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I have 150k miles on the car with a complete new engine at 75k when the orginal owner lost his timing chain/tensioner. I only put about 4,000 miles a year and use full synthetic. No significat blow by. typically only down to 3/4 to 1/2 of fill line at time of oil change. Race shop was highly recommend on this forum and they love cars, I see a lot of minis in for service - that said I am inclined to drain a bit out. Agree? And thank you for the help! Rob

The only reason I can think that they are slightly overfilling is to account for blow by. These engines have blow by normally, but will a turn with increased boost this could increase. As you have no internal mods or that would change the oil need or representation of fill level. The right way to address this would be to check your oil every time you fill up with gas and top off with oil to replace any loss.

Sorry I should have said it better. They said it was what they recommended for my car. Just an assumption on my part. I have water meth and tune by Fred at Tech Tune Crofton. Complete mods are: Manual Trans - Ringer Racing Clutch Stage 3 and Flywheel Milltek Performance downpipe High Flow Cat - vibrant j spacer with their smallest size jetting Wagner intercooler Borla Sport Exhaust K&N Cold Air Intake ecu tune SPS Tech Tune Crofton - ( Stock, 18, 20 and 21.4 psi) ( stages set by plug in controller stored in glove box) Brisk Spark plugs gapped at .025 Snow Performance Water Meth injection (controller on dash to left of wheel – washer fluid tank converted to Boost Juice reservoir) BC Racing coil overs Torques solutions engine mount. Zimmerman drilled rotors (front)

What mod are they saying they are accounting for.

Race shop filled oil about 1/4 inch over max and advised that .25 quart over max is way to go with mods I have. Never heard anything good about going past max fill line. Thoughts please.

Since I'm in an apartment in DC, and can't find a base with an open auto hobby shop, I will most likely have to pay for all my work. Which makes timing things to save on labor as much a factor as anything. Is there anything else worth doing along with the rear sway bar while they have it pulled apart?

At 24k, your rotors are mostly likely fine. Most shops never recommend pads only, but I have done it many times on vehicles including MINIs I have owned. This install is very easy, and can be done in an hour in a driveway. You will also have to replace the sensor that went off as it wore through the copper wire, or there are other ways to fix that. Lots of quality video on youtube to due this service. A rear sway bar will improve rotation, and has the added advantage of not effecting ride quality as your MINI is your daily. Links likely are not necessary as you are not adjusting the ride height with coilovers. Rear sway bars are good bang for the buck at around $300 for the part. Where they create cost is if you are not doing the install yourself. With the design of the MINI suspension the sway bar is between the subframe and the unibody, unlike many designs where they are attached to the bottom and easily removed with only a few bolts. With a mini you will need to partially drop the subframe to allow space to walk the old one out and the new in. It is not a hard project, but really you need a garage and life is easier with a lift. Young me has done them in a driveway on jack stands, and I am personally to old for that now. Additionally, you will need an alignment as you moved the subframe. So providing you do your own labor and only buying the sway bar, and an alignment it is likely around $500. Having a shop do it I would guess around $1000 all in.

Thanks for the advice. I haven't ever felt like I didn't have enough stopping power with the stock rotors/pads, but I do understand that sometimes its not about lacking a capability but adding to capability you already have. Most of my driving is around DC and club rides, but if there are some opportunities to get on the track next year I would love to give it a shot without having to spend a ton of money the next day to fix parts. Assuming that my stock rotors are decent (only 24k mi) and they don't need replacing until the next pad change, than I would rather just replace the pads and invest in a rear sway bar and links. So I'm really just trying to figure out where it makes the most sense to invest dollars to get the best performance gains based on my driving. Much to learn. If you have advice on things to read/watch to learn more please let me know. Appreciate the assist.

