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Last time I was in at Passport for my free state inspection, they lied to me and said I needed new front struts (they were torn). After I quested them, the picture link they sent mysteriously disappeared. Took my car to my Mini Doctor and he laughed and said they were just fine. Won't darken their doorstep again. Oh, and they wanted over $1365 for new tires. $775 at Costco.

Ditto, on Eli's responses.

You'll wear through tires a bit faster, and may find yourself wanting different tires, but I'd say to come out and enjoy yourself before you start worrying about that. Everything else you'll notice during routine maintenance and vehicle inspections. Maybe @1975_mini has other thoughts.

@Egadd, thanks! I think I would be about the same , not more than 6-8 a year. No other concerns on tires or other suspension things to keep an eye on? This is my first Mini, and I want to enjoy it but make sure I take care of it to keep the good times rolling. : )

Sadly we'll miss this one, we're out of town for a birthday weekend in NYC!

I doubled my oil change schedule to every 6 months for the couple years that I was autocrossing and daily driving my MINI. I was only doing 6-8 events per year though, so that was almost certainly unnecessary. Stick to your standard maintenance schedule and you'll be fine unless you're out there every weekend.

@1975_mini or @Egadd

Ok all, last weekend at the track was a blast! I think I want to sign up for the season, but I need to keep it as my daily driver as well. How hard on the car is auto-crossing and will it change what I have to do as far as maintenance schedules etc..? Just looking for some thoughts/advice.

Oh cool, thanks. I just figured it was a file size or something! : )

I am the original owner of a 2004 R53 and over the years have accumulated a lot of used parts in good condition. Wheels, superchargers, suspension parts, complete clutch assembly, etc. Let me know if you might be interested.

Videos should be able to upload now. Missed a permission. They can be uploaded by any paid club member.

I will check with our webmaster about videos

Glad you were able to get it sorted, and are back on the road again!

I added a couple pics, but I couldn't add videos. Can't wait to see what pictures the guys with real camera's got!

Album is created so feel free to add your photos!

Hello, Haven't posted in a long time. I originally had a 2011 Mini Cooper S but had to get rid of it. My father recently passed away and left me some money, so I bought a 2006 S. I wanted a fun car again. I took it to P-tuning to see what they would say the condition is, and they said it wasn't bad, had a valve cover leak, and a cracked coolant housing. So, I thought it would be fun to do those things myself, and I bought some other upgrades as well, and I was going to change the supercharger oil and etc. Got just about everything off the front of the car, and was going to take the valve cover off, and the valve cover bolts have rusted and are impossible for me to get them off. If there is anyone that could come out to New Market and help get those pesky things off, and maybe also helping with other stuff while I put the car back together, I would of course compensate the person for there time. It has been a bit overwhelming at times and I don't have a lot of time to work on it, so an extra set of hands, that knows what they are doing would be fantastic.

So it did turn out to be the high pressure fuel pump. Got everything taken care of and she is running great now. Still have to do a carbon cleaning on the valves but that will be next after my wallet recovers from this last one lol. Look forward to the next run. Thank you for all your advice

HPFP is a common fail item on Gen2, very good chance that is the issue.

So as of right now it is looking like the high pressure fuel pump we are getting low readings from the fuel rail on the high pressure side going to check and see if there is a leaking fuel injector but because it's a misfire in a single cylinder it is not likely. I am going to do my best to make the run on Saturday but chances are that might not be possible.

Event Title: Open Run - Morrisville, VA to Delplane, VA Event Date: 04/06/2025 09:45 AM to 04/06/2025 12:00 PM Event Address: 12975 Marsh Road, Morrisville, VA A bit of a retro run as this will use the 2nd half of the Mistress Run from 2018 or 2019. Starts at M&P Pizza in Morrisville and runs up to Blue Valley Vineyard and Winery (for now at least). Rally time & driver brief at 9:45am. Its about a two-hour drive, so we'll be set for lunch. Open Run. More details to follow. RSVP on the event here:

Event Title: Backporch Vineyard's Kite Day Event Date: 03/29/2025 12:00 AM Event Address: Join us for some early spring twisties on our way from the Dumphries Park and Ride down to Backporch Vineyard. It's Kite Day, so bring them if you got'em. Or call ahead and buy tickets to the Scouts and Sip event, wine pairings for Girl Scout Cookies: 8 cookies and wine pairings for $15. They offer a dozen wines, four ciders and two sangrias and host a variety of food trucks. It was Cousins Maine Lobster truck when we visited. Dog and kid friendly. Approximately 1.5 hours. Driver's meeting 10:30AM Lights out and away we go 10:45AM RSVP on the event here: