replacement are ingenius- but it helps if you are a bit of a contortionist. Let me explain.

Because the MINI's headlights are built into the bonnet (or "hood" for all you uncultured readers) in order to replace the bulbs- the bonnet must be raised. Raising the bonnet points the lights at the ceiling. This is cool because everything is easy to reach but in order to see the housing where the bulb enters and is later secured- the installer is forced to do an interesting bending trick with the back and neck - sort of like a twisted limbo to get a good look at the setup. It wasn't all that bad and I had the first light swapped out in about 5 minutes. Here is a pic of the two access panels for each headlight:

You can see in those pics that there are two rubber covers that just pull off to reveal the bulb holders for both the low beam and high beam lights. Like an idiot I replaced the high beams by accident and had to go back and switch the bulbs around- Now I'm very well aquainted with the light setup- but that's all part of the thing.

With one light switched I decided to do a side by side comparison to see if I could tell the difference- Boy could I! -unfortunatley for me, and you - my camera leaves much to be desired these days and so I couldn't get a picture that would accuratley communicate the difference, so yer just gonna have to trust me.

The old bulb looked almost yellow and dull compared to the crisp bright white of the new one. (Cool- so they really are white) - Confident that I got what I paid for I swapped out the other bulb and marvelled at my new light system. Quick, cheap- and easy- not a bad project. Now on to the next one.

After much hemming and hawing about which MINI club (if any) to join I finally signed up with a local MINI club called the SoCal MINI Maniacs - or the preferred "SCMM" (for short). This club seems to have cool and frequent events and so far everyone I've met has been great. They also have an online message board for club members- which has proven quite valuable for info gathering and most recently for an opportunity to get in on a great group by for a custom made circuit boards which enable my power windows to have the "auto up" feature.

One of my little complaints about the MINI is that the windows will go down with a tap of the toggle but to get them back up one must hold the toggle the whole way. I think that sux and so jumped at the chance to remedy this problem.

The circuit is custom made by an electrical wizard and MINI enthusiast named Ian and is available for $40. There are two versions of the circuit- one which does just the windows- and one which will do the windows and deactivate the DSC and leave it off for track days. I opted for the windows only one (not sure how I feel about monkeying with my DSC (dynamic stability control)). The kit came with the cirtuit as described and a packet of instructions explaining how to install and how to program the unit.

Here's a pic:

The first step is to remove the downtubes and then the switch panel. If you haven't tried this yet- the procedure is pretty straight forward...usually.

I was very surprised to find that all six of the torx screws that hold in my radio, climate control panel, and switch-bay were stripped out. Funny thing was that they weren't stripped out last time I worked on the car.

Then a thought dawned on me- when was the last time the car was at the dealer- oh yeah- a little while after I installed my garage door opener button. I was a little nervous to bring it in after that mod- if memory serves something was wonky with the stereo head unit- and I thought the dealer might cry foul since I had self-wired the switch bay for the opener button.

Turns out the dealer said nothing- but perhaps had left me a little hint as to their feelings on modding the car in a set of stripped screws as if to say:

"Stay out of the dashboard Lebowski!" -

Well whatever the reason, I was not to be dettered- I decided to get into that switch-bay one way or another. Putting as much of the car back together as was needed to drive it, I shot over to Home Depot where I picked up a Hanson 5 Piece Spiral Flute Screw Extractor Kit, a cobalt drill bit- and a set of replacement screws- They wanna play rough? I don't even care I'll drill into the dash- go ahead dare me...

Now back in the garage and armed with my new weapons of deconstruction - I saddled up my cordless DeWalt and was just about to let the first screw have it when I took pause- Here I was again- the infamous point of no return- once this drill hit that screw there was no going back- I gritted my teeth and pulled the trigger.

A few aluminum shavings later- the first screw was out- man that extractor kit worked like a charm. I had the other six removed in about 5 minutes and the whole thing went off without a hitch. Feeling a little bit of a mechanics high at this point I pressed on with the installation.

The instructions provided by Ian were superb and explained what to do - and more importantly what not to do in great detail. The circuit basically installs inline to the switch-bay. In other words- you unplug the switch-bay's main connector & plug it into the circuit board- then plug the board into the switch-bay- it's just that easy. A few flips of the toggles later and the whole thing was programmed and working like a charm.

That's two projects in the bank- Next Project

I recently bought a new MP3 player -no it's not an iPod- not that there is anything wrong with the almight iPod (lest I start getting hate mail) - I just went a different direction and there is nothing wrong with that- moving on - Point is - I would like to wire an auxilliary input into my car stereo so I can plug in said MP3 player.

I have come to find out that the aux input option offered by BMW is only compatible with '03 and later model cars. Mine is an '02. Then I remembered the stripped screws and my wonky headunit- perhaps they replaced it with a more recent model- Since I had the dash apart anyway I pulled the stereo out and snapped a couple of pictures of the model number and all that jazz-so I can determine which one I've got. If I have the newer one- great $30 - a trip to the dealer and I can install my new aux switch and have all the "legally ripped and never traded" music I can stand for road trips etc.

If I've got the older model- things may get a little hairy. Looks like I pretty much have one option- and it's made by a company called Blitzsafe (sold through RSpeed.net and costs about $90. The cost isnt SO bad but the install is a pain- it wires into the pre-existing leads in the trunk which are intended for the factory style CD Changer. problem is that unless you want to leave your Aux device in the trunk (unlikely) you will have to run wires to the front of the car- which means disassembling most of the interior to hide the wires. I would like to avoid this if possible.

Anyway- the mystery will be solved once I call my dealer and check what model stereo I've got- Until then try and deal with the suspense while you wait in desperate anticipation for the shocking and exciting conclusion. Stay tuned

This just in! So much for the cliffhanger- I just got off the phone with the dealership and they informed me that even if my headunit is a more recent model the stock amplifier is not compatible with the aux cable. So it looks like I'll be going Blitzsafe-

Ok so now stay tuned...

Pole Day at the Brickyard...

2004-05-20T16:12:00.000-07:00

The smell of racing fuel, the roar of finely tuned engines- and the thrill of seeing million dollar+ race cars fly around one of the most historically relevant race tracks on the planet at speeds over 220mph - not a bad afternoon.

Last weekend I had the good fortune to be in Indianapolis for what is known locally as "Pole Day" - not to disappoint all the Polish-American MINI Mechanics out there- but the Pole they are referring to is not a "Pole" but rather "The Pole" - as in "Pole Position" "Pole Sitter" etc..

Pole Day is they first day of qualifications for the Indy 500. This day is unique to the qualification days that follow because the car with the fastest qualifying time on this day earns the coveted "pole position" or number one spot on the starting grid for the Indy 500. Aside from bragging rights- the pole sitter is the only qualifier whose position cannot be "bumped" by a faster car on "bump day" (the last day of qualifications)- in addition to a locked starting position- the winner of the pole also gets $100 grand. Pretty good for a days work.

