[Pamlico]

Quote: Originally Posted by AprilWhine

Ouch! That sounds so painful for your new toy.

I'll feel every grind. I'm searching for the right body shop to do the job. Almost certaintly won't be done by MOT.

[am0eba]

I'm back from yet another work trip. Balmy Phoeniz, 100F yesterday. The TV weatherman was talking about the unseasonably comfortable weather this week - s'posed to return to normal soon: 115F PLUS...

Managed to squeeze in a nice MINI event last Saturday: The SoCal MINI Maniacs added a nice picnic in the woods at Toro Canyon Park to their monthly first Saturday breakfast get-together in Malibu. Judy and I got to meet a bunch of nice people and had a great time convoying through some nicely twisty roads with about 40 other MINIs. Now we're back in time for the monthly second Saturday breakfast meet in Seal Beach!

[i]For anyone in Southern Cali (Greater LA, San Diego, OC, etc.) I strongly recommend SCMM. The annual membership fee is minor, and you get plenty of goodies (T-Shirt, laminated ID, lanyard with name badge, etc.) for it.[/I]

SoCal MINI Maniacs Website

Anyway, almost at 3000 miles, and I'm also considering getting an early oil change, just to get rid af any break-in "dirt"...

I'm also thinking that the person who was talking about doing up T-shirts for our group had to let his production slot go, and is now in the June group? Can anyone confirm?

I really would like a shirt to commemorate the March '05 build experience. We could get a very small run made to order from Cafe Press.

Good to be in touch again!


_Dave_

[erickvonzipper]

Quote: Originally Posted by Pamlico

I'll feel every grind. I'm searching for the right body shop to do the job. Almost certaintly won't be done by MOT.

What is MOT?

Zip

[AprilWhine]

MINIs on Top

Check the New England forum, there is a monster thread in there. Not as big as this thread, though.

Pamlico and I will both be there. Our cars were shipmates on the trip from England, I'm going to try to get a pic of them together to post here.

[dpacker]

Quote: Originally Posted by Kellzir

The dipstick is not the easiest to read. I think I may have too much oil, based on the dipstick. Too bad it is not straight forward like some other dipsticks.


I love the Euro Parcel Shelf. It is handy to have!

I agree about the dipstick. I checked my oil yesterday. At first I thought the stick was clean - that freaked me out! Then I realized that there was oil, and it seems like it's a good level, but it sure isn't easy to tell. You have to have the stick angled just right to get it back in too. By the way, should it be extremely apparent that there's oil on the stick, or do you have to look really close to see it in the pores of the yellow part?

Debbie

[Johnny L]

You have to look very carefully. Also, it's important to wait about five to ten minutes after the car has been running for a while. Also, before you put the stick back in, make sure that you've wiped off any and all oil residue so you can get a clean reading.

When I fill up, I wait until I'm completely done filling (and have bought a soda) before I start checking the oil. That's about 5 minutes or so. Also, I, too, have trouble reading the dip stick; you have to "study" the coarse part of the tip of the stick to see if there's any oil in there. This, apparently, is another MINI quirk; I've never had this much difficulty with any other dipstick--and I've had my share of dipsticks!

Quote: Originally Posted by dpacker

By the way, should it be extremely apparent that there's oil on the stick, or do you have to look really close to see it in the pores of the yellow part?

Debbie

[Johnny L]

Hey, Dave, welcome back! I like your idea about the shirts, but we need some kind of design, don't we? Who are the artists of the March Builders? Also, what could the theme be? Something about waiting, anticipation, excitement, fulfillment? definitely need a pic of a MINI in there somewhere . . . What say you all?

Quote: Originally Posted by am0eba

I'm also thinking that the person who was talking about doing up T-shirts for our group had to let his production slot go, and is now in the June group? Can anyone confirm?

I really would like a shirt to commemorate the March '05 build experience. We could get a very small run made to order from Cafe Press.

Good to be in touch again!


_Dave_

[Ken30307]

Hi..I'm still alive..just catching up with summer school and finishing the rest of my house renovations. The MINI has been great. I'm still getting used to people commenting about my car (just happened today when a woman looked at it and said "but it looks like a toy") I just smiled and got in. Yesterday a woman and her kids were blocking my way while they were rapt my my car....the little girl said "those have been my favorite car FOREVER" I thought to myself..."aren't you..like 5?"

