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Jun 23, 2023 16:13:15 GMT
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Turns out that you can have too much bass.
I’ve spent a couple of days with my new amplifier and I’m not happy with it. Whilst you could hear all the bass and feel some of it with the old Sony amplifier, with the new one you could feel every bit of it in the car but only hear it properly when you’re standing 50 metres down the road. Great fun at car shows (if you’re eighteen) but no good if you just want to listen to normal music.
Now, don’t judge me, I’ve got more than just Dire Straits and Fleetwood Mac on my phone. I also enjoy some Bob Marley, 90s gangster rap and the odd dance tune, such as Prodigy’s Charlie or Roy Davis Jr’s Gabriel (one of my all time favourite songs) and they all sound great with the low frequencies coming through the old Sony amplifier.
I also think that the potentiometer in the gain control knob was faulty. It has something like 20-30 settings but operating it resulted in either all or nothing, more like an on off switch.
I’ve put the old Sony amplifier back in and my ICE sounds great again.
I initially planned to buy two 12” subs and a big box and put them in the back of my E46. The In-Phase amplifier would have most probably been just fine to power the subs but I’ve now gone right off the idea.
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Jun 30, 2023 16:33:23 GMT
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In an earlier post, I mentioned that I am looking for a different set of wheels for the Cooper. Research on the internet and reading some posts on the R53 Facebook group revealed that fitting 16" wheels is the way to go if ride comfort is an issue. It is for me, the crashy ride is the one thing that I don't like about my Cooper. A bit of poking around resulted in a trip to lovely Dunstable last night, to pick up a set of R50 five spoke alloy wheels, fitted with 205/55/16 part worn tyres. As it happens, these are my favourite MINI wheel. Ok, second favourite, number one being the GP four spokes but they cost silly money. I don't like the pseudo Minilite 17" wheels that my Cooper came with, I think they date the car. I gave the wheels a good clean today. The wheels are not perfect but they're not bad either. I plan to tidy up a few kerb marks on the rims tomorrow, then fit them to the car. A matching set of centre caps came with the wheels. And, I've found a use for my E46 - it's perfect for resting wheels up against it. More tomorrow.
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If my Cooper was in better all round condition, I would have had the replacement wheels professionally refurbished, like I did with my BMW. However, there is no point in spending hundreds of pounds on a wheel refurb when the car they will be fitted to is cosmetically challenged. I started by grinding down kerb damage using a Dremel tool. Then I overpainted the damage with brush applied silver Hammerite paint. I touched up the bigger marks on the inside of the rim and overpainted the old balance weights. Finally, I gave the wheels a quick buff and polish. And voila, wheels fitted. I took the Cooper for a quick drive up and down the M40 and around local back roads. The ride comfort is much better, softer, less crashy. I didn't notice any issues with traction but then again I didn't accelerate particularly hard. As for how they look, I will need a bit of time to get used to them but first impressions are positive. What do you reckon guys, is it a yes or a no from you?
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They look good to me and a bonus that they make the car more pleasant to drive.
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I'm in the minority here, but I much preferred the 17s that were on it, they made the car looks "higher spec" than the "lower spec" looking 16s. I don't think any of the stock 15/16" wheels were a good design and all look very dated now.
I cant argue with the ride quality though, having had both 15s and 17s on the R50 chassis, the 15s rode a lot better, if a bit more rolly in the corners from the extra sidewall.
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oto67
Part of things
Posts: 68
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I like the other rims better, they really worked well with the overall look of the car imo. Cool looking little motor and a good read/pics, nice one
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Aug 11, 2023 16:33:26 GMT
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A quick update. The Cooper is running well and I like the way it looks and rides with the 16 inch alloys. Here it is looking pretty with Windsor Castle in the (distant) background. However, the narrow and poor quality tyres are causing issues with traction. When I had the 17 inch wheels on, the tyres never squealed if I pushed the Cooper into a corner and getting off the line or out of a bend was never an issue. Today I had a little race* with a mate who was driving his pimped BMW 325i (auto). On the straights, my Cooper was significantly quicker, however coming out of roundabouts, full throttle, with the traction control switched off, I was getting ridiculous amounts of wheelspin. Not cool. The 17s are going back on tomorrow!
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Aug 12, 2023 15:01:03 GMT
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Mission accomplished, welcome back jiggly and wobbly ride.