Though I have been to a few races in my time- including F1 and some league races at Road America- I was not fully prepared for what Pole Day had to offer. As you can imagine in Indianapolis racing is a religion and flows through the blood of the locals. Speaking of locals, one of the perks of my marriage is that the new in-laws (aside from being great people) are race fans. The double super bonus perk is that one of my new brother-in-laws is an I-PD Detective and my Father in-law has connections at the track- what this adds up to is a spectator experience roughly equivalent to having back-stage passes to a rolling stones concert. Not only did we get to park in the police parking lot and get into the event for free- but we had access to the garage area for the race teams and seats in the infield behind the pits. A race fan couldn't ask for a better setup.

Once at the track- I stuck close to my guides who made a B-line for the garage area. After flashing our passes at security- we were able to watch Helio Castroneves car being engine tested. It was pretty amazing to look inside these garage bays- actually the word "garage" seems a bit common for these surgically clean, super high tech race laboratories. All I could think was- "I want one"

Here's a pic of Castroneves' car being engine tested. We were about 8 feet away. The mufflers you see are actually slip-ons (notice the handles at the top) to spare the crews ears during testing.

Here are some other pics from the garage area:

From where we were seated in the infield- we had a birds-eye-view of the pits and could also see the tech inspection area where the cars got measured and weighed before being allowed to take their qualifier laps. The pits were not as active as on race day- but it was still cool to watch the cars pull in for tweaks and then peel out back onto the track. Some drivers of note that we were able to see were Sarah Fischer and Helio Castroneves. Each seemed gracious and spent time with some fans that were down by the fence behind pit lane.

Though there were some really fast cars running that day- Only a few were in real competition for the pole seat- the time to beat that day was upwards of 221 to earn a spot in the first row of the starting grid. Turns out that Buddy Rice won the pole with an average qualifying speed of 222.024mph - I think he may have also had the fasted lap of the day- 223+ if I remember correctly. It was surprising to me how noticeable the difference is between a car traveling at 215 or 219 and one going upwards of 221- you can really see and hear the difference as they go by.

Not everyone had such good luck- there were 3 crashes and one spin out for the day. Luckily nobody got hurt- but what a bummer it must be to wreck your car before such a big race. I was told though- that as long as the chassis is reparable the team can rebuild the car with all new parts and still use it to race- or they could enter another car- Some drivers actually qualify multiple cars just to be on the safe side.

I decided that I like going to the track for practice and qualifiers because it is much less chaotic than actual race day- less crowded, easier to focus on what's going on- fewer cars and teams to keep track of. You can really get a great feel for the inner workings of the sport. It also helped that I was escorted by 3 veteran race fans who knew the ins and outs of the track and the event better than most.

Here are some other pics I got while there- the weather was overcast and cold- so they may look a little gray-

Oh yeah- did I mention Big Foot was there?

Recent MINI News:

It's a long story but I found myself bidding on a set of H.I.D. Halogen bulbs for my MINI the other day and wound up winning them for 18 bucks. So next week' entry should be a write up of the install and performance- that is if I can find the time this weekend to tackle it. (I know- about time I got back to doing that sort of thing.)

As always - thanks for reading- and stay tuned...

MOSS Intake :: Install & 12K mile review

2004-05-12T11:09:00.000-07:00

Better late than never. In fact this review will, as a direct result of my slackidazicalness, provide us all with a more well rounded view of what life is like before and after the installation of what is, in my opinion, the most under-rated Cold Air Intake on the market for the New MINI Cooper.

A few weeks after taking delivery of my 2002 MINI Cooper I order my first engine "mod" - a Cold Air Intake system from MOSS MINI. I had shopped around a little bit when considering this change- and it became apparent to me that it would be relatively easy to be overcharged for what is essentially a piece of pipe with an air filter on the end. Though there are were (and still are) several intake systems to choose from- most are in the $150 to $200+ range. This seemed like an awful lot of money for a pretty simple part. When I came across the MOSS Intake the price was just too good to pass up: $99.95 for a 2.5" polished pipe and Reusable cone filter. Seemed like a good deal to me so I made up my mind to follow my gut instead of the hype and ordered the intake from MOSS.

A short time later a small box containing the intake components and a full set of instructions- along with some cool stickers (we know I love stickers) arrived at my office. Everything seemed in order- and I was impressed with the quality of the Intake Pipe itself. The version I ordered came with a gorgeous polished- chrome finish (they are also available for $20 more in red or blue anodized finishes).

The following weekend I decided it was time at long last to take wrench to MINI. I had never worked on the car before and so took some time inspecting the stock intake setup- looking at all the mounting points, reading and re-reading the installation instructions and so forth. To be honest - that took longer than the install itself. As far as installations go- this one is a breeze. All you need is basic tools and a little guts.

The stock intake assembly is surprisingly large and takes up quite a bit of space in the engine compartment. I was surprised what a hole it left once removed. It came out without too much fuss- though I do recall having to muscle the intake hose from the front of the car off of the filter box- nothing too drastic though- and hardly any cursing :) .

The new intake installed to existing bolts in the engine bay just like the instructions said it would and attached to the throttle body perfectly. I think the whole process maybe took an hour- and that was really taking my time.

I have to admit- though I had done this mod on a few other cars- I still had that moment of trepidation when I buttoned it back up and turned the key for the first time. Much to my relief the car started and appeared to be running fine- no real noticeable difference at all. I revved the engine lightly a few times and thought I could make out a bit of a grumble- but all in all it seemed quite tame. "OK" I thought- "Time for the road test"

I packed up all my tools- washed my hands- grabbed my sunglasses and headed for one of the best public test facilities known to man- The Pacific Coast Highway :)

I think I got the first inclination of what was to come when pulling up the steep incline of my parking garage exit ramp. I had to juice the gas a bit to make it up and the car all at once seemed a little meaner- it was a sound akin to poking a bear that has been sleeping. Maybe it's just me but it felt as though the MINI was as surprised as I was to suddenly find a new set of "guts" under the hood.

As I navigated through the streets of Santa Monica, making my way towards the California Incline that would lead me to PCH- I found little opportunity to open her up- hitting stop light after stop light amid the Saturday afternoon bustle.

Soon enough I found myself sitting at a red light at the bottom of the California incline - eagerly anticipating the green light - and the subsequent open road.

I revved a little bit- eyes fixed on the stop light - I reached down and flicked off the DSC it wouldn't be necessary where I was going and I didn't want anything to hinder my take off...

The light flicked green and I gunned it- the car leaped forward and as the rpm's climbed I heard a sound so glorious it almost brought a tear to my eye- the engine let forth a growl that can only be described as:

GRRWWWAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARRP!

And I mean it SCREEEEAMED! The acceleration was so much fun that I actually slowed down enough to downshift and do it again- What I found was amazing- the car was actually pulling all the way to redline now (this was not the case with the stock intake)- and it was pulling hard. Regrettably I do not have a sound clip to post at this time- but I am working on it.

The difference is not very noticeable at rpm's below 4000 though- which is good - (no need to scare the old ladies at the grocery store) however- when you need it this intake gives you not only the power- but the audible attitude necessary to maximize the experience of performance motoring.

Regretfully I haven't had the opportunity to get the MINI on a dyno to measure HP- but the trusty old "butt dyno" tells me that adding the MOSS Intake has increased the fun factor of the MINI by quite a bit- and I wouldn't be surprised if there was a modest HP increase to boot.

