If you're afraid to mod it, don't. You'll enjoy it just as much! But for heaven's sake - get out and DRIVE! Getting it dirty means you'll experience the joy of washing and detailing. Over time, I suspect you'll just have to add some bits though - it's hard to resist!:smile:

 

No snow? What fun is that?

 

Yah...what the hell. You guys are right.... I'm going out right now for a nice spin with my modded Mini Afterall, it's "just" a car and I'm missing all the adventure out there

 

Geez, don't drive in snow or rain and never get to experience DSC at work. Your missing out!

 

I can relate, Chili.
Time for the two step method of problem solving!
Step 1. Identify the problem.
Step 2. Get over it.

I swore I'd never mod my car (91 miata). Then I put on a Borla. Then sways. Shocks. Supercharger. Seat heaters. Lighted mirror.

Just 'break the seal', do a light mod or two, then keep adding over time. It's like buying gifts for your SO, but you get to enjoy them too!

I can really relate on the bad weather driving (says a guy in California ) for years I've had a 'bad weather car', so the convertible could stay pristine. Time for the two step method!

 

Great picture MISFITOY. That's exactly the way my CRV looked this morning. It sits outside while my Mini looks great in the garage. You gotta love AWD on a day like today.

 

What is the first mod you would recommend me getting? Second how do you pull the stunt you did in the video zknezo?

 

unless you have a deep pocket and race legally. Otherwise it's all show and no go...unless of course you can afford the speeding tickets. My mini will stay as is. Like myself it'll have no outward tatoos/piercings(racing stripes, etc). It will get no steroidal treatments(underhood/underbody mods). I love her just the way she is. I take her out in the winter here in Maine(probably just as bad as your area) and she has salt/sand deposits on her. She'll get a cleaning soon as I get the chance. Since she has a 12 year rust through warranty I'm not overly concerned. She seems to like the cold and I'm sure she'll appreciate the warmth that much more.

 

A "19% pulley" refers to upgrading the stock supercharger pulley. The stock pulley is rather large and can be removed and replaced by a smaller (by 19%) pulley which results in more power and torque from the supercharger. 15% and 17% pulleys are similar but offer less benefit respectively.

Your dealer really doesn't care about your mods as long as your MINI is not having any problems. It's common to do the following mods and not be causing any raised eyebrows at your dealership:
Intake upgrades
Cat back exhaust upgrades
Wheel upgrades
Rear swaybar upgrade
Short shift kit
Shift **** upgrade
Spark plug wire upgrade
Interior storage upgrades- parcel shelf, center console or glovebox organizers

If you have a new MINI then you can just leave it stock and drive it.
If it gets dirty then wash it. No car will stay perfect forever. Your MINI is meant to be driven. That is it's "destiny".

 

I love my mini! I love to be in my mini. so what it is 1 year old, and I have gone through...
Two sets of tires, dunlop DSST SP9000 and the stock Eagle RSA's all the way to the wear bars. One set of brake pads on the front. $500 in car washes. $200 in armor all, cleaners and mag cleaner. $750 in repairs to the front end due to a stupid pothole on one of these german backroads, which only gave me reason to do my first mods... 40mm lower and a tower stiffener. Also 20 laps of the Nurburgring in Germany doesn't help much either but you cannot beat the look on the other guys face when he cannnnnnnnnnnot catch you in his $65000 Bimmer.

Do you want to be locked in a parking garage? I don't think your mini does either! Drive it. If it could talk the only thing mine would say is DRIVE ME! It is an expensive family member...

 

I guess I never thought about it that way, Kinyasan. What do you think a 19% pulley with a JCW Kit would do performance wise. I'm kinda getting into this mod thing, the only thing I don't want to do is screw up the engine in my brand new car!! Anyone have some other mod suggestions?

 

ChilliCooperS: Think about starting simple like with GBMINI's mini cicruit. It modifies the windows so that one click and they go all the way up. You can also get it to turn off DSC on startup, add in auto Fog lights (come on when you turn on the lights) and can also operate your garage door opener.

Or if playing around with electronics is too much, get a windo decal somthing sassy to match the MINI's personality "Actua Size" "100% Lucas Free"

19% pully means larger injectors. You can duplicate the JCW with aftermarket parts for far less.

 

Well, I live in Winnipeg, Canada. My MCS is on its second (freaking cold) winter. I had to repaint the bonnet after the first winter from a combo of road rash and a couple nasty dents from my son's bike falling on it.

That being said, I wouldn't have it any other way. This car is made to DRIVE. I know of one guy who said "I would never let my baby out in that weather." but I think that is just plain wrong. If you want to just look at it, take a picture. Otherwise do you and it a big favor and DRIVE. Plus it's a blast e-braking around corners and doing reverse donuts in icy parking lots My kids love it.

All the great memories you could have. Wearing it in and letting it get a little dirty. That's a great excuse to spend the afternoon detailing it one spring day. And like all great things, a little rough around the edges adds character. Showroom condition is for one thing - Showrooms.

Live your life with your MINI.

 

Let's see:

$30,000 dollars for my Mini (more than half my yearly income, and almost twice my previous high for a vehicle).
8 inches of snow.
Our Honda CRV is like a mountain goat in the snow.
I've been driving in snow since I started driving 40 years ago. It ceased to be exhilerating a while ago.
Sorry, but Dingo is staying in the garage until the roads are dry. But hey, what you do with yours is also cool.

