I finally got around to installing the brake ducts and hoses that I bought last summer. For the most part, the switch to Wilwood calipers and ducting into the wheel well solved my brake temperature problems during short track sessions of 25-30 minutes. But for longer sessions of 45-60 minutes or more, especially during hot, humid …
Building out the MINI trackcar, we’ve been trying to balance weight savings, safety, and utility. We removed most of the interior trim, but decided to keep the panel that runs along the bottom of the door jam to the fuse panel (called “trim panel leg room”) to protect the fuse panel as well as the …
One of the easiest weight-saving mods you can make to your MINI is to replace the stock battery with a lighter weight one. Lithium Ion batteries are ridiculously expensive, but Absorbent Glass Mat (AGM) are not and they weigh about half of stock. For this application we used the Braille B2618 which an 18 lb., right …
I know the MINI has the aerodynamics of a brick, but we can still try to maximize the brick. In a previous post we showed how to smooth airflow under the car with underbody panels and a belly plate. In this post, we install the Leap Alpha C spoiler. We had been exploring how to …
At the end of production for the first Generation new MINI came the GP. It was the fastest MINI to date at the time and had some interesting aero tweaks including full length under-body panels to smooth the airflow under the car. Those panels run at least $200 each if you can find them, but there …
Since we’re turning the MINI into a dedicated track car, we gutted most of the interior. The Gen 1 MINI has a huge oval opening in the middle of the door once you remove the door panel. It has a rather sharp edge (protected by a piece of weather stripping) and since we were not …
We didn’t expect to be in the car market so soon, but life tends to throw you curveballs every once in a while. We certainly got one last week when our daughter totaled her Jetta. Fortunately, she walked away with only a minor airbag burn, but the Jetta was a total loss. So we decided …
If you’re removing the carpet from your Gen 1 MINI, here are a couple of helpful hints. Besides the fact that the thick backing makes the entire piece of carpet somewhat unwieldy and hard to maneuver, the last sticking point in removing it will likely be the removal of the accelerator pedal. This image shows …
If your HVAC controls are starting to wear or the screens are starting to go bad (as were mine), the replacement is a simple DIY repair with only minimal tools and skills. With the car powered off — I suppose you should actually disconnect the battery — begin by removing the trim around the HVAC …
Sometimes a mod comes along that’s totally useless, but you have to have it nonetheless. This is one of those. Just use a plastic pry tool to remove the old light fixtures. Plug-in the new ones (use included adapter for Gen 3 cars), and pop them back in place. Easy-peasy. You can even change the lens …