I would certainly recommend this intake system to anyone with an MC who likes to drive the car hard, and takes joy in winding it up through the twisty's.

I've had the intake in the car for about 12k miles and had the car in for service- without any grumbles from the dealer. It has performed exactly as I would have hoped and I can't help but feel a little smug that I was able to get a quality part without paying a premium price.

For those interested in this mod- it can be purchased from MOSS MINI (NOTE: MINI Mechanic is currently not affiliated with MOSS MINI in any way)

Here are some pics of the intake in place- I think it looks pretty slick.

In other MINI news:

I got an email from a reader interested in replacing his factory body color grill with a snazzy new chrome grill. He is having trouble removing the outer bezel strip which surrounds the grill. I have been looking into getting him a write up for this procedure - if any of you have any ideas please feel free to send them in- and I will pass them on.

I guess that's all for now-

Coming next week...

Stay tuned because this weekend I am going to watch qualifiers for the Indy 500 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. That should be a good time - and I will be sure to take lots of notes and pics. I'll try my best to get that write up together for next week.

Thanks for reading!

-S

Automotive Event or Sociological Experiment?

2004-04-27T17:12:00.000-07:00

A Bud Light and a rusty old hood. In my opinion this image captures the very essence of the Pomona Swap Meet.

A few months ago my friend Vaughn and I decided to check out this haven for VW and Hot Rod enthusiasts for the first time. We figured it would be a great place for Vaughn to find reasonably priced parts for his '74 SuperBeetle restoration project- What we found was a unique subculture of Gear-Heads and VW Gypsies.

Maybe it was the fact that we arrived in the dark at 5am, or perhaps it was the combination of heaping piles of dismantled auto appendages and misty rain sailing down though the towering spotlights that lit the fairgrounds catering to the event- but what we witnessed was a scene so surreal that we were sure we had driven through some rift in time and space to arrive in automotive purgatory.

Droves of hooded figures plodded through the early morning rain and muddy gravel parking lot towards the entrance gates dragging hot-rodded wagons (some of them featuring flames, independent suspensions and racing slicks...). What they had come for was clear- simply put "car parts."

Soon after setting foot into "the pen" which housed the various booths of the bone-yard automotive peddlers, we realized that this was more than an auto event- it was a way of life for many in attendance. It was clear that while some were obviously businessmen with polished booths and near new parts, others were only there looking for a place to park their micro-bus for a while, drink a beer, cook some sausage and see if they could scrape together some gas money by selling whatever parts they had recently replaced on the journey into town. This unique brew of motor oil and dismembered iron-oxide riddled vintage autoparts- culminated in what can only be described as the definitive Gear-Head event- complete with Beer, a few missing teeth, and ribs on the grill.

So that scene was a few months ago- last November I believe- and needless to say we had not quickly forgotten the experience. Vaughn and I decided last weekend that it was time to give it another whirl and see if this magical land truly existed after all.

When we arrived this time- the scene was slightly less dramatic. I think it had a lot to do with the weather- this time it wasn't raining- in fact it was gorgeous out.
The tone of this most recent visit: the rising sun glinting off a sea of rust and chrome was actually quite inspiring. The warm weather also brought out many more show cars- including this cool vintage Cooper S (which was selling for the reasonable price of $19,000!)

Dramatics aside, it was a valuable visit- Vaughn picked up some new head-gaskets and a replacement for his hood latch and e-brake boot. All in all I think he spent about $15 (I wish parts for the MINI were that cheap).

I would recommend the Pomona Swap Meet to anyone who loves cars or makes folk art- Truth is that you can find just about anything auto related in this place. Though the largest section is devoted to VW, there are also many Porsche booths- not to mention a TON of American Muscle car booths. I was surprised not to see more MINI stuff there but was told by one of the parking lot attendants as we were driving out that they sometimes hold MINI events and shows there- so I will have to keep a lookout for the next one of those.

Here are some other "sort of artsy" pics I took while there:

So that was last Sunday.

Today- I had the interesting and pleasant surprise of running into a fellow MINI enthusiast on my way into the office. I was waved down by Mr. Brad Herman -Membership Director for SCMM- and we pulled over and chatted for a bit. I had seen Brad around the message boards- he recognized my car by the license plate (which also happens to be my screen name on most boards). Turns out that there are some interesting events coming up in the near future – some track days, and meet ups. I also found out that Brad got a pretty up-close look at a new MINI S Convertible. This is significant because that car is not supposed to be out until next year. He did a great write up and posted some cool pics. You can check them out HERE if you'd like.

So nice work Brad.

Oh- you may have noticed that the front door of the site has changed. This is part of an ongoing effort to make MINI Mechanic more intuitive and useful to its users.

In keeping with that effort- if anyone has any suggestions, questions- or ideas for the site please feel free to email them to me at minimechanic@minimechanic.com

That's all for now-

Coming up next... an in depth look at 12k miles with the MOSS Intake

Rollin' like Nolin...

2004-04-19T08:33:00.000-07:00

So this is the big one- the one we've all been waiting for- After years of anticipation and scouring the Internet in search of perfect wheels- the day has finally come and I must say they are GLORIOUS.

Lets begin:

After making it through this week (which seemed to drag on FOREVER) I woke up Saturday morning ready to wheel and deal (no pun intended...) in El Monte. I was a little disappointed to find that it was raining when I stepped outside (carting back my stock 16's was gonna be difficult enough but covered in wet road grime was gonna make it extra fun) hmmm better bring some extra large garbage bags.

Garbage bags in hand I set out to Korea Town to pick up my buddy Carl who agreed to accompany me to the mysterious land of El Monte. Carl and I soon decided that no good adventure could begin without a donut. So after a pit stop at Winchells- for a little glazed sustenance- we were on our way.

I have to say that one great thing about LA is that the only people you see out on the road early on a weekend morning are people coming home from the night before. Due to this interesting phenomenon, we made it to El Monte rather quickly- probably about 15 minutes or so.

WheelOptions was very easy to find- 2 quick turns off the freeway and we were standing in the parking lot. The place was bustling- every one of their 5 or so garage bays was in use and the parking lot was full. The first thing I noticed was the overflowing inventory they had- these guys were not messing around. No amount of space went unused- even in the garage. Floor to ceiling boxes reading "Volk", "Rays", "5Zigen" were stacked high and deep- not mention the hundreds of tires that filled in whatever space was left. Apparently we had come to the right place. Now to find the wizard... "Vick"

Carl and I walked into the show room. The entry way is flanked on either side by wheel racks that stretch to the ceiling. The contents of these racks immediately set this shop apart from any of the others I had visited before. Instead of the normal "American racing" and occasional "O.Z." wheel- these racks were 4 high and 2 deep with wheels from Volk, Rays, Work, and Hamman just to name a few. We took pause in this beautiful alloy laced hallway and were like kids in a candy store- pointing wide-eyed in every direction.

To be honest, it was a little overwhelming at first. I had come there with a pretty clear idea of what I was going to leave with. Either the GramLights 57S's or Velox PG7's. However- now that I was faced with all of these options I feared I might get sidetracked. I spotted the Velox's on the top of one of the racks about half way down the hall so I ran over to get a closer look.

