hi! i'm picking up my 1st ever mini, a brand new '13 jcw hardtop, this weekend from a dealer in chicago. i'll drive the 6 hrs back to columbus, oh, as a way to break it in and have some fun. got it for a super deal that i couldn't resist due to year end clearance. i don't much car for the new '14 design especially the front bumper...prefer the r56 look much more i guess.

it's pepper white with red roof and mirrors. pretty much most options came with the car along with dealer installed dual gauges and rear carbon fiber spoiler. the wheels are silver. i've ordered the dual black stripes with red borders for the bonnet and will have the shop that will do the full car clear bra install it before they do the clear bra. here are couple pix of the car sent by the dealer.

i've always wanted a mini ever since it came out. now i need one as my daily driver that must also be ear to ear fun and smiles, since i don't want to put too many miles on my 8 month old lamborghini lp550-2 50th anniversary edition.

 

Welcome to NAM, and well done w/your JCW! The color combo is great, and the stripes w/red accents will look fantastic.

I'm envious of your stable, but the MINI should be a great addition. I think you'll still appreciate each car for what it is, even switching from a mad HP beast like the Lambo to a spritely go-kart like the MINI. Very different, but both are great fun and wholly capable of inducing permagrin.

Congrats, and drive 'er in good health!

 

thanks for the warm welcome. yep, the mini has always had a special place in me...just never got around to owning one but only 2 more days.

in case you're curious, here's the lambo lp550-2...that's rwd, the only way to drive a lambo ;-) the color is called grigio telesto pearl grey, but i like to call it battle ship grey. the entire car is covered with xpel ultimate clear bra.

 

Thanks for sharing some pics of your raging bull - that's a beautiful color. Are you gonna trade this for the Huracan?

I had the opportunity to drive a 2006 Gallardo very briefly in January, tho it was an AWD. That was one helluva car

BTW, great decision to pick up your MINI in Chitown & drive back to Columbus. A road trip like that is a great maiden voyage & chance to get to know it well. Enjoy the drive!

 

i'm keeping the lp550-2 since is a very special, personal car. come 2016 when the new superleggera bows i will decide if i'll keep the order or get the aventador at that time. either case, the lp550-2 will stay...love it big time.

yes, the pre LP years were very different. by 2013 the gallardos are so refined with many changes throughout and is rock solid and blast to drive.

 

Nice,

Looks like on the 13' JCW R56 they put on the JCW CF Wing. I would maybe do the black challenge wheel in the future , kind of looks cool on the Pepper White you will have.


R112 MINI Challenge Cross Spoke Wheel 17" (4x100) Black
http://www.ecstuning.com/Search/SiteSearch/36116795208/




The JCW GP 2 looks the closest to the lp550-2 paint color grigio telesto pearl grey . Looks like you have color matched wheels also. Nice touch.



Looks great.

 

i placed an order with ecs yesterday for the black mini logo'ed front-rear-boot matts along with a pair of the black with red border bonnet stripes. waiting for it to be shipped...hurry ;-)

actually the jcw cf wing was dealer installed along with the 2 additional gauges on dash. looks kinda cool but wasn't a choice for me, came with it.

i like the black mesh wheels you posted and am split between those and the nm eng rse07 wheels in gun metal. i'm going to drive on the stock wheels and tires until winter this year when i'll put snow tires on the stock wheels...then get 2nd set of cool wheels for using with summer tires come spring following year.

actually the lambo's wheels are gun metal but look perfect with the grigio telesto paint and silver calipers spec'ed on the car.

 

btw, anyone using 18" wheels on a jcw? how badly does the ride suffer? also, are you running runflats on them?

 

18" with runflats will be pretty harsh. Beautiful cars, can I ask what is your day job?

 

ok i figured they'd be pretty stiff. trying to get a feel for how they'd compare with my stock lambo setup of 235/35 ZR 19 front and 295/30 ZR 19 rear (non-runflats) that are not what i'd call daily driving sidewalls when combined with stock suspensions.

so far i'm leaning toward staying with 17" but black or gun metal to keep the weight down while stiff somewhat comfy. 18" do look great on the mini though.

(mergers and acquisitions)

i love this wheel. what do you think?

 

Welcome to NAM, minimofo and congrats on that fantastic looking MINI Hardtop. I hope the awful Chicago weather didn't hamper you trip. Thanks for the pics right up front. Just remember to keep that luscious red top well waxed. Happy motoring and please don't forget to promote the MINI wave.

