A Mini Adventure, to JCW GP...

[Sir_Dave]

So yeah, took a deposit on the Trophy the other day, R32 will be up for sale shortly, & this will shortly be my sole mode of transport.

As we're actually starting to look for a house now, cash in the bank is more important now really.

'52 plate, 64k miles, full BMWSH, MOT/Tax till November, recent power steering pump, front wheel bearings, ball joints, track rod ends and an Inspection 2 service. Options wise its got the usual chilli pack & cd player with radio boost, along with full leather interior, panoramic roof, facelift xenons & 3 spoke steering wheel. I already miss cruise control, but beggars can't be choosers.

Having never actually driven one before (just passengered in Richard's, Sarah's brother), first impressions are that its a right giggle to drive, the whine is hilarious and the steering is quite frankly ridiculous, literally like a go-kart, soo direct. So yeah, i guess i can understand why they are as common as muck, even without the Mini badge it comes across as being quite a decent car. The ride is hard with the runflats, but certainly no worse than the Trophy/R32 on coilovers. The brakes are rubbish, but that might have something to do with the grooved dics being put on the wrong way round lol ...

So here are a couple of awful pictures - will be off to Wales in it tonight for a weekend hooning around the Brecons so will probably take some better shots then

 

[JoedotwasT5phy]

Re: A Mini Adventure ...

I don't WANT one but i know they are meant to be decent. Hope she serves you well

 

[Sir_Dave]

Re: A Mini Adventure ...

Oh i WANTED a Works GP, but wasnt prepared to pay an extra 9 grand for 2 less seats, 50bhp and a dodgy bodykit.

 

[_Tom]

Re: A Mini Adventure ...

Hard top version of the Mrs's minus a LSD..

I bet the fuel consumption is on par or worse the the R32.

 

[Adamm.]

Re: A Mini Adventure ...

Nice my missus pretty much has the exact same thing but it has a jcw kit on it. I'd probably be happy to own one tbh.

 

[Sir_Dave]

Re: A Mini Adventure ...

I bet the fuel consumption is on par or worse the the R32.

Not really that bothered about mpg tbh, was happy enough with 28mpg doing 100 miles a day, now im doing under 10 lol.

 

[Hixle]

A Mini Adventure ...

Looks lovely Dave! Will be interested to see how you get on with it.

I've been eying them up since SRR.

 

[_Tom]

Re: A Mini Adventure ...

Not really that bothered about mpg tbh, was happy enough with 28mpg doing 100 miles a day, now im doing under 10 lol.

I see! You should be getting a V8 in that case..lol

They are such fun to drive. Any plans?

 

[welsh.Z.S.]

Re: A Mini Adventure ...

i quite like these , have fun around the beacons mate , watch out tho we'v had some bad rain/wind/snow/hail all in the last 24 hours lol

 

[Sir_Dave]

Re: A Mini Adventure ...

I see! You should be getting a V8 in that case..lol

They are such fun to drive. Any plans?

Ha ha, i did consider an old 5/740i or something, but I wanted low speed fun 1st and foremost, with a cheap buyprice, that was ok for work/my car allowance. Stupidly a mini is fine image wise, despite being older than the Trophy - which was deemed 'inappropriate for someone of my position'.

Plans wise, not much, except a 15% pulley of course.

 

[Scrooge]

Re: A Mini Adventure ...

I like the look of them.

I will never buy one mainly because the seats. My kidneys felt like they had the s**t punched out of them after a long test drive I had in one.

 

[leeroybrown]

Re: A Mini Adventure ...

Thank the lord it has a 3 spoke steering wheel!

I COULD not live with the 2 spoke one, it is rather s**te.

Are you gonna get one of those Dave F Hybrid air filter thingys everyone waffles on about for it?

 

[Vish]

A Mini Adventure ...

What a gay title; fits your image perfectly now And lol at two comments already about wives/girlfriends having one!

