fishbone Posted August 17, 2009 Author Share Posted August 17, 2009 It's a blast to drive, even at 15mph If I can pry it off from my wife, next time we meet up, I'll come with it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dammitjim Posted August 21, 2009 Share Posted August 21, 2009 If you can find one, get an auto-up windows kit. Great mod and easy to install. To check to see if the car already has one, lower the window and then tap the window switch up twice. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PGT Posted August 21, 2009 Share Posted August 21, 2009 http://www.fes-auto.com just took over production of the auto-up ckt so no more digging to find used ones Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fishbone Posted August 24, 2009 Author Share Posted August 24, 2009 This car is so much fun to drive, it handles amazingly. Aside from the whole FWD vs AWD factor, it is worlds and classes above my stock (suspension-wise) LGT. It definitely shows it's BMW philosophy. Everything is tight and provides very good feedback. The brakes are predictable and precise. Steering is tight and controlled. Suspension is stiff but not punishing. Virtually no body roll, you tuck on the steering and the car is eager to shoot in that direction. The overall set-up of the vehicle makes it very easy to throw in the corners but the current tires it is equipped with usually protest. Goodyear Eagle NTC5 runflats. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fishbone Posted August 24, 2009 Author Share Posted August 24, 2009 PGT (or anyone else for that matter), even though you're probably out of the scene, if you happen to come across a Bentley Manual for the 1st gen Minis, would you please let me know? Trying to get a good price on one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bolksey85 Posted August 24, 2009 Share Posted August 24, 2009 PGT (or anyone else for that matter), even though you're probably out of the scene, if you happen to come across a Bentley Manual for the 1st gen Minis, would you please let me know? Trying to get a good price on one. I used to have one but sold it for about $60 or $70 maybe 10 months ago. Sorry but you can find them used. Just search the forums, they're out there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bolksey85 Posted August 24, 2009 Share Posted August 24, 2009 Try and convince your wife that the rear sway bar is defective and that a 19mm Hotchkis bar is an OEM recommended replacement.;)If you think it handles well now, toss that and some decent tires on and make sure the old lady is ready to grab the b1tch bar. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fishbone Posted August 24, 2009 Author Share Posted August 24, 2009 And a reduction pulley too I'm leery of doing any sort of supercharger mods. I've read some trouble stories with failed SCs under 100K miles and some have had the reduction pulley on them. Seems to be an oil starvation issue. There are two places you can change the oil on the SC, but it's damn near impossible to do without pulling a lot off the car. BMW quotes the supercharger oil (Eaton M45 afaik) to be lifetime. But I think what they mean by lifetime is the lifetime of the SC, so if it goes at 100K, then there was your lifetime. I would like to have it serviced but my trusty shop wasn't able to find that sort of data so best they could tell me as far as a charge goes was basically "we need to start work and we'll see how much labor is involved". All this for about 8oz of gear oil. GRR! The SC is whisper quiet as it should be (except for the typical whine) but some preventive maintenance can't hurt even if we only end up keeping the car for 3 years. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bolksey85 Posted August 24, 2009 Share Posted August 24, 2009 If the blower eats it, upgrade. [ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=imZ38UMqIr8]YouTube - Rotrex Supercharger for Mini Cooper[/ame] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fishbone Posted August 25, 2009 Author Share Posted August 25, 2009 I just had the funniest experience with this Mini yet. We had a team lunch and there were 4 of us that piled in my car. We were all between 5.8 and 6.1 and except for me (160lb) the other 3 were BIG guys. Not sure about two, but I know one of my passenger confessed to weighing in at around 300lb. We basically laughed the whole way to the restaurant. At every stoplight people in cars around us would give us either weird, surprised or amused looks. One guy actually mouthed off "there are FOUR people in that Mini!" I parked downtown close to a crosswalk and as everyone was getting out, about half dozen people that were waiting just stared. On the way back I took a sharp 90 turn pretty quick