What did you do to your MINI today?

It's been so mild, I haven't had to do a rinseless wash this winter. Got a brand new 5-litre Ech2O in September and a new stack of Eagle Edgeless rags, too. I just fire up the PW and foam the car with Bilt Hamber AF in the driveway every week or so. I've even done full two-bucket washes every month, usually in a T-shirt. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
 
I liked using ECH2O, but I switched to a non ceramic infused one so I could get more versatility with polishing and coatings.

Now that I much prefer rinseless washing, my pressure washer has been relegated to garage floor cleaning.
 
Yeah I only use rinseless for maintenance washes, so less of a concern. I have some McKees left, as well as some very old "solera" ONR W&S (I always add the bottom of the old bottle to the new one). But if I'm correcting and protecting/coating, I invariably do a full contact wash as well as chemical and mechanical decontamination, so the polymers left behind in a common rinseless like ONR or Ech2O wouldn't be much of an issue.

ETA: I should note that in my borough, we pay a fixed water tax (line item on our property taxes) so as long as there's no municipal water-use restriction in effect, I don't have to worry too much about contact washing – and don't pay extra for more water.
 
SameGuy said:
ETA: I should note that in my borough, we pay a fixed water tax (line item on our property taxes) so as long as there's no municipal water-use restriction in effect, I don't have to worry too much about contact washing – and don't pay extra for more water.
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Lucky for you! I have to pay extra for more water.
 
What did I do to my Mini today? My DMV sent me two bright orange stickers that say "EV" for my license plates. Their reasoning? "This law was passed for the safety of first responders when dealing with electric or hybrid powered vehicles in emergency situations".
 
revorg said:
What did I do to my Mini today? My DMV sent me two bright orange stickers that say "EV" for my license plates. Their reasoning? "This law was passed for the safety of first responders when dealing with electric or hybrid powered vehicles in emergency situations".
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I read your state laws, and it seems silly to codify it is as hybrid electric vehicles and nonhybrid electric vehicles.

“Hybrid electric vehicle” means a vehicle that is capable of using both electricity and gasoline, diesel fuel, or alternative fuel to propel the vehicle.

“Nonhybrid electric vehicle” means a vehicle that is propelled solely by electrical energy and that is not capable of using gasoline, diesel fuel, or alternative fuel to propel the vehicle.

The real question is whether or not the BMW i3 REX is a hybrid EV or a nonhybrid EV?
 
teslarati97 said:
The real question is whether or not the BMW i3 REX is a hybrid EV or a nonhybrid EV?
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If the REX is connected to the drivetrain then I'd say it's a hybrid. If it's only used to recharge the battery than it's non-hybrid. I never considered the Chevy Volt to be a true EV because the gasoline engine is connected to the drivetrain.

But a lot of the plugin hybrids have tiny batteries (for example the hybrid Countryman only goes about 10 miles on battery), are they really the same risk to first responders as a full EV with their huge high-voltage battery packs?
 
Puppethead said:
If the REX is connected to the drivetrain then I'd say it's a hybrid. If it's only used to recharge the battery than it's non-hybrid. I never considered the Chevy Volt to be a true EV because the gasoline engine is connected to the drivetrain.
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The state laws say "propel the vehicle" rather than mechanically connected to the drivetrain, so that's what makes it ambiguous.

This definition of hybrid electric vehicle should also include entire the BMW ICE lineup, which utilizes a mild hybrid 48V system (built into the ZF 8-speed transmission).
 
revorg said:
What did I do to my Mini today? My DMV sent me two bright orange stickers that say "EV" for my license plates. Their reasoning? "This law was passed for the safety of first responders when dealing with electric or hybrid powered vehicles in emergency situations".
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I had to look up the sticker to see how odious it was. It could have been worse if Wisconsin decided to make it even bigger. Can EV owners cut off the demeaning "HYBRID" edge?

upload_2024-3-29_22-30-9.webp
 
It can't be that difficult or costly to have different colored plates for BEVs and PHEVs, can it? Our plates have been blue text (etc) on a white or light background since the late 60s, but they introduced EV plates with green text (etc) around the time of the Leaf and Model S introductions.
 
Wisconsin just issued a decree that plates over a certain age (10 years?) must be replaced. They are cracking down on drivers with unreadable plates (the paint is falling off). The new plates are the same design, but with a new number. The new EV sticker is supposed to be applied over part of the design.
 
Went on a 800 mile roadtrip this past weekend from the SF Bay Area to Pasadena, Santa Barbara and back to try out the charging infrastructure along the 5 and the 101 and pick up some food souvenirs along the way. Of 20 charging stations visited during the entire loop, I had 1 activation issue in Soledad and 2 partial charges in Santa Nella and Santa Maria (none of which were at EA stations surprisingly), but I was able to make my way to the backup station and charge without issue. EA performed quite well for me surprisingly during the drive; of the 9 EA stations I stopped at, I only noticed 2 chargers out of service, one of which forced me to wait 10 minutes until one of the other 3 chargers freed up; otherwise, I always found an open spot and got the 48 kW my car tops out at.

Overall this roadtrip went really well. I was able to make every charger with SOC at 20% or higher, so range anxiety was at a minimum; I used ABRP and Plugshare to plan the next 1-2 stops (and check for nearby backups). The trip costed me $82.80 in electricity, with an overall average of $0.34/kWh. Based on my spreadsheet, I averaged about 3.8 mi/kWh.
 
I set a new record low range - windy, cool weather plus driving 70-75 mph with the A/C in sucked up more electrons than ever before. Still got over 100 miles, though!
 
I take today my SE to auto show and my car was only EV and was a lot of interest bc almost nobody knows Mini Cooper could be electric.I love a dog on a picture,he recognizes a gas car and I’m sharing his feeling.Was IMG_1429.webp IMG_1428.webp interesting day walking between a smelly old cars .Show car Camaro toasted fire department extinguished in 3 minutes good job no damages to cars around
 
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Finally switched to summer tires.

Scrubbed the Power Spokes, inside and out, lifted the car and removed the Hakka-clad Victorys, then scoured the wheel wells and mechanicals. Cleaned the outer sidewalls of the Eagle F1s with Tuff-Shine cleaner, and finally gave them two coats of Tuff-Shine Tire Coat before mounting. I'll head out after supper to reset the TPMS.

The winter wheels are cleaned and stored.

Wanted to wash the car but the weather is iffy for the next couple of days so it'll wait.
 
SameGuy said:
Finally switched to summer tires.

Scrubbed the Power Spokes, inside and out, lifted the car and removed the Hakka-clad Victorys, then scoured the wheel wells and mechanicals. Cleaned the outer sidewalls of the Eagle F1s with Tuff-Shine cleaner, and finally gave them two coats of Tuff-Shine Tire Coat before mounting. I'll head out after supper to reset the TPMS.

The winter wheels are cleaned and stored.

Wanted to wash the car but the weather is iffy for the next couple of days so it'll wait.
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I like this staff I wander if you can get this up northIMG_1431.webp
 
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