New member

[Alcar]

Hello fellow mini affectionautos, was happy to met some of you and see some of your beautiful minis at the July 7th get together at Lilo's.
I came in my just bought 2014 British racing green mini cooper s with the yin/yang symbol for the front license plate.
Which makes sense to me as I teach Tai Chi. Waiting for my vanity plate which will read HSING I.

I have a some questions and few thoughts, perhaps too many, all of which have probably been posted about elsewhere.

# 1. I intend to upgrade to the Koni FSDs hoping they are as magical as most (not all) running them report.
However at approx $900 (three different shops) for installation is a real deterrent. More importantly I want to do what I can myself.
Although I'm an old guy I'm still willing and able to climb under and turn a wrench provided the car is properly supported.
But not without a knowledgeable mentor! And of course some kind of compensation for their time energy and no doubt patience...
I read there was a shop that offers do it yourself, is that still available? Maybe I'll just do the rears to start?
Any advice would be appreciated.

#2. Baron has a stock JCW exhaust which they would be happy to install on my MCS.
What I don't fully understand is according to the sparse testing I've read, the stock MCS tested from the tail was 2.5 back pressure
while the stock JCW comes in at something like 3.5? I am under the impression that less back pressure is better for obvious reasons.
I think these tests were done on on 09 models.
In any case It seems more intelligent to install a couple of analog gages like oil pressure and (engine temp?) to keep an eye on critical things before anything else,
except maybe the FSDs...

#3. I have the stock radio which is ok but I was wondering.. what if I added, in series a couple of boxed, moveable, extendable 4 or 5 ohms 10,15 watt speakers directly from the back speakers?
Just a thought.

#4. For those of you who have read this far.. Not another question just a subjective observation.
Having been infected with the mini mod virus I installed rubber weather striping under the hood where there isn't any.
To my surprise, the lessening of the very minimal wind noise seems to make the exhaust sound clearer and more prominent.


Being a newbie I will have more questions, next time though I'll just ask one at a time.

[Minidave]

Welcome to the madness!

I'm not sure what you're after with the Koni shocks, I find the stock ones to be quite good.....but each to his own as they say. To answer question #1, yes DIY Olathe is still open, the owner's name is Dave (not me) and their number is 913-213-0398. They also provide all the tools as well as the lift in their rental. Tell Dave MiniDave sent you!

Sound system depends on what factory system you have, I'd suggest talking to a sound shop like Santa Fe Sound or someone before you jump into that.

In general less back pressure is advisable - to a point - but on modern turbo charged computer controlled engines things may be different. Don't know the final answer on this, a good tuning shop could probably help, but I don't know of one in KC that's up on the F series engines.

The club has a number of specialized tools to loan to club members (there is a thread here on the forum on this), but we do not yet have an F series manual - I can loan the R series as I doubt many things are different - at least in the suspension.

[Alcar]

Thank you Dave I appreciate that information.

About the FSDs, the bottoming out feeling and sound over certain small odd shaped crack/potholes,
etc. you know the story. They kind of scare me, even though the suspension over all appears and drives.
under most other circumstances especially handling, very well indeed imo. The claim is fsds mitigate the
aforementioned neg response while not adversely affecting hard cornering. Except if one is a fairly serious tracker,
Which I'm not. If it turns out they're too mushy or something then I'll put the stock shocks back in.
They say it's easier the second time around. Of course if a number of people who have done it post
similarly I would certainly reconsider. Besides doing it myself does come with real risks.
And thanks also for the question Dave it caused me to think a little more, generally not a bad idea.

[CreamSoda]

It almost a year since this community had a new member. Probably everyone is on Facebook group now.

[ragtopday Johnna]

It almost a year since this community had a new member. Probably everyone is on Facebook group now.

Two new members added yesterday, not a week goes by that there aren't new members here. We still actively use the forum for event RSVPs and it remains a great source of catalogued information going back further than the FB group.