[imgR]http://www.motoringalliance.com/gallery/data/598/medium/minihero_alliance-2.jpg[/imgR]1. Please tell us about your MINI when it was delivered. Option Packages along with the Year, Model and Color. It is a 2006 MINI Cooper S, Dark Silver with a Pure Silver roof. It came with the Premium, Sport, and Cold Weather packages. I bought it used in July of 2008 after spending 8 weeks looking for my perfect MINI. 2. Why did you choose a MINI? We bought our daughter a MINI Cooper S JCW for her 16th birthday in 2006. I was immediately hooked. As soon as the time was right I had to get one myself. It turns out, my wife wants one as well so 2011 will probably see the addition of a third MINI to our family 3. Please tell us about the various phases your MINI has taken as your mods progressed. Dennis Miniero (note the name) purchased this MINI new and did a lot of mods to it. That was one attraction I had to this MINI since his mods were in very good taste. I've continued to move MINIHERO forward with a combination of aesthetic and performance mods. 4. What has been your modification philosophy? My wife wanted me to buy a red MINI so one element of my changes is to introduce red into the car - under the bonnet, inside, and outside. I also want to make sure I don't go over the top and keep things subtle, at least on the exterior. I'm all for aesthetics but have a desire to turn up the performance both on the suspension and engine. 5. What has been the most difficult mod completed to date? Why? I can't say that any have been terribly difficult. I'm mechanically inclined, I did group up as a teenager working on heavy equipment such as bulldozers and tractor trailer trucks so a MINI is a walk in the park. The last mod done was replacement of the intake manifolds with ported / polished manifolds that also happen to be powder coated red. That's a mod that Way did for me and that certainly would have been a major time sink had I tried it. Not only did this add some pop up under the bonnet but it also provided improved smoothness throughout the RPM range. Nice mod and one I can recommend. [imgl]http://www.motoringalliance.com/gallery/data/598/medium/minihero_alliance-4.jpg[/imgl]6. Where do you research and source your modifications; materials, parts, etc? I do a lot of research on forums such as Motoring Alliance and my local club forum, AtlantaMINIS. But, my number one source is Way at Way Motor Works. He doesn't try to sell you "stuff", he wants to understand what your are trying to accomplish and then helps you get there in the most economical way. You could say I'm strung out 7. Have other Motoring Alliance members assisted you? If so, give them a shout out. I've already mentioned Way who is a member of the board. I've not been a member of this board for long but expect to learn much from others over the next few months. 8. How did Motoring Alliance help you as a resource in your modifications? As noted, I've not been a member long enough at this time for the board to have helped but I expect this to change. 9. What are you planning next? What remains to be done? What are your goals?[imgl]http://www.motoringalliance.com/gallery/data/598/medium/minihero_alliance-12.jpg[/imgl] I've done about all that can be done on the engine unless I choose to go with an upgraded head and or cam - not planning to do that in the near term. I do plan to have rear control arms installed so I can get the camber of those rear wheels under control. Probably make some suspension upgrades at some point. I'm pretty close to done and I'm happy with the results. I'll probably shift some of my focus on helping my daughter continue to mod her JCW. 10. Please list all current mods. Pure silver bonnet stripes with red pin stripes Red tow hook MINIHERO Euro tag Red mirror caps MINIHERO stickers R53 stickers Checkmate design on a panel, aero side skirts & license plate surround MINIHERO brake light cover Tinted windows Aerokit grill [imgl]http://www.motoringalliance.com/gallery/data/598/medium/minihero_alliance-1.jpg[/imgl]Aerokit side skirts Red center console towers Leather door pull covers Way Motor Works red Craven eBrake handle Red / Black leather steering wheel cover Craven short shifter Craven shift boot Craven red shift knob Alpine Sterio with iPod I/F Way Motor Works red strut tower caps Way Motor Works red cabrio supports Way Motor Works red motor mounts Way Motor Works polished & ported intake manifold (powder coated red) Way Motor Works ECU quick tune Helix 19% supercharger pulley Helix cold air intake Borla "Street" exhaust Alta red intercooler connectors H-Sport lowering springs H-Sport rear anti-sway bar Wilwood red big brake kit 17" Kosei K1 Light Grey Fuzion HRi tires View more great shots of this car in the Gallery [imgr]http://www.motoringalliance.com/gallery/data/598/medium/minihero_alliance-9.jpg[/imgr] [imgl]http://www.motoringalliance.com/gallery/data/598/medium/minihero_alliance-7.jpg[/imgl]
Thanks everyone!!! @Johngo - you can go to converse.com and choose the custom option to make your own. You have control over just about everything!
Congrats Rick ! We met and had a long talk on the field at the MOTD8 car show. I was very impressed with all of the Mods you have done to your car, and like all of your under hood bling. NICE RIDE !