Hmm...I think this wheel looked a little too busy for the MINI in person...oooh but what's this? A few steps away I spotted a new wheel by 5Zigen- It was very similar to the GramLight in style- but had 6 spokes instead of 7 and a polished lip. This wheel could be a contender...Time to find Vick.

Carl and I continued down the hall and around the corner where we found a counter top with 3 men on the other side frantically juggling the constantly ringing phones and slew of customers standing around the shop. From the snippets of conversations I was able to catch- these guys know this stuff inside and out- and so were able to answer most questions regarding offset, wheel weight, and vehicle compatibility right off the tops of their heads. The scene reminded me slightly of the NY Stock Exchange- people pointing and shouting in a seemingly chaotic but actually well orchestrated dance of informational exchange.

I scanned the room for "Vik" not having any idea what he looked like I decided to ask whoever looked like they were in charge. Ah- that guy looks calm- he must be the boss...

Me: Excuse me sir I'm looking for Vik?

Sir: I am Vik, can I help you?

Me: I'm Steve, I'm interested in putting a set of wheels on my MINI Cooper today....

Vik: Ah! Steve yes we spoke last week (shakes my hand) let me show you what we have; Oh can I see the car?

And all of a sudden it was like I was the only customer in the place. I had Vik's total attention- It was amazing.

We stepped outside and I showed Vik the car- turns out he is a pretty huge MINI fan and was anxious to get to work on the car. One thing I noticed throughout the day is that Vik takes a personal interest in what goes on each car and is not afraid to offer his opinion to the customer if he thinks they are going down the wrong path aesthetically.

The first thing he asked me was- what color I was looking for in a wheel- Did I want to try and match any of the paint on the car? Did I want an oddball color like blue or something? Chrome?

I told him nothing too crazy- I was really just looking for Silver, and nothing too dark- no black. I pointed out the 5Zigen rim that I had seen in the shop and told him I would like to see that wheel and the GramLight in 17" Silver.

We followed Vik back into the bowels of the shop to their inventory room. We walked way into the back of a room made narrow by excessive amounts of wheels- and Vik pulled down a box, ripped it open and pulled out the 5Zigen.

"This one is for an EVO" he said "So the offset isn't right- but the color is- would you like to see it next to your car?"

This is what I'm talking about- finally someone who get's it- I mean sure, this guy was interested in making the sale- but he was also interested in helping me get what I wanted and not ram-rodding me through the process.

We pulled my car around and Vik set up a mini wheel stand next to the car and placed the rim on it. We got down to eye level with the centerline of the wheel and it was pretty amazing to see how good an idea you could get of how the rim would look on the car.

Turns out that the 5Zigen looked pretty good but there was something about "The Window" (new wheel term I picked up this weekend) that wasn't quite right - and I wasn't sure about the flat finish of the titanium.

("The Window" is the shape created by the space between the spokes)

We tried the GramLight next. As soon as he put the wheel next to the car it just clicked. There was no getting around it- this was the perfect wheel.

We left it there for a while and really looked at it. I have to say that even at this point I began to get some comments from other customers- along the lines of "Wow that is hot"- they were right- the wheels looked incredible.

The only thing that I was a little skeptical about was the color. I had originally had my heart set on bright silver- these are closer to gunmetal. Technically they are called "GunSilver" - sort of in-between. The truth is that they have a heavy reaction depending on the lighting situation- in bright sunshine they look sliver gray- and at night they look dark and mean. At this point however there was no question- these wheels were going on the car- they simply looked too good.

Just for the heck of it- and since I had driven all that way- I asked Vik to see the Velox wheel also. He looked a bit surprised at first- and informed me that he didn't think it would work as well as the Gram- but he went and got it for me anyway.

He was totally right in his opinion- the color was bright silver and that was cool- but the wheel style was totally inappropriate for the MINI.

"Ok Vik- let's talk tires"

Vik informed me that since I was local- and he would not have to ship- that he could upgrade my tires and cover my sales tax (I didn't even have to ask). We decided to go with Yokohama AVS ES100's in 205/45/17" . We looked at 205/40's but I wanted to stick with the factory wheel diameter as not to affect my Speedo.

Aside from tire choice I also had to think about wheel locks and center caps. Like many competition focused wheels- the GramLights didn't come with center caps. I also know through my extensive research that center caps for Volks and Grams are tough to come by and turn a pretty penny on eBay. Vik had some in stock and gave me a reasonable deal on them. He also threw in the wheel locks at no charge.

So the decisions had been made- lets bolt these baby's on! Vik told me he would have to wait for a bay and that I should go have lunch and come back in about an hour. I handed him the keys and Carl and I walked out of the shop eager to explore El Monte. What we found out there was a little strange.

Here are the highlights: A Boutique Cereal Store (Life, Special K, Lucky Charms etc.), a baseball Card store that doesn't want customers, The most Free Clinics I have ever seen in such close proximity to one another, a Cigar and Pipe shop that was actually a "Checks Cashed Here" shop- and a Del Taco that was closed at lunch time on Saturday. Weird

An hour later we returned to see if the car was done. It wasn't- but no worries. Soon after we got back they had the MINI on the lift and I got to watch the entire process :)

If you've read this far- you deserve some eye candy so I will continue this entry with a photo-journalistic essay of the events that followed:

Video Clip of finished MINI pulling out of Garage

Video Clip of MINI returning from test run

After the car pulled in - quite a crowd gathered and many photos were taken (by me and everyone else)- Lots of "ooooing and ahhhhhing" - a little drool and Carl and I were off to break in the new Yoko's.

I have to hand it to Vik- he did a first rate job and their attention to detail was flawless. He replaced all of my hardware- and provided me with the correct centering rings. The balance on the wheels is perfect as is the fit. I did experience some very slight rubbing in the rear (that sounds gross but isn't ;) ) going over some large bumps on the freeway while carting back the old wheels in the boot. I think I'll look into adjusting my fender wells a little if this continues but it hasn't happened since and was most likely due to the extra weight in the car at the time.

After I dropped Carl off I drove the car down to the beach for some more pics where I was lucky enough to be present for a mini sandstorm :( - despite the conditions I took some pics anyway- here they are.

Here is a quick Before & After:

Before:

After:

So was "The BIG Day" everything I hoped it would be?

YES- it was great. I have to say that I think all my wheel research and patience has paid off and I am totally pleased with the results. I think the new wheels give the MINI a lot more attitude and the 7 spoke design offers a combo or retro-mini-lite appeal with a modern edge. I think the color is great- and adds to the aggressive stance of the lowered car. So far the tires seem sticky as hell - though i will report back on that after I have spent some more time with them.

The service and attention from Vik and his crew at WheelOptions was outstanding and I would offer them my highest recommendation to anyone looking for wheels. They are knowledgeable and helpful. Not to mention that El Monte is a little trippy and worth a visit ;)

So what's next for our caped crusader? Hmm... well according to the list the next mod should be Helix 13 cat-back exhaust. But judging from the coin I dropped this weekend I think I'm gonna have to wait a bit on that one. Never fear MINIblog will continue- perhaps it's time to re-enter the world of AutoCross...hmmm...then I would need a helmet....

