Hello everyone! As of monday I'm the proud owner of a 2011 Mini Copper S, Laser Blue Metallic on Black roof, so far i've been treating it gently not passing 4500rpms, but i cant wait till is fully broken in, i do most highway miles so i try to fluctuate stepping on the gas and letting go so the rpms go up and down, its a fun car overall, i'm looking already to mod it, but not much since i dont want to void the warranty, first mods are going to be short antenna, intake, heat shield, black out front grill, oil catch can and temperature gauge, so many brands to choose from!
A little bit about myself im a college student going for engineering, my last car was a 1999 bmw 328i and before that a 2000 celica gts and a 1991 mr2 with a swapped jdm turbo engine. While looking at cars to buy i looked at a mazdaspeed3, mazda rx8 r3, nissan 350z, honda s2000, but the mini finally won in terms of power, fuel economy, cargo space, interior, etc..!
I look forward to share experience with everyone, look for inspiration on how to mod my car, opinion on parts and overall just enjoy the mini experience!
see you all around!


scroll down for pics!

 

We want to see pics!

 

Nice to meet 'cha!

 

congrats.. lets se yr baby

 

Congrats & Welcome! Holding out for some pics...

 

Welcome to the forum, pictures please.

 

Some pics!!

 

 

Some first impressions of the car:
This car is fun to drive, it has a lot of push and can be accelerated in any gear pretty much, not a lot of turbo lag!
The turbo sound! cant wait till i get an intake!
Its so good on gas, a full tank lasts me over a week!
As time passes by I start to love the car more and more!
Things that i don't like much about it
The warning sound...it gets annoying!
Some cheap looking parts inside the car...good thing they will be replace with carbon fiber parts!
The fact that when you sit the steering wheel low the tachometer cant be seen!
The ipod connector doesnt work :/

Things that have been changing since i bought it
the car has now 600 miles and some things have change
the engine is noisier when I start it then it quiets down a little
the clutch is harder to press now and the shifter is hard as well
Today when i started the car and let it idle the car kinda wanted to stall...

Mods already done:
Shorty antenna
Debadged
JCW side grills

Mods waiting to arrive:
Black grill
Smoked side markers
LED side markers and License plate lights
Carbon fiber ebrake and interior door handle

Mods soon to come:
Car seat covers
Turbo timer
catch can

 

Thats a beautiful laser blue MCS! How does it feel coming from a 328i? Your MCS would look good with a blackout kit, I am thinking of getting one for mine, that is once it gets here! (I ordered it this past weekend so it has to be built, and shipped to Hawaii...so I have a couple months to wait.)

 

Love it, love the stripes. Cant wait until mine gets here. Will be in NYC port on sat morning.

 

Looks great! didnt realize the engine cover was different.

As far as a turbo timer goes.... from what ive seen there is absolutely no need for one on this car.... there is an electric water pump that circulates coolant through the turbo for a few minutes after shutdown.
Im sure there are other reasons, but I forget.

 

Coilovers ASAP!!

 

Here is a pic of the engine with no cover

 

They are very different cars, my bmw had almost 200k miles when i sold it and i did a lot of suspension work in it(coilovers, swaybars camber plates, endlinks) so the ride was stiffer, but let me see, the mini has more power and that torque right away, you feel how light it is in comparison with the 328, way better gas mileage, no power seats(i dont have to wait for it to go all the way down) small car so you can fit anywhere, and of course better seats then the over ten year old sports seats that i had...
The things that i miss about the bmw are definitely the interior, it was very simple but very well done good materials, everything was right in your hands and easy to see, an actually usable armrest, cupholders and ipod connector, shifter feel(the mini is a little harder to shift) i had in it the sport package, sound package with the harman kardon speakers, but i wasnt impressed, coming from a car with alpine type r speakers it feel like going steps down in sound

 

That's what i heard too, but i saw other posts where they say the turbo oil heat could cook up some stuff, i still let it warm up before i go anywhere and cool down, i guess i have to research more about it, definitely i want to add an oil and water temperature gauge

 

yeah needs a drop bad! specially if i want to get aftermarket wheels i was looking at the rota grids...i wonder if someone sell them with some concavity for our cars