I mounted the new autocross wheels stepped back, and it struck me how much darker my car has become. Not that it’s a bad thing, just sort of a slow change over time. Tinted windows, blacked out grille, and now black racing wheels. Add mirror caps and a roof sticker and the change will be …
It turns out that my new Konig Feather wheels won’t work with the stock size lug nuts. They require “tuner” nuts. Who knew such a thing even existed? So now I have my first ever JDM parts. At the widest point, the Muteki nuts are about 1/16 of an inch smaller in diameter than the …
Since I had the respirator out and the garage all in “spray-booth” mode, I went ahead and painted the M7 Extreme Scoop I bought last Fall. I’m not sure it actually improves performance of the inter-cooler at all, but it seems like it does according to the butt-dyno. My cunning plan for this autocross season …
The National Capital Chapter held their last Driver’s School this past weekend at the Jefferson Circuit at Summit Point. The Jefferson is one of my favorite courses — very MINI friendly. The weather was beautiful, and unlike last November, sunny and warm. The GeorgeCo MINI ran like a top. (Watch me chase the M5 in …
The autocross season is winding down. Today the Capital Driving Club held their next to last scheduled event at Harry Grove Stadium in Frederick. It was an interesting course with a figure-eight and a decreasingly spaced slalom leading to a hard right turn into the finish. I did surprisingly well, especially given the fact I …
It’s been a while since I’ve posted. I’ve done a couple of CDC events and a CCA event (7 of 24 in X Class) as well a lot of work on the Garage-mahal. Summer is officially over and today was the next to last autocross of the season. This time it was at Baysox Stadium …
I always thought the stock grille on the Cooper S was a bit of a contradiction. It wasn’t all chrome and it wasn’t all painted. It just looked incomplete. I like the look of the grille included with the Aero Kit, but didn’t want to go through the expense of replacing both bumper covers and …
I went in to Behe Performance for a track-day inspection. I got that, but I also got a couple of surprises — one pleasant and one expensive. I knew my car was leaking oil. You could see it dripping at the drain plug. But it turns out the pan seal was going bad and the …
There is a very easy and inexpensive way to get XM radio in your ’02-06 MINI. The install process described below can be done with simple hand tools, and takes less than 20 minutes. I became interested in satellite radio for a couple of reasons: first and foremost, it’s a gadget and I’m weak when …
Driving on the track in the extreme cold, I noticed how the supercharger really responded to the cold. I did some research and found that the stock intercooler and diverter has a thermal efficiency (TE) of only about 65%. Before paying a lot of money for more surface area, why not try to improve TE? …