Most liked posts in thread: What did you do with your MINI today?

Thanks CD. Didn't even think of axing my advisor at MINI if they offer anything like that.

 

They're already painted over, I do have some touch up paint coming in, should I cover them again before filling?

 

That's awesome! Thanks Dave! Before you go bringing all your tools though, I have a couple months to see what I can learn/do. I'm shopping around for a good buffer. Do you recommend an orbital, random orbital or a rotary polisher?

 

I have a Harbor Freight DA polisher, it works great. It is much cheaper than the Griot's DA polisher and it has the same features. It even look like the Griot's polisher.

The Lanka system is much cheaper than buying polishers and buffing compound and it works, it is just different.

 

I understand what you are saying to a point, but for a professional those products don’t stand up and do not produce high quality results.

Cheaper is not always better. I detail some very expensive cars and the only use the best without taking shortcuts or using inferior tools or products. The right tools and products are worth the investment in the end.

 

They do produce professional results. It may take a little bit longer than the professional tools.
There is a fairly steep learning curve when doing repairs for the first time, so it's going to take time to do it right to start with.

I am not a professional, I don't do body and paint repair very often, the cheaper tools work well for me, they are not going to wear out in my lifetime, considering the few times I need them.

 

The Porter Cable Dual Action (PCDA) polisher is a great tool. I've been using it for years, but I'd never trust myself with a full rotary polisher. To easy to burn right through the paint.

 

I don't have a front plate on two of my Minis. Quite a high percentage of cars here don't have a front plate, although officially state law requires it. My son is too young and the car is too red to dare to go out without that plate

 

Went to the car wash with the electric blue yesterday night. Hosed it down nicely, no brush touching the Gyon Mohs as the dirt happily beaded away. Bent down to wash underneath, then stood up to rinse down one more time from the top, but shot a good load of water inside the car because the DAMN AUTO WINDOW DOWN opened the windows and sunroof while I was bent down... love the feature in the summer, but $!@#$%!!! not in the car wash in winter!

 

Maybe in Mad Town it's like that, as for the rest of the state, not so much.... I grew up in the north woods, near the Mercer/Woodruff area 1st then later the Beaver Dam area, and got pulled over within 2 days each time I tried to go without the front tag, once in the late 90's then again in 08'. The folks without a tag will get pulled over and the percentage w/o is FAR less than cars with the tag. Wisconsin cops will pull you over. For any reason.

 

I think this is a good and very relevant question. I can only offer an opinion as I am certainly not a suspension expert. The great thing about our MINIs is it delivers so much road feel back to the driver if you know what you are looking for.

From a stock set up, I think our MINIs handle wonderfully for normal to somewhat spirited driving in most public driving situations. When I added the thicker rear swaybar, the feel that something had changed was noticeable as soon as I made a sharp turn on a poorly angled street. The car simply changed direction faster with less input.

At higher than average speed, I have also noticed in turning (hard cornering), that the outside wheels could probably use a bit it more sideways grip. A slightly lower suspension, some negative camber and tires pushed out slightly more would certainly do that. It also makes your car look "faster". That's the pro side of the argument.

However, my car is also my daily commuter and longevity and reliability needs to factor into the equation. Also having a family who don't appreciate the harder and slightly bouncier ride affect the decisions being made. The set up will affect tire wear, ride. My rear tires wear faster, and more on the inside or the wheel over time, making for uneven wear. If you are using supersoft expensive tires, you will need to budget for that. Also, at lower speeds, particularly in northern winter conditions, you lose some grip, which could probably be offset with lower air pressure at the expense of some fuel mileage.

I'm an old guy now, so other than keeping the rear swaybar, I've set the suspension pretty well back to stock. My car came with Sport Suspension + .

 

My wife took her car to a chicken fry Friday night and parked in an empty lot, ate her meal and found that some asshole has dented her passenger side door in FOUR places! and people wonder why I get pissed...ya can't have a nice car anymore!

 

It's not the age of the kidney, Dave, but its pickled condition!

 

It’s still good, I use it everyday without any issues.

 

You know you don’t need to stop on the white line when you come to a stop light. Hahahahaha

 

I like that!

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Bare polished lips?