to beat a light and when everyone saw I was accelerating towards it, grabbed the oh-shit bars and hung on for dear life. They didn't think we were gonna make it. I'm still laughing about it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bolksey85 Posted August 26, 2009 Share Posted August 26, 2009 I had something really similar when I first had mine. It was me, 1 friend who was maybe 240lbs, one who was 260lbs, and another who was like 6'3" all piled in my car. And each one was grabbing a b1tch bar when that first tight turn came up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LongHiway Posted August 26, 2009 Share Posted August 26, 2009 I just had the funniest experience with this Mini yet. We had a team lunch and there were 4 of us that piled in my car. We were all between 5.8 and 6.1 and except for me (160lb) the other 3 were BIG guys. Not sure about two, but I know one of my passenger confessed to weighing in at around 300lb. We basically laughed the whole way to the restaurant. At every stoplight people in cars around us would give us either weird, surprised or amused looks. One guy actually mouthed off "there are FOUR people in that Mini!" I parked downtown close to a crosswalk and as everyone was getting out, about half dozen people that were waiting just stared. On the way back I took a sharp 90 turn pretty quick to beat a light and when everyone saw I was accelerating towards it, grabbed the oh-shit bars and hung on for dear life. They didn't think we were gonna make it. I'm still laughing about it. I forgot, was this the perfect car for your wife? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fishbone Posted August 26, 2009 Author Share Posted August 26, 2009 She just doesn't want any money dumped into it or tinkering. You know, the whole "stay stock, stay happy" argument. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bolksey85 Posted February 12, 2010 Share Posted February 12, 2010 Long term updates? I just read through the supercharged 4cyl thread and remembered about Fish's car. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ray916mn Posted February 12, 2010 Share Posted February 12, 2010 My wife wanted one of these. Last summer I managed to find an '06 Mini Cooper S, 6 speed with the John Cooper Works package (~210 bhp, bigger intercooler, bigger injectors, bigger brakes, stiffer suspension, different map, factory warranty). If anyone is looking at these cars and thinking of mods, in my opinion, getting a car with the JCW package already installed is the way to go. You get full factory parts and service support. you can't extract allot more out of these cars. Careful shopping is required as there are fake JCW cars out there. These things are a blast, but a bit tiring to drive on trips as the steering is very very responsive and the suspension is definitely stiff. Both the automatic and manual transmissions are non-repairable. Used manual transmissions typically go for about $2500 and are common to the Focus SVT (my teenage daughter drives one of these). The backend of the supercharger has a drive gear for the waterpump and the typical failure of the supercharger is the drive gear for the waterpump disintegrates after the lifetime lubrication (about 80cc of special oil) disappears. Replacement gears are available for about $300. To replace the waterpump, the supercharger needs to come out. There are electric waterpump kits for these cars. About $600 IIRC. The car I bought, was at the end of its warranty 50K miles and the presale inspection revealed a leaky waterpump and failed AC condenser. Total cost without warranty for these repairs (~$5K !!!). As I told my wife, this is not going to be a cheap car to own and maintain. FWIW Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fishbone Posted February 17, 2010 Author Share Posted February 17, 2010 Wow, not sure why I unsubscribed from my own thread Yep, fully aware of the supercharger woes and also the mushrooming strut towers. I was proactive with mine and got the top reinforcement plates and called it a day. If the supercharger goes, I'm going for a Rotrex and I won't tell my wife Ours is the 6EAT Aisin unit and come spring I will be doing a drain/refill of the ATF. All this "lifetime fluid" is just a bunch of bullshit. I've never driven a JCW car but damn, I can't imagine these things being any more stiff. They are seriously fun cars, I go all out every time I am by myself, brings smiles every time. And then I step into the Legacy which even though would eat the S for breakfast in a straight line, feels like a Camry overall. We've driven the Mini on a few long roads, Nebraska to Minnesota, Nebraska to Chicago IL and I can't complain. Road noise is what gets us after a while, but the seats and ride is not too harsh for us. