| The purpose of this site is to organize and share the information I have gathered over my years of MINI ownership. I picked up my first dark silver/black MINI Cooper S in 2002, the first year they were available in the US. Before the MINI I owned a red 1996 mildly tuned 2-litre auto VW GTI, and before that a stock blue 1989 auto VW Jetta Wolfsburg Edition. The MINI was my first standard transmission. I immediately began to modify it. After less than two years of ownership, the car was totalled by a flash flood. Although the loss was tragic, I was able to recuperate enough to purchase a new all-black 2006 MINI Cooper S, spec'ing it a bit differently this time, and following a different modification strategy as well. Enjoy the site, I'll be updating often. Be sure to check out the links at the very bottom. If you have any questions, feel free to . Motor on! |
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 DYNO RESULTS - 9/18/05 - Mustang Dyno at Helix Minisports (uncorrected wheel HP) - intake, one-ball, crank pulley only power mods - BEST RUN: 156HP @ 6750RPM at wheels (+6HP over stock) - Graph (45k JPG) of test and base runs - last run not graphed - QuickTime movie (14MB) of last run (thanks Julie!) HIGHLIGHTS - Featured on Motortopia "Cars" homepage late September 2006 - Drove original Watkins Glen Grand Prix Course (9.9.06) - Participant,MINI Takes The States Cross-Country Rally, last 2 legs - Car featured on MINI Takes The States videologue - Car to be featured in MINI Takes The States documentary - Car to be featured in What You Get For The Money on HGTV/FLTV - 2006 PhillyMINI calendar (Cover and October Feature) - 2005 Eurotuner Reader Ride PROBLEM HISTORY - Blown amp (replaced) - Front dash squeak (fixed with weatherstrip between screen and dash) - Faulty remote functions (fixed with new keys and rearview mirror) - Blown passenger-side woofer (replaced) - Tire pressure problem (fixed with new sensor, patched tire) - Chipped, then cracked windshield (replaced) - Squeaky swaybar (replaced bushings) - Noisy flywheel (replaced with new style flywheel [service bulletin]) - Clutch failure (replaced with new master cylinder) - Stumbling (replaced MAP sensor) |
About 43k miles motored - Official MINI website Resume - Motortopia page - CarDomain Page AS ORDERED - Jet black, black roof - Black leatherette seats - Black OEM floormats - DSC - Harmon Kardon stereo package - Front/ - Panoramic sunroof - 16" X-lites, all-season runflats Ordered at MINI of the Main Line (previously Don Rosen MINI) BUILD DATE: 8/26/04 DELIVERY DATE: 9/17/04 Arrived stateside on the Turnadot via Wallenius Wilhelmsen Lines PERFORMANCE MODS - Helix Minisports 17% reduction supercharger pulley - JCW intake with blanking plate removed - Madness dual cone velocity stack high flow filter - JCW software flash - ALTA lightweight crank pulley - Engine torque damper - Helix Minisports short shifter - One-ball exhaust mod, remaining canister painted black - M7 bypass valve - Underhood tape mod SUSPENSION MODS - Continental SportContact 2s - 17" diamond black BBS RG-Rs - ALTA springs (lowered car .95" front and .75" rear) - RDR 3-way adjustable rear swaybar EXTERIOR MODS - Factory black Aero Package front grilles - Factory black Cooper side vents with white S sidemarkers - - InvincaShield clear bra on front - Silver bulbs in indicators (no more fried egg look!) - Debagded boot - Beltline trim dechromed - Black PA DARE license plate (discontinued) INTERIOR MODS - Factory AUX-IN port to 2nd gen 20GB iPod or 512k iPod Shuffle - Johnny Ogi leather doorpull covers - Rear seat delete (sometimes) - Ian Cull auto-up windows/track DSC module - Debadged visors - Stealth EZpass install - Stealth radar detector install - Autobahn mirror - Moss MINI glovebox organizer - Factory boot mat - Factory boot cargo net - Red PANIC button in blank toggle switch PLANNED MODS - M7 stressbar w/plates - Real rear seat delete - Schroth harnesses - Oil catch can - Another stubby antenna MAYBE MODS - Intercooler sprayer - Palo Uber scoop - Smoked sidemarkers - Tinted tail lenses - Tinted arch reflectors - Amber fogs - Headlight trim rings dechromed - Marque badging dechromed |
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 PROBLEM HISTORY - Leaky coolant tank (fixed with new tank) - Creaky boot (fixed with new style latch) - Passenger-side headlight out (replaced) - Cracked windshield (replaced twice) - Stock Pirellis prone to bubbling (replaced all with non-runflats) - Now-infamous stumble (fixed with EMS v.36 ) - Underbonnet paint rub (fixed with new style covers [service bulletin]) - Cowl vent foam tearing (new style vent retrofit) - Steering wheel leather peeling (replaced) - Foglamp filled with water (replaced) - And, of course, the slight problem of a MINI filled with water (!) |
