Who here owns a Mini?

Gaygle · 5 Dec 2016 at 11:38

rare said:
Great notes on the strut part numbers and guide to the engine mount change Gaygle!

I was thinking of changing my engine mount to an uprated one when the time comes. One of those on the long list of 'wants' but not exactly a necessity...

This weekend I wound the front of the car down just slightly to make it a little more aggressive aesthetically. Though I might have to wind it back up again if I run in to problems with the height, which I no doubt will as the GP sits quite low anyway with its side skirts. I also removed the Cooper S badge from the rear as I always thought the rear end of the GP was a bit busy with so many badges!

https://s4.postimg.org/sv81tmqcd/IMG_2732.jpg[/IMG

https://s4.postimg.org/ppng3f7q5/IMG_2733.jpg[/IMG

Please stop posting pictures of that car.

It literally looks perfect - very jealous!

Are you running Yokohama AD08s? I'm trying to make it out from the picture.[/quote]

rare · 5 Dec 2016 at 17:04

Gaygle said:
Please stop posting pictures of that car. It literally looks perfect - very jealous!

Are you running Yokohama AD08s? I'm trying to make it out from the picture.

Haha, thanks man! And sorry

It is a superb car, absolutely love it.

Yes they are AD08R's, really impressive tyre. I was a little worried how they might be this time of the year but they are actually no problem at all. You just have to take in to account that they aren't made for the cold or lots of standing water. I drive circa 50 miles a day and haven't found them to be a problem at any point.

Gaygle · 6 Dec 2016 at 13:42

rare said:
Haha, thanks man! And sorry It is a superb car, absolutely love it.

Yes they are AD08R's, really impressive tyre. I was a little worried how they might be this time of the year but they are actually no problem at all. You just have to take in to account that they aren't made for the cold or lots of standing water. I drive circa 50 miles a day and haven't found them to be a problem at any point.

Have you had yours on the track yet? I'm sure it'd be amazing.

I am seriously considering the AD08R's to go on a set of 16" MG Hairpin rims and just keep them for trackdays. The hairpins come in at 6.5kg which is a massive reduction in unsprung and rotating mass over the 11.5kg standard Mini S spoke alloys!

mjt · 6 Dec 2016 at 18:53

rare said:
[...]
Overall I loved both the Abarths I owned they are huge fun, make a great noise and were relatively cheap to run. Drawbacks were poor steering a harsh ride and an average seating position. But I am totally taken with the GP. It's awesome.

Thanks for the write up; that's pretty much what I would've thought. Had no idea the Abarths only had 5 gears though :eek:

I've had a sit in them and did think the seating position was rather high as well.

I've toyed with the idea of either an Abarth or JCW (GP) for years but the R53 GP is getting rather old these days and the prices aren't falling so I suspect that dream is over...

rare · 6 Dec 2016 at 22:15

Gaygle said:
Have you had yours on the track yet? I'm sure it'd be amazing.

I am seriously considering the AD08R's to go on a set of 16" MG Hairpin rims and just keep them for trackdays. The hairpins come in at 6.5kg which is a massive reduction in unsprung and rotating mass over the 11.5kg standard Mini S spoke alloys!

Not yet! Hope to in 2017, as you say, it should be well suited to it

I really reccomend the tyres. Hairpins are a good shout I had a set on my previous R53 a great alternate wheel to stock and I really like the design! One of the best Hingis you can do on these cars is go for a lighter wheel. The difference in steering will shock you!

rare · 6 Dec 2016 at 22:18

mjt said:
Thanks for the write up; that's pretty much what I would've thought. Had no idea the Abarths only had 5 gears though

I've had a sit in them and did think the seating position was rather high as well.

I've toyed with the idea of either an Abarth or JCW (GP) for years but the R53 GP is getting rather old these days and the prices aren't falling so I suspect that dream is over...

Yeah unfortunately they've had five gears ever since they came out. Given that they have had quite a few updates now I was disappointed to see the series 4 cars never got a 6 speed box. It would have made a decent upgrade. They are a great fun car, just a little tiring of you aren't in the mood.

As you say the GP is getting on a bit now, but I do use this as a daily with 0 problems. It's extremely comfortable for what it is! I purchased it because I had always wanted one as well, and figured if I didn't do it now I would miss the boat. The GP2 can be had for about 15k and that is obviously quite a bit newer now.

Sparky · 7 Dec 2016 at 06:48

Was considering getting a GP2 next after one of my workmates got one. Nice looking car and go well in standard form. At now around 260bhp , this is quicker anyway and decided to just forge this one when the time comes and go with a GTX turbo.

BuffetSlayer · 7 Dec 2016 at 21:28

Hi folks. Took delivery of a Cooper S over the weekend. Cracking car. Bought it for the wife but I can see myself borrowing it quite a bit

I have a question, though. The car is a brand new 66 plate and we have the chili pack on it so have LED headlights and fogs. We have noticed that whenever the headlights are on the fog lights are also 'semi' on - like they are acting as DRL's but obviously this isnt really wanted at night. We can still turn the fog lights on fully and the fogs get fully bright. But even with the fogs are set to off on tje controls they are still illuminated and for all intents and purposes it looks like the front fogs are on.