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bolksey85 Posted February 17, 2010 Share Posted February 17, 2010 Did you get actual camber plates or just the little rings around the strut tower top? A lot of people buy fixed camber plates for not only the strength increase but the added camber helps tire wear because the tires stand nearly straight up from the factory. And if you really want to increase the fun factor, toss in a mild rear sway bar and some decent rubber. I know the wife said no mods but that sway bar makes a fun car into a blast. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fishbone Posted February 17, 2010 Author Share Posted February 17, 2010 I didn't get the plates, they looked like overkill and I was told they may actually negatively affect camber. 60K on runflats, no mushrooming, should be OK. Still on the stock tires, they suck but I want to run them till summer or so. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brum Posted February 17, 2010 Share Posted February 17, 2010 First of all it sounds like you're loving it. Heres my experience with them haha. My college roommate has one. 6 speed 2003 supercharged with 15% reduction pulley, alta intake, alta stealth exhaust, H n R springs (soon to be Megan Coilovers and camber plates), rear LCR's, B&M STS, and OBX header is being shipped. And some cosmetic crap and Hawk pads. This thing rips like a bat outta hell. I have gotten sick (legitimately puking) driving some back country roads riding shotgun lol. However, with my stage 2 almost done I'm faster than him . We're going to pull the S/C this summer and check the oil and everything; and we've had the motor jacked up and the like so many times it takes no longer than 20 minutes to get it up now. Oh and runflats realllllly suck! Here are some pics. peaking out from behind the LGT http://i122.photobucket.com/albums/o264/rustycoupe/Subie/IMG_0026.jpg Stock when he first got it http://i122.photobucket.com/albums/o264/rustycoupe/n1164120142_30319004_7970.jpg With his puppy riding shotty http://i122.photobucket.com/albums/o264/rustycoupe/17173_1252541231351_1164120142_3082.jpg All clay barred and lookin good with the summer Rotas http://i122.photobucket.com/albums/o264/rustycoupe/5800_1136704055494_1164120142_30545.jpg Sorry to threadjack haha Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
05pearl Posted February 17, 2010 Share Posted February 17, 2010 I want to stuff our 2.5L turbo with an HTA68 into a Mini Too bad I never do it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fishbone Posted February 17, 2010 Author Share Posted February 17, 2010 brum, regarding the supercharger ... I am tempted to also pull mine and inspect/service but I just think there's a bigger potential to do more harm than good. I think at this point I'm just going to run it until it makes strange noises, at which point I'll take care of it. Isn't it ridiculous how much work is involved for just 6 damn ounces of lubricant? Oh, and your LGT is the exact same color as mine Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fishbone Posted February 17, 2010 Author Share Posted February 17, 2010 I want to stuff our 2.5L turbo with an HTA68 into a Mini Too bad I never do it. Keep dreaming There's barely any clearance in the engine bay to even pull out the oil filter Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
05pearl Posted February 17, 2010 Share Posted February 17, 2010 ^^ I know. But, Subaru needs to make a two seater roadster with the 2.5L, but that will never happen either. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brum Posted February 17, 2010 Share Posted February 17, 2010 Haha...truth. When comparing the engine bays of my dads 65 mustang with a 302ci to the mini its like a mansion to a cardboard box. Part of me hates doing anything to the mini for that reason. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fishbone Posted February 18, 2010 Author Share Posted February 18, 2010 You can actually do oil changes on a Mini without getting under the car. As long as you are not a midget, you can actually just reach down from the front of the car to the drain bolt You still have to take the bottom skidplate off though. Speaking of small cars, way back in the day, I can't remember if it was my dad driving or his friends, but both of them were in a Trabant and it was missing the windshield. Dad's friend was like 6.2 or something, he stopped to yield to a pedestrian and seeing that she was hesitating to cross the road, he stood up in the car, leaned out and pointed with the extended hand way over the hood to the front of the car "please maam, go ahead" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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