What did you do to your MINI today?

Bolted on the Summers on the SE. I installed new Toyo HP2 on the F55 a few weeks ago. Also was nice to clean “The Home Fleet” outside. 16c this afternoon. Going to hardwire the dash cam into the SE tomorrow and give it a quick wipe with trim bright and ceramic quick wax. We are out of town as of Wednesday for Easter so figured might as all install the summers now since I have some free time. My neighbour was asking a bunch of questions about the SE while cleaning his Bolt and Taycan.

also checked the air psi in the tires… maxed out my 60psi gauge. We only drove the car about 100km before bolting the winters on. I checked between two gauges and both maxed out. Great PDI! Set them at 38 all around

 

We had a huge 12" dump of snow overnight (Friday-Saturday), and also lost power. It sounds like power may not be restored until sometime Monday. So today I had to use my SE as a power bank to charge things and the SE worked great. Fortunately I had it charge right away overnight and it got a full charge before power went out. Unfortunately the snow is so deep I can't get out of the driveway and we put the plow away for the season.

I did get our generator running but the EVSE circuit is not on generator power, so if I do get out of the garage I may have to charge at a public location. My ultimate goal is to get V2H so I won't need a generator.

 

Is 30A x 240V enough for your V2H needs? You could do use a Ford F-150 hybrid with Pro Power onboard. That way you can fit the snowplow on the front.

You could SPAN panel and then load control everything without having to make a sub panel?

 

Finally got to put on my summer tires/wheels today. Took it for a spin to reset the TPMS and it's such a stark difference compared to my winter Blizzaks.





Wheels are Motegi Traklites.

 

I have a sub panel already (for my generator, 30 A x 240 V I do believe), although my EVSE is on a separate meter/panel for low-cost metered service. I am finally able to order an F-150 Lightning but I'm reconsidering due to a number of factors: attaching plow is very difficult, increased price, loss of tax rebate. I was planning to go all-in on the Ford V2H. I do know I will never buy anything running on fossil fuel again, so maybe I'll have to go for solar/battery if I skip the F-150 Lightning.

 

Drove home (Kansas City area) from a 535 mile round trip to the Ozarks (Branson area). Enjoyed some twisty roads while in the Ozarks, too!

As luck would have it, I had some stiff headwinds both ways. Paired with all-season tires I saw ~3 mi/kWh at 70mph interstate speeds.

Enjoying myself on the backroads gave ~3.7 mi/kWh, while local driving down there was 4.8 mi/kWh.

What range anxiety?

 

Solar PV + Battery backup is generally the better way if you can utilize the 30% IRA tax credit. It's like buying a $25,000 EV (w/ $7,500 tax credit) but you will eventually get a return on investment from your electricity savings!

If V2G was a thing, it would be hilarious if you could charge from your separate meter and then resell it back from your main meter (w/ V2G EVSE).

 

Quick coat of 303 Graphene spray coating before leaving this am. Adams VRT on the black trim

 

This year I'm going to try Rupes Uno Advanced.

 

Borrowed my son's 3D printer to make the MINI key fob take up less space in my pocket.

 

Washed all the bug guts and road trip grime off Wattson today:

1. Rinse + foam (using my own pH neutral soap) + rinse at the local pay'n'spray carwash.
2. Rinseless wash in my garage.
3. Ceramic/SiO2 protectant/topper spray.

Will clean the interior as a separate effort...soon.

 

Got the windscreen replaced as there was a pretty large crack straight in front of the driver seat. It started with a stone shot under the wiper blade which was not visible from the inside, then a crack started showing which gradually increased in length. There were also other stone shots but I managed to stop them from developing cracks by injecting uv curable glue.

 

Mini is parked for the week while we are in Germany. Model 3 is easy to live with charging wise. Also odd to see other brands using Tesla chargers

 

I wonder what MINI was thinking when they designed the current fob. It's rediculoiusly large.
How do you do this? Print a new shell and transfer all the electronics, battery, etc,..? It looks like the round part might come off the OEM fob somehow?

 

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I found the .stl file on thingaverse or something. Do a google search for mini cooper key fob .stl and it should show up. There are some videos for how to swap out the trim on the fob. Basically you remove the battery cover and then the big bagel piece can slide off of the end of the key fob. Then the piece I 3d printed slides on, or there are options available on Etsy, etc.



Here is a link to the 3D print file: https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:4378924

 

Gave my a mini a well deserved wash this morning and installed new valve caps!

 

I like how you also moved the Energetic Yellow mirrors to inside the car, sort of like the Honda E.

 

I bought a metal one over 2 years ago. It feels a lot heavier and sturdier in addition to being smaller than the original. You just need a small screw driver to pop off the old one. The video on Amazon listing has a video showing how to install the smaller shell.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B086PGCHK8