Terry Sayther Automotive-MINI Cooper S-Product Evaluation

MINI Product Evaluation

Accessories and Performance Upgrades for the New MINI

Interior Accessories

Glove Box Shelf
Minimania Glovebox Organizer

Price: $29.95

Degree of difficulty---easy
Review: nice, useful-recommended

Dash Pocket
Cubby, Soft Console Organizer

Price:$29.95

Installation: oh, so easy---just put that sucker in place
Review: this thing is good!

Arm Rest
Pivoting Arm Rest

Price:$79.95
Installation: three screws---easy
Degree of difficulty: easy
Review: the car should have had this part to begin with. Black upholstery matches the seats, looks good, feels good.

Mats
Front, Rear, and Trunk Mats-Black Rubber
OEM Dealer

Price: Front $47.95, Rear $29.95, Trunk $50.00

Degree of difficulty----easy
Review: High quality, well made, nice Mini
logo---highly recommended.

Seat Covers
Factory Cloth Seat Covers, made especially for the air bag containing seats

Price: $125 each

Click Here for Installation Article
Degree of difficulty---not easy to put on
Review: These covers may be expensive; they may be really expensive; but they ARE unattractive.

Trunk Storage System
Mini factory Part No. 82 11 0 154 464

Price: $129.95

Degree of difficulty---easy, well designed
Review: What a great part---it uses space that's not used for anything else and it frees up space by relocating the owners manual and clean-up tools. It looks good and has OEM quality.

Suspension	Exterior Accessories
Brakes Dust Reducing Brake Pads EBC Green-stuff Pads Price: Front $90, Rear $80 Degree of difficulty---Fronts are straight-forward for someone used to brake pad replacement. Rears are more difficult and replacement requires a special tool because of the handbrake-containing caliper. Review:These pads work great---they cut out about 90% of the brake dust---strongly recommended.	Headlight Protection X-Pel Clear Protective Light Shields Price: $41.95 Click Here for Installation Article Degree of difficulty---a little tough Review: nice product, well made-recommended
	Side Skirts Mini factory Part No. 51 71 0 021 932 and 933 Price: $233 each Degree of difficulty: Of course they have to be painted to match the body color [more $$]. Review: Look great!
Rear Sway Bar-19mm ALTA Price: $199.99 Degree of Difficulty---not too difficult with a lift and air tools. You do have to get over a fear of taking out all the rear subframe bolts and letting the subframe just hang there while you slide the sway bar into place. Also requires removal of one of the spring/strut assemblies. Review: If you don't drive hard enough to notice that the front end slides first in really hard cornering, then you don't need this sway bar upgrade. If you've noticed the understeer, then this bar will fix it and give neutral steering. If you want the fun of oversteer, then go for a 22mm bar.	ALTA Performance Short Radio Antenna Price: $29.99 Difficulty: none at all Review: If your neighbors have been teasing you about how your stock antenna makes your MINI look like a radio controlled car---then this guy is for you. Unscrew your old ugly long antenna and screw on this short one. Radio reception unchanged. Also lighter in weight---that's free horsepower!
Stainless Steel Brake Hoses HMS Motorsports Goodridge SS Brake Hoses Price: $129.00 Degree of difficulty: not good, these were not bolt-on because they had to be modified to prevent interference with the CV boots. Maybe that problem has been corrected since then? Review: fitting required grinding of the caliper slightly, pedal feel is slightly harder but the difference is less than we have experienced with other cars. I'd buy another brand next time, but I'd still recommend SS lines.

Engine Performance

Air Box
Promini (BMP) Racing Filter Kit
Price: $169.95

Degree of difficulty----easy
Review: no difference in performance detected

Supercharger Pulley
Promini Supercharger Pulley
Price: $219.95

Degree of difficulty----difficult
Review: this was a difficult installation, but WOW, was it ever worth it. Either do it yourself or get someone to do it for you---but get it done. You'll love it!

ALTA Performance Supercharger Pulley
Price: $159.99
Installation: Much easier than Promini one piece pulley because it is a two piece self-locking part.
Review: Quality part, OUTSTANDING results. Well worth the expense. Cheaper and better.

Exhaust:
Rogue Engineering Dual Exhaust
Price:$675
Installation: Not real easy. The mounts and angles of the system as supplied are not quite right. We had to modify the mounts, dent in one of the mufflers to make it fit, and modify the car's battery box a bit for clearance too.
Review: We specifically wanted the dual exhaust look and we wanted to fit a trailer hitch to the center, so this was perfect for us. Other than the problems with the fit, we love the quality of the part and the sound is great most of the time. As with many other systems, it is a bit loud at 3000 rpm on the highway. We would buy it again and recommend it.