mdsbrain.com MINI Blog

With her 2003 LX Civic sedan reaching over 51K miles it just needed a mod. Also it was her birthday and she had wanted one for so long. So the mod began.

See all of that black plastic in there? That all comes out. All of that restrictive crap!

Replaced with a shiny beautiful Injen CAI tube capped with a cone filter.

Now the car makes a lovely growl at low rpms and a sexy scream at higher rpms. It has also has added 2-3mpg on her daily commute which is a big plus

My toggle switch for the rear fog doesn’t light up. The tip that normally lights when the light is on. But the rear fog light lights. So go figure. Another thing to add to my list of crap to bug my SA whenever their schedule clears up.

Of course people start to look @ my mods list everytime I complain of an issue. Well I really don’t think it’s my Ian Auto-up circuit simply because the light works.

I need to double-check the connection of my toggle panel and the Auto-up circuit when I get a minute.

So i’m tootling along at about 25mph when I suddenly notice the EML and SES light come on. So I gave the car gas. Sure enough it had went into “limp home mode”. I was stuck going 10mph then. So I stopped and turned it off and on. EML gone but SES still on. Ok, drove home. Read the code with my handy code reader and cleared it. Drove it again, gone. So I will watch it and see if it happens again.

A quick search on NAM tells me it’s: P1689: Electronic Throttle Control Monitor Level 2/3 Torque Calculation Error.

Edit – I think my car knew I called and made an appt for service in August. Just some minor squeeks, rattles and an oil change.

I don’t want this to sound like Gabe’s WMS pulley review but here it goes.

First impressions in the first 25miles:

Swapping from Runflats (EMT) tires to standard tires can be summed up with (here it goes) ……..WOW.

The ride is so much softer, more comfortable and the steering wheel turns normally now! I took a drive down my favorite road at the speed limit in my fresh new, unworn-in tires and the ride was so SWEET. Not even focusing on the grip. Just the difference from harsh, hard as rocks runflats to soft and drive-me comfy tires.

But then there is this one small thing so far in my short drive that is going to take some getting used to. Tire noise. I’ve never experienced it like I have in these tires. So I guess I’ll keep my steering up more often to droaned it out.

But so far ……………..WOW!

I plan to run these tires pumped up to 32-33psi. Anyone have any other suggestions?

Pics:

Oh and did you see my hot new front plate holder thanks to RednWhiteCooperonline.com

On a great MINI run yesterday I thought I dodged a large rock in the road but I hit it (pic below). Later I noticed the tire has a very obvious bubble in it. So here we go again on a tire replacement. Although this time I decided on a different course of action. Since 3 of my tires (including this one) have 4/32 (which will last a while I know!) of tread and the ride is killing me I am going to go with 4 normal tires.
I just placed an order for 4 205/45YR-17 BFGoodrich g-Force T/A KDW 2 RF from TireRack. I should get them in 1-2 days they say. Then I will mount my recent new runflat on my spare. So it will be like having 5 new tires.

Why did I go with these tires?

I have read the reviews for months and have had first hand experience with the grip they give while riding and driving in my friend’s Scion TC. Originally I had planned to replace the tires with a set of Avons but when Ian (GBMINI) wrote on his blog that the cornering in these tires wasn’t what he expected I turned away from them. I knew if Ian wasn’t satisfied I would just be plain pissed since I drive my car hard and corner aggressively.

Also you can’t beat the aggressive look of those tires. THEY’RE HOT!

EDIT -

Bulge: