Ouch! Cracked Strut Mount!

While at AMVIV it was discovered that my poor MINI has fallen victim to the much discussed "Cracked Strut Mount and Strut Tower Mushroom". No- not a delectible Mediterranean dish fried over an open-flame, but a plague like design "issue" in the front-end suspension. (You can read the never ending thread on NAM here, here, and here- yeah- i told you!)

One thing I noticed in my research however, is a lack of photos of the fairly obvious symptoms. Fortunately, I have a digital camera!*

Here is (not a very good shot of) a non-mushrooming strut tower. Note it's "flatness"

Here is my other (passenger-side) strut tower, with mushroom syndrome. Note where the VIN is- that should be flat. But it is not.


Here is where the plot thickens- a severe example of a cracked strut mount ("shock mount"/"bearing something or other").
Here is that same shot with the crack marked off. Ouch!

*(super hi-res versions available here (strut mount) and here (strut tower).)


The MINI is in the shop as I write this- getting the strut mount issues repaired. Now, how do I convince them to take a 4x4 and a sledge hammer to pound the mushroom'd tower, flat? more news as it develops- now back to you in the studio!

Live from Amsterdam, it's...

OMG! I can't believe it! I've only just heard!

Our friends at White Roof Radio and MotoringFile did a pretty good job and creating a buzz over the weekend, with their teaser announcement of "something big" to be let loose on Monday. Guessing and rumors and speculation ensued.

So of course, the first thing I did this morning (well, not the "first") was download a special episode of White Roof Radio, and my guess was confirmed as correct! Da boyz have managed to secure a deal as the official Podcast of MINI United 2007?!?! Wh-wha what?!? Can you say "jealous as all heck!"

Okay, so *if* you have no idea what I'm talking about, you must check these links:

White Roof Radio | MotoringFile | MINI United 2007

I'll be tuning in and being all excited and jealous at the same time. Anyone wanna sponsor me a trip? I'll follow you around with a camcorder and camera , schlep your luggage, and pimp your goodies, where a green hat- whatever! I'm serious! Hey- Just puttin' it out there...

MINI Marketing

The MINI Marketing team (a.k.a. whomever they've hired this time 'round) always manages to keep the brand fresh and "hip" with their just-say-no approach to standard marketing techniques.

A Russian website has a few of my favorites, along with what i presume to be "user-created-content"- all in one place! I'd love to say more about the site, only, I don't know what the site is saying!

See more at: ddesign.nnm.ru/reklama_mini

Shown above: One of my all-time favorite MINI billboards

Fireballed Racing SeminarBQ!

Last week I went to Fireball Tim/Fireballed Racing's First Annual "SeminarBQ/Car Show" (Get it? A Seminar and BBQ!)

I had a lot of fun, met some new friends (and old ones) got to see some really nice cars, (I mean really nice!) I learned a few things too! And of course, took plenty of photos!

The Fireballed! Studio Shop

Fireball Tim, The Legend- in the flesh!

There were many classic and exotic cars including this Spyder-something-or-other

One of FBT's Limited Edition MINIs

The line for the grub! (ed. note: apparently they had twice the attendance as expected!)
Click here for more photos!*


(The official flyer):

FIREBALLED! STUDIO SHOP
18900 Hawthorne Blvd
Torrance, Ca. 90504
310 921 6000

www.fireballtim.com
www.fireballed.com
www.cartv.com

*I'm currently editing the video as well! Stay tuned!

Lookie What I Got!: Escort Passport 8500 X50

Not like I need it (grin), but Uncle Sam saw fit to give me a tax refund suitable of a new toy/gadget (or two?). The Escort Passport 8500 X50 has been on my list for awhile. The "out of the box" experience:

The front of the box

The back of the box

The fancy "leather" case. (Actually, it's pretty nice.)

Ooooh...

Ahhhh....

