Regular Maintenance...

[lionhearts]

This is for the people who's maintenance package with MINI has run out .

Do you still go to the dealer for the regular work; oil change, tune up, tire rotation, etc...

Or do you use a reputable non-MINI mechanic?

Does the MINI require specialty tools and parts for the oil change? I know some makes have some sort of cartridge thing.

Also, I looked in my owner's manual and could not find this: does the display that tells you how many miles til the next oil change automatically reset upon changing the oil or does that need some special procedure?

[:: Jon ::]

did the cooper and i do the cooper S every 3 -4000 miles for an oil change.. i dont use any special tools just a lot of swearing

tyre rotation.. normally put new ones on the fronts but thats it.. never rotate them as they are directional

brakes - do it myself.. fronts are easy rears are a swine.. push and turn the piston back

tune ups unless i can fit it myself - lohen do it..

[lionhearts]

Ok. I'm confused. I've never heard anyone say not to rotate the tires before. I've tried googling this and so far I've got nothing.

Could you explain this a bit more?

[xtremepsionic]

Quote: Originally Posted by lionhearts (original)

Ok. I'm confused. I've never heard anyone say not to rotate the tires before. I've tried googling this and so far I've got nothing.

Could you explain this a bit more?

2 schools of thought

1. Always use the more worn set of tires in the front (thus don't rotate), so you will understeer in the wet/snow. Most people handle understeer better than oversteer (just lift off the throttle)

2. Rotate frequently so tire wear is pretty much even front vs back, that way you extend tire life, and can swap all 4 tires for a totally different brand/type instead of replacing the 2 worn ones in the front.

In any case, it is unwise to use the newer deeper tread tires in the front of the car and old worn bald tires in the back for most people, since most drivers aren't prepared to handle oversteer.

[Benmk]

Quote: Originally Posted by lionhearts (original)

does the display that tells you how many miles til the next oil change automatically reset upon changing the oil or does that need some special procedure?

i believe some programming is required to change the display. I think there is something onlone somewhere that tells you how to do it.

[humph]

Quote: Originally Posted by Jonmorgan (original)

tyre rotation.. normally put new ones on the fronts but thats it.. never rotate them as they are directional

Quote: Originally Posted by lionhearts (original)

Ok. I'm confused. I've never heard anyone say not to rotate the tires before. I've tried googling this and so far I've got nothing

Could you explain this a bit more?

Jon is correct the standard runflats that come with the MINI are directional tyre i.e. the tread is patterned so that it only clears water when used in the right direction. Because of this tyres cannot be 'rotated' in the traditional sense. Front and rears on the same side of the car can be swapped to prolong tyre life as described above. Tyres should not be swapped from driver to passenger sides as this will mean the tread is in the wrong direction. Directional tyres have an arrow on the tyre wall that indicates their direction of use.

N.B. When buying new tyres you do not have to specify driver/passenger side, one tyre fits all. It's up to the fitter to ensure they are fitted the right way round.

[Martin F]

I wonder whether the traditional advice to put the deeper treaded tyres to the rear is as important if a car has DSC.

It is my understanding that there was some debate about the issue before the advice was promulgated so the issue may not be clear cut. And it was probably developed before electronic stability management systems became widely available.

Any views on this?

[lionhearts]

Okay.

I originally thought he meant directional or curved vane rotors. I don't know why I thought this.

Another thing, reading the MINI owners manual I found a section that said that tire should not be rotated between axles. ??? so no front to rear and rear to front I take it? I guess that would follow what all of you are saying about about the more worn tires should stay front side.

I did find a link with directions on how to reset the oil service indicator.

Oil Service Indicator Reset

But is 10,000 right? Wha? I thought oil changes should happen aprox. every 3000 miles?

[SamHarrison]

yeah that's right.. mine is actually saying 15,000 miles till oil service

[lionhearts]

Wow! Are MINIs that good or are they just crazy?

[BlueZed]

Personally I would always put the best/newest tyres onto the front of a FWD car. The front wheels are doing all of the work under braking acceleration and steering.

If you are driving on wet roads and your front tyres aren't shifting enough water then you will A) aquaplane off the road or into another car or B) have zero useful grip and thus braking capacity if you have to brake hard.

If you did happen to have less grip on the back and find the car a little oversteery, it is at least controllable. Not so if your fronts are locked.

Just my opinion though.

[faster,Tobias!]

Quote: Originally Posted by SamHarrison (original)

yeah that's right.. mine is actually saying 15,000 miles till oil service

Are you sure your Mini's computer is set to miles, and not km ? A new Mini displays 15,900 Km to the 1st oil change; 15,000 miles seems a h*ll of a lot!

[sjrainsford]

15000 miles is quite normal for a mini oil change, although in reality it rarely is actually that. It varies depending on how the car is driven. So if you drive it hard, that figure will fall quickly so you will never end up going a true 15000 miles.

The long service intervalls are achieved with modern oils, they use synthetic types. Synthetic oil lasts much longer bacause it doesn't carbonise etc.

And yes, they aren't too difficult to service yourself at all in fact. The oil filter is easy to get at and is a cartridge style. Open the cap and pop your new one in!

And yes, as mentioned above all you do is a simple procedure to reset the service interval display.

[Bajanmini]

The smart thing to do is buy a Hanes workshop manual,if you cant do it yourself,find a decent mechanic and give him the book.Manual says to replace the oil bung with every oil change,i'll bet most dont do that !!

[lionhearts]

Quote: Originally Posted by Bajanmini (original)

The smart thing to do is buy a Hanes workshop manual,if you cant do it yourself,find a decent mechanic and give him the book.Manual says to replace the oil bung with every oil change,i'll bet most dont do that !!

Oil Bung???