I have read the manual and there does not seem to be an explanation of this. Just wondered if anyone else has this type of setup and if it is possible to turn off the fogs completely?

Obligitory my new mini photo!

Sparky · 8 Dec 2016 at 07:19

They are side lights.

thewanted · 13 Dec 2016 at 08:17

We're test driving the 5 door Cooper S on Saturday and I am really quite excited about it. It's the only 5 door hot hatchback 'supermini' I can find that has 5 doors and a decently sized boot, whilst still being good to drive and not having a really poop interior.

Has anyone test driven both the F56 Cooper and Cooper S? Does the S have a stiffer suspension setup? I have not been able to find a single Cooper S on the Approved Used site with adaptive dampers which is a real shame since they're a cheap optional extra.

Ryan-3 · 13 Dec 2016 at 08:19

They're an option that's not considered worth it. The non-adaptive set up seems to be the best of all worlds.

thewanted · 13 Dec 2016 at 08:19

Ryan-3 said:
They're an option that's not considered worth it. The non-adaptive set up seems to be the best of all worlds.

That contradicts pretty much every review I've read

Gaygle · 13 Dec 2016 at 11:22

Small update - I bought some 16" Hairpins from a large dismantler on eBay and they arrived packaged very well the next day. I have weighed them myself and they in fact weigh a snip over 8kg. Whilst this is not the 6.5kg the internet had had me believe, it is still a massive saving in unsprung rotating mass over the original S spoke alloys which are a hefty 11.5kg!

I have also just managed to find some brand new AD08R's in 205/50/16 which should hopefully be getting delivered by the end of the week. Very excited about the next trackday with lighter alloys and track orientated tyres! Just need to get the rear brakes changed though, and possibly sort out the inconsistent pedal feel, as there is possibly still a bit of air in the system.

I managed to clean the alloys up with a combination of hot soapy water, Dragon's Breath wheel cleaner (amazing stuff) and Tardis tar remover by Autosmart. And here are the results!

And yes, new centre caps are already on their way.

rare · 13 Dec 2016 at 14:20

Great stuff mate! They look really tidy, I've always liked hairpins. Be interested to know what you think of the tyres as well. I've been impressed with mine so far!

NoNameNoNumber · 13 Dec 2016 at 20:05

Yeah I support that decision! I do fancy some 16s tbh, but Id have to lower it then and I'm kinda undecided about doing that... The standard S Spoke alloys do suit the mini though I gotta admit.

Gaygle · 13 Dec 2016 at 20:42

rare said:
Great stuff mate! They look really tidy, I've always liked hairpins. Be interested to know what you think of the tyres as well. I've been impressed with mine so far!

Cheers

they are in excellent condition. Theyve got some minor corrosion on a couple of them but nothing unexpected on 10+ year old alloys that cost £110 including next day delivery!

NoNameNoNumber said:
Yeah I support that decision! I do fancy some 16s tbh, but Id have to lower it then and I'm kinda undecided about doing that... The standard S Spoke alloys do suit the mini though I gotta admit.

Yeh I'm going to run the 17" S spokes day to day as they do look great, and I'm going to keep the lighter 16" wheels and AD08R tyres for track only.

The Hairpins actually look like they could have been a standard fit to the Mini - they look so OEM.

thewanted · 14 Dec 2016 at 12:23

£912/year for a comprehensive extended warranty with breakdown cover and £100 excess. I can't be the only one who thinks that's really expensive for a Cooper S?

My A4 that cost double to buy and has a lot more to go wrong is not far off that!

Dangerous Dave · 14 Dec 2016 at 12:38

thewanted said:
£912/year for a comprehensive extended warranty with breakdown cover and £100 excess. I can't be the only one who thinks that's really expensive for a Cooper S?

My A4 that cost double to buy and has a lot more to go wrong is not far off that!

They must have put the price up recently my wife's JCW Countryman was £560 with £100 excess and breakdown cover. When comparing cars they add approx £150 for Cooper S and JCW models. At the time it was the same price for a Mini hatch and Countryman

thewanted · 14 Dec 2016 at 12:45

Dangerous Dave said:
They must have put the price up recently my wife's JCW Countryman was £560 with £100 excess and breakdown cover. When comparing cars they add approx £150 for Cooper S and JCW models. At the time it was the same price for a Mini hatch and Countryman

That sounds like the price I'd expect. Did you renew the warranty without any break between the manufacturer's warranty expiring and the extended warranty starting?

I pulled a random 63 plate reg from a Cooper S on Autotrader and plugged it into https://www.miniwarranty.co.uk but I didn't look at the registration date of the vehicle so the warranty may well have lapsed.

Dangerous Dave · 14 Dec 2016 at 12:50

thewanted said:
That sounds like the price I'd expect. Did you renew the warranty without any break between the manufacturer's warranty expiring and the extended warranty starting?

I pulled a random 63 plate reg from a Cooper S on Autotrader and plugged it into https://www.miniwarranty.co.uk but I didn't look at the registration date of the vehicle so the warranty may well have lapsed.

That was a continuation of the warranty I think you get a 5% discount. The price goes up significantly once the mileage goes past 60k what was the mileage of the one you used for a price ?