The device

The money-shot

I don't have a personal review yet, but here's the official PR speak:


"The Passport 8500 X50's new "V-Tuned" radar receiver provides extreme detection range on all police radar; conventional and "instant-on" radar, including the new POP mode radar threat, X-Band, and up to 50% more range than the original Passport 8500 on the all-important K and Ka bands. Digital signal processing (DSP) provides maximum range, with minimum false alarms." --www.escortradar.com

Features

• 360-degree radar and laser detection
• Advanced digital signal processing
• AutoSensitivity mode automatically reduces false alarms
• EZ-Programming allows instant customization
• Selectable POP mode radar detection
• 3 High-resolution meter modes
• Ultra-bright matrix display with 280 LEDs
• Brilliant blue or high-intensity red display
• Multiple high-performance laser sensors
• Built-in earphone jack
• Mute & AutoMute
• Completely immune to the VG-2 "detector-detector"
• One year limited warranty
• 2 year extended service plan available
• Free 30 day test drive (applies to factory direct orders only)

www.escortradar.com

Maisto MINI Model

Looking for something completely unrelated, I ventured into the local hobby shop and found this!

I'm not a "collector", just an occasion impulse shopper! *smile*

Car Electronic Device Hard Wire

Our friend Molly from NAM and fiascofarm.com posted a great writeup on hard-wiring an electric device into your MINI vehicle!




Gee... now why would I need to know this info?!?! *wink*

Thanks Molly! :b:

AMVIV Photos!

Well it only took the greater portion of a week to trudge through all my photos from AMVIV and cull them down to my best, say.... 200?









Enjoy the full-length (200+ photo) gallery here !

:b:

AMVIV IV: A Brief Recap

For those playing along... We got back from "A MINI Vacation in Vegas" on Sunday afternoon, with minimal traffic. That's what you get when you're already on the road by 8am!

I took about 400 photos this time around as well as about 2 hours of video. I hope to have everything edited and posted in the next couple days but in the meantime, here's a brief recap of AMVIV from my perspective!

For the record, this year's event was totally awesome. Last I heard there were about 450 and about 600 people. There were twice as many vendors as last year and a little something for everyone- well except for ladies' t-shirts in small. The product I noticed "flying off the shelf" the most was the M7 Strut Brace. Even with 4-5 vendors all selling them, I think they each sold out of them! Heck even *I* bought one! I didn't get it installed though due to some minor suspension issues I wasn't aware of. :(

The North American MINI Cooper Challenge race was fun to watch despite a pretty significant fender-bender in the first race. Even more fun to watch were the Bikini All Stars from MAV TV! (raaar...)

I didn't do any of the runs this year. One reason involved the installation of an ALTA 15% Pulley! (Yeah baby!). Other reasons involved me not getting up at 8am every day while on "vacation". The Boot-n-Bonnet Show was spectacular this year as well. Many of my favorite MINIs were back, along with a lot of really really nice ones I'd never seen before. I didn't win anything but I wasn't trying. It was great meeting new people and people I "know" from NAM but never met in real life. Ironically, many of the folks I know "IRL" ("in real life" that is)- I didn't get to spend much time with.

The Strip Cruise had about 260 cars involved this year. An awesome sight to behold. So much so someone felt a couple rounds from a BB gun into some cars was warranted.

This year marked the first time DB, Todd, and Gabe from WhiteRoofRadio were all in the same room. Their MCing of the banquet was well done and I hope they recorded it and just post the whole thing as an episode.

Overall, not a bad extended weekend, and worth every penny. I'll have more detailed recounts of particular events as the days and editing of photos and video progresses!

Unauthorized use of a vehicle

Police log 03/16/07

Friday, March 16, 2007 6:07 AM MST

Unauthorized use of a vehicle

A 16-year-old boy was arrested after joyriding in a friend's car Wednesday morning.

According to Flagstaff police reports, an officer was called to the area of Butler and Foxhill at about 8:23 a.m. on a call of a speeding, reckless driver. A witness said he saw a gray Mini Cooper nearly flip as it made a turn onto Amberwood, then said he was passed again by the car near Butler and Foxhill. He said the car, which was traveling at about 100 mph and smelled of burning clutch, was full of juveniles and probably heading toward Sinagua High School. The officer found the car at the Sinagua parking lot, and contacted the daughter of the registered owner, who said she had given a friend her keys right before classes started so he could retrieve a calculator he'd left in the vehicle. She said she told the friend not to drive the car and he said he wouldn't, reports stated.

