Porsche by Design

On the way to Hilton Head Island this past week, we stopped by the North Carolina Museum of Art which is hosting “Porsche by Design: Seducing Speed” through January 20, 2014. The show presents 22 Porsche automobiles going back to 1938 including the 1949 356 Gmuend Coupe (above) as well as Steve McQueen’s 356 Speedster …

Codes P1688 and P0107, WTF? Replacing Broken MINI Crank Damper

I decided to take the MINI to work this morning to see if everything was back in order after recently replacing the motor mount. The engine seemed to be running a little rough, but I just figured the new motor mount was a little more firm than the old one. I got off the highway …

MINI Broken Motor Mount

GeorgeCo spent the past weekend at the track in both the GeorgeCo MINI powered by Beano and the GeorgeCo Porsche. Why the switch? GeorgeCo ran all day Friday in the MINI until the tires were shot. Light rain in the morning made the first session loads of fun. It dried out later in the morning …

MINI Front Swaybar DIY

Front Sway-bar Replacement: The R53 subframe design is a wonderful example of compact packaging. Unfortunately the tight confines of the front end makes replacing the front sway-bar a time-consuming activity. It is not particularly difficult, just time-consuming, especially if you don’t have access to a lift. The process outlined below will allow you to drop …

MINI Suspension Compliance

Passengers in the GeorgeCo MINI often complain that they are just but one pothole away from losing a filling. With the stiffer lowering springs and beefy swaybars fore and aft, the effective spring rate was probably in the neighborhood of 450 lbs. By way of comparison, the stock spring rate is somewhere around 200-220 lbs. …

Early Spring Track Days

In between early Spring snow squalls, GeorgeCo found some time to go to the track with the local Audi club. They needed someone to instruct on the skid pad, and GeorgeCo always needs more track time. Win-win. With temperatures in the 40s and the GeorgeCo Porsche still wearing all-season Conti tires, we weren’t out to …