LostDenverite
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Posts posted by LostDenverite
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Hello PEOPLE!
I'd just like to say hello and I look forward to upcoming events with you all. Loving my new MINI Countryman.
Howdy, howdy and welcome. Looking forward to meeting you at the next shindig (Passport next Sat of you're going to be in attendance).
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-DICE Ipod Adapter - Hooks the iPod up to your stock stereo through the CD changer controls. Wasn't working properly when I removed it and installed my aftermarket radio. You're welcome to try installing it on your own stereo to confirm it works before buying. Works way better than the OEM Ipod adapter. I'd like to get $75 for it.
Nube here. Will this work with my '11 Harman Kardon upagrded system?
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3 words: Big Honkin' Hellas
I love mine.....
DIY or you paid someone to install? Thanks.
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check out outmotoring.com and they have some lights piaa is good kc is good and hella those three i would go with
Thanks. Will do.
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Sorry
Mark is my husband. He has an '09 JCW, I have a First generation '06 Cabrio.
Ah. See him next Sat then so I can view the handy work?
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Wired legally (and from the factory) the lights will only come on when the high beams are on. Of course, where you draw power for the relay is optional if you do your own install.
I didn't get the question about the reverse light but I know some people are conflicted about the Clubbie having only one. It's legal and it's bright - bright enough that I'm able to back into wherever I need with it. From what I've heard, you can order a UK tail light assembly and run a wire over to make it light up when the other side does.
I'm a born & raised city kid and a motorcycle rider, the more visibility the better. Ever back out of a parking space (mall, supermarket, etc) and some numnutz will walk behind your car even though it is moving in their direction? I'll just be nice and consider that they didn't see me (and that was with my Outback) so having a low-profile vehicle like a MINI won't make things any better, especially with the single reverse light. I initially thought the light bar along the top was a 3rd indicator providing a nice big triagle of light (with the pair in the normal places).
Yes, I have the link to a NAM post re ordering and installing the UK version.
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Mark had it installed at the Dragon. He said they drilled one hole to install it. He's happy with it. He only did one cup holder and said that's enough for him.
For my first gen, no drilling was needed it clamps on and I now have 2 huge cup holders on the same down tube. With one on top of the other it works well and I can put all kinds of crap in there if I don't have two drinks in the car. The new cup holder held my walkie talkie and sun glasses all the way home from the Dragon.
Mark?!?
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Without the alarm installed, there's no way to get the chirp but all is not lost. Through at least 2010 models, the car's coding can be changed to make the alarm light (built into the top of the tach on R55/R56/R57's) can be set to the "heart beat" when the car is locked. Externally, it appears as though the car has an alarm because the light is same.
If your car is pre-wired, the install doesn't have to be done by the dealer as those of us who are "jail breaking" the MINI's body control modules can actually set the vehicle options to recognize the alarm system once the box is installed.
There's actually a good article on the motoring files about the theft rate for MINI's. I did order the alarm and I was going to have a LO-JACK installed until I read that article.
Story here: http://www.usatoday.com/money/autos/2010-08-03-car-theft-rates_N.htm
Theft database here: http://www.nhtsa.gov/cars/rules/theft/theft.cfm
Correct it shows an obscenely low rate (thieves want a Prius before a MINI?!?) but my Outback is the first car that ever survived me (I drive a wee bit more conservatively nowadays :laugh: ). I generally drive my cars until the wheels fall off (age & mileage overcome it) so I'm looking forward 5+ years from now when my buggy's parts are more valuable than having it whole (that was the case when I sold my '02 Outback as even the driver's seat upholstery was in very good condition).
I may look into the faux-lighting. Will PM you and let you know. Thanks.
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You will use your own car
The tires will get eaten up if you really do it right. Some people that get serious will have a set of tires just for autocross.
It's fairly low speed, as in you won't get out of second gear, but you will feel like you're driving faster. It's a huge adrenaline rush to race through those cones and read the course.
So I need to be prepared to replace my RFT the same day (or am I NOT doing this class in the OEM RFTs?)
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Here's the link. http://www.motorsportreg.com/index.cfm/event/event.advert/uidEvent/B113669E-D401-EB60-B7827E9C70233A27
Let me know if you have any questions.
Everyone-I'm going to open this up for public registration in the next few days so if you want in, now's your chance.
(More) nube questions:
- I'm using my own car, correct?
- Am I going to need to put my car in for alignments, etc after this class?
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Yeah mine had LoJack installed when I bought it. I was more hoping for the audible cue when I press the lock button on the remote. Anyone have any ideas on how to add a chirp? Anyway, sorry to hijack the thread. Hopefully all of the action here will attract others to comment on LostDenverite's question :-)
You're not jacking, you're helping. TRULY appreciate it.