Until next time- Thanks for reading.

Please send questions or comments to: Me

Killing time til "The BIG Day"...

2004-04-15T18:34:00.000-07:00

So what is "The BIG Day?" - "The BIG Day" is this Saturday the 17th. That's the day I will drive to the far East (El Monte) and pick up new wheels for the MINI. I am particularly excited because after the long and painful decision process of deciding what to get- my patience has paid off and I found a killer deal on a set of GramLights 57's from Importhookup.com/ WheelOptions in El Monte.

I have spoken to Vik at WheelOptions several times this week and it seems that everything is in order. They should be able to mount and balance the new wheels with my choice of sticky-go-fast tires and they have all necessary hardware including centering rings.

As some of you may know- I have been wanting to swap out the wheels on the MINI for about two years- so this day comes with much anticipation- as such- it has been particularly difficult to get through this week- in which time seems to have slowed down just to spite me. Because of this it has been very important to keep myself busy- and since all I can think about these days is the MINI- my efforts have been mainly MINI focused-

In other words "What can I do to the car between now and Saturday...?"

After thinking about it for a little while it came to me in a flash- the giant red-button I installed in the dash has been looking a little sparse next to all the other switches with their fancy icons. The time had come to visit that one and only craftsman and artist- the sticker guy at the mall.

So there is this guy at the mall who will take your artwork and make Vinyl Window Stickers based on your design (you know- like the ones of Calvin peeing on a ford logo...)- anyway I gave him an image and a painful 40 minutes later I had a bunch of MINI Mechanic Logo Decals ready to go. Mind you the actual process of making the stickers took about 2 minutes- but watching this guy fumble through Corel Draw was like watching a Gorilla try to play a Stratavarious. But he was a nice guy- and excited about the project.

He was a little curious why I wanted one of the stickers printed SO small- when I told him it was for a switch in my dashboard he looked at me kinda funny- You know that look you give someone when you suddenly realize they are crazy and then at the same time realize that you are looking at them like they are crazy so you have to look away as not to let on that they have showed you- and you have seen their dementia? (Errrr...? Yeah I think that came out right?)

Anyways- here is a pic of the new decal installed- I think it's pretty sweet:

Oh! I just remembered- I mentioned in my last entry that my passenger side window had ceased to operate- Well it's back baby! No I didn't get it fixed- It has miraculously come back to life- (weirdly enough right around Easter time too- coincidence? perhaps...)- Point is that it's working fine and until it craps out again I'm not gonna worry about it.

Other than that there isn't much news. I have mainly just been working on the site. Trying to enhance the product base and usability- Trying to figure out what type of content will be most valuable to the users. Some things have been implemented- Some are yet to be seen- but keep checking back because I plan on doing a whole lot more.

If anyone has any suggestions of what they would like to see- or what would be useful to them- or even questions about their car - or just something they'd like to share - send it in- maybe I'll feature your Q & A on the site- then you'll be famous!

Ok- counting the minutes until "The BIG Day"....

Tick Tock Clarice...

MINIblog Grand Re-Opening...

2004-03-29T09:35:00.000-08:00

Well if you are reading this then you already know- MINIblog is all grown's up

I felt that since this blog has been getting such a good response- and the subscriber list continues to grow- that this venue deserved a little more respect- so I sprung for the $14.95 and got a brand new domain "MINIMechanic.com."

In keeping with the HotRod mantra "If it ain't broke...make it go faster" I decided that while MINIblog was functional- it could use some upgrades. And since I don't have any new go fast parts to put on the MINI, I may as well mod the website.

Since this change I have received some feedback from readers wondering "why the change?" or "what can I expect from the new MINIblog?"

One reader even said she "felt a special connection to the old MINIblog" said that she hoped the new site maintained that "Grassroots feel..." I can respect that and while this site is definitely more polished than the old- rest assured that just because the MINIMechanic Logo is now available on a lunchbox (a great value at just $16.95! perfect for road trips) that doesn't mean that I have completely sold out. In all honesty the products are things that I think are fun and seem in keeping with the MINI spirit (k- I realize that I just said "MINI spirit" - I'll check myself into MINI-Rehab after this entry- promise)

Anyway the purpose of the switcheroo is to expand the scope of this site. While the blog will continue to be the main focus of the site, there will be many new features as well- some are here now- some are on their way:

Expanded and organized "How To" section

Community message board (coming soon)

Exciting new line of motoring products

MINI product reviews and suggestions (coming soon)

The hope is that these added features will help create a sense of community among MINIbloggies (oh didn't you know? if you are reading this then you are officially a "MINIbloggie" if you would prefer a different title please let me know) where was I...ah yes- create a sense of community- and make the site a little more useful and fun for everyone.

In addition to the new sections mentioned above- there is also a link in the Main Menu called "Need MINI help"- please feel free to use this link if you have any questions regarding our MINI. While I don't claim to know all the answers I may be able to point you in the right direction. Remember- I also have access to the BMW TIS CD which is chock full of info and repair procedures.

I just realized that I have been talking more about the site lately and less about the car- That's probably because I am at an in between phase right now- waiting for the next upgrade which will be the long awaited "WHEELS" (that will be a great day).

Most recently my passenger side window has ceased to operate. I did a little research and have found that the power window motor is prone to going out- and is easily replaced under warranty. So it looks like I'm making a trip to the dealer sometime this week. My dealer of choice is Nick Alexander MINI. Since I have had my MINI I have developed a great relationship with this dealer and feel comfortable having them work on my car. Nicholas (Alexander) is a great guy who is all about customer experience and knows what BMW customers expect in terms of treatment and service. I would recommend them to anyone in the LA area that is looking for a good place to service their MINI.

I think that while I'm out there getting my car fixed I may spring for a set of "S" peddles. The peddles that come in the MINI Cooper are pretty cheesy- standard rubber peddles- but the ones that come standard in the "S" are slick brushed aluminum. I'll have to see if they are in stock- if so- they are coming home.

That is all for now- hope you enjoy the new site- keep an eye out for new updates and enhancements.

Hopefully this will be a better idea than new Coke ;)

The Saga Continues...

2004-03-15T16:43:00.000-08:00

It feels like it's been a little while since I've posted- maybe that's because I needed to step back a bit following my two previous posts regarding wheel choice and my mini-Mini obsession. I got a little feedback from readers who were concerned that I had turned a corner in my MINI hobby. I think I heard the words "intervention" and "lunatic" muttered a few times.

Since I am here not only to satiate my own automotive addiction- but also to entertain and inform the readers- I've been wondering if these two posts had possibly taken MINIblog in a new direction- did I go off track? The original intent of this journal was to chronicle my experiences with the MINI- work I've done on it, places I've been etc...

"etc..." is a big place though- I mean it's a large category that covers alotta ground - so maybe I should take a crack at defining it:

"etc..." in this case includes all topics related to the MINI- not excluding my thoughts, daydreams, hopes and goals- as long as they have to do with the car in some way. That said- it seems to me that while these recent posts definitely fall into that "etc..." category, they may make me seem a bit eccentric- that's ok I can deal with that. I'm gonna stand behind them anyway-

I'm not gonna fence myself in- I'm gonna let the blog fly and see where it takes me!