Thanks for the kind words and info! I will be testing out the horn issues this week. Hoping it's an easy quick fix. Maybe it's an opportunity to beef up to some air horns or something haha. Is the steering wheel connection a common issue with the horn? Hoping to make it out to the next run this coming weekend and officially join the group in December Thanks again, DM

Don, Sorry I missed you message on this I will reply here for others to see also. The follow comments are the opinion of Corey and that and a buck will get you a small coffee. So take them as you wish. As for rotors, drilled and slotted look cool, but will wear you pads faster and provide on gains for road driving. There are quality aftermarket plan smooth rotors that are equal or better quality to OEM with a slight cost savings. As for pads EBC and Hawk are both high quality aftermarket options. For EBS yellow stuff is likely overkill. Red stuff has less brake dust and will exceed you current brake grip, and provide all you need. As for Hawk HPS would be a suitable pad. I will shoot you a private message about pricing.

Welcome @DocMurphy, nice looking Gen 1 you got there. The will find a lot of gen 1 info in our forums, it should be a great repository for you. As for you horn issue. I would use to jumpers to test the horn directly. Run one lead to from one terminal to ground (any non painted bolt nearby), and the send jumper from the other horn terminal and tap the end to a power source. If it beeps the horn it good. Next leave to ground connected and try to operate the horn from the steering wheel if it beeps you have a bad ground. If it does not beep check the horn fuse, if bad replace if good. it is likely the connection in the steering wheel. Hope to see you at a run soon.

Hey all. I have my first mini, 2020 F56 JCW, with just over 23k miles. My brake pad replacement notification came on driving home from Luray after the club ride. I reached out to a local shop to ask about replacing pads and rotors, as I have heard/read that is usually a good time to upgrade. However the shop (not a dealership) doesn't recommend slotted/drilled rotors and the cost to swap all rotors and pads is $1500 for OEM style rotors and EBC yellow stuff pads. So my question is: What's the advantage/disadvantage of slotted/drilled rotors and should I "upgrade" if they aren't recommended? Will the yellow stuff and stock rotors give me improved braking? Any advice would be great as I will need to get the work done in the next week. Thanks!

Thanks to @PlaidSneakers for the great run this weekend! Looking forward to catching a few more before the weather turns.

Right on! Thanks. Looking forward to meeting up!

Hi Doc, I'm going to send you a direct message about the next run, check your DM Lorri

Awesome! I would love to join in on a ride! I looked at the events tab but didn't see anything upcoming... Ill be on the lookout for details or if you could point me in the right direction that would be great. Thanks.

Thanks to all who made it for our Dumfries to Donuts run, particularly our newbies. Peak leaf peeping, lots of twisties, a Potomac crossing and even some llamas before we even got to the farm. The weather couldn’t have been better. Hope we see you all on a run again (soon-ish? After the off season?)

We have another run on Nov 10th if you'd like to join us for that one START: 10:45 AM /19701 Fisher Ave. Poolesville, MD 20837 Whalen Commons shopping center DRIVER'S MEETING: 11:00 END: 12:00 / 223 W Potomac St, Brunswick, MD 21716 Smoketown Brewing

Aaaaand my car picked a hell of a time to remind me that I should always keep her on a trickle charger. Super bummed I’m missing it - have fun out there!

Welcome to DCMM @DocMurphy. We're happy to have you. We have 2 scheduled drives left in our 2024 drive season, you're welcome to join us for either or both, it would be nice to meet you and Veronica. We have many knowledgeable MINI owners here that would be happy to steer you in the right direction for your objectives with your new MINI. And the rest of us would be happy to teach you about the MINI community, we're a fun bunch!

Hello all, Just recently purchased a 2006 Cooper S with a JCW motor swap and other mods...mostly suspension and braking. I am new to Minis so I was a bit green when buying it besides my short time of research. I leaned a lot on the paperwork and receipts from the previous owner. It's Astro Black and in great shape. Learning the ropes of the Mini world, coming from the Subaru community. Hoping to learn, tune and ride with some of you if possible. Chasing down why my horns aren't working is my gonna be my first mod hahah but its a necessary one. R56 seat swap is next on the docket....they came with the car in the purchase. Looking forward to being a part of the group.

Im in Loudoun too! just joined today. Hope to see you scootin' around!

Finally joined the club - you had me at donuts... Looking forward to meeting others with incredibly good taste in automobiles!