I have heard that MINIs are currently not stolen that much. I have police (NYPD) in the family and a number of friends that are or have been members of the Fairfax Co., PG Co., and Mont. Co. police and the FBI. Everyone of them says that the Lo-Jack is worth the price (it is negotiable) and they get the car back 90-95% of the time w/in 24 hrs. Also, how many times have you heard a car alarm going off at the mall and everyone paying no attention to it. Even the dealer supported it.I have had Ernie for just a month (Lo-Jack installed at the dealer two days after delivery) and just this morning Lo-Jack came out to verify the installation. Supposedly they do this check-up about 10% of the time to check on the installers.
Bert.
I think it would be a big pain in the keister to steal a MINI considering the key-fob setup. I'm leaning towards the Lo-Jack, but admittedly like bucweat and Pavlov's dogs, I'd like to hear the chirp-chirp. I've left my car unlocked several times in the past 2-weeks. With my Outback simply power-locking the doors upon exit made the alarm set once all of the doors closed. And as the power-lock switch was on the door handle, it became 2nd nature to do it that way. I'm still getting sued to the cockpit control panel set up of my MINI.
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FYI, The new minifini link uses a standard square trailer receiver.
So I have to buy this http://www.minifini.com/ShopDetail.aspx?id=19 and then add the standard receiver attachment http://www.minifini.com/ShopDetail.aspx?id=54 $500 just for parts?!?
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as for the rally light (driving lights) there are other companies out there that make the small size lights. i have four hella 500ff lights(about a 6" diameter) 2 driving and 2 fog you can see the pics. as for install very easy if you get 3rd party brand the OEM light are hard to put on bc you need to hook up to the high beams and they are only meant to come on with you high beams. i out my own lights on it took me about two days because i took my time and check and recheck me work i think it could take about 3ish hours for just two lights ill post the link to the thread i did about lights and some websites that have lights. if you need help PM me.
I actually saw/read your DIY post before I put my inquiry up over here. I'm (no longer) on mountain roads where I need to have be equipped to signal spaceships :laugh: The stock-style rally lights are fine with me. But I would like the option to turn them on at will (I'd read that the OEM ones are only designed to come on with the HBs)
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If anyone want's to get in on this school now let me know. Registration isn't officially open but I can provide a link to register early.
Phil
Nube question: What is this? It appears to be racing school, but I'd really just like to know how to handle my car better in extremes. In my youth I'd figure it out via trail & error...I'm not so young any more and would be fine with a formal class :laugh:
So is this only for Racer-X proteges or can anyone with a yearn to learn jump in?
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True - and I too have a Subaru Outback with a hitch that I installed myself - but the MINI is simply too tightly packaged. Anyways, when not in use the license plate covers the hole.
Actually I have a couple of hitch covers that I want to keep using to go in there when I've got my other accessories not occupying the space. One DIY instructions I saw had the rear plate spring-loaded so it would simply end up laying on top of my hitch cover.
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I don't think you can improve on the MINI Do More system if you are opposed to the Mini Fini.
The Do More appears to be exactly what I'm looking for. It's just that every other hitch I've DIY installed was simply bolted to the from from underneath (have torque wrench, will travel). What appears to be required here is removing the rear bumper and drilling through the spot where the license plate is located. Noticeably more involved than my previous vehicles.
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Make sure your mini is prewired for the alarm… They told me that my 2012 is not wired, and so the installs going to cost a lot more than the $500 that it would if I got it from the factory.
EH?!? I'sm sorry but I'm a bit inexperienced with this. I can't remember not having a car that didn't already have an alarm in it, so the concept that it didn't roll of the assembly line ready for one is very foreign to me.
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Although I'm no longer playing chauffeur to the horde (translation: four kids) and hauling all of their volleyball, basketball, football, gymnastics, etc gear, I still personally have gear: snowboarding, biking, hiking, running, etc. And to fit their gear in with mine I had roof rails and a tow hitch on my Outback.
I don't care for MINI Fini's sport-link http://www.minifini.com/ShopDetail.aspx?id=19 as the accessories are proprietary and I already have a couple of things to go into a standard hitch. The only one I found was this http://www.minidomore.com/pdf/2008%20Mini%20Cooper%20Clubman%20and%20Clubman%20S%20Trailer%20Hitch%20Installation%20Instructions.pdf which requires drilling a hole in my baby! AGAIN, I'm temporarily wimpy in the area of me putting new holes in my buggy. I'd DIY the heck out of my Outback, but I bought it to be a workhorse and do anything I thought it could do (which excluding zooming).
