Exhausted,Stoned, Hit and Run....

[ELFMAN]

Well, what a perfect week's holiday. Started off OK :), fitted “Playmini” exhaust :D, (well Bill fitted it. I handed him the tools).

Got a kidney stone on Tuesday :dead::( which appeared after much silent screaming on Thursday night :disapprove:.

Went over to visit friends and God-daughters :clown: for their birthdays on Friday night, and while G3 ELF was parked in the street, some complete ba*t@rd modified my drivers door with their bumper and took off :evil::mad::mad::mad:. It was a white car(left plenty of paint) so I'm setting fire to every white car I see on the off-chance I get the swine:blackeye:.

Hope y'all are having a better time! Off to the repair shop tomorrow morning for estimate:(.

[Willie M]

:eek: Absolutely gutted for you Euan :(
Hope both you, and wee G3 ELF are back in tip-top form soon. Hope the damage to the door isn't too bad :disapprove:

[Tahra]

Oh poor you and wee Elf - things like this that makes you want to wrap the cars' in bubblewrap if you're not in them ! My friend got his stones zapped recently, said it was a doddle compared to the pain of actually having one.

[GAJ]

Nightmare for you! Hope your car is sorted quickly and cheaply! If you want and advice on the kidney stones I'm something of an expert. I've suffered with them for over 15 years! I once got a leter which certified me 'Stone Free' (to ride the breeze!) but it was a lie!

[Linda M]

Euan, that's the pits :( Hope you get it all sorted ok.

[macblob]

Sorry to hear that , hope its not to pricey for the repair

[monkimagic]

Jesus Elf, a bad week, sorry to hear all that

Monki

[Burple]

Eek!!
That's pretty nasty!! Sorry to hear that! :(

So how does the Playmini 'S' exhaust sound???

[ELFMAN]

It sounds great (tuned and a bit gurgly on the over-run) a whole lot better than my bank balance which is wheezing and on a ventilator.

Quote for REPAIRING existing door £408.00, with new skin etc - £635.00. My excess on the insurance (Royal Bank of Scotland), which I just renewed the other day? £435.00 - this has gone up hugely since last year (no claims for YEARS), and needless to say, they didn't point out when they gave me the quote - £550 including the exhaust. Their quote for the Cooper was great, so I stuck with them..... Hmmmph! OH BOLLOCKS.

[Starky]

Shockarooney, I feel it for you buddy, have you torched any white cars yet Elfman?, pardon my ignorance but what's a playmini exhaust? does it enhance performance or just make it sound better? stones are a painfull thing my missus had 'em, but managed to pass them naturally, though i have heard some horror stories I'll say nothing else except DON'T have any "keyhole surgery" done.

[ELFMAN]

Hi Starky,
“Playmini” is the company who produce the exhaust (see last month's 'GoMini mag). It's a twin rear box “balanced” system much like the (eg.) Miltek/Works etc ones and gets rid of the complicated pipework on the OE system. (The OE comes out of the centre section, goes into a R/H silencer box, comes out back across the car and into the L/H box THEN...comes out of that box in two pipes which exit under the valance - very footery and TOO QUIET!!!). The aftermarket systems tend to split into two pipes after the centre section, and use two straight-through silencers for a simpler route. Power is probably up by average 6BHP, but there's a slight improvement in performance as the motor's breathing more freely - and of course it sounds SO much better. You can also get a SINGLE rear silencer system for the S by “Quicksilver”, this has a smaller centre silencer in the mid-section, but it's meant to be much lighter.

A Good Manifold should pick up about 12BHP, as it uses a Sports Cat and loses the standard manifold's rather cluttered design. My manifold money's gone to fix the bleedin' door... Hope that explains things.

Thanks everybody for the sympathy!!!!!

[Starky]

Sounds like a wee bit of work there Elfie, probably worth it though, cheers buddy.

[Starky]

Elfman, what was the name of the stuff you stuck your chrome rings on with and where did you get it?

[ELFMAN]

Starky - sorry for the delay, been busy.

The Big rings for the Speedo, Rev Counter and Gear Stick surround are ready to stick with a peel-off adhesive backing. For the Centre Air Vent rings I used a clear Silicone Sealant (like you'd use in the bathroom etc). A thin covering (as if your're building a model kit!) lets you place them on the vent cowling and you just let it set. Mine are still on since January and seem fine. Also the sealant will clean off - unlike glue.

Just a wee point, one of the rings was very slightly oval (as opposed to round) when I got it and “rocked” at bit when I tried it on at first.but I carefully pressed/rolled it out and it fitted OK.

By the way, got my door repair down to £258.50 inc VAT by a bit of shopping around. Hope to get it fixed in next couple of weeks - so it pays to look around. Exhaust sounds better all the time!

[Starky]

Good for you Elfie, hope they make a good job of it, I got the rings on ok, they are German made (got them from a chap on Mini2) not a full set though so i'll need to gradually get more, got speedo, tacho, gearshift surround and centre vents, they look superb.

[ELFMAN]

Yup, Amazing how wee highlights can lift the whole dashboard, Eh? I'm thinking about wee metal door pins (Moss do them) to replace the black plastic ones..........all I can afford at the moment!

[Starky]

Do you know if you've got to strip off the door trim to fit the pins or do they pull/screw off?

[ScottishCooper]

Good to hear you got the price down mate, have you got any photos of ELF? Looking to get a new exhaust soon but unsure of what to go for. I have heard that the magnex on is meant to be good too. Also what do you think of the Panel Filter, been looking into getting the induction kit, probably just for the noise :D!!

[Burple]

quote: Also what do you think of the Panel Filter, been looking into getting the induction kit, probably just for the noise :D!!



Do it! Do It! Do It!! :D:D:D:D
(see other post about exhausts an stuff ;))

Had it on for 8 months and I still razz it just to hear the noise!! :D:D:D:D

[ELFMAN]

Panel filter just helps the breathing a bit, while retaining the cool air from the OE setup - no great gains, but you know it's making the most of what you've got. If it's good enough for motors putting out 245BHP (West Tuning, Thruxton), it's good enough for the standard one. Beware Induction Kits - quite a few folk have fitted them to Coopers and taken them back off again - like I did - loads of noise, less performance - think of all that HOT air getting sucked into the engine. OK, you're putting more air in, but if it's warm air, you're losing power. The colder the air, the more dense it is, the more grunt you'll get. If you want a good noise, get a good exhaust and forget the induction kit. Mine's still in the garage if you want to try it. If it works for you, make me an offer!

I thought my Magnex System for the Cooper was excellent, well made and sounded great. Having fitted the Playmini to the S and being well happy, I'd reckon their Cooper system would be worth a try.