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Lt. Dan

What did you do to your Mini today?

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Had some free time this afternoon, and decided to swap in the new helix intercooler. It took about 3 hours, used only hand tools (really need to invest in a Milwaukee 3/8” power ratchet) and went pretty smooth. 

It does require taking off the front bumper and crash bar. You can see how small the OEM one in the photo below is compared to the helix in the previous post. 

I forgot to take a photo of the helix install before reinstalling the bumper, but you can see it fills the entire lower grille. 

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1975Mini001.jpg

1975 Mini 1000, 998cc A+ w/ K&N air filter, 10" Mamba wheels

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What's next? A tune? Downpipe? FLAMES!!!??? Curious what the initial idea was behind the FMIC upgrade? I know it helps with engine temps thus resulting in better performance on hotter days, but is there any other gain without a tune to go with it?

-STEVE

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2009 Mellow Yellow MCS, JCW Aero Package, JCW intake, JCW Steering Wheel, NM Engineering strut tower brace, Nvidia Q300 Cat Back Exhaust, ST XTA Coilovers, Madness Motorworks 22mm Adjustable Rear Sway Bar, GP2 Rear Diffuser, Powerflex front control arm bushings, R112 Black Challenge Wheels, Bridgestone Potenza Tires

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4 minutes ago, MELO-R56 said:

What's next? A tune? Downpipe? FLAMES!!!???

-STEVE

Funny you ask, Tigger is losing his flames! He got rear-ended and I decided to go for a full repaint while he's in being repaired. I am not planning to add the flames back. He will just be a pure beautiful orange

Tigger 2006 the cabrio and Riversong the 2014 Countryman

Tggrrr010.jpg

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1 hour ago, MELO-R56 said:

What's next? A tune? Downpipe? FLAMES!!!??? Curious what the initial idea was behind the FMIC upgrade? I know it helps with engine temps thus resulting in better performance on hotter days, but is there any other gain without a tune to go with it?

-STEVE

Right now it just lets it breath better, get the biggest restriction out of the line. I'll give you an update from the butt dyno after a few weeks. Getting all the pieces in place for a tune, nothing crazy just a stage one at the moment (it is an N14 and I want to keep the parts in the motor). I'll consider a down pipe down the road, but emission testing means making sure I do plenty of research and do things right to prevent codes.

As for flames I would need to mount a 50lbs wing with sheet metal screws first to unlock all the power of BBQ mode.

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1975Mini001.jpg

1975 Mini 1000, 998cc A+ w/ K&N air filter, 10" Mamba wheels

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Where will you get it tuned? Manic seems to be less and less used these days, Mario Plaza seems to be the go to. Grey Goose mentioned he got his f56 JCW tuned at GT Peace. Wonder if they tune the R model Gen2's?

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2009 Mellow Yellow MCS, JCW Aero Package, JCW intake, JCW Steering Wheel, NM Engineering strut tower brace, Nvidia Q300 Cat Back Exhaust, ST XTA Coilovers, Madness Motorworks 22mm Adjustable Rear Sway Bar, GP2 Rear Diffuser, Powerflex front control arm bushings, R112 Black Challenge Wheels, Bridgestone Potenza Tires

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4 minutes ago, MELO-R56 said:

Where will you get it tuned? Manic seems to be less and less used these days, Mario Plaza seems to be the go to. Grey Goose mentioned he got his f56 JCW tuned at GT Peace. Wonder if they tune the R model Gen2's?

They do gen 2s. They have a customer with an r58 they have done a lot of work on, that isn't me 😂

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50 minutes ago, MELO-R56 said:

Where will you get it tuned? Manic seems to be less and less used these days, Mario Plaza seems to be the go to. Grey Goose mentioned he got his f56 JCW tuned at GT Peace. Wonder if they tune the R model Gen2's?

I have to look into what tunes GTPeace works with

Mario loads RPM, Detroit Tuned has recently become the second RPM vendor in the US.

