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ORazor

Past Club Member
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Posts posted by ORazor

  1. The "Cooper S" is on the shiny sill plate part of the side skirts - it's what came stock with mine.

     

    http://www.mini-delta.com/b/upload/save_image/EX0075-c.jpg

     

    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!

  2. Bill,

    You'll get lots of replies so I'll start this ball rolling.

     

    I've found that the Kumho Ecsta ASX (it's got a new name but it's their extreme performance all-season tire) did an awesome job for me. Wet, dry and even in Snowmaggedon, they didn't let me down. They even did well at autocross! No, they aren't the winter tire that some are and they aren't the summer tire like others but from my personal experience, they sure did cover a broad spectrum. I also ran 40's so the low profile made sure that I didn't have too much sidewall to squirm around and take away the responsive handling.

     

    Good luck sorting through the replies and if you haven't seen it yet, google "miata tire size calculator" and you can juse that to compare different tire sizes. When I was sorting out which size to get, I created the spreadsheet and then, I had a quick reference that showed me differences in diameter, width and weight.

     

    I put 235/40R-17's under a lowered R56 and only had minor issues with rubbing - that was at the rear of the rear wheelwells where the mudflaps were attached. Later, I put the same size Dunlop Starspec's on the car and since they are nearly an inch wider, the front tires did touch the fenderwell liner when the the steering wheel was all the way to the stops.

     

     

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

  3. 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.

  4. 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!

  5. Sorry, been downy Ocean Hon...

     

    No I didn't buy it from them, I bought it online and paid $918 plus shipping. Google is your friend.

     

    I supplied the new bearings and 3 qts of RedLine MTL. (Way Motor Works)

     

    Install was just over $1000. and Rick took me to and picked me up from Enterprise Rentacar in Glen Burnie. They had the car from Monday afternoon, and the car was ready at about 10 AM Wednesday.

     

    Then I had a new set of Star Specs installed, (215-45-17)...

     

    What a way to spend about $3000...lol

     

    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.

  6. i was on FB and i saw a video from mach v and i saw the club sticker in the back window

     

     

     

    is this your orazor?

     

    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.)

  7. Im glad you liked them. They are good friends of mine :smile:

     

    Rick's mini is a monster!

     

     

    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.

  8. 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.

  9. 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!

  10. 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!

  11. 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...

  12. I have my cabin behind Celia's again. Sadly, there's no more real Dublin Dr. Pepper for me to bring. (damn you, Dr. Pepper Corporation :argh:). Still working on alternative Plan B. Got any requests or suggestions?

     

    I ran into some tonight in Old Town.

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