38,679 miles motored Totalled by flood 8/1/04 - Official MINI Resume - MotoringFile Spotlight - Motortopia page AS ORDERED - Dark Silver body, black roof - Black leatherette seats - Black floormats - Full Premium package - Full Sport package Ordered from Don Rosen MINI (before open!) #93 on waiting list BUILD DATE: 8/21/02 DELIVERY DATE: 9/31/02 Arrived stateside on the Don Juan via Wallenius Wilhelmsen Lines PERFORMANCE MODS - ALTA cold air intake (replaces BMP) - Quicksilver single-canister exhaust - Yokohama AVS ES100s - Duct-tape mod (!) EXTERIOR MODS - Inovenda Carantenna ultra-stubby painted aluminum antenna - CTD clear turnsignal/red taillights - New style cowl vent retrofit - InvincaShield front and rear bumpers, bonnet, scoop, lamps, fogs - Silver bulbs in indicators (no more fried egg look!) - Debagded boot - Rear Fog brakelight mod - Black PA DARE license plate INTERIOR MODS - Rear fogs/full toggle switch retrofit from Peabody MINI - Ian Cull's auto-up windows/track DSC module - Moss MINI glovebox organizer - Blitzsafe CD changer to 20GB iPod adaptor - Debadged visors - Stealth EZpass install - MINI boot mat - MINI boot cargo net PLANNED MODS - Marque badging removal - Tinted tail lenses - Tinted arch reflectors - Black or gunmetal aftermarket rims HIGHLIGHTS - 2005 PhillyMINI calendar (Cover and May Feature) - MotoringFile Spotlight (8.24.04) - PDA track days at Pocono International Raceway (10.12.03 and 7.25.04) - 2nd place Porsche Club of America (Reisentoter Region) Autocross (10.19.03 - my first ever autox!) - Twice featured on PhillyMINI Yahoo Group homepage (1 and 2) - Quoted in Inquirer when on first annual PhillyMINI Run - Featured in MINI FINI gallery |
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Kendra and I took part in the last two legs of the MINI Takes The States Cross-Country Rally, from DC to Jersey City, NJ, and then on from Jersey City to the Rolex Vintage Festival at Lime Rock Parkway. As we were walking around talking to some of the other drivers at RFK Stadium, the departure point, a woman that was with a film crew hired by MINIUSA asked if would we be OK for her team to tag along with us on our drive to NJ. They filmed our group of 20 or so PhillyMINI club members driving the route, and at a rest stop a cameraman hopped into our MINI and interviewed us while we drove! The production crew told us that there is a chance that all the footage from the rally will be edited and released as a documentary on DVD. In the meantime, MINI has posted the short videologue snippets on their site. It's a compilation of the runs from St. Louis to Jersey City, and it's only a minute and a half long. There's a good chunk of Kendra talking during the in-car interview! Here's a direct link to the video: http://www.miniusa.com/mini_movies/mtts/miniweb3.mov I've also posted a few pics from the trip to my Flickr account. |
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PhillyMINI is the Philadelphia area's premier MINI-enthusiast, non-profit motoring club. Established July 25, 2003 by Julie Hoffman, the club strives to bring together MINI/Mini owners throughout the tri-state area, while promoting the joys of motoring through well orchestrated, high quality, safe events. We realize the Mini as the 'forefather' of the MINI and as such, enthusiastically welcome all Classic Minis to our events. You can find out more about the club at our homepage or via MC2 Magazine. REGISTER HERE for the forums and join in the fun! I've been lucky to help design numerous things for the group and its' events, most notable being the official logo shown at right. To see more work I've done for the organization, visit Primer and click through to the PhillyMINI section of the work. |
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I had the honor of being covered in a Spotlight feature on MotoringFile, the leading independent MINI news site, back in August of 2004. The Spotlight covers the life and times of my first MINI, and the sad tragedy that befell it. After that first article, I became a semi-regular contributor, and the links at right are to other archived articles I've written for the site since. I hope to continue to write periodically for this fine site. |
- MF Spotlight - Lawrence O'Toole - Horn Test - Low Buck MINI Mods - Top 5 Newbie Performance Mods - MINI Commercials - Motoring Mix - Classic Mini, Supercharged! - MCS vs. 993 - Top 5 Mods, Revisited - Audi Set to Take On MINI? |
