After hitting the 100k milestone, the Mini gets fresh rubber and a new clutch kit. Also, I nearly strangle a man.
I've become a big fan of Falken tires over the past few years. They're reasonably priced, but punch well above their price point. Having taken a set Falken Ziex ze-912s to their obvious conclusion and been pleased with the experience, I ordered a set of the supposedly sportier Ziex ze-512s. I ordered the tires online from discounttire.com for a very reasonable $400 and had them mounted and balanced at a Discount Tire store for a similarly reasonable $125.
The 912s are the newer tire in the Falken lineup, but I was immediately impressed with how much better the 512s were. The ride quality is excellent and it no longer feels like hitting an IED when I run over one of California's massive highway reflectors. Overall grip feels about on par with the 912s, but whereas the 912s felt somewhat snappy on the limit, the 512s lose their grip much more progressively. The improved ride doesn't compromise responsiveness either which is a beautiful thing when you have a steering rack as quick as the Mini's.
Crossing the 100,000 mile mark also meant that it was time for a new clutch and the Mini's clutch went into its death throes right on cue. Backed up traffic on a long uphill highway entrance ramp with an interval light at the end proved be the end of the Mini's clutch, which was already engaging pretty high in the pedal throw.
Having just moved to California earlier this year, I had no idea where to take my car to get the job done. After calling around to a few places for estimates (and nearly going into shock at prices as high as $2600) I settled on Siry Automotive in Clairemont who agreed to do it for a price that was right for me. As usual, I made the wrong decision.
I picked up the car up two days after dropping it off and right as I was pulling out of the parking lot, the Service Engine Soon light came on. I calmly selected reverse and went back in to notify the guy who had just given me my keys. This sparked a flurry of confused activity among the service department, but one guy eventually grabbed an ODB device, muttered something about a MAP sensor and cleared the code. I stopped at the grocery store on the way home and just as I suspected it would, the light returned.
As luck would have, I received a call from Siry Automotive the next morning on my way to work. I hoped they would be calling to tell me something like, "Hello Mr. Wolfcale, we just found one of your vacuum hoses on the floor of our fine establishment. Why don't you bring it back in and we'll have you in and out in 15 minutes." Instead it went more like this; "Hey Mr. uh... Wolfengang, one of our mechanics forgot to put your wheel key back in your car. Come by and pick it up whenever." I informed them that my check engine light came back on and they told me to bring it in.
The morning I brought it back in was when things really went south between Siry Automotive and I. After pulling the code, one of the service guys started explaining to me that it would be far too expensive and way more trouble than it was worth for me to get it fixed. I told him that it would be actually be very affordable for me to get it fixed, because it wouldn't cost me anything. I went on to explain that something they did caused the SES light to come and he then tried to tell me that it was on when I dropped it off. You can imagine where it went from here. Voices were raised, some colorful language was used but I was ultimately able to suppress the urge to leap over the counter and strangle the guy. After he threatened to kick me out, I said "Frak you" (except not in Battlestar Galactica speak) and sashayed out.
Despite receiving a positive response from a scathing email I sent them, I've decided that it would be easier and less time-consuming to fix the problem myself. After doing 15 minutes of research that Siry Automotive wasn't willing to do, I traced the problem to a leaky vacuum hose that cost all of $20 to replace. In short, Siry Automotive will not be receiving the Drive Cult stamp of approval anytime soon.
On a happier note, a new bypass valve just arrived in the mail to replace the current sticky one that's been causing some low end power loss. More on this soon.
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