Right now leaning towards have Chad (Detroit Tuned) load a stage 1 at the dragon.

1975Mini001.jpg

1975 Mini 1000, 998cc A+ w/ K&N air filter, 10" Mamba wheels

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Well good new I was able to get that photo of the new intercooler so folks can see the difference. Bad news it was because I was rushing Saturday night and forgot to put the brake duct connectors so off with the bumper again. 😂 practice makes perfect. 

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1975Mini001.jpg

1975 Mini 1000, 998cc A+ w/ K&N air filter, 10" Mamba wheels

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5 hours ago, TGGRRR (Ali) said:

Amelia is getting her first summer tires this week, I ordered some Bridgestones

Ugh. Gretchen’s summers are in storage in PA. I’m stuck driving on snow tires until this is over or I get fed up and buy all seasons. At least I’m not really driving anywhere. 

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On 4/5/2020 at 12:24 PM, SneakyBaron said:

Swapped out the bottom part of the steering wheel since it was peeling.

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You show a guy how to pop off one door card and next thing you know we is just taking off all sorts of trim. lol

On 11/3/2019 at 4:53 PM, Coopah said:

I cracked my hood scoop when I took it off to add my bonnet stripe, so I picked up a black, notched scoop from Out Motoring and put it on last weekend.

"Accidentally" breaking a part so you a justify an upgrade, I like what you did there.

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1975Mini001.jpg

1975 Mini 1000, 998cc A+ w/ K&N air filter, 10" Mamba wheels

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Well I finally got around to replacing the suspension on Watson. It was a much bigger PITA then switching out coil overs on the modern MINI. 

It took about 8 hours spread over a fewer days, a few detours along the way included removing the gas tank in the boot to access the top strut bolt and disconnecting brake lines in the front to remove the radius pins in the upper control arms.

you can see in the photos that the rubber cones (springs) had compressed more than an inch and the struts did not really resist or rebound. So all new cones, adjustable trumpets to adjustable ride height and weight balance, and bilstein struts all around.

 

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1975Mini001.jpg

1975 Mini 1000, 998cc A+ w/ K&N air filter, 10" Mamba wheels

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I can't believe no one has done anything to their MINI since last summer! 🔧 B.A. got some new parts last weekend, I installed new spark plugs, wires, and ignition coil, and a new bypass valve. Seems to be running better!

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2006 MCS, SB/S , "B.A."

  • Performance: DINAN "Stage 5" tune, throttle body, boost kit (fuel pump, pulley), & CAI; JCW exhaust sans resonator, brakes, & GP IC; DDM IC diverter; CSF Racing Aluminum Radiator
  • Suspension: DINAN front strut brace; Alta 22mm rear bar; KW V1 coil-overs; H-Sport adjustable rear control arms; CravenSpeed strut underators
  • Interior: CravenSpeed gauge mounts with Cooper S boost and voltage, & shift well cover
  • Wheels: Enkei PF01 17"
  • Audio: Kenwood Excelon KDC-X994 HU; MTX Terminator speakers F&B

Alan @ opensource.com

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I haven't done all that I wanted to.

Roxy ('12 JCW Coupe) got new Haawk hps pads, slotted rotors, and steel braided lines front and rear. I also did a radio upgrade and installed a 15w radio with a external 3db antenna, no one can say they didn't hear the turn calls now.

Watson ('75 MINI 1000) got a new fuel tank and lines.

 

1975Mini001.jpg

1975 Mini 1000, 998cc A+ w/ K&N air filter, 10" Mamba wheels

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On 2/11/2021 at 11:26 AM, TGGRRR (Ali) said:

Hey Alan

 

All I did this year was have Amelia repaired after being rear ended. So she lost her boot decals 😞

I hit a deer and Gretchen lost her front stripes. She's getting new ones once I make a decision on what I want. I also bought spark plugs, but it's been too cold to change them. Stupid winter. 

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