ORazor

Hi. I guess I'm trying to figure out what the side skirts look like. Are we talking about the stock black plastic that comes on all MINIs? P.S. My mistake if we are. I guess I always associated side skirts with an additional accessory. Edit - it does appear that what you are referring to is the stock black side skirts. Sorry for my idiocy!

I'm interested in the side skirts. Can you post a link to something that looks like the ones you have?

How can I be sure that they will fit the wheels I currently have? I have the Web Spoke R98. The run craps, I believe, are 205/40-17. The Kumho Ecsta ASX sound great!

Yeah - I certainly had no idea this was all so complicated!

So, I've developed a slow leak in one of my run flats, and I'm using this as an excuse to make the move to non-runflats. Unlike Craig, I don't autocross (yet), but I do enjoy sporty driving. Therefore, my needs are slightly different: (1) All year tire (2) That are better than the run craps in terms of handling (3) That improve the ride-ability of the car. Any thoughts? It should be known that I"m a New Englander and very familiar with driving in the snow. The tires don't have to be amazing in inclement weather, just not "sliding off straight roads" lack of grip, as a previous poster mentioned. I may begin autocross on a very, very casual basis.

Wow - this is very cool. Thanks for the heads up about SEMA! I think that new tires and the AP are the next steps for me.

Update: With Craig's help (who am I kidding, he did all the work...), I was finally able to get the NM Eng Torque Arm installed on my car. Honestly, I don't really notice much difference, much like the WMW Diverter Valve. From reading NAM, both of those mods are great, but some people notice it more than others. I, apparently with both mods, notice it less than everyone else! However, I'm very pleased that I now have both the mods installed, and I think (placebo effect?) that the car accelerates just a little more smoothly now. Again, special thanks to Craig for getting up on a Sunday morning and helping me out!

Did Rick take you in his MINI? That thing is simply out of this world. Good on them for providing your transportation. I can't say enough good things about OX Speed.

Yeah - that was me! Everyone head to the Mach V Facebook page to watch my dyno run! (Incidentally, you can find TGGRRR's run, which was considerably higher than mine, as a link off of the video.)

Wow - that's cheap! 300 bucks?

This is the understatement of the century. The absolute savagery of his acceleration is a thing of beauty. When he opens it up, it's like the world stops spinning.

Hey all - here it is - the KUDA mount, paired with the REV app on my iPhone. This way I have my boost gauge right where I wanted it. Also, great for the Waze app - the best open source GPS navigation app. Kudos to the gents over at OXSpeed who did a great job with the install!

Hey all, Got back from OXSpeed for my Kuda mount install. It looks great. The guys at OXSpeed are very professional and great to talk with. The owner (Rick) took me for a ride in his MINI JCW, which he has a custom OXSpeed turbo, clutch, intake, and exhaust. It was very, very impressive. Major props go to Ray, the MINI tech that came in on a Saturday to help me out. I highly recommend these guys for any work you have done on your MINI. They are new shop, but both of the techs make a living working exclusively on MINIs and are very performance minded. These guys are going to do some pretty new and innovative things in the future for MINIs. I'm looking forward to being along for the ride.

I'm pretty sure that the AccessPort does not work on the R53

OXSpeed is only technically open Mon-Fri, but they were kind enough to schedule me in for this Saturday (they are bringing a tech in just for me). Pretty impressive. Here's the real kicker: Everyone knows that Jan from RMW usually swings through Mach V once a year to do tunes, right? Also, everyone knows that if you want to reflash your ECU to stock (for that trip to the dealer), and you want to put Jan's tune back on, you need to have a fancy and expensive European ECU flasher. Well, OXSpeed does their own MINI tuning, and the best part is that they use the Alta AccessPort for their custom ECU remaps! Now, I'm a guy who has never had a custom tune, so I'm not the most knowledgeable on this. But I like the idea of (1) having the AccessPort capability so I can take the tunes on and off and (2) having a local place design custom tunes for me. Rick was telling me that all the employees have multiple tunes (one for good gas mileage for long trips, one "valet", if you have someone other than yourself driving your car, and then a performance one), all of which you can easily alternate between yourself because of the AccessPort! As you can probably tell, I'm pretty excited about this. Now, is the performance tune as aggressive as Jan's tune? Absolutely no clue! But I put a premium on having control over my car and my tune (when I get one). Anyway, I'll be reporting back regarding my Kuda mount install, but I can't wait to get a custom tune!

Hi all, Does anyone have experience with short throw shifters on MINIs? I'm not especially pleased with the stock shifter, and I would love to hear your comments. I'm considering the NM engineering option. Bill

Welcome to the club!

My MINI is still in the shop - sorry!

Hey all, Just saw this new performance site in MD - http://www.oxspeed.com They have a pretty interesting video up of their custom intake build. Anyone have experience with them yet? Looks like a pretty auspicious start.

Some say, the Stig was the original Sam Adams...

Your priorities are clearly misaligned. :rock:

Craig - that's extremely generous of you, as usual. For now, I'm cooling my jets on the exhaust/intake. Likely do Alta/NM TA/WMW DV, and call it good. On a side note: The SWMBO and I went out to VA wine country today, where they have those beautiful open windy roads at 55mph+. It was a damn near spiritual experience. Who knew that certain roads would make me love Stella even more! Now, I'm sitting in a 3 hour class on Friday night... What a buzzkill!

Also: cigars.

Yeah - I'm totally wimping out and having Mach V do this. I'm totally gunshy about doing anything myself on the Mini after my failed Kuda mount experience... I'm planning on having them install the NM Torque arm, the Kuda, and the WMW DV. Edit: I'm not sure if anyone would be willing to walk me through any of the above mods in person. I do have DogFishHead 60 Minute IPA on-tap (served at 29 degrees F) at my house in Old Town as payment...

I ran into some tonight in Old Town.