Saying all that I love it, trying to tempt Pri to get one lol

 

[Edd]

Re: A Mini Adventure ...

Best colour for a MCS but I'll give it a week before you are back on AT/eBay/PH looking at 330's.

 

[JoedotwasT5phy]

Re: A Mini Adventure ...

Hard top version of the Mrs's minus a LSD..

I bet the fuel consumption is on par or worse the the R32.

He'll only have it 2 weeks so doesn't really matter

 

[BigDaveRotary]

Re: A Mini Adventure ...

I got to hoon one of these around Donnington a fair few years back. Loved every second of it!

Since then always had a small soft spot for them.

 

[Gally]

Re: A Mini Adventure ...

I hate the front lights and those wheels but at least you bought good spec and the right colour. It doesn't suit you.

 

[Clart]

Re: A Mini Adventure ...

Those wheels are utter gashment. i do quite like the overall package though.

 

[jesus]

A Mini Adventure ...

Nice - these sound hilarious with a decat or exhaust when at idle. I'd buy one just for the noise (and DAT whine)...

 

[Topgeartom]

Re: A Mini Adventure ...

Cannot shake my soft spot for a Cooper S.

Keep looking at chopping the Z in for a GP.

 

[Rubicon_]

Re: A Mini Adventure ...

Always liked these as well. Interested to see how you get on!

 

[Sir_Dave]

Re: A Mini Adventure ...

Nice - these sound hilarious with a decat or exhaust when at idle. I'd buy one just for the noise (and DAT whine)...

Yeah, i dont think spending the weekend with Richard and his 240bhp one is going to be helpful lol. Had to pedal the M3 a bit this time last year to keep up!! The whine is pretty amusing as it is, although with a few bits of tubing from B&Q you can build your own 'Dave F' airbox for less than 50 quid ...

Keep looking at chopping the Z in for a GP.

Not sure id be doing that anytime soon - I simply couldnt wrap my head around the price premium for the GP.

 

[Philip.]

Re: A Mini Adventure ...

Never driven one but they're always tempting come new car time.
Nice example too!

 

[Gally]

Re: A Mini Adventure ...

I loved the popping and crackles off the Milltek'd GP I drove, utter lunatic little car.

 

[C.J]

Re: A Mini Adventure ...

I like these, one of my mates has had one for 4/5 years, still look.

 

[mini_nick]

Re: A Mini Adventure ...

[video=youtube_share;_DnPEtBqAf4]http://youtu.be/_DnPEtBqAf4[/video]

This was my old 05 cooper s with a Larini exhaust fitted. Loved these cars, drove a lot of miles in Cooper S's including a ring trip and really enjoyed it! Went well and handled well out of the box, just brakes were a week point but im sure some decent pads would help a lot!

 

[Dominic172]

Re: A Mini Adventure ...

These are horrible to work on. Still, always have liked them. Nippy little buggers

 

[VeinAST]

Re: A Mini Adventure ...

Lowest mileage car you've owned yet??

I don't think I could cope with the small boot but BMW build quality is the winning factor!

 

[The Chubby Pirate]

Re: A Mini Adventure ...

Doesn't look special enough for me

 

[Sam@NP]

Re: A Mini Adventure ...

Love R53 minis.

 

[Daniel]

Re: A Mini Adventure ...

I love the idea of a Cooper S, but I can't see the point in them over a normal cooper.

Tuning potential I suppose?

Nice car all the same. Once the kids have grown up, i'd love to get one for the wife, in the same colour too.

 

[Sam@NP]

Re: A Mini Adventure ...

I love the idea of a Cooper S, but I can't see the point in them over a normal cooper.

Tuning potential I suppose?

Nice car all the same. Once the kids have grown up, i'd love to get one for the wife, in the same colour too.

One D is the best IMO has the Cooper S hydraulic steering and 6 speed box.

Standard cooper steering and box are nowhere near as nice.

