The mini cooper filter really is mini, just got some from

[Bill R.]

BMA for a cooper s and was surprised how small they are
http://www.bimmernut.com/%7Ebillr/images/minioilfilter.jpg

[Tiger]

Mmm... about the size of the GM filter for 3.8L V6... PF40? Tiny

[George M]

hey Bill...Scott H has a friend with one and says it a blast. You take it around the block yet to check out your work?
;-)
George

[TheGeak]

Not to hijack the thread, but a few days ago i put up a poll asking about options for new cars. just thought i'd let everyone know i think i'm settled on a Mini. So bill, take it for a spin for me, lemme know how she is.

[Bill R.]

driven it... Its a pretty nice drive but I don't know if I would buy one...
I've been looking at the scion dealership thats going in here soon..Almost would rather have one of those... for my purposes...





hey Bill...Scott H has a friend with one and says it a blast. You take it around the block yet to check out your work?
;-)
George

[TheGeak]

What were your 'issues' with it?

[Bill R.]

scion looks to have more usable space for hauling stuff, the layout appears very similar on the interior, better gas mileage, toyota quality,yada yada
I really have no complaints about the mini, just not something I would buy new... and of course I haven't actually driven a scion here , they're just for looking so far until the dealership is done...I would imagine that the mini handles much better but the japanese seem to be making big strides in that area also...





What were your 'issues' with it?

[TheGeak]

Thanks for the insight ;) Maybe i'll stroll down to our scion dealership and give it a drive just to see how they handle.

Yeah, for me i think the mini would be just fine. No real hauling to do, just want a nice daily driver that can still be fun to drive.

[George M]

very different cars...Mini has more of a performance orientation to it than the Scion which I too agree is a nice car. I personally wouldn't buy a mini either. If I wanted a reasonably priced sports type car versus a car with a bit more utility, I would look hard at the 350Z...I really like that car.
Flame away boys...LOL,
George

[Bill R.]

110 hp at 2550 pounds and the scion has 108 hp at 2380 lbs.... Both front wheel drive.. The scion list price is 13,750 or close to that with all power , ac, pioneer sound system ,mp3,sirius capable etc all aimed at the youth market, subwoofer option etc.. The minis on the website equipped about the same are around 19500, locally they want 25k for a base model...Drive to phx and get it for around 21,50 base... For 6k more the mini would have to be much better to me... and I've driven the mini but am waiting to drive a scion.. But its an interesting comparison....If i could get a mini for the 13750 price I probably would...




very different cars...Mini has more of a performance orientation to it than the Scion which I too agree is a nice car. I personally wouldn't buy a mini either. If I wanted a reasonably priced sports type car versus a car with a bit more utility, I would look hard at the 350Z...I really like that car.
Flame away boys...LOL,
George

[TheGeak]

yeah, thats what deterring me a bit from the mini is how much their price is inflated right now. I just think the scion is ugly, can't help it. If only i could get financing on an E34....

Bill: I'd like to drive the Cooper S with the Jon Cooper package. 210hp(maybe its only 200) at 2600lbs. THAT should be a blast!

[Bill R.]

20k with every option ...
http://www.scionlife.com/gallery/tc/tc01.jpg






yeah, thats what deterring me a bit from the mini is how much their price is inflated right now. I just think the scion is ugly, can't help it. If only i could get financing on an E34....

Bill: I'd like to drive the Cooper S with the Jon Cooper package. 210hp(maybe its only 200) at 2600lbs. THAT should be a blast!

[George M]

1.9 liter/124hp...a bit more now....close to the same weight..a bit heavier than the Scion. I've modded the car a bit since these pics.
Note how long the stock shifter is...not any more :-) No matter what
you chose...DOHC, 5 speed, lightweight FWD high rev tuner cars are a blast to drive...especially with a few mods.
:D
George
http://members.roadfly.com/georgemann/SaturnSC2DrSd.jpg

http://members.roadfly.com/georgemann/3rdDoor Saturn.jpg

http://members.roadfly.com/georgemann/saturn interior.jpg

[TheGeak]

see, to me the its still an ugly car. i dunno, something about them i just can't get up close and personal with.

Although, another E34 is tempting me more and more. "Just find one in good shape with great records" i hear..."it'll be cheaper" i hear "you'll love it more than any new car"....

[George M]

with stock shifter....
http://members.roadfly.com/georgemann/saturn interior.jpg

[George M]

http://members.roadfly.com/georgemann/saturn interior.jpg

[TheGeak]

Nice saturn George! Not big on them either, but yours looks nice, very clean! Although i think clear or smoked side markers would look better than the orange :-p

[George M]

I bought it to subordinate my ego. One can't be too proud if you drive a Saturn :-) What is odd is, I get as many compliments on this car as I do my BMW...lol. It is a lot of fun to drive....pretty quick and handles well. Skies the limit as to what you can do...some are running turbo's and creating big power. Mine just has a few subtle mods.
George
P.S....the kids today have it right about small displacement tuner cars.

[TheGeak]

George, whats the new one saturn is releasing? some sort of tuned Ion i think? I hear some good things about that.

