The dealer doesnt know what it is???
I would be very afraid to take my car for service there.....

 

No, it's a BMW dealership that also sells Minis, but not many; I know every mini on the rock. There are only a handful left after Hurricane Ivan. Mine was the first '05 on the island, bought it without a test drive so never knew about the "pop". All they had was an '03 Mini One available to test drive. This is Cayman, can't expect too much.

 

Lol, you really should have checked the BMW forums first and searched on squeaks and rattles, they sure can have a lot of them. Any cars designed for good handling with a firm sports suspension will be more prone to making noises, I don't think its reasonable to compare it to an SUV. On the other hand it also doesnt make sense to compare the Mini to an Italian sports car, its just not in context. The Mini has its own history and its own class of sportiness, which is what they seem to have tried to re-create in the 05 exhaust note.

I went to a Mini dealer for a test drive and that retro exhaust 'pop pop pop' put smile on my face. It amazes me that they could give the car such a distinct retro sound to match its character - I couldn't care less about what the ignorant Camry driving masses think

(and that goes the same for the people who don't like the rasp & growl of my S54 M Coupe too )

 

[QUOTE=sco]

I bought it to replace my 2001 Nissan Xterra with 60K miles, which had no stray rattles or squeaks after 4 years, and I thought the Germans were supposed to build a better car
[QUOTE]

No! No builds a better car than the Japanese when better is defined by finish and reliablity.

Germans are known for ingenuity and creative engineering, not impecable quality

If thats why you got rid of your nissan you will probably be dissapointed, but you will never have as much fun in the process as this car.

 

...the Ferrari 360 Modena is a 3.6 liter V8, by the way. The Enzo is the only other current Ferrari with 12 behind the seats.

My 05 JCW kit sounds even more dramatic! I absolutely love the sound; it is now deeper and the pop-pop-pop is crisper and raspier. Sounds like a Mini with a little attitude.

What you should do is drive a semi race-prepped car as a commuter for a couple hundred thousand miles like I did. The Mini, even with all the sqeaks and rattles, is still a charmer. I cannot get excited about any SUV, Porsche included. If I were given one - a Porsche SUV - I would sell it and buy three disctinctly different Mini Coopers, one JCW, one topless, one for the track.

 

My 'o5 MCS with 2000 miles does the "pop" too. Every '05 MCS seems to do it, so it does not bother me. One thing that Mini does seem good at is fixing problems, so if there is a problem here, they will fix it. I am pretty sure, however, that some of the horsepower increase in the 'o5's comes from the exhaust, so if they put an '04 exhaust on it, do not be surprised if you lose a few horsepower. There is no computerr program for an 05 engine with an 04 exhaust.

 

Purple Haze with red cloth...not for me, but I definately love the brush or die thing.

 

I have probably the only Purple car with red cloth/leather in the world, but it looks great! Red and purple actually go together pretty well - panasport make a minilite type wheel in red - I might go for it!

 

What flavor koolaid are you drinking, Tooth Man?

 

Sco... you kidding, right?!
This is why i love getting in this damn car every time.
I love when i go past people and they admire the wonderful burbling...

One person on this thread is right. Change the exhaust and you will chnage (kill) the performance of the car. One of the things Mini did was to make the car have more torque and hp was"revise the exhaust". Dollars to donuts there will never
be a software upadate for the simply beautiful backfiring. You got used to spinach, i am afraid you will have to get used to this. '04's pop too btw. Also, the hangers are different on the '05's than the '04's. Believe me, i was going to put a JCW on my '05 MCS -- it was not going to be an easy fit at all. Then i went to motoring file.com and read about the revamping and i came to my senses.

 

I've spent a great deal of my life working with the colour wheel. Red and purple indeed go together, especially if the red is a degree or two in the direction of orange and purple is in the direction of indigo - the seventh and most often missed colour. Not sure I would have the courage to try that with a car, but I've no problems elsewhere. Aside from their relative cool and hot feel, the two are extreme opposites with respect to moving forward and receeding, but not opposites like red and green for example. Red and green are complimentary as defined by our physiological after image and essentially tone one another down. Whereas, red and purple fire each other up. Cool stuff!

