2006 MINI Cooper S Rallye Edition
Stock Specs:
- 2006 MINI Cooper S
- 1.6L Supercharged
- 6 Speed Manual
- Astro black
- Xenon Headlights
- Heated Leather Seats
- 17″ Flame Spoke OEM Wheels
Performance Modifications:
- H&R Lowering springs – DONE
- Catback Exhaust – DONE
- Alta Lower Control arms – DONE
- DDM Cold Air intake – DONE
- Hotchkis competition rear sway bar – DONE
Cosmetic Modifications
- 20% Tint – DONE
- WMS Stubby Antenna – DONE
- Boost Gauge – DONE
Stereo Syste
- Kenwood KDC-X998 BT Headunit – DONE
- Sirius Satellite Radio – DONE
- JL Audio 900/5HD – 5 Channel Amplifier – DONE
- Audison AVK6 6.5″ Components – DONE
- JL Audio 12W3v3-4 Subwoofer – DONE
- Custom subwoofer box – DONE
Repairs/Maintenance:
- Paint and body work – 9/24/15 ~153500km
- Used alternator installed – 9/24/15 ~153500km
- New battery installed – 9/24/15 ~153500km
- Oil Change – 10/19/15~155,000km
Project Notes :
Going to be fairly mild daily driver. A couple go fast goodies coupled with some handling tweaks and a small stereo should be sufficient.
- July 24, 2015 – Picked up a new-to-me MINI. Current mods are H&R lowering springs, adjustable control arms and a catback exhaust. Sounds great, looks great and handles great. Sound like a pretty decent place to start.
- July 27, 2015 – Ordered a DDM Intake, HSport rear sway bar, and a stubby antenna. Stage 1, ready to commence 🙂
- August 2, 2015 – ordered the remaining wiring I need to install my pending stereo system. I’m a firm believer in shop local for parts, but the markup on wiring is ridiculous. Darvex.com is nearly 50% the price for equal or better cabling. More money left for speakers 🙂
- August 3, 2015 – Picked up a sub, door speakers and a grill today from EHR. Once delivery comes in, I will have everything for install
- August 7, 2015 – Picked up audio wiring today. Officially have everything I need for stereo. Also, stopped by MINI St. Catherines today to start the warranty claim for my rust issues. Hopefully quick approval and turn around to get the issues cleaned up. Will look mint when it’s done.
- August 8, 2015 – Installed the DDM intake and measured up the sub box dimensions
- August 13, 2015 – Cut all the pieces for the sub box. Just need to router the edges of 2 pieces and I will be all ready to assemble.
- August 14, 2015 – Got approval for rust repair! Sounds like my baby is getting 7-10K worth of paint and body work done : on MINI’s dime.
- August 17, 2015 – Dropped the MINI off with the official repair facility in St. Catherines. Catch is, the massive job is going to take about 20 business days. Expected date of return – Sept18. Fingers crossed for dry weather!
- August 20, 2015 – Finished assembly of the sub box, and smoothed it all over. Just need to cut the hole for the sub, and carpet it.
- September 18, 2015 – After getting the run around about the car, finally got a plan. While at body shop, alternator died. They had dealer inspect car. Finally got around to talking to them today. Finishing body work Monday. New alternator being installed, Tuesday. Should be able to pick the car up on Wednesday+. Can’t wait. Missing my car. They have now had it longer then I have.
- September 19, 2015 – Picked up boost gauge + bracket
- September 21, 2015 – Day 35 without the car.
- September 24, 2015 – On Day 38, the car is finally done and home! Alternator has been replaced, as has the battery. Sucks, but now its in good running shape again and looking sweet. Time to rip it apart and start installing my stockpile of parts
- September 26, 2015 – interior stripped. 4g power wire + ground wires installed. RCA wires ran from dash to amp location. Speaker wires ran from the amp to the kick panel. Just need to run them into the doors. Good start for day 1.
- September 26, 2015 – Wiring is all ran now. Just need to get the boost gauge light and the headunit keyed power tapped into the fuse panel. Also need to run the wires from the cabin through the grommet into the door and mount the speakers. Also got the boost gauge plumbing ran.
- October 2, 2015 – Ran the wiring into the door panels through the looks. What a pain in the ass. More work then the rest of the wiring combined
- October 3, 2015 – Mounted door speakers, tweeters and crossovers. Panels back on. Will need some tweaking to make the tweeter covers stay on– that can wait till tuning done
- October 5, 2015 – finished the wiring to the amplifier. Tested all connections. Tuned the gains using a voltmeter to match the the signal from deck. Screwed the amp down and reinstalled the seates. Time to test and tune.
- October 6, 2015 – Stereo is all but finished. Just a couple tweaks and tuning to be done now. And try and find a way to reattach the door handle trim as it no longer fits correctly
- October 17, 2015 – Removed intercooler and ran the plumbed in the connections for the boost gauge into the factory vaccume lines. Nice to see the gauge working as it should. Can’t wait to replace the blower pulley and bump up the boost!
- October 18, 2015 – swapped the stock sway bar out and finally installed my new Hotchkis rear sway. Much thicker and hollow so it’s lighter. It’s 3 way adjustable. I’ve opted for the neutral setting for now. May go more aggressive setting in the spring
- October 19, 2015 – Oil change done ~155K. Also had my mechanic bend down the exhaust bracket : no more clunking.
- December 2015 – Etested, Safety inspected and sold!