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 Posted September 3rd, 2010 at 12:20AM
September 24 is when I get to drive Monticello Motor Club again. I’m starting to get the MINI ready, by addressing the clickety-clockety passenger side axle.
I had noticed earlier that there was less than a thumbs-width of clearance from that side’s inner CV joint and an integral part of the engine directly above. I can not see how the “level 2″ axle from DriveShaft Shop could possibly fit, with the beefier joint, despite their assurances that they had sold them and never heard a complaint (excepting mine last year on the driver’s side, that is).
But I discovered that they also had “level 0″ stock replacement axle stubs for $249 total, including the added option of high temp grease on the outside and other measures for ensuring survival under hot conditions. After being told the CV joint would be the same diameter, I ordered one today.
I’m going to change tires and wheels tomorrow to see whether the high pitched noise is wheel bearings or the Kumho XS tires getting louder.
Some fluid changes and it will be ready to go.
I’m actually currently investigating the possibility of purchasing a Subaru Impreza in the near future. It will be an excellent all year daily driver and rallycross vehicle. Can’t wait.
Posted April 27th, 2010 at 5:56PM
I’ve complained previously about the hydraulic upper motor mounts found on 2004-2006 MINIs. They fail pretty quickly, leaking oil over the passenger-side frame rail, allowing the motor to buck around. Consequently you get worse shifting, additional stress on associated attachments, and more drama all around in demanding driving situations. But it’s one of those maintenance items that creeps up slowly, as the fluid leaks out fully and you fail to notice the gradual deterioration.
I remember mine started leaking early – probably in the 40,000 mile range – before the warranty was up, but I did not bring it to Keeler because I knew they’d try to pin its failure on the aftermarket dampener I had thrown on previously (they’d been fashionable, providing another attachment between sub-frame and engine, and functioning to pep up throttle response and shifting feel – proof of the slop in the stock arrangement even when new). It’s hard to rationalize how decreased movement would cause premature mount failure (and empirically they’re failing early on bone-stock vehicles as well) but I’d gotten that type of response before when bringing the car in for issues.
Last week I got the chance to change out the upper mount, and it’s been a wonderful step back toward the tight, new, snappy feeling of the car when it first puttered out of Keeler’s bays four years ago. Well, almost.
I went with a replacement from Texas Speedwerks, who I’ve dealt with previously and felt confident in getting a quality product from. The TSW mount is urethane, similar to what the 2002-2003 cars had (I haven’t peered at an 02-03 to see how similar / dissimilar they really are, but I know the TSW design is new from the ground up).
I’ve always thought the MINI’s gearbox and shifting feel are pretty spot on perfect, but the increased engine movement due to the failed mount necessitated longer shifts, lest I ground the gear while engaging. Hard launches had similarly been affected, with more wheel hop and dreadful clunky noises.
The installation of the upper mount is fairly straightforward – I split it into two days with requisite beer breaks, and replaced the belt tensioner at the same time since the engine was getting jacked upward a smidge already.
The TSW mount has gotten the shifting back to near perfection (what more could you ask for, a little less throw? hmmm…) and civilized the car when its ordered to a rapid pace from rest. In fact, on both counts, it’s markedly improved from stock. There’s no need for an accessory dampener now and everything is as tight as I feel it needs to be.
(The belt tensioner was perhaps a premature repair – my stethoscope still picks up terrible noise when trained on the tensioner: I believe this is due to the wobbly crank pulley in close (almost touching, flip side of belt) proximity. It’s not at an urgent level, but this is high on my to-do list. Still, the old tensioner did have some slop in the pulley and damper, and deserved to be replaced at some point.)
So crisper shifting and accelerating, what’s the catch? I tried to cheap out and not replace the lower mount, that’s what. Only upon completing my repairs last week did I finally notice cracks in the rubber bushing of the lower mount, which takes the brunt of it after the upper fails. So I’ve got a noticeable increase in off idle vibration, which happens to everyone who replaces the upper mount and leaves the lower in its shoddy state. It’s not terrible, but I went ahead and ordered the whole mount online for half the price Keeler quoted me for just the bushing. It ought to mitigate most if not all of the additional vibration. I decided to stick with the OE rubber bushing here since I’m not making the jump to stiffer polyurethane bushings anywhere else, with their maintenance requirement and increased NVH.
The lower mount arrived today but it’s raining and temps are in the 40s, so I’ll bolt ‘er in once it warms. It’s just two bolts so it’ll take some ramps, a jack, and fifteen minutes. The ultimate verdict on acceptable or not increase in vibration from the TSW mount will then be in and reported.
Edit 5/3/10: After replacing the lower mount… there’s still a tiny bit of new vibration, but I’m not sure I’d say its <em>increased</em> over stock – more like its a different frequency. I’ve got some slight new rattles as a result coming from the dash, the kind where you push on some of the cheap plastic and it goes away. *shrug* It’s an acceptable trade-off for me.
Posted April 5th, 2010 at 6:52PM
I’ve been looking the MINI over in preparation for the upcoming (autox / track / general driving) season and have compiled quite the list. The odometer has been sitting under 70k miles for awhile – but not much longer. Now it’s time to figure out what gets priority and what can hold off. Here’s my list so far:
- Crankshaft pulley
I wasn’t expecting to need to do this, but after taking a look-see at the serp belt and related pulleys, there is clearly some “play” with the crank pulley that blurs it when running. The visible rubber between the two parts is free of cracks and looks fine, but the noticeable shimmy is worrisome. This is something better replaced before it fails out on the road, but it’s also something of a high cost repair, with replacement pulleys in the $400 range. Not a terrible DIY, but probably the most complicated of the bunch.
- Belt tensioner pulley
This spring-loaded pulley tensions the serp belt and is notorious for early failure. My mechanic’s stethoscope pointed out that it’s making a lot of noise and ought to be replaced before it breaks and wreaks havoc. Replacements look to be in the $200 range, and the inglorious nature of the repair makes the cost sting that much more.
- Upper motor mount
The 05-06 cars had these stupid upper hydraulic mounts that seemed to leak on most cars right from the get go. Mine has probably leaked all the fluid it had, and all its doing now is allowing excessive engine movement, putting more wear on other mounts and auxiliary connections. Not sure this is too urgent, and there is an aftermarket replacement for about $200.
- Lower front control arm bushings
Here’s the one item I was actually looking forward to replacing, since Alta sells replacement bushings which are firmer and allow better suspension geometry to boot. I’d likely feel this change at autocross and track events. I was betting that my stock bushings were shot, as it’s about that time, I’m pretty hard on this car, and my last set of tires showed evidence of cupping. After checking the bushings, however, I saw no visible signs of wear to the rubber and there didn’t appear to be abnormal amounts of movement to them. The Alta set costs a hair over $200.
So the car has clearly lost that “new car” luster. It’s still a blast bombing around back roads in this wonderful weather we’ve been having. And at least I’m able to do all of this work myself, halving (at least!) the total bill. It’s not all bad being me, I suppose.
Posted October 26th, 2009 at 11:21PM
The track day at Lime Rock was a success. The predicted precip never materialized and the sun even peaked out a few times. Still chilly. Plenty of no-shows. The MINI ran without fault. I made progress by the end of the day after spending the morning perpetually screwing up big bend and the left hander (turns 1 & 2). I was content after 80 minutes of track time but left itching to go back. I can see myself having a lot of fun at LRP.
The Kumho XS tires worked out. Despite temps in the 40*s, they were able to generate some heat and feel grippy.
Finally, I think I’ve basically gotten this axle issue resolved. I removed it again because it was spitting grease. After a call to the Driveshaft Shop, they sent me a package with some replacement clamps, boot, and bag of grease. Popping the boot off to pack more grease in was a mess initially but I figured a way of getting it back together and sealed again.
With the bracket filed down, there’s still just a slight indication of scraping on a nearby bolt. Both bolt and bracket are mounted to the subframe, and I’ve since come to the realization that engine movement is to blame. Changing motor mounts (especially the upper hydraulic one, which failed awhile ago, leaking its fluid all over the frame underneath) may solve the axle issue as well as some of the wheel ‘hop’ during launches.
But as soon as the white stuff starts flying, it’s time for one last wash and wax, and then the MINI gets stored for the salt season!
Posted September 28th, 2009 at 2:27PM
I snagged another 2nd in class at MoHud’s second to last event of the year, at McCarty Ave on September 20th. FTD was a 27.2, my best clean run was a 28.555 although I improved to an honest 28.1 by the end of the day, with 1 clipped cone in the process. If that bugger had stayed in the box, I’d have tied for 4th in raw time, out of a field of 57.