 

sorry for the thread hijack, but you might be exactly the person I need to ask this question of meb.

Almost all the cars I've ever had have been monochromatic. My current Saab is the absolute worst. It's like Henry Ford was the interior color analyst on this car -- any color you want as long as it's black. Ick

So, my question is this, based on what you were just saying about complimentary colors, can you have the liquid yellow interior with the red seats?
Hunter

 

Yes. Yes, you can.

 

I have happily motored over 5k miles on my 05 MCS and guess what? The popping just gets louder!!!

 

Lucky you...!
allan

 

Colour theory is very complicated, and for many reasons; There isn't a language that completly describes our reactions and experiences with regard to colour. And "colour is, the colour company keeps". You will react to a given colour of red one way, but your reaction to the same red + blue composition, for example, will be completely different. An additional complication is culture; Eskimos have 20 or so different descriptions for the colour white. Why? Well we know why. And what is the exact hue and saturation of the colours in question? A saturated golden yellow with a saturated pure red in a painting is motionless, sedintary. One of these colours should be semi-opaque - a little more clear - allowing the other to mingle in it. One of the two MUST to be dominant. It will not take a lot of red to fire up this composition.

So, a Yellow car with black and red seats??? Mini's yellow is not exactly a strong yellow. So, touches of red, a strong red are fine. You should also realize, what is considered appropriate for a painting may not be for a car, nor for architecture or clothing. It is a judgement call. You will not require a lot of red to over do it, so be carefull...I'm worried about the mass of red in the seats fighting with the yellow. Perhaps some light red accents thru out the car??? Final thought; beauty is NOT in the eyes of the beholder, as some say. This assumes the beholder possesses a firm grasp for the dynamics of colour, space and form - design. The colour wheel is defined by human physiology. It is tethered to sound/music, and math - the golden mean for example. It was not derived thru happenstance.

Form and content also play a significant role where colour is concerned - hinted above. A bright red and yellow house may feel a bit odd, whereas the same colour scheme applied to your Mini might be more acceptable.

Cars can be very outwardley expressive, so have fun. Personally, Mini's Pepper white with black and red interior sounds great. That white is complicated, hwereas the red and black are simple. A set of dark silver or polished anthracite wheels...

Have fun! This is the right car for it. Mine is pure silver with red and black interior. I worry about being seen while traveling at ludicrous speed.

 

Hi,

New to the forums. I have an '05 MCS and was wondering if anyone has one balled an '05 MCS exhaust system yet. It seems to be a better/cheaper option than going with a aftermarket system for now. Any ideas/thoughts?
K

 

I do not understand your question; "wondering if anyone has balled an 05 MCS exhaust system yet" What's balled an 05 mean?

 

One balling means that you bypass one of the mufflers in the MCS's exhuast system. Otherwise making your MCS go from two "*****" to ONE.

 

Hi Meb,

It's 1 balled exhaust, removing the right side muffler/resonator on an MCS. Some folks have done this work to earlier models.

 

Okay, very interesting indeed. glad to read this has a real application things automotive...was wondering for a while...never mind.

So, what's the point to one balling? Saving alittle weight yes. My first thought is this might actually strangle the exhaust...but then...

 

Hi,

It'll save a little over 20lbs, I would think the exhaust flow a little freer, although you do need some back pressure. I folks that have had it done have not complained yet.

 

I pick up my 05 MINI Cooper convertible with the JCW (12/14 from stamford,ct) and love, love the popping sound.

I agree with others, you should have read up on the car before getting it. Also, I have talked to the shop and it's normal.

Maybe the car is just too much power for you Alex?

I wish you all the best but I love mine...I will have pictures soon. Just hit 900 miles!!