 

[Dafthead]

Re: A Mini Adventure ...

I had one brand new back in '02, fun little cars with a decent turn of speed. nice one!

 

[Russ_16v]

Re: A Mini Adventure ...

looks tidy dave!

i just hate the gearshift

Oh, if you want a cheap but decent exhaust, the last Cooper S i sold I had off a mate, and the exhaust rusted through so he took a change on an ebay special - paid £270 delivered for a full cat back system.

Was brilliant!! Very well made, was quiet in normal use and a really nice tone under WOT, and popped and crackled on overrun

 

[jayxx83]

Re: A Mini Adventure ...

Simple mods to improve the car;

Dave f / jcw airbox + 5-10hp
pulley go for a 11-15% reduction +20 hp
change brake fluid for Motul RBF 600, much more solid pedal
Non runflats

enjoy for a while.

I borrowed 1320's ds mcs with a mynes tune. So much more torque and fuel lasted for ages. On my works I have to try hard to get 50 miles from £10. On the tuned one, even with regular wot blats it easily returned 50 miles for £10.

if you want noise forget a cat back and just change the mani. No sound when driving normally but only gets loud on full throttle over 4k rpm

[youtube]caNotqStWIc[/youtube]

 

[philmots]

Re: A Mini Adventure ...

Awesomes.

My mate used to sell Minis before moving on to Audi. Used to love ragging about in these supercharged ones. Sound awesome.

 

[Kieran..]

Re: A Mini Adventure ...

i do really like these, just the dash i think would always put me off

 

[Reko]

Re: A Mini Adventure ...

i do really like these, just the dash i think would always put me off

Same here, it's the only thing stopping me getting one. The speedo in the middle will drive me nuts (I hear if you have the sat nav are the speedo/revs are in the "normal" position ?)

 

[Sam@NP]

Re: A Mini Adventure ...

Same here, it's the only thing stopping me getting one. The speedo in the middle will drive me nuts (I hear if you have the sat nav are the speedo/revs are in the "normal" position ?)

You have a digital speedo in the rev counter.

 

[Sir_Dave]

Re: A Mini Adventure ...

I love the idea of a Cooper S, but I can't see the point in them over a normal cooper.

Coopers are sooooo slow. This one isnt exactly quick as standard, but as you say, tuning potential is there.

Oh, if you want a cheap but decent exhaust, the last Cooper S i sold I had off a mate, and the exhaust rusted through so he took a change on an ebay special - paid £270 delivered for a full cat back system.

Forgot to mention in the 1st post, its already got a JCW exhaust fitted pretty good, not loud at all, so certainly wont be putting anything louder on. Maybe a manifold at some point, but thats for the distant future, when i want to achieve maximum horses.

The speedo in the middle will drive me nuts (I hear if you have the sat nav are the speedo/revs are in the "normal" position ?)

Yeah, satnav/chrono pack means you get a speedo in front of you instead. I use my Pogo Alert as a speedo anyways, so not really an issue.

Been in Wales all weekend for Sarah's mums 60th, so now done over 600 miles in it since i picked it up on Thursday!! Really enjoying the car tbh, sensible enough for pootling about in, quite on the motorway, but great fun in the mountain sections of the trip. Couple of negatives being the distinct lack of power and the very long ratios in the gearbox (facelift ones were shorter iirc), the 1st issue is very easy to fix however, with a 15% pulley going on asap, probably followed by a GRS/GP intercooler as well.

Some pictures of the trip, started in Cardiff, up through the Brecons, Elan Valley, etc - reminded me of watching the Rallying on tv as a kid lol. Awesome roads!!! Had sun, rain & even snow, all within about 2 miles at one point!

Also, had my 1st breakage when the oil crankcase breather hose split a little, was making a noise like a cow mooing :clown: all fixed with insulating tape - proper part is only a tenner, so will get that ordered up asap:

All in all, great little car. Basically a posh clio, which is what i wanted.