As I read that last line again it occurs to me that perhaps I do have a problem... well so be it we'll just add it to the pile.

K- that's enough heavy stuff, here's what's been going on lately:

As some of you may know, BMW has not yet released an official shop manual for the MINI to the general public. Unfortunately the car is still new enough that I also can't walk into any auto parts store and buy a service manual for it. This is somewhat disconcerting for the do-it-yourselfer. For the weekend-handyman having the shop manual at the ready is great because it provides detailed instructions (and often pictures of each step) for just about every procedure that could be done on the car.

For my previous cars I was always able to secure a factory shop manual (sometimes still in the original BMW Service Center Binder)- and they proved to be invaluable for diagnosing problems before every picking up a wrench.

Long story short- I've been on a quest for the MINI shop manual since day 1 and finding one has been no small task.

After much searching and lurking on message boards I finally secured one from good old EBay

I was a little skeptical at first- especially because it only cost $15- but decided that without risk there is no glory!

So I fired up PayPal and off went the funds. A day later I got an email from the seller thanking me for my purchase, and providing me with a tracking number for my package. Two days after that I had a small envelope arrive at my office. I was expecting a larger package- surely the entire manual would be "hefty"- had I been duped?!

Turns out the "shop manual" has come a long way - they are no longer in Binders but on CD-Rom and do not cover one car- but THE ENTIRE BMW LINE OF CARS (going all the way back to the E30 (the boxy ones))

JACKPOT!

Along with the CD came a packet of installation instructions. I looked over the instructions and then quickly threw them aside- after all - "I'm a computer professional!"

Turns out that the install is, in fact, a bit involved- the CD actually installs a local database of all the procedures for all the cars and a specialized program to interact with it. There are 4 major components to the program: "System Administrator" (which I assume establishes me as an authorized user of the system)- "TIS" (Technical Information System- which is the symptom diagnostic and procedure database) - EPC and HTK. I have no idea what the last two programs do but I have a distinct feeling that at least one of them allows the user to plug directly into the cars computer and communicate- now that's cool!

I'm not quite brave enough to start hacking the MINI's brain- but I am going to begin researching it and see what I come up with :D

In the mean time I decided the explore the TIS section and see if my $15 was indeed worth it.

Not only is the CD ridiculously comprehensive, but the interface is pretty intuitive- It has a section called "symptoms" where you can choose different paths that describe the problem your car is having and it pulls procedures from the database.

I decided to test this feature. My passenger seat has been squeaking for a little while now- not a big deal, but kind of annoying- not sure what to expect- I fired up the CD. 4 clicks later I had the complete seat disassembly and lube procedure (sounds a little dirty when you write it that way huh?- anyway...) - Turns out this problem has been documented and is relatively easy to fix.

Seems to me that this disc is a winner- and will prove to be an invaluable tool when working on the car.

For those interested, here is a link to the auction on EBay where I found this gem:
BMW TIS Disc

I would say that if you have a MINI or any BMW for that matter- and are a little computer savvy this is definitely a worthwhile purchase.

I also finally broke down and joined one of the local MINI clubs- the SoCal MINI Maniacs - or as I prefer to call them "SCMM" - I chose this club because it seems to be the most active of the local groups- and they have regular track time at Irwindale speedway. I've attended an event or two with these guys and they seem like a good group- I figured I would give it a try. This is not to say that I won't look into other clubs- or attend other events.

In other news- you may have noticed the banner ad at the top of this page. Now before the cry's of "sellout!" come pouring in- let me say this- I sold out. Well only a little. The way I see it is this: It's an experiment. In the course of my entries I have endorsed a number of products, and in the Links section of the site I point to a number of Vendors and other bloggers. I'm happy to endorse away if I believe in a product or website. But why would I make the jump to ad space? Have I tainted this relaxed and informal venue? Maybe, or perhaps its just a logical progression since I work in marketing (specifically internet marketing). I think more than anything I just wanted to see what would happen.

I also really think that Tire Rack provides a quality service (at unbeatable prices) and has a useful and informative website for those interested in upgrading their cars, and since the purpose of MINIblog is to be both entertaining and informative to its readers- letting them know about- and giving them easy access to quality products seems to be my duty. I figure that since I have been an unofficial spokesperson for Tire Rack for years- I might as well make it official and if I can put some scratch in my pocket- earn some extra duckets for parts upgrades at the same time- what's wrong with that? So we'll see how it goes perhaps I shall become an automotive internet mogul!

I will also say this- to those of you that waded through the wheel choice entry- partial apologies must be offered. While I stand behind the theory and practice described there- I must say that I may have been hasty in calling an end to the wheel search. As it turns out there is a local shop that is offering an amazing deal on wheels that were previously outside my price range- thus opening up a whole new catagory of wheel choices. So as it stands my current choice is this:

The Gram Light 57S (a brand new wheel).

And here is a ROUGH mockup of what the wheels will look like on the MINI:

I think they look AWESOME and hope that the discount pricing holds until I am ready to pull the trigger on purchase.

So until next time...the blog continues

Do not feed after midnight...

2004-02-26T15:38:00.000-08:00

Don't get them wet...
They hate bright light...

Or something like that because my collection of mini MINI's continues to multiply and, to be honest- I'm not too happy about it.

I think I realized that I had a problem as I stood in Target today holding my latest treasures (all 3 Italian Job MINI's in mini form) - a small boy walked past me with his mother. He was trying to convince his mom to let him get something from "the toy aisle" and was clearly losing the battle. In a last ditch effort - this little negotiator of about 3 years old- pointed at me and screamed - "But Mommy the man has a toy!" as if to say- "Sheesh mom - even grown men are buying toys- surely you must relent!"

Well the kid didn't win but his mom did toss me a disapproving look like I was some sort of deviant- and suddenly I felt shamed. Then I looked down and read the package in my hand:

"MINI Cooper S (Red with L.A. Road Grime)"

Oh yeah there was definitely something amiss- and I planned to get the bottom of it once I had purchased all three (for $4 a piece...ouch)

While I was walking back to the car I started counting off how many mini MINI's I actually own- the number is too horrible to share...ok I'll tell

17 (I think)

If you ask me that's a damn lot- too many for one man to be ownin'

So what is the attraction to all these little cars? I mean I have no problem with buying toys- that I can deal with- but when I find myself obsessively buying one thing over and over again- it's time to take stock.

I could understand making these purchases if I were waiting to buy a real MINI- but truth be told I had the real one before any of the models. What also perplexes me is that this is money that could be pooled and put to better use- like performance mods for the car...

I think that this whole business is part of some insipidly genius advertising strategy that has been devilishly successful in permeating my entire being. The marketing for MINI has been flawless- they have successfully reached out to a cross- generational market share through a delicate combination of nostalgia, style and the kind of "be part of the revolution" appeal that I have not seen since the likes of the (here it comes) A**le Computer. (I know that's a dirty word - I'll wash my mouth out later).

I am impressed that MINI has been able to not only create a great product- but market it so effectively that I have an almost Pavlovian response to purchase at the site of anything MINI. Now this is not to say that I have gone after every thing MINI that is on the market- I don't own the MINI Cuckoo-Clock, or the MINI- Sunglasses, Wristwatch - or skateboard. But when it comes to the die cast models (in whatever scale) there is something about them that is almost magnetic.