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Aug 12, 2023 15:04:18 GMT
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I’ve just had another look at the last photo, the Cooper does look better with the bigger wheels.
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Aug 17, 2023 16:23:17 GMT
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The Cooper has been taking me to various work appointments this week. Here it is parked outside a £3.5M property that overlooks Dorney Lake. Not all the news is good. I've noticed a strong burning rubber smell that is most noticeable along the right side of the engine and my research has revealed that the crank pulley could be on its way out. I have bought a new crank pulley and associated bolt. Plan is to replace the pulley this weekend. More updates soon.
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geoffc
Part of things
Posts: 56
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Aug 17, 2023 16:38:00 GMT
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Aug 17, 2023 17:22:28 GMT
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All noted, however prior to replacing the crank pulley oil seal a few months ago I constructed a home made puller that got the pulley off without any problems. I’ve kept the tool and plan to use it again this weekend.
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geoffc
Part of things
Posts: 56
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Aug 17, 2023 18:32:57 GMT
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Ahh. All sorted then. Completely forgot you had done this already.
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Aug 17, 2023 18:55:27 GMT
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Ahh. All sorted then. Completely forgot you had done this already. Been there, done that, kept my special tool. 👍
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Aug 25, 2023 13:31:15 GMT
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Last weekend I had a go at replacing the crankshaft pulley. I managed to remove the pulley without any problems last December when I replaced the oil seal behind it using my special homemade tool and I wasn't expecting any problems this time either. Out came the DIY tools. I had the front corner up on an axle stand, wheel off, arch liner pulled out of the way, auxiliary belt off and the crankshaft pulley bolt removed within 10 minutes. Nice and easy so far. I then spent six hours trying to remove the pulley. The first special tool (wooden) cracked so I made another. That cracked as well. I then made a third tool, this time out of thinner but much harder wood. The special tool number three seemed to be working but rather than pulling the pulley off the crank, the inner threads from two of the three holes in the pulley managed to strip to the point where the bolts that fixed into the holes just dropped out. Oh dear. There was nothing more I could have done with my limited tools and fading enthusiasm. I arranged for the same garage that replaced the oil filter housing seal on the Cooper 18 months ago to replace the pulley. I got a quote, for labour only as I was supplying the parts, of £160. Fair enough. Then I got this first thing this morning. No surprise really, I knew that the pulley was on tightly and that the traditional method of removing it wasn't going to work. I then got this. Ok, I would have been much happier if I completed the task gratis by myself but paying someone £295 for what must have been a nightmare of a job is not the end of the world. I spoke to the garage and the mechanic told me that the pulley was stuck to the crank so tightly that they had to use a blowtorch to heat it up and remove it. I am off to the garage in an hour to collect the Cooper.
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Aug 25, 2023 15:50:07 GMT
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The mechanic that was working on my Cooper showed me the old pulley. As the original threads failed in two of the bolt holes, the mechanic had to weld three bigger nuts to the outside of the pulley. This is effectively a more robust version of the original arrangement. Whilst great in theory, when the mechanic attempted to remove the pulley, the main section of the pulley broke away, leaving the central section, which is fixed on the end of the crankshaft, in place. The mechanic used plenty of heat and force to get the remains of the pulley off and his efforts eventually paid off. Now I have a new pulley, a new oil seal (the one that was on there was damaged by the blowtorch) and a new bolt. Job done. Hopefully the burning rubber smell problem has been solved. If not, I've just spent approx £400 for no good reason. The Cooper is back in my garage and I'm off for a drink.
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Aug 30, 2023 16:37:03 GMT
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The Cooper seems to be running ok following last week's repairs. However, earlier today I noticed damage that the car sustained whilst the repairs were undertaken. The wheel arch liner has suffered extensive scratching: Two plastic clips were broken, presumably caused by application of pressure on the inner / underside of the wing and bonnet arch trims, which resulted in the trims becoming loose. I replaced the clips with spares that I had from when I had to re-fix the wing arch back in January, however there is little I can do about the broken tab. It's disappointing that the garage caused such careless damage. This is one reason why I don't like other people working on my cars.
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Sept 12, 2023 17:28:27 GMT
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One guess what this means.
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Sept 13, 2023 7:29:58 GMT
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BMW Mini number plate screws are as reliable as the rest of the car?
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thebaron
Europe
Over the river, heading out of town
Posts: 1,659
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Sept 13, 2023 12:56:32 GMT
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The private plate is off so you have sold it.
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