Hello everyone, my best buddy just passed away with cancer and left me his Mini. Although I put about 2500 miles in the drivers seat in the past 1-1/2 years driving it to Phoenix and then back to Oregon it only has 6800 miles on odometer...it's a 2010 Clubman S with very few options...he liked his Mini on the spartan side. I'm an ole hotrodder, dragracer and at one time did have my SCCA drivers license. The Mini is bone stock and I'm sure that will change although nothing drastic. I look forward to getting a lot of information and asking questions.
Sorry to hear about your loss. Wow, that Clubman is low on miles, cool. Although your car has low miles, one thing to know about these cars is their thirst for oil, so please check your oil on a monthly basis. If I was you, I would call the local dealer with your vin#(last 7 digits) and ask about any open recall campaigns. Maybe your friend, while dealing with his health, didn't bother to keep up with recalls and there are a few floating around for MINIs. Enjoy the car!
Thanks for the warm welcomes. The only recalls for this car that I am aware of are the 16" vs. 17" wheel one and the water pump recall. He had the water pump replaced sometime ago although I will call my nearest dealer and ask, thanks for the heads up. What do you guys think about upgrading the air intake system, putting a blanket over the turbo and putting a cat back system on the car. It currently has the 7 spoke 16" wheels with run flats and I'd like to change to 17" with a wider tire. Any thoughts?
You can call MINI USA with the vin and they can tell you of any recalls or extended warranties Yes on the mods! But beware it is an addiction. Loss the run flats you will be glad you did.
The only air intake upgrade you need is a freer flowing air filter. The stock system is already the best engineered cold air intake there is. Aftermarket cold air intakes at best make more noise without a horsepower gain, at worst, they are noisy and reduce horsepower. Turbocharger blanket? Yes! The best blanket goes under the stock heat shield and wires to the hot side of the turbocharger, you can barely see it when it is installed. I bought this one, http://www.waymotorworks.com/wmw-turbo-heat-shield.html It keeps the hot side hot and the cool side cool, giving you a little better turbocharger efficiency, it will also save your oil line to the pedestal bearing, which is prone to leaking due to hot and cold cycling. Cat back exhaust? Sure, anything you can do to lessen back pressure to the turbocharger will bump the horsepower a little bit and increase its life. Going from 16" wheels to 17". You may get a slightly harsher ride, depending on the tire. I went to 1/2" wider wheels and one size larger tires than stock and had no problems with them rubbing, others here may have gone to a larger size with no problems, they can advise you.
Welcome. I think hot rodders are drawn to MINIs. If one of my car friends passed, and left me his car, I'd feel an obligation to enjoy it, which would not be hard to do. Enjoy the car! CD