Having said all that- I still think all the little cars are really cool and I don't really mind being part of the MINI revolution. So far I have met some great people at the different events around SoCal and it seems like a very positive thing all around.

This latest group of models are licensed by The Italian Job the movie - and are amazingly well detailed- right down to the painted MINI emblems on the hood.

I have to say that they are higher quality than the Matchbox version that I had previously- and the proportions are closer to those of the real car.

Here are some pics of the cars in and out of their packaging- sorry for the poor quality, I took these with my phone.

I'm not sure what the point of this entry was exactly- I think it was part confessional- part analytical, and part informative for those of you out there who also suffer from "the illness" that comes with MINI ownership (there is something new to buy- run out to Target before they are all gone).

That's all for now- I'm gonna go race my new cars around my desk...

*Note: for those of you who just can't get enough MINIblog and simply must have more- take a look at my unannounced previous post "Wheels at the end of the tunnel" below- if you thought this post showed obsessive behavior you ain't seen nothin yet.

As a wise man once told me "There is a fine line between hobby and mental illness" - man was he right.

Wheels at the end of the tunnel...

2004-02-16T16:51:00.000-08:00

So as many of you may know I have been obsessing over changing out the wheels on the MINI since the day I brought it home. To me this upgrade is fundamental to making the car "mine" - Of all the mod's I've done so far- none will make the car as visibly unique as a new set of wheels.

As most MINI-people know- the stock rims are very heavy for their size and the run-flat tires are also quite hefty. Additional weight in these areas yields a number of undesirable results for the car enthusiast. Without getting too into it here are some in a nutshell:

Harsh ride

Slower 0-60

Greater strain placed upon suspension components

Those of you who know me well are aware that the goal of these new wheels has little or nothing to do with god-awful "bling"- and everything to do with a balance of style, performance and value.

With that in mind, I have been searching for over a year for the perfect set of rims that will not only complement the MINI's style, but simultaneously improve handling and reduce unsprung weight.

I have to say that I think the search - though long and tedious has been worth the effort. Like many great journeys, this has been one of self discovery, perseverance and patience. As long as I have been driving I have prided myself on wheel choices for my vehicles- while I think there are many wheels that will look great on just about any car- I think finding that one wheel that is perfect can make all the difference. This can be a tricky process. For those of you who have been wondering what my secret is- get ready because you are about to get a glimpse into the twisted mind of a wheel fanatic:
(that may be the dorkiest sentence ever written)

Ok so here's how I do it:

1. The first, and by far the most important thing I look for is the overall "line of the car": Is the car made up of sharp lines or soft lines? Curves or angles? In the case of the MINI its a combo- the front is very round and the back incorporates the sharp angle of the spoiler and roof line. The wheel's design should complement the cars natural lines and not feel like an afterthought. I've found that one good place to start when trying to determined a cars line is with the profile of the front fender by the headlight- followed by the rear fender at the tail light. This method has never failed me in the past but proved challenging on the MINI. What I soon found was that some wheels that looked great on the front of the car- fell flat on the rear. This was gonna be fun...

2. The second thing I try to define is my overall goal: Performance? Aesthetics? Value? In this instance it was definitely all three but in this order: Value, Performance, Aesthetics. My budget was the major determining factor throughout the selection process, but it was followed closely by "performance" which can be determined by wheel weight and the credibility of the brand. Once I had decided a target weight for the wheel- that narrowed the playing field by quite a bit. Most aftermarket wheels, even some of the expensive ones are surprisingly heavy (upwards of 20lbs at 17") I decided that my goal weight was 17"lbs at the max (which is not super-light, but is respectable)- that would save me about 3lbs per wheel (before the weight savings in tires) and still give me enough of a range that I should be able to find something nice. Turns out that was a good choice.

3. The third thing I do is look around and see what's popular: Whatever the most popular wheel is at the time, or for that specific car I avoid like the plague- Part of the objective is to make the car my own- falling into step with the masses is counterproductive. In this case I saw a lot of people going with the OZ Superleggra (I've seen at least 5 MINI's on the road with them)- They look pretty good- but would not be unique. They are also pretty expensive. So I wrote those off right away. I also noticed that Hamman was becoming a popular brand to see on the MINI- and they are definitely gorgeous but man are they heavy (I've heard them called boat anchors) - so those were out too.

4. Having set the parameters of my search- it's time to begin the hunt: Of course 90% of my searching takes place online- hitting message boards, galleries, car magazine sites etc- and wheel sites- my favorite of which is The Tire Rack. I like this site not only because I have done business with them in the past and they provide excellent service- but because they have an interactive site which allows you to "try on" different wheels with your vehicle - to see how they look. The system isn't perfect but gives you a pretty good idea prior to purchase. I was disappointed early in my search with the lack of selection offered by TireRack for the MINI. This lead me to branch out and for a while toy with the idea of buying from a less reputable site. I did find that there are some VERY competitive prices out there for wheel and tire sets if you are willing to hunt around for them.

In the year that I have spent searching for the perfect wheels I have looked in magazines, online, local events, and even done numerous photo mockups of my car sporting various styles of wheels and to tell the truth, not too long ago I was beginning to get pretty discouraged and almost settled on a wheel I wasn't sure about- then it happened...

"It" happened like so many great things happen in our lives- unexpectedly. I was surfing around NorthAmericanMotoring or NAM (a popular MINI message board) seeing what was new when I came across a post about somebody who had just repainted the panels in their interior to match the body-color of the car- I was a little bored and I decided to have a look. As I was looking at the pictures posted of the interior- there was one that caught some of the exterior in the shot- I almost didn't notice it at first but then it caught my eye... that glint of silver...could it be? I desperately scanned the post looking for more information on this car - I had to see a pic of this car from the outside- and then ..."thanks be to god this guy has a website!" click - click- click and it was all over- just like that. I must give credit where credit is due so here is a link to the site that ended my search:

The automotive homepage of Rod and Lisa W**** of lovely North Carolina

They have some great pics of the wheels on their site- here is a link to their Gallery

These wheels are Kazera KZ-V's

One note on the wheels in question:

As shown in the photographs they are 18"- While they look pretty stunning in 18", I will be purchasing these wheels in 17" for ride and performance considerations.

So what was it about these wheels that made them click so well- I think it's the split spoke design coupled with the bright silver finish and polished lip.

The split spoke mirror the stripes on the bonnet (hood) - and also combine a hard and soft line- they are straight in the spoke then curve into the wheel.

I knew I wanted silver for the wheel finish - but was having trouble finding normal silver as opposed to the new and popular "hyper-silver"-

And the Polished lip will react nicely with the chrome accents on the car.

