Aug 31st, 2008
Tonight joined by the mythical guy Gabe Bridger for news of the week from Motoringfile.com and a few more things. Stick around because he’s with us tomorrow as well!
We talk about news, Todd figuring out Dynolicious and getting really good results from it and upcoming reviews at Motoringfile among other things.
Thanks to those of you that have brought our review count on iTunes up to 50! We really appreciate it, especially the happy birthdays. We couldn’t have done it without you, the White Roof Radio listener. Thanks!
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Aug 31st, 2008
Our good friend Liam at AUSmotive had a chance to drive the new JCW MINI on Australian soil and came away rather impressed. Here’s an excerpt:
Engine and transmission are very well matched and, for a car with so few kilometres on it, its willingness to work high in the rev range—a previous MINI strength—was a delight. And the torque! Usually with a 1.6 litre engine you would think the only way to make sure desired progress was not impeded would be through precise gear changes. However, the torque in the John Cooper Works makes the car virtually foolproof. Corners I would take in my supercharged Cooper S in second gear, for example, could be taken in third in the JCW, or even fourth at a pinch. continued →
Aug 29th, 2008
For all those who want the look and stopping power of the new four piston JCW brakes on their R55 or R56, we’ve got what you’ve been looking for. Below is the entire parts list for both the front and rear brakes including installation diagrams (just click to enlarge all images). continued →
Aug 28th, 2008
MINI USA will shortly be announcing immediate availability of the JCW engine tuning kit for the automatic R56 Cooper S. This is the same kit that was mistakenly released for a couple weeks late last year without US certification (however those cars did not receive the correct ECU update that unleashed most of the power of the kit) After lengthy testing MINI USA has received full certification from the EPA and sales can now officially begin. Here’s an excerpt from the internal MINI USA document announcing the release:
Aftersales is thrilled to announce that the highly anticipated John Cooper Works Tuning Kit for the MINI Cooper S (R56) is now available for vehicles with manual and automatic transmission. continued →
Aug 26th, 2008
MINI USA has just internally announced that it has reached a deal with the BMW Group to recieve an extra 3,000 new MINI from now until November. Here’s an excerpt from an official internal memo:
On July 1st we announced that we’d secured 2,700 hundred more units for the remainder of the year. We’re pleased to announce that we’ve secured around 3,000 additional units on top of that.
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Aug 26th, 2008
This from the MF inbox this week. It sounds like the current series will finish and MINI Australia is going to try to keep it going after that.
The future of the Australian MINI Challenge series has been thrown into doubt with the management company of the series being placed into liquidation halfway through the racing season.
CAMS, the governing body of Australian Motorsport, has received formal advice that Sherrin Motorsport, the category manager for the Porsche Carrera Cup and MINI Challenge, has gone into liquidation.
A recent check shows Sherrin’s website has been pulled from internet access.
A statement from CAMS Senior Manager Corporate Services and Acting CEO Sandra Lordanic quotes;
“CAMS is committed to working with the various stakeholders to help minimise the impact of this situation on teams and competitors, and achieve a smooth transition for the remainder of the 2008 season and through 2009.” continued →
Aug 25th, 2008
Joined again by Chad Miller from Detroit Tuned. If you are in the greater Detroit area and looking for an independant shop to work on your MINI, check ‘em out. And if you are still suffering from the stuck air bag light, check with your dealer. Chad thinks they extended that warranty again, so it’s worth checking out.
We talk about Todd’s experience with the new iPhone/iPod touch app Dynolicious which told him his GP has gone from 13hp to 590hp. In fairness, he hasn’t been able to fully test it yet. Of course, that led to us talking about dynos in general and what kind of tuning Chad has been doing to the R56.
Otherwise, a little sales talk, a little dealer talk, Todd’s Honda Del Sol (again), and parts stock, among other things.
As I mentioned during last nights show and tonight, I have started a new show with Fireball Tim called The Hollywood Car Show where we talk about upcoming movies, cool cars in movies and in television. I think it’s a lot of fun and think you might like it too. Find it at thehollywoodcarshow.com.
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