Anyway..the only downside has been that my neighbor's cat has decided that my roof is great place to nap...I really dont mind..I have two cats myself...but the other day I saw a tiny tiny tiny claw mark on it...so I decided to go into "SAVE THE MINI" mode...for the next few days I have a cloth cover on my car with some "Cat begone" sprayed on it...should only take a few days to get Calvin to move on...no one will notice the microscopic mark..but me..in fact..I couldn't even find it today..it may have been a hallucination..

Anyway...here are some before and after pics of my tiny little house!

[gaminicool]

Quote: Originally Posted by am0eba

Anyway, almost at 3000 miles, and I'm also considering getting an early oil change, just to get rid af any break-in "dirt"...

I'm also thinking that the person who was talking about doing up T-shirts for our group had to let his production slot go, and is now in the June group? Can anyone confirm?

I really would like a shirt to commemorate the March '05 build experience. We could get a very small run made to order from Cafe Press.

Good to be in touch again!


_Dave_

Hi Dave.

I got the oil change done at 1300 miles and the dealer looked at me as if I was crazy I told him I planned to keep the car for a long time and felt more confortable with the extra early change.

As for the t-shirts - count me in. I'll pay a nominal fee if we can come up with a design that works

Hey Pamlico - sorry about your dent. I know we all pay great attention to our Minis and this must hurt.

Mike

[gaminicool]

Ken - your house looks great.

[AprilWhine]

Ken, that screened porch looks inviting. Can you shoot a water pistol through the screens?

[crosebud]

Wow, very sweet house, Ken. Looks so peaceful. Definitely relate to that "Save the MINI" mode. You might have read my recent version of that when my neighbor was hauling her bike in and out of my apt. garage dangerously close to my MINI. Like you and cats, I'm a big fan of the bicycle, and the last thing I thought I'd be is unbike friendly, but sometimes you gotta do what you gotta do . . . for the precious MINI.

[dpacker]

Sorry about your dent Pamlico. I was pretty darned disappointed when I found that little scratch the first week, even though that's not quite the same. I hope you get it fixed to your liking. Can't have the little MINI running around with a dent.

House looks nice Ken! That's quite a transformation - it looks so different!

I know what you mean about making sure your MINI is safe crosebud. I park mine all the way at the end of the parking lot at work, can't drive it to the grocery store yet (I've been taking the husband's truck...since he won't let me take his MINI either ).

I got to the 800 mile mark this week. Should get to the break-in period tomorrow though. We're going to drive up to Harrah's Casino in Cherokee, NC tomorrow...and we're taking MY MINI. The husband has almost 3,000 miles on his, so I have to catch up! Plus, I want to be able to rev up the engine once and just floor it!

T-shirts? I don't mind working on some designs, but I don't want to do the printing part. How lazy is that? Actually, I wonder if there's a place online to submit the design, place all of our orders, and work it like that?

Have a good weekend everyone!

Debbie

[AprilWhine]

Cafe Press lets you sell your own artwork on tshirt, here's a link: Cafe Press

[dpacker]

Quote: Originally Posted by AprilWhine

Cafe Press lets you sell your own artwork on tshirt, here's a link: Cafe Press

That's pretty cool. Just think...we can have one design and whether you want it on a tee, a golf shirt, or a thong, you can have your own thing.

Seriously, I'll have to read a little more - looks like a cool idea. Hey, might be something fun to do beyond the MINI tee thing - design tee designs and sell them online.

You think we could get in any trouble using the MINI logo? If not, I'm all for it!

Debbie

[AprilWhine]

BMW is very protective of their logo, but maybe we won't attract much attention with a small run? First thing they woud do is tell us to stop.

Can you tell I've lived by the saying: It's easier to get forgiveness than permission?

[bandrews]

Just hit 4000 miles yesterday somewhere in the vicinity of the Sea-Tac airport while dropping off a friend (was too busy trying not to get run over by traffic to notice exactly where, sadly.) Woo hoo!

I have mixed feelings about this car. On the positive side, it's a stealth car here on Seattle's Eastside in the Bellevue area (yes, there are more MINIs than Accords. I can see three from where I park my car at work alone.) - I actually like blending in a little sometimes. And the ladies sure do seem to like it a lot - might have something to do with every other intern driving a previous-generation Chevy Malibu rented from Avis though

On the other hand, I'm still not brave enough to drive it into the core of Seattle - and I feel like I'm missing out on a lot of fun things I could be doing as a result. It's not so much that I'm worried about damaging the car as I am worried about the manual transmission - after 4k miles, I'm reasonably competent, but not confident - and even though I am capable, I absolutely despise dealing with stop and go traffic with this car. And sadly, stop and go traffic is the rule, not the exception here. I am deathly afraid of being caught in the middle of a pack of cars on one of the steep uphills downtown...