I’ve noticed some wear on one of the V710s. It looks like little patches of the top rubber compound have been chewed out, exposing the next layer down with a suspicious cord-pattern to it. Guess I’ll run that guy on the rear next time around, and wait till I’ve got nothing for the front. If I burn them up good at the last autocross, maybe I’ll mount the new Kumho XS on those wheels afterall.
Did a bunch of driving yesterday, up scenic Route 9N. Traffic is still not bad, but the leaves are really popping. It was pretty wet all day and the bald Azenis weren’t the best option.
Stainless steel brake lines are on the car and the fluid has been fully bled to Motul RBF600. Unfortunate that I’ve only got one event for such good fluid, before the winter months when the car will be stored.
Posted September 17th, 2009 at 3:17PM
So I’m doing some little things to the MINI to get ready for Lime Rock next month. I’m really not sure what sort of weather to expect mid-October, but I know I needed new tires.
After much deliberation, I went with a set of Kumho XS in 215/45-16. I’ll be mounting them to my 16×7″ gold Konigs. Originally I was itching to get 225/45-16 Toyo R1Rs to mount on the 16×7.5″ Koseis, but the r-comps continue to perform. I expect the XS to work great as a track tire.
I’ll need to do the requisite brake bleed, and while I’m at it I figured it was time to do stainless steel lines. The Carbotech XP10/XP8 brake pads worked out great at Watkins Glen, but the feel could have been better. I’m hedging on an improvement by replacing the stock rubber lines. I nicked one too changing the last axle and figure it’s a liability.
In marginally related news, I just checked out MotoringFile for the first time in a few months (the site is unbearably slow loading) and the latest “speedster” MINI concept caught my eye… Not bad.
Posted May 7th, 2009 at 11:40AM
So this past weekend, I drove down to Watkins Glen International for two days of a HPDE (High Performance Driving Event). These schools have become an increasingly popular avenue for budding drivers to get real track time in a low cost, safety conscious way. Laps are not timed and in-car instructors are provided. Eventually, with experience, one is allowed to drive solo, and this can be a springboard toward competitive events like time trials or club racing.
The organizing body for this weekend was Trackmasters, and as a first event I could scarcely ask for anything more. The schedule was the same for both Saturday and Sunday; alternating 30 minute blocks of track time and classroom discussion. So each day: two hours on-track, 2.5 hours of class, plus a half hour as passenger in our instructor’s car. My instructor drove a ’99 Porsche 911 Carrera.
As far as experiences go, driving on the track is one of those things that can’t be conveyed in words or images. I studied track maps and watched plenty of WGI in-car video in preparation beforehand, but still spent much of Saturday flubbing braking points since I was never sure of the corner I was entering (or approximately how much speed I could carry). But by Sunday I was able to relax and actually enjoy myself lap after lap. I even began to appreciate the view of Lake Seneca, as you hurtle toward turn 1 on the front straight. For a moment…
My instructor came away impressed with my initial abilities, and that of my car. He began our first session by explaining that he had never instructed in a MINI Coop, but stressed the short wheelbase point (which can really bite you in the ass, should you do something dumb like lift off the throttle suddenly mid-corner). Coming into the weekend with 3 years of autocross experience, and understanding most of the fundamental concepts in driving on the track, I had an edge over some of the other first-timers. I wasn’t fast, but I picked up a consistent line, found my braking, turn in, and track out points, and demonstrated an ability to realize and correct mistakes.
This isn’t to say that everything I learned autocrossing was applicable. One of my first issues to deal with was braking smoothness. Specifically; lifting up, as you turn in, settle the car, and prepare to add throttle back in and apex. I’ve gotten used to using my brakes as an on/off switch autocrossing, which actually isn’t best there either. But it’s a downright dangerous habit on-track, so we fixed that right off the bat.
But concepts like creating the widest radius arc, and looking ahead into the corner, and how we’re best able to use the grip that god and Falken Tires gave us… All of this was a great help.
So I had a blast, right up until I started experiencing a horrible shudder in the steering wheel under heavy braking. It happened five minutes before the end of the last session on Sunday, so I limped the car in, and eventually found my driver’s side outer CV joint boot torn apart, with grease splayed throughout the inside of the wheel.
I tried to limp the car the 250 miles home, but curiously only made it 100 miles before the joint gave out, leaving me temporarily stranded on I-88. Fun fun fun. I called family, and we were able to rent a dolly and get the car home on Monday. I’m now working on figuring out the best replacement option for the half axle, and plan on doing the work myself. Guess you have to pay to play.
 
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