 

I saw a show on The History Channel where they were suping up a pair of classic Mini's to race them. Those babies were so rusted and corroded from the English weather (constant rain and fog) underneath, they had to grind off the rust to remove the old parts!

If you drive a lot on salted roads, it's a good idea to wash underneath the car with a hose very often, to keep the crummy stuff from gathering under your car.

 

I am such an Angeleno! I've only seen snow falling through the air maybe 5 times in my life!

I wash the smog and road grime off Wanda quite often!


Clover

 

chilicoopers-Im leasing a cheep Civic and use that during snow and rain and when I
need to go to the stores. I think it's the best way to have some piece
of mind.

I like driving the MCS a lot, but also like admiring it too....so want to keep
her as clean as possible. That's how I enjoy my MCS.

 

I wintered a Prelude over 4 months and it wasn't happy. If you "garage" any car for extended periods you must drive them every couple weeks. Mechanical things that move will change properties if not operated.

 

ChiliCooper,


I can identify with you somewhat. I bought a new Camaro in 1995. It was a B4C model. To make a very long story short, it is basically a police interceptor/chase car that GM made in very very limited quantities (mine is 1 of 310). I ordered the full load of options (except for the automatic trans) to help ensure future collectability. Most chase cars are bought with no options except for the automatic trans then cops beat them to pieces and abuse them. To date, I've driven mine 10,500 miles and only in perfect weather. The car is as pristine as the day I bought it. It still even smells new inside.
It is a mighty fun car to drive, but owning it is like owning a mighty expensive gold coin or baseball card. There's really nothing you can do with it but look at it. Buying a new car right out of college and not driving it (very much) was a hard thing to do. It does attract some attention from musclecar lovers and Chevy collectors. In another 10-15 years it hopefully will be a valuable collector car when the chase car Camaros are nothing but a brief footnote in the history of the marque. Mine is probably the best equipped one ever produced except for the ones GM used in their press fleet for magazines to review and test.

The MINI's are fantastic little cars. No doubt about it. They aren't really rare enough to warrant locking one into a sealed room with the plastic still on the seats for 30 years. I bought a new car to collect as my first new car and drove garbage for almost 4 years. Then I bought a nice used 94 Impala SS to be my daily driver (not a common car either), and I love it. Now it's got over 150K miles on it and I have enjoyed it immensely. Soon, the Big Impala will be semi-retired and I'll detail it, rebuild the engine, and fix all the niggling little problems that have cropped up over the years and use it for long trips and hauling large groups of people. I won't even attempt to give it a 100 point concours restoration and make a trailer queen out of it.

I ordered a new MCS yesterday (I posted another thread about it) and I'm anxious for it to get delivered. I have no plans to abuse or mistreat it, but I do plan to drive it and enjoy it as much as I can.

If you want a collector car, buy one that's already collectable and make sure that you already have a noce car to actually use. Get a '57 Chevy Bel-Air convertible with fuel injection or a '67 Z-28 or a '70 Chevelle 454 (450 HP version) and put velet ropes around that. Any late model or new car bought for this purpose is a big gamble. Take it from somebody that's already 10 years into the journey you're considering...drive your Cooper and enjoy it. Remember there's no sin in having a "beater car" for truly adverse conditions, but don't drive junk full time to preserve your MINI.

My .02 worth,

Rawhyde

 

I have always had a beater car, no matter what type of performance car I have owned. Years ago while driving my Porsche in the snow and getting knocked off the road by a car that was literally sideways, I said that was it. This was someone that lost complete control of their car. Today, with all the SUV's out there claiming King of the Road in the winter, especially snow, there is no way I want to drive my Mini. I have had a number of beater cars over the years that have lasted a few hundred thousand miles with care.

 

I suppose there are people who find it enjoyable to plow through the slush with their Minis while dodging 10 ton SUVs playing drift king. I'm just glad I have a "beater" (albeit, a very nice 05 beater ) to get me around in this weather. This new "beater" will be traded in next year. My Mini, God willing, will stay in this family forever :smile:

 

Hmmm... if I could have two cars I might change my tune. My wife's Jeep Liberty is hoot to drive in the snow - that crazy traction!

Maybe I need to use the MCS for winter buy a second JCW MCS for summer

The worst part about driving in the winter is remembering how it was driving in summer and being forced to break my speed and fast-cornering addiction.

 

Quote:
[ Maybe I need to use the MCS for winter buy a second JCW MCS for summer

The worst part about driving in the winter is remembering how it was driving in summer and being forced to break my speed and fast-cornering addiction.]

ministrone - Hope this works - not familiar with the quote thing!

Good idea though, maybe I need a beater Mini for winter.
As far as remembering goes, I guess I got used to it over many winters with my motorcycle in storage. My Mini is also my bike now!

 

All cars depreciate! And I would guess that heaven is full of MINI's and that hell is full of (insert least favorite car here) (probably Hummers). So, you and your car are only alive one time. Don't waste it, embrace it. Besides, in the grand scheme of things you're only talking about 20-24K, you could probably blow that on junk in the four-six years you'll enjoy the MINI.

 

"You can't take it with you when you die"

HA! I will be buried in mine