I've also got a few reliability concerns about the car. Whenever I start it up, it tends to "stumble" once or twice... it dips a few hundred RPM, then adds extra revs to keep the engine from stalling. This also happens at stoplights when I'm in neutral (but strangely, not when the clutch is depressed. For a while, I was driving without shifting into neutral, just holding in the clutch at stoplights - but that's apparently bad for my throwout bearing, so I'm putting up with both the extra work of shifting into neutral and the associated stumble.)

It also feels like the electronic throttle doesn't respond accurately to my foot input sometimes... and sometimes that results in dangerous situations. I can't reproduce it often enough to complain to the dealer - but I am going to watch out to see if I can identify a pattern.

I'm very vaguely kicking the idea around of selling the car before I leave this summer and re-ordering an MCSa in nine months when I need a car again, right at the end of the 2006 production. I can get by with my old car during the school year, and apparently the used MINI market is pretty good here in Seattle since Northwest MINI has such a long waiting list. Haven't put a lot of thought into this yet, but I may follow through... who knows. I need to figure out how bad the financial hit would be.

Cheers,
Ben

[AprilWhine]

Ben, I ordered the MCSCa and very happy with it. I wouldn't go back to a stick now, after seeing how well the auto performs.

Good luck, whatever decision you make will be the right one.

[Johnny L]

Ben: The stumble at the start up might just indicate that reflash is needed. Have you talked to your dealer? I'll bet that this issue is related to the slow throttle response, too.

Having said that, I have found that you have to sort of "concentrate" when you launch this car. I'm still trying to find exactly how much I need to slip the clutch vs. just letting it drop into to gear. I have found that if you switch off the DSC, you can't get the front wheels to lock up on dry pavement--until well after you're in 2nd. Of course, if the DSC is on, you just get the engine-stalling action when wheel spin is detected, so that's no fun! The '05 gearing on the MCS is a lot shorter, so while the yo-yo thing is more or less gone, you now have excessive wheel spin to deal with. I guess I just need some stickier tires . . . Ah, the joys of MINI ownership.

April and Kellzir: I am intrigued about the shiftin' paddles. How do you like them? Do you use them often? I kinda wish I had tried that, but I've never owned an automatic as my daily driver, so the thought just never occurred to me to even look at one. I always thought that those "manumatics"--where you can put the shifter stalk into a shift-it-yourself mod--were just gimmicky gadgets. But I think that the BMW/MINI shifter paddles are different--definitely race-inspired.

'rosebud: I know what you're saying about that bicycle thing (ah the memories I have of the SF garage shuffle on Anza St. . . . good times . . .).

Ken: What a great-looking place you have. I love that kinda thing about the South; makes me wish I was sittin' on the porch right now, strummin' my guitar!

All: I am really enjoying hearing about your early Motoring experiences! Keep 'em comin'!

Quote: Originally Posted by bandrews

It also feels like the electronic throttle doesn't respond accurately to my foot input sometimes... and sometimes that results in dangerous situations. I can't reproduce it often enough to complain to the dealer - but I am going to watch out to see if I can identify a pattern.
Ben

[gaminicool]

[quote=Johnny L]Ben: The stumble at the start up might just indicate that reflash is needed. Have you talked to your dealer? I'll bet that this issue is related to the slow throttle response, too.QUOTE]

Hey Johhny L - what's a reflash. My Mini stubles in the morning when I start up - but that's the only time it happens. My dealer said it's normal

Bandrews - I'm lucky that where I live in Atlanta I don't have to deal with much traffic - However I got stuck in it twice today. Lucky I have a cabrio - had the top down and caught some rays through the clouds

I wouldn't give up on a stick just yet. Some practice - like a driving school could help. I find that a stick is clearly more responsive than an auto and once you master it it can save your hide in dangerous situations. I have driven the MCSCa and like it - but the six speed rocks

Debbie - great news on your approaching break in. I floored once I hit 1250 Woo Hoo. Still in love with this car