Rotors, Pads, and Tires... Oh My!

As my MINI gets a little older, I tend to take the car out more often. Baby-ing the car has been lacking lately since the it becomes more and more difficult to make the time. So I decided that I would try driving the MINI on a more daily basis, even in the winter months that are approaching fast in Chicago.

I had my brakes redone at 37616 miles. I didn't go with any performance rotors or pads, just a stock rebuild kit from MINICarParts.net. They had a good deal with the entire kit, free shipping, and an additional 10 percent off. It's been a couple weeks now and the brakes feel good after starting out a little mushy.

In another effort to get ready for winter, I needed to replace my Kumhos badly. Although they were a great summer tire and were considered an all season tire, they are really not. In fact in any snow, they are down right dangerous. And at the last rotation, I had some serious road noise issues. I think being a very sticky tire also makes them wear a lot faster too.

I decided to go ahead replace those with a set of Bridgestone Potenza G 019 Grid. The ratings on the winter performance were considerably better than the Kumhos so we'll see if that is the case this winter. So far, after having them installed and aligned at 37659 miles, the ride is very smooth now.

Oh yeah, I also changed out my battery just in case with a battery from Autozone. So far everything is fine.

MINI Confidential

Some of you might have received an email from MINI with this coded image. Since I did not have my MINI decoder near by I just tilted my laptop screen to reveal the message which brought me to a new site with a bunch of videos and images of what's new at MINI specifically the new coupe concept. As I was poking around I came across this sketch with a very familiar logo branding that made me think I was on Motoringfile for a second. (look at Motoringfiles header image with the "fast forward" icon) Interesting to say the least. btw, I do like what the coupe represents. I just don't think its useful enough to make the masses buy tons of them. What's great about the MINI now is that it can be used in so many ways. Exciting nonetheless.

4-1/2 Years, 36,000 Miles

I just rolled over my 36,000th mile yesterday. I have been driving the MINI for more of the day to day errands and more often to and from work. I think the next thing I want to do is get some good winter tires. I want to start driving the MINI more and having the 205/45HR-17 Kumho Ecsta AST XL Tires is just to dangerous in the winter. I am not sure what tire I should get but I will keep my eyes open.

2009 4th of July

We participated in the 2009 4th of July parade again over in Oak Lawn. This year we decided to make a patriotic top hat that proved to be a bit challenging since there was a slight drizzle all morning. Thankfully there was no wind so we were good to go. There were a ton of kids snatching up all the candy they could get as we tossed handfuls of tootie rolls out the window. I had a lot of fun getting the MINI all dressed up. Check out the picts below and Steve's photos. He's the one with red MINI and the inflatable Uncle Sam that has a perfect parade hand wave. Nice! More info on the CMMC site as well.

MINI is a Favorite @ WWDC

In case you missed the keynote yesterday at the WWDC, Apple presented a few new items including the new iPhone 3G S. And just like with MINIs, the "S" makes it go faster. ;-) Zipcar also introduced there new way to find nearby cars and reserve them via their new app. During their demo, they found a Prius nearby but opted for the MINI instead for the fun factor. And just in case when you finally get to the location and you just can't find the car parked, you can sound the horn from your phone. How cool is that! It's like when I call my own cell when I misplace my phone in the house. The keynote is posted here and skip to 1h33m for the Zipcar presentation if you don't want to watch the whole thing.

Three 3's and Two 1's

Not really a milestone but more for helping myself remember when I rotated my tires. I really can't recall when I last did that but I know it's been a while. So I decided to get a little dirty and rotate them myself this passed weekend. While I was at it I also decided to clean my wheels inside and out. Now we'll see how long that last but for now the wheels look great. I did notice a couple of nasty gouges in the inside of the rim, probably from road debris, but you can't tell looking from the outside. Here are some photos of the finished product, a couple of days later.

I Pity Da Fool

I passed up this classic van this weekend from vintage TV show, the A-Team. Awesome... Wait a minute... that is a Kia Van!! Only in America. Respect the Van! Hope everyone enjoys their Holiday weekend!