Yeah, tell me about it...My car was supposed to be in the shop for a week, ended up being four.... But it came out pretty damned good in the end.... But my corollary to your above statement is "Take the estimated time, multiply it by two, and the estimated cost, and multiply it by three, and you're halfway to the truth."
Yeah, I have a saying like that for building scenery. Estimated material cost, add 15%. Estimated labor cost. add 15%, then add another hour. Mark
Just be glad you have a decent shop available... Got nada around these parts. :frown2: Although that gives me an excuse to try to move into a bigger house, err, house with a bigger garage to better facilitate self repair/build projects on my cash cow.
Yeah that sucks, but don't put all the blame on BMW/(MINI)--> (MINI has nothing to do with the software) but most of the blame is from Siemens on their EMS2000 configurable software. Siemens made the EMS2000 to be versatile to suit 4 - 6 cylinder engine configurations for car manufacturers such as BMW/MINI, Volvo to name a view. The diagnostic baud rate is indeed BMW's decision and the way they group the RAM logging addresses into groups, which is really smart. On the other hand, Siemens configurable software sets the system timer at 20ms delay which is not just for diagnostics, but for the entire timer system. Since the Siemens EMS2000 uses the Infineon C167CR microcontroller, its instruction set has many features such as Data Paging (DPP0 -DPP3), context switching, ATOMIC instruction, EXT instruction, SCXT instruction, TRAP instruction (interupt) etc. It has a PEC peripheral (Peripheral Event Control) which can pass data into RAM or registers without intervention on the CPU. The System Timer is divided from the main Clock, and the peripherals such as CAPCOM (Capture and Compare) and General Purpose Timer Unit (GPT1 -GPT2) which is mainly used for Injection scheduling, Ignition events scheduling and capturing (Capture and Compare) - the Crank sensor and Cam sensor signals to calculate engine speed, angular position and TDC CYL#1. The diagnostic system within the software uses the Asynchronous/Synchronous Serial Interface which uses the System Timer as well which is clocked with that 20ms delay, so not just this peripheral but the CAPCOM, PEC, PWM Module --> (for electronic throttle control) which uses a low 600Hz to run it....very slow frequency which all use the same 20ms delay. We just added a subroutine that hi jacks the current one, instead of (RET) instruction (Return from a Subroutine within the current code segment) we added our code there and changing some things on the PEC, and Async/Sync Serial Interface to speed up the logging rate and frequency. We can't change the delay, since the whole entire system clock divided and system timer runs everything, it would change everything if it is changed. Meaning and OBD II scanner, Scanguage etc wouldn't work, not even the factory ITSA or GT-1. So we left that part alone. Hope this clears up some things if anyone wondered how this stuff works. Thanks,
It took me FOREVER to find a place I can trust (Stonefield Village, Cedarburg, WI). They race vintage Mini's, but also work on MINI's. Father son duo. Not cheap, but no worries once they're done. Car was set up about as good as I think it can be for what's on it, a bunch of minor niggles fixed, and a few new ones discovered (apparently I managed to melt one of the wires that does something or other to the ABS). Installed a rollbar (and made all the cuts in the back panels), put holes in so I can access the top of the rear struts so I can get at the damper adjustments on my KW's, put in all the powerflex bushings I could pry off Way, adjusted the suspension etc., etc..... Came out great. But, you know the old "Needs more Cowbell" routine? My recurring theme is "Needs more Camber".... Anyway, hoping to get to Indy in the spring, let Way work some magic on it.
Ah yes, the pieces of the puzzle are falling into place now. After a lot of odd communication issues with the machine shop, shop, me and supplier these just arrived. Off to the shop to drop them to go to the machine shop. Maybe we can wrap all this up before MITM!
Those are the most common spring sets.. Most ALL the top Head builders used them. Note the word..USED. Nate glad to see all if good now!! Just me....................................... Thumper
They are Super Tech. You will notice the shiny appearance. Ferrea hard anodizes black the Seat Locators (spacer) and retainers as well as using a black protectant on the springs.
Well I'll be.... [ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vnmt1kZxBDI]YouTube - Handel - Hallelujah - Messiah[/ame]
Nathan; after it's complete and your MINI leaves the shop, I'd be interested in knowing what the labor hours ended up being for a job like this.
IT LIVES! [ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W8GRQHsAVjI[/ame] The MINI is home in my garage. Hard to tell how it is running as it's over 100F here again today and I was stuck in traffic all the way home. Will probably go out tonight when it drops into the 80's and there is no traffic. Thanks to all that helped with advice, parts, labor, etc. This was truly a community rebuild.
More like 3000+ miles... Dallas -> Indy -> Winter Park -> Dallas Plus any other drives once in Winter Park. I'll get to know my MINI real good again. I tell ya, after 3 months of driving other cars I forgot how raw and visceral my MINI is.
I'm sure you have good break-in plans to vary the RPM's and not keep them the same for long periods. Hopefully you will be able to change the oil at least a couple of times on this trip. Take some extra oil and fluid with you just in case. And of course...... good luck on your trip.