Do any of you have a tow hitch and did you DIY or pay a mech to install it for you?
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I was initially wracking my brain trying to figure out why I wasn't getting the chirp-chirp when I power-locked the car. It finally came down to the most basic answer. For all of the bells & whistles the original owner paid extra to install, an alarm was NOT one of them. So, am I getting the stock alarm (http://www.shopminiusa.com/PRODUCT/517/MINI-ALARM-SYSTEM) which I presume will have to be installed by the dealer at dealer prices (ugh!) or am I getting any off the shelf alarm and have the kids at e.g. CarToys touch my baby? I'm even considering a Low-Jack (hey, I knew no one was going to steal my previous vehicle http://www.subarucolors.info/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/2002-Subaru-Outback-Limited-Wagon-1.jpg even if I left the doors unlocked and the keys in it, but nonetheless it did have an alarm). I'm even considering a LoJack...but I'm thinking I could be having "first-time parent" over reaction re this issue.
Feedback please. Thanks.
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This (http://www.shopminiusa.com/PRODUCT/407/PROTECTIVE-BOOT-SPACE-COVER-CHECKERED-FLAG) looks nice (and pricey), but primarily for keeping the wet and muddy from sharing itself. I still need something to cover/hide anything I have laying in here. The rear has it's wee cover that pulls back, but what about the front section? Is there an after-market item similar to the rear boot shade that would simply pull forward and cover where the seats have been laid flat?
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Trunk light. The very first item I put in my cargo bay covered it. I'd put a small box in there in direct daylight and didn't even realize the light existed (and only one) until the eve when I was unloading and couldn't see a dang thing! I know the MINI is streamlined/compact, but would it have made that much of a difference to put a light on both sides? Are there any uncomplicated mods to add more? I initially thought I could put something into the power port, but that isn't always on. I'm envisioning a kit that does what MINI should have done, same boot-light set up on the opposite side. I found this thread http://www.northamericanmotoring.com/forums/r55-clubman-talk-2008/191323-clubman-rear-baggage-compartment-light.html and although that isn't exactly what I was thinking of it may be the solution. Some of you Club-men (and women) must also have the same issue.
Rally Lights. I want them!! http://www.shopminiusa.com/PRODUCT/659/MINI-DRIVING-LIGHTS I think they add (positively) to the personality of my buggy. But a) it appears cost-prohibitive for a cosmetic add-on and b) it looks rather involved on the install (I'm not an electrician. I can install my own tow hitch, I've done so on other vehicles...albeit other vehicles simply needed to be raised off the ground...but I digress) and further cost-prohibitive to pay a mech to do it. Anybody DIY or can recommend a pay-for-install?
Reverse light. I think I already found my solution: http://www.northamericanmotoring.com/forums/r55-clubman-talk-2008/168560-clubman-reverse-lights.html but I wanted to throw it out here JIC there is a better way.
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I'm terribly surprised at the...basicness of them. The four rubber/foam things are pretty much identical to the ones in my previous car, an '02 Subaru Outback. So I know from experience that they're not the best in dealing with a wide range of sized cups, and in a short while those tabs will bend and break off. Also (for me) when I put my Venti-size Sbux in there it blocks the driver's side window switch, so in going through the drive-thru I have to put my window up before I can put my coffee down, and pull my cup out to roll the window up/down (bumped my head on this issue on day-one of having my new buggy)
In searching I found this item http://www.minifini.com/ShopDetail.aspx?id=44 but with a baby barely 2-weeks old I'm admittedly hesitant to drilling holes in her, especially if I end up not liking the cup holder and want to remove it. Anybody have this cup holder? Any opinion/feedback about it? I wish their picture was of the driver's side mount. You don't buy a MINI for the convenience of others, so why show the cup holder for the passenger side?
However, speaking of the convenience of others, I find the rear cup holders...problematic. I keep bottles of water in my car. With my Outback I'd throw a case in the cargo area and keep a couple of bottles under the seat (well, they'd roll under there
) There isn't space under my seat like before, so to keep the bottles from rolling all over the floor I put them in the rear cup holders...and on the first turn they flopped out. The rear cup holders aren't deep enough nor have any sizing options, it's just a big shallow cavity. If one of my kids did put a drink in there it's be all over their feet/shoes before we got off the block.
Such a simple item but one that gets daily use with me. So, is there any other options aside from the front-seat bolt-ons linked above?
HELLOOO! New member (to be) and new MINI owner
in Visiting & Questions
Posted
So it's not only me that thinks some other MINI drivers aren't enjoying their motoring as much as I am! Of course I'm still on my honeymoon :love: so I get misty just at the sight of my new buggy.