When the assistant principal went to pull the boy from class, he was not there, and the officer found that the car was no longer in the lot. The officer searched the area for it and spotted it driving east on Butler, about to turn into the school lot. The officer stopped the car, identified the driver, and arrested him.

The boy was referred to juvenile authorities for unauthorized use of a vehicle and released to his father.

Lookie What I Got! Honeycomb Supercharger Scoop Insert

I know when I've been one-upped. Sometimes I don't care- especially when *I* benefit from it too! Take for example, when ImagoX (NAM) one-upped my Intake Screen with his more aesthetic Honeycomb version (gotta love it any time you can deface Dodge RAM parts)!

Read all about it on Northamericanmotoring.com!

New MINI Clubman?! Caught on tape!

As mentioned previously on BUSHFINGERMINI, I'm not personally a big fan of the upcoming MINI Clubman. I'm sure it'll do well though. Regardless, today I found this footage of the new MINI model, "caught on tape" on the streets of Geneva (shortly after the official announcement at the Geneva Auto Convention.

Pretty rougish. "Guerrilla" if you will. Unpolished. In fact a bit too unpolished for such excellent shots from all camera angles. Hmmm... Viral-esque perhaps? Is that even a word? Anyway, it ist he first video of the Clubman I've seen so far. So here's the clip! :B:

FS: Brand New H-Sport "Sport" (27mm) Front Sway Bar (and OEM Rear Sway Bar, too!)

As the title states, this is a brand spankin' new H-Sport "Sport" (27mm) Front Sway Bar for '02 and up MINI Cooper. Hardly even breathed on, this was taken out of box only to take these photos.

Two-position adjustable, w/ Bushings, Zerk Fittings, 1/2 tube of 'loob'
Retail price: $176.00
Shipped: $100 + plus shipping (O.B.O.)

"...Perfect for aggressive canyon carving and track day events while not being too aggressive for every day street driving..."

Here's the link to the Manufacturer's official description:
http://www.h-sport.com/cgi-bin/EDCstore.pl?user_action=detail&catalogno=22800F

Click here for larger photos



Also for sale,
OEM MCS Rear Sway Bar w/ bushings. (great as an MC upgrade or MCS replacement!) Less than ~5000 miles of use- practically new!

Retail: ???
Shipped: $50 plus shipping (O.B.O.) Click here for larger photos


I accept: Paypal, M.O., Checks*, well-hidden cash
*delivered upon clearance

MINI Mileage Update

Like we tend to do 'round here, it's the next edition of the MINI MILEAGE CHART!

As posted previously, I track my mileage and gas usage diligently (If only I applied this to the rest of my life!). Like most people, the polar opposites of when/why/where/how I drive has a major effect on MPG (a whole 5 minutes to work, and 200+ freeway miles on the weekends? yeah- erratic, I know).

The numbers speak for themselves. well, assuming I know how to use Excel correctly...


On paper, the the 2006 MINI Cooper S gets 25 (city) to 32 (hwy). But we all know that's not true! However, it was pretty neat getting almost 350 miles on one tank! (This particular pump-to-pump experience included a nice 100+ mile"spirited" run.)

Lookie What I Got! H-Sport Rear Sway Bar!

Well, I can't really show photos of my latest accoutrement, since it's under the car, in between the frame and subframe, in the rear, connected to end-links and control arms. And I was actually involved in the (free) install (thats right- i actually got my hands dirty!) So I wasn't able to take 100 photos of the process. :)

The H-SPort Sport (19mm) Rear Sway Bar
"Does it make a diffference?" you say? I left the driveway, turned left, and at 20mph I could already notice a difference in handling. I wouldn't necessarily say a "stiffer" ride, since it's not a more rough ride. I can say that I don't know why they call it a "sway-bar", when it's actually and anti-sway bar!

