Bright and early on a beautiful Saturday morning, before breakfast and the Spirited Run, a Tech Talk was presented by the MITO. Dustin the knowledgeable expert answered questions concerning technical, mechanical and performance related issues.
The following are notes from the Dustin’s Tech talk at this year’s Minis in the Ozarks hosted by AMOK. Dustin answered questions from this year’s participants and below are some notes I managed to scribble down. If you have any further questions Dustin can be found at: http://www.autoxcooper.com/
# The best after market product you can get for your Mini: Driving Lessons and, if possible, in your Mini. Learning to drive your Mini can be fun and rewarding.
# Don’t believe everything your read in forums. Check with your service provider before changing anything on your Mini.
# Should I buy a John Cooper Works Mini or regular Mini and spend the difference on after market products: Check with your Dealership who will be performing your warranty work. Both are good, but if you buy the JCW your Mini’s performance parts are covered by warranty. Be careful with after market products because some Dealerships will void your Mini’s warranty with any after market performance product installed. Dealership make up to 50% less on warranty claims than what they charge you.
# Routine maintenance 
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Change your oil every 7,500 miles and use the Mini® oil filters and do not over tighten the filter; it is made to be hand tightened.
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Rotate your Mini’s shoes every 5K miles, they will last longer.
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Change Break and Power Steering Fluids every 50K to 100K miles, especially if you drive in humid areas.
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Oil pan gaskets and crankcase gaskets: Driving your Mini actually prevents seal replacements. Oil pan gasket is a crush gasket…can easily be over tightened. Tighten by hand.
# When driving in the mountains should I use the brakes or transmission to slow my Mini down: Brakes – the cost to replace brake pads is a lot cheaper then replacing your Mini’s clutch or automatic transmission.
# Your Mini’s clutch only has a certain life expectancy; to extend its life do not depress the clutch if you do not have to and do not sit at a stop light with the clutched depressed. When coming to a stop light do not depress the clutch just slip the car into neutral and leave it there until you are ready to go.
# Brakes & Suspension:
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When possible upgrade to your brakes to CarboTech pads especially if you rally drive your Mini.
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Your Mini does not need expensive rotors, while generic rotors may not look as good, they perform just as good.
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Big brakes kits usually are a good investment if you race your Mini.
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Front Hydraulic control arm bushings: change after 60,000 miles.
# What aftermarket fuel additive products are good to use on my Mini: BG Products – CF5 every 5,000 miles, and K44 every 15,000 miles. http://www.bgprod.com/products/fuelair.html
# Run Flats or Regular: Regular tires can be just as good such as Continental Extreme Contact DWS. These can
be purchased from Tire Rack and shipped to any service provider ie., Alpine, Motorworks, etc., for installation – http://www.tirerack.com. Although the Continental Extreme Contact is not a run-flat, you can purchase a products such as Tyre Shield which when installed into your tires can help remedy punctures. http://www.tyreshield.com.au/
# When purchasing a new set of tires for your Mini you can usually add a 5 to one of the first two numbers to your tire’s measurements.
# Make sure whoever performs an alignment on your Mini knows how to perform a front andrear wheel alignment. Always get all four wheels aligned.
# Always use Premium Gasoline. Yes, it does make a difference inside your engine, especially if your Mini has a turbo. Occasionally RED line your Mini, it helps reduce carbon build up from all that stop and go traffic.
# Ok, for all you 2007 Mini’s with a turbo there are issues with heat, timing, and oil consumption. For the turbo heat you can get a DDM ram air shield for your Mini, especially if you do a lot of stop and go driving. Check your oil levels frequently.
# If you drive you Mini S with an automatic calmly during the week, then on the weekends you take it on aggressive runs through the mountains, it is good to disconnect the negative ground cable to reset your automatic transmission computer. Your Mini’s transmission actually tries to set itself up for your driving style and you can confuse it.
# Your Mini’s serpentine belt does not show cracks like the belts of old. Be sure to change them at the recommended maintenance schedule.
# For those of you 1st Generations owners, your supercharger will need to be rebuilt sometime in your Mini’s life, typically over 100K miles.
# For turbo Mini’s in Sport Mode there is a slight backfire, this is ok, because Mini uses fuel to help cool the engine, which causes the backfire.
# Finally try to find a mechanic who looks beyond the problem description, to make sure he repairs the reason for the failure and not just the failure itself.
The MidSouth MINIacs would like to thank Dustin for his Tech Talk, taking the time to answer the many questions we had and leading us an another “spirited run” thought the Arkansas Mountains. ( article by Ron Snook ).
