cmcveay

Now I know who has been staring at us as they drive by! Yep, the blacked out Clubbie is Merlin. There's a "justa" hardtop down Portsmouth a ways. If the garage doors are open, feel free to drop in or check out "Garage Mahal" on FB. We have things going on from time to time. As far as the black trim, I might be able to help you with that. I seem to have developed a reputation as a "chrome killa" and there's a growing following!

Black Vinyl electrical tape will also work very nicely on the 2nd Gen beltline chrome (it's too wide for the 1st Gen). One of the secrets is to not "pull" on the tape while laying it down or it will "creep" back into it's original state and you'll have chrome spots showing. It's also a great way to practice on a budget since the beltline blackout kits can be a little pricey (compared to a $3 roll of tape). It makes an incredible difference when that chrome is gone - but then if you ask, you'll find that for me at least, it makes an incredible difference when ALL of the chrome is gone...

I'd say they are "laid back" compared to the BMW group and you really, really don't know what you'll see on the course there. There used to be a Honda Fit with lime green wheels that kicked the poop out of people, lots of Miata's, a few Cobra's, the odd Lexus and once, there was even a Chrysler 300 (rental). Take the offer of a ride along to "show you the ropes" to minimize your frustrations and enjoy the experience. CDC also offers "test and tune" events where it's not so structured and that's where folks try out new things in their cars. It can be really fun when they don't get the expected results!

That IS a good price - with or without a discount.

Yep. Magnaflow makes awesome muffler. When I put the VIP Custom in Archie, it really helped fix the drone and other things with the exhaust. 2.75" pipes or larger?

What kind of mufflers? You going with the split at the back or are you going with the "one ball" mod? Some 1st gen owners do that adn it's whne there's only one muffler adn the exhaust splits behind it and exits. May be less expensive and it will weigh less. I may have to talk to them about an exhaust too. The only thing keeping me from running a higher performance tune is the stock exhaust. The Stage II and Stage III tunes require a 3" exhaust and I'd probably go with a catless downpipe so it's really, really opened up.

Okay, once you've used it and we know you aren't gonna pull a "Kenny Rogers" on us, you can start drooling over the thought of a custom exauwst. (please note that I spelled that phonetically just for you). Anyway, I'm really glad we have another new vendor onboard.

You should drool at the thought of a torque wrench. Your exhaust won't do any good if there are no wheels on the car...

Okay, I'll give you that. Not certain about the premier though, I'll have to check with "Da Boss".

You should be nice. Some of those tuner cars will seriously hurt your feelings in a MINI - straight line and twisties...

Hit the "Go Advanced" and it should give you a paperclip so you can upload and attach the image.

Hmmm, that sounds promising! Check with Mr. Drew if you don't mind Mrs. Drew. Let's see if Mr. Drew comes through. I suspect your "original Droid" may not be up to the latest version of Android is it? I've got an original Nook, I wonder if the same thing can be done on it?

I'm looking for anyone that might have an operable Droid based device that they want to get rid of at a reasonable price. If anyone has an Android based tablet, I would be willing to consider a swap for an iPad 2 (64GB, Wi-Wi, AT&T). I want to check out the OS and some of the apps that they have for it. Anyone?

Smarty pants.

Harbor freight in Chantilly is open now. Ali - just about any torque wrench that is rated for up to 100 ft/lbs will be adequate for what you are looking for. Like Haemish, I like my Craftsman because they'll replace it under warranty, it'll go up to 150 ft/lbs and I like the way it's set. You say you know how to use one? Lots of people think they do but then, when they actually use it, they don't. When applying torque, it's got to be done is a smooth, steady effort, not the huge jerking motion and when the tool indicates the proper torque is reached (a loud click or on a dial indicator) STOP! Don't keep adding torque (you bought it and you are using it to set a preset amount of tension on the fastener. Personally, I always back off at the click and then, with a smooth and stead effort, I apply torque until it clicks again. I'm not adding any more torque, I'm just making sure it's good. Also - NEVER loosen a torqued fastener with a torque wrench!

Chris, Not having run the Conti's, I can only assume that the DWS isn't all that different from the DW - the exception being a change in the compound so they still perform well in colder conditions. Like others have said, it's hard to go wrong with them as they have great reviews. I have run a couple of sets of Kumho's and one of my favorites was the ASX which was replaced by the 4X I believe. Great tire! I drove through "Snowmageddon" on them and they actually got me through that entire winter which had several lessor snow storms and one or two big ice blasts. With regards to fitting on the 7 or 7.5" wheels - if you keep the tire dimensions close to the OEM size, you'll be fine. I actually ran a 245/40 on 7.5" rims and all it did was suck the bead in a little and protected the wheels from curb rash! That was a set of Star Spec's.

We got home a little after 5 p.m. and the front yard was a jungle! Unloaded the car and decided to cut the grass. Chopper (the riding mower) is no substitute for a MINI but the front yard has as many turns as I want! It wasn't the same though.

Celia got 1st place Paceman???? With an R56?

"CGO"? or CGI? It could be that, maybe across the road from the tree of shame, looking back down the hill (towards Hellbender).

It doesn't look like it Ali - the road in the background is wrong. I would like to find this dragon though, it's cool! I wonder if it kissed Xiek already?

Take them with you and put them on Way's "used items" table. I may take a few items myself.

That would be the "other" Craig's List.

Nope, that's even worse. I just get a big white square... If I click on it, I get "Content Denied" and I'm sure someone, somewhere gets a pop up that says "Hey, there's that guy trying to look at YouTube videos again"...

I'll be blaming you when I'm sitting there at midnight, watching this video and not sleeping...

Dylan may be interested! I think he only brought a longboard though. I'm worried that he's going to be bored and drive Lona off the deep end next week. They drove up to Gettysberg today.