(from the website):
"Recommended for street and track use, the Sport Rear may be used in combination with the stock front bar. All three settings on the Sport Rear are very useful if you attend track days, yet the bar itself is perfectly suitable for daily street use without any harsh ride effects of a larger bar."


Good times!


H-Sport.com


Update: I just noticed that there is a great review of this exact item on MotoringFile.com! (silly me for not checking first!)

MINI Run = MINI Fun!

Went on a ~150 mile run with my MINI club this weekend. Too much fun! Kinda hard to be taking pictures at 100 MPH while driving! (need... co-pilot... hint, hint).






more photos...

Hammer & Coop Episode 2: Dawn of Silverfox

I'm totally loving this! Talk about kitsch at it's finest!

Starsky, Magnum, Hasselhof, "K.I.T.T.", (err... that one dude from Miami Vice), and a fun infomercial all rolled into one! Growing up on this stuff I can say BSSP (MINI's ad agency) have certainly done their homework on 80's action cop genre. Classic stuff! Pity it's not available in podcast format (hint hint, MINIUSA!)

Hammer & Coop Episode 2: Dawn of Silverfox

(read more about "H&C" on motoringfile.com)

Hammer & Coop: The Series?

Previously on BushfingerMINI I posted about the "trailer/viralvid/wtf?" of Hammer & Coop.

Turns out the "Coming Soon" part, was real!

Landing in my InBox this morning was a link to the first two episodes. By the time I got home they're available on YouTube. If you're a MINI fan, you've probably seen them already (twice). If you're not, well, that's what I'm here for. :b:

Episode 1: The Clean Getaway
(Read more aboutr "H&C" on motoringfile.com!)

Lookie What I Got! - Clear* Turn-Signal Bulbs

A couple days ago I took a look at my car and all of a sudden, the "fried-egg" front turn signals now bug the heck out of me!

This morning I decided today was the day I was going to do something about it. I checked NAM for insight. Lots of info, but not quite enough. I found a link to the perfect bulbs but didn't want to have to order anything. I didn't know if the "mod" was simple. The corresponding NAM thread provided some decent instructions- enough to motivate to go ahead do it. I went the to AutoZone website to see they had something in stock- but, no photo? (C'mon retailers- we want photos!)

I don't really like my local AutoZone so I went to Kragen instead. For once, Kragen didn't have what I was looking for, and AutoZone did (usually it's the other way around). So instead of ordering the $25 silver covered bulbs from bimmian.com, I got some "close-enoughs" for... $12! No shipping or waiting!
Popping them in was pretty simple. When the lights are on you can't tell the difference. When they're off- well, not exactly "clear", but much better than distracting orange "accents" . If I had known this was so simple I'd have done it months ago!

I wished there were better instructions on NAM so I wrote up my own:

The $12 bulbs I got from AutoZone: Sylvania "Silverstar" Part No. 1156A ST (edit: The actual part number is 7507AST, but those weren't in stock so I improvised)


Here's what it looks like in the box (there's only one bulb in this photo because I fitted the first one in the AutoZone parking lot).




Here's the back of the box.


Pop the hood bonnet and find the housing holder. This shot is the left signal, while leaning over the bumper looking into the hole. To remove- 1) turn it, 2) pull it! So simple for skinny-handed folks lke myself!

Here's the bulb in it's holder. Remove the OEM bulb. Also simple!

Replace it with the new bulb. Note: the pins on the side of the OEM are offset at 150-degrees. The pegs on the Sylvania are at 180. In other words, they don't match up precisely to the bulb holder- a little "dedication" and it fits right in. This shouldn't be an issue if you can secure the proper part.


Replace the bulb housing the same way you took it out- turn it til it locks into place.

Here's a before and after with the lights off:



Here's a before and after with the lights on:


*Not exactly "clear", there is almost no noticeable difference with the lights on. $12 and 10 minutes later, I'm a happy camper!

northamericanmotoring.com
bimmian.com
autozone.com
Sylvania "Silverstar" Part No. 1156A ST, 7507AST