Now I only had two questions... the questions that would be the true acid test- price and weight...it was off to TireRack

Turns out they are indeed 17lbs and fall well within the price range- it's like it was meant to be

I know what your sayin- this truly is an inspiring tale but what did you learn about yourself throughout this amazing saga? It's simple- I learned that patience and perseverance is key- had I not been patient and kept up the search I would have probably wound up rollin' on the Rota Tarmacs ( a fine wheel btw) from RSpeed- which wouldn't have been horrible- but had I come across these after the fact- it would have been heartbreaking. So the moral of the story is take your time when selecting wheels and don't settle for "good enough"

So when do they arrive? Funny you should ask. As you may have noticed there is a countdown running in the upper right hand corner of this page- that timer is counting down to my birthday- at which time I will purchase these wheels and the circle will be complete!

If you read this far I feel like you should get some sort of prize or something - this really was a rambling entry- but I guess it's been a long time in the making. I guess I can pass on some of the wheel related websites I unearthed in my travels- here ya go:

The TireRack

Edge Racing

WheelMax

1010tire

OutMotoring

RSpeed

WheelSpecs

DiscountTire

SpeedandStyle

DragonWheels

CheapWheels

RotaWheels

REV Wheels

The Wheel Exchange

Those are a pretty good start- it also helps to hang around the message board associated with your particular type of car. Some good ones for the MINI are:

NorthAmericanMotoring
MINI2

Let the countdown begin!

MINI springs n' things...

2004-02-09T10:28:00.000-08:00

A lot has happened in MINI-land since my last report.

We left our hero slightly injured in Hancock Park suffering from a mildly damaged bumper, and I had just scored a deal on some H&R sport springs.

Since then the bumper has been repaired and I am really happy with the results- Al's body shop did some amazing work - and even detailed the car before I picked it up.

The springs arrived right on schedule as did the the spring compressor set I ordered from Sears.

With all the necessaries in hand Vaughn and I tackled the installation of the springs this past Saturday. I was particularly excited to do this mod because it's one that I have been thinking about since the day I picked up the car. Two of my previous cars (the 320i and 325ic) both had it done and I was really pleased with the results. I have also always felt that the MINI could stand some lowering- especially in the back.

Before I dive into the details of the install- here's a brief explanation about what the benefits of the new springs are:

Improved handling

Lowered center of gravity

More aggressive stance

Progressive rate (springs get tighter as they are worked harder- this makes for little sacrifice in ride quality for normal driving- while providing increased stiffness for hard cornering)

So that's the "why" - here's the "how"

In anticipation of this mod I read up a little about others experiences with doing this installation- one thing seemed consistent throughout all of the accounts- The drivers side front strut was apparently the most difficult to remove - and this job was not for the faint of heart- warnings of "danger danger" were strewn though postings and "only attempt if you have previous experience.." - yadda yadda yadda-

Keeping all of this in mind Vaughn and I decided to do it anyway. Since neither of us had ever done this type of job before we thought it best to start out slow. Since we were already familiar with the set up of the rear suspension (from the sway bar installation) We figured we would change out the rears first to get a feel for using the spring compressors and such.

This turned out to be a great idea- because the rears practically changed themselves- switching the rear springs out was one of the easiest, most straight-forward mods I have ever done on a car.

You just pop the wheel off and 3 bolts later the shock comes right out.

Here's what it looks like removed:

Once that was out- we just removed the top nut holding the collar in place and removed the stock spring, popped on the new one and reinstalled. Here's a pic of the old spring (black) vs. the new spring (green)

Here is a pic of the finished rear shock:

Swapping out the rears took about 45 minutes. It was so easy in fact that we decided to break for lunch (an unprecedented move in MINI-garage- special thanks to my lovely wife Kerry for providing lunch :) )

After some tasty wraps from Subway, and feeling very confident, we moved on to the front end.

At first glance it seemed only slightly different in procedure than the rear- When we looked closer it became apparent that these were gonna be VERY different.

There are a few major differences that make the fronts harder to remove- the most major is the fact that the bottom of the strut is seated about 3 inches deep in the steering knuckle and the top is recessed in the shock tower- because of this, in order to remove it from the car you have to compress the living hell out of it- Oh one more thing- these springs are about a thousand times stiffer than the rears because they need to support the weight of the engine- so compressing them - even if you can get at them is no easy task.

Here's a pic of the bastard still intact:

We made short work of removing all the necessary hardware to set the strut free- that took about 10 minutes. The next hour was spent trying to coax it out of the car. I have to say that the spring compressors were an invaluable tool for this portion of the job- even if they were difficult to implement due to space constraints. I had read about some people using ratchet straps to compress the fronts because they are easier to fit up inside the tower- we tried this but it didn't work. But here's a pic anyway:

Instead we wound up squeezing the compressors up inside the tower and reaching down through the large center hole in the top of the tower with a crescent wrench to tightening the compressors that way- the was a slow process and resulted in several bleeding knuckles. In the end it did the trick for compressing the spring.

Here's a pic of the shock tower (this was taken prior to removal- the hole in the center of the three silver studs is where we accessed the compressors)

The next challenge was, now that we had some wiggle room with the shock compressed, to remove the assembly from the steering knuckle while not allowing the front drive shafts to fall out of the transmission. This part took some doing- and I am sure would not have been possible to do alone. With a lot of cursing and sweat the strut finally came out.

I thought that would be the hard part- granted it was difficult - but the challenge was far from over. The next roadblock was the recessed nut holding on the shock collar. The install instructions I downloaded glossed over this portion of the install with the phrase "innovative tool usage required" - they were NOT kidding. The nut itself is sort of accessible if you have a set of deep sockets (which I do- and no that is not a euphemism) the problem is that in order to loosed or tighten the nut without the entire shock body rotating with it- you need to place an allen key in the set screw centered within the nut- which means you can't get a socket on it.

Vaughn and I put our monkey-brains to work and came up with this contraption:

It's basically a deep socket with the allen key through the driver hole (holding the set screw in place) - A set of vice grips were used to turn the nut and another to hold the allen wrench.

This worked alright - and we were able to use a torque wrench to tighten everything back up- since I didn't have the actual specs I just went with "REALLY TIGHT"

Getting the assembly back in place was so easy it was almost insulting. Here's a pic of the bastard back in place:

I wish I could say that the passenger side was easier- that we learned some trick to save time on that one- but I can't - it was a right sumbitch too and took just as long if not longer to do.

One other minor install that was done- was the addition of a protective screen for the power-steering fan. I figured that since I was lowering the car, and this fan was already in a prime spot to get smashed- I may as well kick in the $30 bucks and protect it while I had the car on the jack. Two bolts later it looked like this:

Following the installation Vaughn , Kerry and I - met some friends across the street at El Cholo for margaritas and some awesome Mexican food. Perfect

I have to say- that while this turned out to be the most difficult install that I (we) have done so far- I think it is one of the most rewarding as well. Not only does the car look and feel better- but I feel as though it was a right of passage to have done this one "in house." My other cars had both been sent out to a shop for this mod- this one probably would have been too if I had the $400 bucks to spend for the labor- but I'm glad I didn't. There is something really satisfying about doing the work yourself and having it go so well.

And now for the moment you've all been waiting for, here are some before and after pics of the car:

Front Before

Front After

Rear Before

Rear After

Car This morning

So what's next on the agenda- I think it may be time for wheels and tires- stay tuned!

Oh and I thought this was funny- apparently I have no need to worry about my transmission- it's been "tested" ;)