Project Blackout

The wonderful part of Minis are that they are customizable, so you can express yourself through the look of your car.  There is a wonderful set of parts, gadgets, badges, graphics, sunshades, seat covers, etc.  available for all Mini owners.

My mini, Sera, is brand new, so I wanted to start small.  Her headlights, grill trim, door handles, gas cap, and taillight trims are all chrome.  Hunting around on the internet I found many other Minis de-chromed and looked really sharp.  Since, I was running with the black roof and chilli red paint scheme.  I thought I would do the same.

Before

New Side Markers

I have ordered headlight trims, taillight trims, these were official Mini parts I ordered from a http://outmotoring.com.  These were an easy swap, 20 minutes or so.  The other official Mini parts I bought were black side markers.

Speaking of which, quick tip, keep track of all the fasteners you take off and put them back when you are done!

I have managed to lose 3 of the fasteners when I got so excited about the side marker install I forgot to refasten the weather seal that keeps water out of bottom of the quarter panel.  Doh!

Speaking of swapping parts, I did add a little personality, and fun to my Mini by swapping out the puddle lights under each door.  These were a really simple change, pry out the stock lights and put in the new lights.  Since the puddle lights were first designed for older model Minis, I had to use the included wiring adaptor, while this added 3-4 centimetres to the wiring harness it all tucked up into the door just fine.  I got the lights from http://www.gobadges.com.

I also snagged a Black Chrome Carbon Fibre Stubby Antennae, and matching Value Caps.  The stock antennae was huge, I am glad I went with the shorter antennae - it looks WAY better.  That is as far as I could go with the swapping of parts.  Now onto the sticky (err tricky) bits.

Passenger's Side

Driver's Side

So for the rest I ordered, "blackout tape" for the chrome strip at the base of the windows, door handle covers, and gas door cover.   The blackout tape is this weekend's project.  But for the gas cover and the door handles, it was a simple clean, and prime with alcohol, and stick the laser cut pieces in place.  Really simple job to do, and you don't need any tools for, it way cheaper, and easier than replacing the chrome bit if they are available to order (and for my Mini they are not).

I will get to the blackout tape next weekend, along with laying out the positioning on my new spoiler winglets!  More updates soon!

After

SERA - 2015 Mini Cooper S

Blazing the way through traffic, and generally making the daily commute fun!

Delivery Day at the Dealership

Sera, short for Seraphina, is our little blazing angel for lane carving through the grind of traffic in Doha.  She joined our family on Feb 8th.   Sera is the first car I have purchased current model year and to my exact specifications.  I have always owned used or previous year model cars.

Sera is a 2015 Mini Cooper S (F56), she is the second year of the 3rd generation MINIs since BMW took over the brand.  2.0 litre, 6 speed automatic (w/paddle shifters), variable dampened suspension, 18" wheels, panoramic sunroof, and many more techie gizmos.  I think that is part I love the most about this car, all technology to explore and utilise.

I have discovered a great community of F56 owners, now because it is forum there are many posts about "niggles" people are having with their cars, but weaved in there are great tips and information about features, how to maintain, how clean, and to enjoy the most out of your car.  If you are interested check it out http://www.minif56.com.

Stay tuned I will be posting more of my exploits in tweaking the look of my car, and making some simple upgrades for maintainability and better performance.