Saturday 30 July 2005

Wednesday 27 July 2005

MINI Power Steering fixed

Yep,

Car was recovered by MINI Emergency Service and taken to my local dealer.
48 hrs later its returned fixed and valeted.
Power steering pump and asscociated wiring loom were replaced under warranty.
2003 MCS @ 25k miles
I consider that a quick turnaround by Henry Bros Glasgow , so well done.
I didnt get offered a courtesy car , but then Im using the bike all the time anyway :-)

Interestingly the characteristic whine when applying lock has now disappeared , its silent !

Now to stick my compomotive wheels back on.........looks far to 'cute' with the old wheels on it , prefer the 'over wheeled' look now :-)

JohnO

Sunday 24 July 2005

MINI Power Steering failure

B*gger , buying some trainers tonight and just about to park up and the steering goes 'incredible hulk' on me !!!!!!!!!!!
No whine from the car , so its sounds like the power steering pump has died.
Checked on MINI2.com and this sort of failure seems very common :-(

Will book it into dealer ASAP and report back on here........
Actually called MINI Emergency services and they came to take it away.....


J

Saturday 23 July 2005

3000 miles on bike

Yep,
doing my best to rack of as much experience as possible before the bad weather sets in ;-)
The bike passed 3000 miles yesterday on a run out to Balloch and back.
Seems to be running better than ever , and I suspect a bit more power as I'm noticing the front end lifting a lot more in 1st and second gears.
Continue to get around 100 to 120 miles to a tank (without reserve).


J

Sunday 10 July 2005

GRS I/C now fitted

Yep @25000 miles
An absolute sinch to fit , had it all done in 30 minutes before work this morning.
Ran the car down to Ayr and back and it feels smoother. Faster I dont know! Seat of the pants says yes ,especially as it was really warm today and thats usually the kind of weather when the car with std I/C would feel flat.And it felt far from it.
The only problem is I'm so used to the bike that the car feels too slow :-)

Heres what I posted on www.mini2.com...

Right time for another writeup.....

For various reasons I personally decided on a GRSMotorsport Intercooler.
So I placed an order a while back with Graham , whose customer service is outstanding.
I decided to wait for milled end tanks and he kept PM ing me with regualr progress reports which was nice
Last weekend it finally arrived well packaged. The standard of the bits is superb , its a real shame to even fit the new I/C.

30 minutes later I had replaced the old I/C with my shiny new one

Fit was a doddle , (I found very little oil in the old I/C there as well which was good)
The new air divertor assembly is very easy to fit and certainly makes sure all air is used to full. The height of the I/C is also perfect (i.e. not too tall like other makes).

Driving impressions??? (well to be honest these days Im out on my bike , so the MINI doesnt get used much and feels slow when it does !!!)
MUCH better , its been hot and instantly the change in initial thrust can be felt.
It almost feels a bit 'light pressure turbo' like in its response (anyone else feel this??)
Higher up rev range it just feels so much more eager

Looks wise ???
Its looks the canine danglies.....dont you think...

All in all another successful purchase from another great MINI supplier.

Downsides????
Only things I can think of are 1) its a high visibility mod , 2) spark plug access a bit more of a pain. But these are trivial IMHO.
I now have wheels/engine mods/ and a damn great IC so I guess the dealer might spot them

GRSMotorsport : Top quality : Top Product : Top Customer service

Need I say more?

JohnO
[next up PSS9 suspension and more GTT upgrades I think....]




J

Tuesday 5 July 2005

2000 miles on bike!


Almost 8 weeks (to the day) since I passed my test and I'm pleased to have passed 2000 miles :-)
A superb run out with Allan(MR2 Turbo) again to Edinburgh then down the Moffat road.
I've not been down it before but its awesome......
Over 200miles just last night alone! My rear end and legs were well and truly numb.
Bike ran great and I set a new mileage record of 149 miles on a tank.
That includes the reserve light flashing for 30 miles and the bike beginning to smell of fuel LOL

Another great (and reasonably) sensible run. Brill

Car wise the wheels still look superb. Although it hasnt moved for a while , as Im mostly using the bike while its dry(ish)
Got a PM from Graham at GRSMotorsport and my Intercooler will arrive by the weekend :-) More toys great ...

J