[George M]

200 hp supercharged...should be kick to drive and not too hard on the wallet.
Blown high rev tuner cars are the cats a$$. These cars are nothing new. I remember years ago driving a buddies Omni...the fastback..not the box..with 2.2 turbo and chipped to increase boost. You couldn't stay out of the throttle when driving that car...was like a drug...a rush.
George

[Jason]

200 hp supercharged...should be kick to drive and not too hard on the wallet.
Blown high rev tuner cars are the cats a$$. These cars are nothing new. I remember years ago driving a buddies Omni...the fastback..not the box..with 2.2 turbo and chipped to increase boost. You couldn't stay out of the throttle when driving that car...was like a drug...a rush.
George

[George M]

1990 735iL/149k...close to stock...M-technic suspension/lowered 1.0 inch.
Kenwood head unit, E-38 pistol shifter, heavier weighted non-servotronic steering. Have the valve cover off right now and changing the color from red shown in the pic to silver to be monochrome with the rest of the car. Color scheme of the entire car will be silver and black.
George
http://members.roadfly.com/georgemann/FrtPassQtrResize.jpg

http://members.roadfly.com/georgemann/HoodUpResize.jpg

http://members.roadfly.com/georgemann/DrSdRrQtrResize.jpg

[Jason]

You put a lot of effort into it and it shows. The M-tec suspension is a great mod for that car. Does your steering mod apply to the E-34 w/ the M30? If so can you give some detail? I feel that is where my car lacks the most.

[George M]

Thank you brother...a labor of love really...these cars are special as you know. My car drives...and I mean this...as close to flawlessly as any car I have every owned...not a squeak or rattle...pulls hards...corners flat...a joy to drive on a nice day.
Love to take the big 7 through the twisties with the top back and CD turned up :-)
As to the steering on these cars...agree with you. No magic pill either...we are stuck with recirculating ball...and not a real fast ratio to boot. Further both the E-34 and E-32 were overassisted from the factory in my view...the E-32 with servotronic even more so. The mod I made is not directly applicable to the E-34 as most come without servotronic. Servotronic is both a scourge and a benefit. The benefit is you can circumvent the overassisted servotronic module and substitute a linear resistor to dial in whatever effort you prefer. I have a toggle switch under the dash to have either a cruising or lower effort setting (still more effort than servotronic) and a more moderately weighted steering effort for more spirited driving....what I keep it in most of the time :-)
Thanks again,
George

[winfred]

here ya go george, get a hood badge like this
http://members.cox.net/kitlou/uranus.jpg


I bought it to subordinate my ego. One can't be too proud if you drive a Saturn :-) What is odd is, I get as many compliments on this car as I do my BMW...lol. It is a lot of fun to drive....pretty quick and handles well. Skies the limit as to what you can do...some are running turbo's and creating big power. Mine just has a few subtle mods.
George
P.S....the kids today have it right about small displacement tuner cars.

[George M]

thought I may take some ribbing posting my Saturn on this forum...lol.
I really do like that little car...a big go kart.
:p
George

[Bill R.]

transmission....that and the fact that they are going to be using the honda v6 now...






thought I may take some ribbing posting my Saturn on this forum...lol.
I really do like that little car...a big go kart.
:p
George

[George M]

on automatic cars is a very cool feature...girlfriend has one on her Saturn.
As to the V6...don't want one...too big...more front weight bias on a FWD car...not in the spirit of the car. The Saturn 1.9 liter 4 valve per cylinder DOHC engine at 124 hp and just over 1 hp per cubic inch is a tremendous engine. Simple, cheap for parts, reliable and very strong for its size and the later silent shaft version which I have revs like a dentist drill...just right.
Also great fuel economy which helps at $2/gallon. Best features of the car over and above the styling which I like is the steering precision and plastic body panels.
George

[Bill R.]

vue gets a honda 5 speed automatic now too , very light 250 hp package that really helps the vue....





on automatic cars is a very cool feature...girlfriend has one on her Saturn.
As to the V6...don't want one...too big...more front weight bias on a FWD car...not in the spirit of the car. The Saturn 1.9 liter 4 valve per cylinder DOHC engine at 124 hp and just over 1 hp per cubic inch is a tremendous engine. Simple, cheap for parts, reliable and very strong for its size and the later silent shaft version which I have revs like a dentist drill...just right.
Also great fuel economy which helps at $2/gallon. Best features of the car over and above the styling which I like is the steering precision and plastic body panels.
George

[George M]

yeah...hard to fault Saturn for going to Honda for the driveline for the Vue. Sure agree that Honda drivelines and their cars for that matter are hard to beat...250 hp from a NA V6 is very strong.
George

[Jason]

Nothing beats driving the 5 on a nice day, windows down, roof open and the cd player turned up... it makes the commute the highlight of my work week. Sure it can be a pain sometimes but I look at the car as I walk to it and I can't imagine what else i would be driving for similar money. BTW thanks for the input on the steering.

[George M]

completely agree....these cars are hard to beat. Lastly, we talked about the M5 ratio steering box on the board a while ago. It is a bit faster than std. E-32/34 cars. I imagine a good used M5 box is very hard to come by however but would be the ticket to improve things a bit. Another avenue for you is if your steering box gets tired would be to find a used servotronic E-32 box with solenoid on the bottom. You can then simply wire a simple circuit to it like I did and tune in an overall effort that you prefer.
George

[Jon K]

Thanks for the insight ;) Maybe i'll stroll down to our scion dealership and give it a drive just to see how they handle.

Yeah, for me i think the mini would be just fine. No real hauling to do, just want a nice daily driver that can still be fun to drive.


No hauling? That S38 ain't going in my backseat Jason ;)

[TheGeak]

You're quite correct Jon. its going under the 'bonnet' of my M5. Nice try though!

[TheGeak]

Also, just got done browsing around the scion site. Wow, is it just me or do their headlights really resemble the new 5/7 series style lights? although, i think it looks almost better on the Scion

[George M]

actually the new Scion is a shrunken E-65 created by mystical asian talent...only the boot doesn't look open and no I-nane drive.
;-)
George