 

thanks. forecast looks good for this weekend. i'm not picking it up until saturday so hopefully all will go well.

 

There's a saying we have here in Chicago, if you don't like the weather, stick around, it will change. Best of luck on your pick up.

 

LOL good one. actually, i plan to stay overnight and see the bulls vs. heat game on sunday then drive back.

 

Awesome.


Yea the CF wing was an option as well as the JCW sport gauges. The 17" are that same as the ones you have just in black. There is another black wheel that looks great on PW.

If you do go 18" in MINI there are three more that have a good look. There in the R113 JCW Rad Cross spoke pattern.

R113 JCW LM Rad Cross Spoke Wheel 18" Black Part #36116785304

http://www.ecstuning.com/Search/SiteSearch/36116785304/



&

R113 JCW LM Rad Cross Spoke Wheel 18" Black w/ machined face ( Personal favorite ) Part # 36116784136

http://www.ecstuning.com/Search/SiteSearch/36116784136/




&

R113 JCW LM Rad Cross Spoke Wheel 18" Black with red strips ( Which goes with the JCW red top and mirrors. Part # 36106850209

http://www.ecstuning.com/Search/SiteSearch/36106850209/




On the wheels when you go bigger , you will get a bit harsher ride. I felt it going the most from 16" to 17" on MINIs. On top of that what really changes the ride feel ( more harsh ) is the RF tires. Go to non RF and you will feel a big difference.

LP wheels look like a almost match to the paint. I know you can get allot of things PTO like on the Porsche side.


Good luck with whatever you choose. Nice Collection.

 

@minimofo
Dude nice ride
I know where you got that sweet deal from
We got both our MINI's there in the past 18 month
I actually sat in that one, kinda wanted to go back and add it to the garage
Wanted the manual, as I have the fJCW Clubman with auto
The wife and I have pictures of that car on our phones and show it to all our male friends thinking about getting a new ride
Guess we can delete it now......

Enjoy, count me envious

 

ecstuning - you have my attention with that gloss black and red trim, very interesting and yes my match well with red roof. i'll keep that in mind for sure.

bubbajcw - thanks...small world then. if any consolation, i'll post pix once a while with minor things i plan to do else pretty much not going to mess with what's already a great car. yes, i must have a manual in the mini. i would have gotten 1 of the only 200 ever made 50th anniversary ltd edition lambo lp560-2 which came in only gated 6spd had i been able to get an order slot in time. it's going to be a collector's item for sure...no more gated 6spd to be made again by lambo i'm afraid. i missed out on the slot ;-( my lp550-2 is rwd with single clutch e-gear that shifts like how i love to shift: metal on metal, hard and in "corsa" mode is violent and fast...just perfect ;-)

 

IMO, the R133 V-Spoke are the hottest JCW wheels to be released.

 

Just curious...who makes the OEM wheels for Mini?

 

BBS, Ronal, Borbet, ...etc Teir 1 suppliers.

There are actually made either in Germany, Italy .

 

This is crazy....I live in Columbus and bought my '13 JCW hardtop at Patrick in Chicago as well 3 weeks ago!

Since everyone is throwing out opinions. I think the alloy challenge spoke wheels on our cars look fantastic. I cannot understand this fascination with black wheels-just don't get it. How can wheels make a statement about a car when you can't even see them? I truly hope this fad goes away so that wheels can return to being an attractive design element of the car.

They most certainly don't belong on any car from Italy.

Anyway, I vote to keep the OEM wheels-old school I suppose

 

I was with you for the longest time about black wheels. Couldn't stand them. Then, I saw a BRGII MINI with a Black Roof and black glossy rims and I was hooked! IMO, it has to be the right car. Black rims do not look good on every car, nor in every color combination, but they certainly do on some.

Having said that, my next MINI will have silver wheels.....just want something different next time around.

 

ha, yea, I know I'm in the minority...I dig that BRGII color, BTW...

 

Welcome minimofo, great color. Some red always looks great on a JCW.


My MINI started out with silver wheels then switched to black. I still miss the silver at times, but also like the black. I am old school to and it was hard to make the switch.


I think the Pepper White looks good with either color wheels.

 

I just can't see any other color than black on my ride.....