What did you do to your MINI today?

Was prepping my summer wheels in order to (finally) swap them on, and couldn't figure out why the Tuf Shine tire cleaner was getting so much dirt out of the sidewalls, and then I remembered that the car went in for its two year service in August, after which they had their make-work hire give it a wash and detail, and of course they coated the tires with some silicone-based slop to make them look "shiny." Yuck. Two of the tires took three applications and three scrubs, and the other two took four scrubs to finally get white suds (users of Tuf Shine will understand). I carefully dried the wheels, then used an air gun to blow out all the nooks and crannies, and then applied two layers of Tuf Shine coating, which will give a nice satin finish, and easily last through the season.

Anyway, probably the last season on these tires and they still look great after cleaning them up.
 
Also found this on eBay, is this just a non-US version of the same vehicle? I believe the "SE" name is North America only, right?

But the headlights seem different, and it sort of looks more like a Countryman to me.

s-l500.jpg
 
Puppethead said:
Also found this on eBay, is this just a non-US version of the same vehicle? I believe the "SE" name is North America only, right?

But the headlights seem different, and it sort of looks more like a Countryman to me.

s-l500.jpg
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I got that for Christmas. Aside from the silver wheels, body-color mirrors and door handles, and black hood scoop, I would say that it looks very much like my car. Close enough, anyway, as such toys go.

Sure glad that I got it before the tariffs kicked in!
 
I've been having a huge amount of fun autocrossing my SE since it was a few months old. I'm a significantly better driver now. There is one guy in my class that I just cannot catch. I think this is partly due to the rather skinny wheels and tyres on the SE compared to every other G street class car. So I'm making the jump to G street touring. More mods are allowed. The key one for me being 9" wide wheels. A bigger upgrade for me than any other car in my class, which I'm hoping will level things up. We can also mess with both sway bars and fit coilovers. There are no alternative sway bars for the front of the SE, so I modded my stock one. The tool needed looks overkill but is barely adequate. Galling is a problem. My hole drilling jig is ridiculously simple on the other hand. Two nuts welded together, one drilled out to 10mm.

I will be fitting some shorter links. On my second new hole the bar just touches the tierod on full extension.
1st hole +13%. 2nd hole +25%. 3rd hole +40%


I'm now about +50% stiffer rear bar and 25% stiffer on the front. This feels REALLY good for general street hoonery and I'd definitely recommend this combination, though I'm pretty sure I'll want more at the back for autocross fun. It is starting to feel a little underdamped. I have found and modded a 919 H7 bar to go on, but another Saturday...




IMG_20250510_144822070.webp IMG_20250510_144319634.webp IMG_20250510_152608028.webp
 
SameGuy said:
Was prepping my summer wheels in order to (finally) swap them on, and couldn't figure out why the Tuf Shine tire cleaner was getting so much dirt out of the sidewalls, and then I remembered that the car went in for its two year service in August, after which they had their make-work hire give it a wash and detail, and of course they coated the tires with some silicone-based slop to make them look "shiny." Yuck. Two of the tires took three applications and three scrubs, and the other two took four scrubs to finally get white suds (users of Tuf Shine will understand). I carefully dried the wheels, then used an air gun to blow out all the nooks and crannies, and then applied two layers of Tuf Shine coating, which will give a nice satin finish, and easily last through the season.

Anyway, probably the last season on these tires and they still look great after cleaning them up.
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A Cayman driver was very unhappy about his tyres getting 'shined' by the dealer before an event last year, he was sliding all over the place. Well, more than usual. When I left my car at the dealer last year, I left a big note on the dashboard about not bringing that **** anywhere near my car.
 
I just got my BRG eBay purchase delivered. A bit smaller than I expected, but cool. But now I'm left with dilemmas; do I take it out of the original packaging, and do I want to try to repaint it to match my Chili Red SE?
 
Qisl said:
I realize this is heresy, but I'd like to replace the rear SE electric plugin badge with a Subaru badge of ownership. (https://www.badgeofownership.com/UI/dist/) Decades ago I requested from Subaru a badge of ownership for my 1st Subaru. It was a 2004 Forester--the best car I've ever owned. (Until I let a dealership touch it.) I never applied the badges to my Forester, but intent to do so on my SE. How's that for unique? ;)

I've never seen a Subaru badge of ownership on a Subaru.

My badge will have 'animals', 'cycling', and 'gardening'. (I love growing habaneros and ghost peppers.)
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Off (this) topic, but I remembered this post from 2½ years ago after visiting the local EV show. Subaru was showing the facelifted 2026 Solterra, and in exchange for doing a quick iPad-based survey and agreeing to let them spam my email address, I could pick a Badge of Ownership to be heat-applied to a baseball cap. Our Scoob is a gas 2018 Crosstrek, but instead of the usual "outdoors" or "dogs" I picked one with a stylized EV symbol. When I got home, I gave it to my wife, and she responded with a blank look and a WTF. Hehehe
 
Puppethead said:
I just got my BRG eBay purchase delivered. A bit smaller than I expected, but cool. But now I'm left with dilemmas; do I take it out of the original packaging, and do I want to try to repaint it to match my Chili Red SE?
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I took the one @MrSnrub got for me out of the package, and I put it on a ledge near my espresso machine station in the kitchen, just to annoy my wife. I move it around every so often, to tweak her a little further lol.
 
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Puppethead said:
I just got my BRG eBay purchase delivered. A bit smaller than I expected, but cool. But now I'm left with dilemmas; do I take it out of the original packaging, and do I want to try to repaint it to match my Chili Red SE?
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Why only BRG SE is available maybe is worth to wait as Chili Red SE May show up as to repaint change to your color will be not easy job .I just ordered mine as I own BRG which I’m going to spruce with all yellow accents as my big SE .I'm a “painter “ just few yellow touches shouldn’t be a big deal.In 2016 I try to paint picture of my BMW I3 which I never finished and you see Verrazzano-Narroows Bridge in a background in Staten Island NY .
 
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Puppethead said:
I just got my BRG eBay purchase delivered. A bit smaller than I expected, but cool. But now I'm left with dilemmas; do I take it out of the original packaging, and do I want to try to repaint it to match my Chili Red SE?
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I ripped mine out of the package immediately so I could check out the details under the hood. They're cheap, so just buy a second one if you want one in the box you can sell for big bucks later.

Now where can I find a 1-oz tube of Bondo to fill in the hood scoop before I paint mine Moonwalk Grey?
 
Went to a local classic car gathering with the local MINI club and got rule 1'd by a brodozer. The ones who really loved the U25 BEV have dogs/families, but there was a lot of vitriol from the classic car owners. #notapetrolsniffer

u25brodozer.webp
 
teslarati97 said:
Went to a local classic car gathering with the local MINI club and got rule 1'd by a brodozer. The ones who really loved the U25 BEV have dogs/families, but there was a lot of vitriol from the classic car owners. #notapetrolsniffer
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I think I need to re-visit the MINI rules.

What was the best classic at the meet? An Issigonis Mini?
 
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