The MINI has sure has had an exciting last two months!  We picked up a sponsor, 425 Motorsports, for our safety race gear and a bunch of other things have come together as well.

The rear control arms went in pretty well, once I got out the big hammer.  They will sure be nice to dial in the rear suspension.

We installed the OBX header and it fit!!  Big difference between the stock set-up and hopefully a good power gain.  Here is the stock and OBX side by side.  Holy choke point batman!

It sure is loud with just the header!  Installation was not the funnest project I've ever done and Chris's help was much needed as we slid the whole front end of the car forward and disassembled much of the trim. Totally worth it though!

My strut tower bar came in as well.  It was lighter than expected and was super easy to install.

Next up was the exhaust.  To stay in class rules we had to keep a cat but could get rid of the rest.  Chris taught me to weld and we fabricated up a custom 2" system with a magnaflow cat and muffler.

We were thinking of doing just a turn down but on start up with just the cat it was so incredibly loud we didn't think we would pass sound or be able to drive the car without ear plugs, so the muffler went on.  It certainly sounds better, much more free and the butt dyno and traction control light say it's faster.

Final header/exhaust install

We also got the seats in using the MINI sliders and brackets from EVO 9 buddy clubs.  We purchased the OMP Champs at 425 Motorsports which fit me really well.  They are a bit of a squeeze for Chris but he will make do. After flopping around in wide seats for the last couple of years I'm looking forward to a cozy fit!

Also in the works are some custom vinyl graphics.  Eachean Edmondson is putting together some pretty cool designs.  More to come on that!

And just for fun - we got some snow - yay for drifting!!