Pulley Comparison (thanks Steve & Mike)

Posted on by Ian C.

This afternoon, I drove to MINI Peabody (yes, again!) … I had been very kindly offered a test drive in “Stryker” (Steve’s MINI); Stryker has had a new pulley and intake so has much better performance than a standard MCS (it also has an anti-sway bar for improved handling):


I was extremely careful driving someone else’s MINI, so I cannot say there was a massive improvement over my own MCS; I still noticed a slight dip during first gear acceleration with the A/C turned on, although it was less noticeable than my car. On the downside, the air intake makes the car much more growly – some people will no doubt think this is a plus!
I noticed significantly better handling on the off ramps, presumably due to the anti-sway bar (Steves car and mine have the same 16″ wheels).
When I returned to MINI Peabody, Mike was there with his yellow “71” MINI; he had just had the new pulley and intake and anti-sway bar added to his car!


Mike insisted I try his MINI too – so I did! I found similar small gains in performance but again was being careful, avoiding high revs where the improvements might be most noticeable.
Mike had also changed his 17″ tires to non-runflats … the ride was definitely a little more comfortable than my 16″ runflats, on the Route 1 bumps.
Overall, I am not yet convinced I should go with a new pulley & intake … the cost is not unreasonable, but I was not convinced the performance was significantly better (not enough to risk losing warranty if I had any engine issues down the road). I will have to keep thinking about it …
Thank you very much, Steve and Mike. Name me another car / dealership where owners happily share their cars special features with others in such a generous way. MINIs are very special cars, owned by very special people!

GBMINI goes to Brookhaven

Posted on by Ian C.

Headed to Brookhaven Retirement Community tonight! Life has not been that tough; we had a “Showcase Of Minis” event organized through NEMO (New England Mini Owners).
3 or 4 classic Minis and 5 or 6 new MINIs got together to show off the cars to the Brookhaven residents; two Morgans also came!
Many of the residents had fond memories of driving similar classic cars – some knew more than we did about Minis! Some people got short rides in new or classic Minis around the Brookhaven estate, which is a very fancy place! And we got free food too – hot dogs, burgers and even ice-cream.

A nice gathering – looking forward to more of the same.

 

GBMINI meets Mr.Tumnus (“Scooterboy”)

Posted on by Ian C.

This morning I drove to MINI Peabody to meet “scooterboy” (Scott Connell). When I arrived, Jayson Walkers red MCS was just leaving – he is at the dealership even more than I am!
Scott arrived shortly after (one of the rare moments when I photo a person instead of a MINI!); we compared MINIs, stereos, roofs – Scott had just fitted a static cling Union Jack decal over his sunroof (to keep the car cooler in the summer) – it looked very good and well fitted!

GBMINI meets Mr Tumnus

Scott has only owned his MINI since early July 2003, and has already put nearly 5000 miles on it! He has also upgraded his stereo system including a self powered sub under the passenger seat; it gave his system a little more low end bass than the Harmon Kardon system in my car, but it was not anything like as impressive as Jayson Walkers car (but then Jays speakers probably cost more than Scotts complete stereo install!)
Scott has also made a “decoy” faceplate to cover his aftermarket head unit, using a MINI factory head unit acquired on eBay – he kindly gave me the unused electronics from it, in case it helps with my Harmon Kardon investigations – what a nice person 🙂
I also asked him about the meaning of his cars name “TUMNUS” … he told me about “Lucy meeting Mr Tumnus, a faun, in The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe” (a childrens book by C.S.Lewis which I read many years ago – perhaps I should read it again when I finish with Harry Potter)!