Ah, the coming of Spring (I didn't say 'here', I said it was coming) - when a young (at heart) man's fancy turns to "What
next to do to the car?" As it's not looking realistic to 'build' a set of ice racing tires for this season
, I guess I should address the issues/maintenance and keep in budget
:
I've had a rattle at the back of the car that became noticible early last fall that I finally traced to a bad bushing in an upper rear control arm. Solution: it would cost about as much to put a pair of aftermarket adjustable control arms on it as to replace with stock ones or a set of Powerflex bushings. MINI Cooper forum marketplace, brand-new-never-installed-still-in-the-wrapper Alta's for about $50 less than retail (plus he'll cover the shipping). I know they make good stuff (it's who I got my CAI and rear swaybar from - and they're
red, so...)
http://www.altaperformance.com/products ... -Arms-Rear
OK, next...
I've noticed a couple of times this winter, when accelerating on dry roads in too high a gear (it pulls so well, I get lazy about downshifting every once in a while), I noticed a touch of clutch slippage. Just a touch, and just a couple of times, but the writing is on the wall. Elphie's 8-1/2 years old, about to turn 82k, and I bought it from a dealer used w/ 47k on it (and who knows how it was treated before then), so I'm not suprised at all. Shopping stage 2 or 3, thankful I was sitting down. Did find a good deal (sale) on a clutch/pp combo from a different store, but not for the stock flywheel
. FWIW, the MINI's flywheel has a replaceable wear surface, so if the flywheel
needed addressed that was what I looking at to try to keep the budget in check. Then, back to www shopping, found the matching L/W aluminum flywheel for this set-up, used, less than 3k, for ~$200. Hmm, opposed to $599 new? Deal - next?
My RS-2's are starting to get a little "long in the tooth", so I've been following the A048 deal mentioned on another thread - except now they've got a more MINI-appropriate size (205/55-16) for the clearance price of $69.25/tire => $344.30/4 shipped (Tire Rack is $215/ea => $931.38/4/shipped) . They're probably an older stock, but Peter (who already bought some) and I were discussing and figure a 3 y.o. 60 treadwear would probably be better than a new 200 t/w, so I'll pull the trigger on those. Next?
My helmets are now outdated. Back to the ol' www, eBay has SA2005 full-face Zamp for $99, and an open-face Bell for $150, both brand-new-in-the-box. Not any used 2005's in my size (Medium), and want an "SA" over an "M", as I really want to get on some bigger tracks w/ some other organizations this year, plus a roll bar may be in my future. Might as well cover all the bases now. (BTW, the store selling the Bells has M2005's for $99).
Well, that should drain the budget for a while, and keep me busy, EXCEPT...