Hello folks,

My name is Lucas and I just bought my first Mini yesterday. It is a beautiful chili red 06 MCS JCW. I traded my 2004 BMW M3 vert for this little red thing and God does it feel different. The transition from a high revving high horsepower RWD sports car to a light weight snappy little FWD hot hatch has been quite interesting so far. I like the fact that I can tackle corners at higher speeds but miss the 333 hp I got from that sweet straight six.

Anyway, I named my car "Amy". I name all my cars and I'm happy to hear that MINI owners usually do the same.

Here's some pics








My previous car

 

Nice cars, get some modss on the jcw and you'll miss the m3 hp a little less.

 

What mods would you recommend?

 

Typical mods, however you have a JCW so I'd go, 17% pulley, and maybe a cam, header, and tune.

 

Sounds good, thank you

 

If you're looking to bump your MINI's performance, definitely speak with Jan @ RMW. (You can also find him on Facebook). He's in SoCal & has tons of experience tuning MINIs and developing quality performance parts. I'm running his header, cam, and he's tuned my car, turning it into a different kinda beast and a great spirited daily driver.

 

Very nice, looks like someone moved the badges down a bit on the trunk (boot ).

Like the tartan red interior, very rare.

Congrats and welcome.

 

What your MINI gives up in straight-line speed it makes up for in body rigidity and handling!

 

Welcome to NAM, Lucas! Annie looks to be in great condition. How many miles are on her?

 

Thank you all for the warm welcome and tuning advices. It'll definitely be something to look forward to once the mod bug bites me lol As for now I'm gonna enjoy the car in its stock form and try to learn as much as possible about it. Really glad to know I have a rare interior cuz I really love everything about it ❤️

Oh and it has 77k miles. Not too bad eh?

 

be sure to get a rear sway bar as well!

 

Annie looks great, pristine inside and out. Low miles for an '06, too when you take into consideration that 12,500 to 15,000 miles per year the norm. That JCW you have should feel pretty spunky in that size. Make sure you check the engine's intake filter.

I'm gonna go way out on a limb and guess that you like red. The gorgeous M3 and the new Mini both red. Once you figure out Annie's limits, you'll find a hugely entertaining driver.

I can usually tell what make a car is from just looking at a small body section, tail light or silhouette, but the coupe next to your Mini has me stumped. Help?

 

Lucas....very clean JCW, and E46 M3! I went through the exact same thing about 5 months ago. Went from a fairly modded 06 M3 to my JCW, which was 100% stock when I picked it up. Concentrate on the right mods, and believe me, you won't miss the M for very long

 

Not bad at all!

 

Nice! It looks like the owner took really good care of it.

You do know about Lucas and British cars, right? Hopefully you won't have any problems since the MINI is only semi-British.

 

Thank you brotha. I do really like red but I'd still take blue over it, it's just that at the time that I was looking for an M3 I was too excited and didn't care about the color. As for the Mini, I think it looks a lot better in red than the M3 did. And the car that you see is a broken Toyota MR2 SW20

Every time I drive this little fun thing I love it a little bit more. I can use much more of its power than the ///M. You got pics of your mini and M3?

Thank you :D

Thanks. Yes the car is very clean except for one little spot on the edge of the driver's door where the clear coat has started to peel

And no I don't know about Lucas and British cars... Am I in trouble? lol

 

Wow. I completely didn't pic up on that MR2. Thanks for the info!

Red on a Mini is about as good as you can get for red. Very nice. On the British cars... they could be cranky. I think their worst features back in the day were electronics. Like all cars, they had their quirks and maybe more than most. If you owned one of their cars in the '50s and '60s (and beyond), you would be wise to have a little mechanical and electronic knowledge. If not, you developed it pretty fast. I think the idea of bonding with something was first popularized by British sports cars. A very "hands on" group of cars for their owners.

 

The quote above refers to Lucas electronics and all of the problems usually associated with old school British cars. You can almost find as many Lucas electronic/British car jokes on the internet as dumb blonde jokes... not that there's anything wrong with either...

 

Ah yes gotcha. I know exactly what you mean about the reliability on euro cars since I've owned 3 Bimmers (see signature) so far and God did I have to keep up on maintenance with those. Luckily for me tho I'm an auto tech and do all the work myself. This MINI should be a piece of cake compred to my previous E46 M3. No more $100 oil changes, no more $200 tires, no more valve adjustments and so on. Quite relieved really. But I know damn well that I'll buy another ///M one day.

 

If you're gonna buy a Gen 1 MINI an '06 is the best year to get, and with the JCW package you've got a charmer! I'd put black bonnet stripes on that Chili Red with Black roof....would really pop!

Just drive it & get used to it.....wait to do mods for awhile....just my opinion. I'm a 27 year BMW CCA Member who also owns Bimmers (including ///M cars) and I'm a first time MINI owner with my '15 JCW, and I'm loving it! You are gonna have a blast!

Enjoy,

John

 

Thx man, I want stripes so bad haha And yeah, I wanna get used to it before doing any kind of modding.

 

Excellent skill set. Wish I had it! I can only do basic maintenance comfortably, like oil, brakes and simple stuff like that on my own.

 

Question is black stripes or white stripes ? Viper ( sport stripes ) or traditional ?

 

How about a big fat one at the center? Or maybe viper stripes... Or just leave without it hmmmm decisions

 

Tough decision, every time.