I did not know what to think when Alta released the latest version of some of their exhaust systems and intercoolers in the matte black finish which they have tagged as “stealth”. It seems to be pretty cool but it also looks a bit unfinished with the matte finish and all but it also has this sort of mean, raw look to it that is pretty hip. Trendy, maybe. A fad? Most likely. But hey, it looks nice under the right circumstances so I decided to start selling it as an option to the polished finish that Alta also makes.

I just can’t seem to get enough of the Griots Garage products. Every couple weeks I find something that I want to start offering to our customers. So I buy a few and see how they do and of course they sell. The latest additions from this week are the revised 3″ Professional Polisher and the Bumper and Trim Reconditioner. The Bumper and Trim Reconditioner is the BEST product that I know of to get the lower plastic trim on the MINI Cooper that rich silky black. There are a few other products on the market, but they mostly make the trim look like greasy cheap popcorn from the movie theater. Do yourself a favor and pick some of this stuff up.

James Bedford was the first person to be Cryogenically frozen in Jan 1967. I have no idea who he was but it the first thing that popped up when I searched “cryogenic frozen people” after searching the same thing but for ‘celebrities’ returned some garbage about Walt Disney and Lucie Lou. So, the first freezing of a humas was over 40 years ago, and now look what we’re doing with the technology; freezing perfectly good rotors so they perform even better. Who thought of this? I had nothing to do with it.

While freezing people sounds quite silly and to be quite honest freezing brake rotors sounds even more silly (or is the other way around?) at least we gain something from freezing rotors. These rotors, in fact, offer a nice benefit over standard replacement rotors in that they last longer and offer other technical advantages. Check out the new Cryogenically frozen rotors for the MINI Cooper over at Outmotoring.com.

If you’ve been considering buying some 3 or 4 point racing harness’s you may find that they can be a bit pricey. If you don’t plan on racing more than a couple times a season you may consider buying a CG lock as it allows the driver to lock in the lap portion of the stock seat belt with a simple click while the inertia reel does the hard work on the rest of the upper body. I find that a lot of customers also buy them for day to driving as it really locks your lower body and allows you to concentrate more on driving instead of keeping your body in position during spirited driving.

Cravenspeed has had a similar intake for the generation 1 MINI Cooper S for some time, but we had never offered it until they made some revisions that make it what it is today. We now offer there revised intake and feel it is a good value as it includes a see through top plate so it is easy to see when the filter is dirty and it is well made as are all of their products. If you are on the fence about getting a cold air intake system for your MINI Cooper S, consider this intake (along with the Alta, KN and the DDM works). They all offer similar products that pretty much do the same thing but with a few design, cost and style variations. The Cravenspeed Intake does have some interesting features that make it a top contender.

There are a few manufacturers of MINI Cooper Silicone Intake Hoses but in my opinion this one is the best. It is made to strict quality control standards, has a consistent wall thickness and fits great. What more can one ask? What is nice about this one in comparison to say the Alta brand hose is that this one has enough length to fit securely onto both the throttle body and the intake transition pipe. As that being one of the biggest complaints with the Alta hose, there is no reason to consider anything other than this one.

It’s about time MINI offered a travel mug that actually fits in the cupholders! Okay, so calling the round openings near the toggle switches a “cupholder” is not really fair, but at least these pups actually fit. Pick one up today. the 8oz limit is a bit …limiting but at least it has the MINI wordmark on it to offset the insane price of $19.95. I never said it was a bargain, but it does look cool and is well made.

We now proudly offer the Detroit Tuned Bypass Valve for the Generation 1 MINI Cooper S. The Detroit Tuned Bypass Valve is a re-worked brand new OEM valve that is modified to eliminate the “Yo-Yo” in early year (’02-’04) Cooper S’s, but is available for all year Cooper S’s. This BPV uses a stiffer return spring, resulting in quicker boost generation, and thus quicker throttle response and transitions. The butterfly assembly is also adjusted to close fully, allowing for maximum boost. Perfect for the aggressive driver or racer. Expect a very minor loss in fuel economy, and a great improvement in throttle resolution and smoothness.

Check it out here.

I finally got a chance to add the Borla exhaust systems for the R56 2007 MINI Cooper S Turbocharged cars. I have had Borla systems on my 2003 MINI and really loved it and will most likely put one on my new 2007 MINI soon. As you may know Borla makes great products and they have this insane 1 million mile warranty! All stainless steel construction and meaty looking tips make for a nice look. They have two version available as they did with the gen 1 MINI, dubbed the “touring” and the “aggressive“. They also call the aggressive system the “S” which is just too confusing so I will leave it the way it is. If you’re on the fence about which exhaust system to get, this is a good option and you will not be making a mistake if you bought one.

I have noticed that a lot of MINIs are missing their ashtrays that nest into the cupholders in the front under the toggles and so I decided to start selling them. Wow, what a great idea? A stroke of genius? Highly unlikely. They are just great little places to store change, small stuff and such.

I always wanted to have 2 of  these little coinholders in my MINI but never got around to ordering them until now. I thought at some point there was a ’smokers package’ which came with the ashtray and the cig lighter but can’t recall exactly. I do know that my MINI did NOT come with a cig lighter but it did come with the ashtray which was generally stuffed with coins, paperclips, my daughters hairclips and all manner of auto ’stuff’. So, for what it’s worth, if you want one in silver or anthracite (or black for the generation 2 R56 MINI), we now have them at
OutMotoring.com.