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my MINI
- Thread starter Ford Prefect
- Start date
Ford Prefect
Well-Known Member
so I?m bored again, time for a little update 
The 190000km mark is near, and the brave little Mini shows almost no signs of giving up on me anytime soon. The powersteering did decide to stop working at 200 km/h a few months ago, but the next day it just came back and hasn?t been causing any trouble ever since. I also blew a front tire at nearly the same speed during the winter because some idiot scattered parts of his exhaust system all over the autobahn, but that wasn?t the Mini?s fault. There?s also an issue with the central locking system, but that?s just annoying, and should be easily fixable once I figure out what the cheapest solution is.
I?ve recently decided that if I don?t run into any extreme financial problems down the road, I will never sell this car. It?s my first car, and if all goes well I intend to keep it. It?s taken all the abuse I?ve thrown at it during it?s considerable amount of track mileage, and whenever I?m on the autobahn I go as fast as traffic and speed limits permit, which means the engine is constantly doing 6000+ rpms for hours sometimes with only short breaks. Not once has it failed to take me where I wanted to go. Not once.
Things that need some attention soon apart from the central locking are: The bonnet, which has so many stone-chips it looks like the sky on a really clear night. The suspension, which still hasn?t been replaced because all my allegedly good contacts to KW have turned out not to be so good after all, and I?m simply not willing to settle for second-best this time, but also not willing to spend a small fortune on a suspension. Brake cooling is also an issue, because I went through 4 sets of brake pads last year. But all the parts I need have been ordered, just waiting for isa-racing to get their shit together.
Anyway, here?s a few more pics. Still no interior shots though, my mom recently bought a proper camera, but I haven?t got round to playing with it yet.
Ring:
http://img339.imageshack.**/img339/8995/1112009touristenfahrer0.jpg
http://img38.imageshack.**/img38/641/2577167.jpg
http://img42.imageshack.**/img42/8571/vs250720096.jpg
Spa:
http://img33.imageshack.**/img33/342/34092406581dbe3ef78fo.jpg
http://img697.imageshack.**/img697/5711/340843804378c92b1ccfo.jpg
http://img580.imageshack.**/img580/381/3408433401268371e130o.jpg
I was at Anneau as well since the last time I posted here, but I didn?t find any pictures. There?s also definitely some onboard footage from handheld cameras, but it has never been posted anywhere so I haven?t even seen it myself...
The 190000km mark is near, and the brave little Mini shows almost no signs of giving up on me anytime soon. The powersteering did decide to stop working at 200 km/h a few months ago, but the next day it just came back and hasn?t been causing any trouble ever since. I also blew a front tire at nearly the same speed during the winter because some idiot scattered parts of his exhaust system all over the autobahn, but that wasn?t the Mini?s fault. There?s also an issue with the central locking system, but that?s just annoying, and should be easily fixable once I figure out what the cheapest solution is.
I?ve recently decided that if I don?t run into any extreme financial problems down the road, I will never sell this car. It?s my first car, and if all goes well I intend to keep it. It?s taken all the abuse I?ve thrown at it during it?s considerable amount of track mileage, and whenever I?m on the autobahn I go as fast as traffic and speed limits permit, which means the engine is constantly doing 6000+ rpms for hours sometimes with only short breaks. Not once has it failed to take me where I wanted to go. Not once.
Things that need some attention soon apart from the central locking are: The bonnet, which has so many stone-chips it looks like the sky on a really clear night. The suspension, which still hasn?t been replaced because all my allegedly good contacts to KW have turned out not to be so good after all, and I?m simply not willing to settle for second-best this time, but also not willing to spend a small fortune on a suspension. Brake cooling is also an issue, because I went through 4 sets of brake pads last year. But all the parts I need have been ordered, just waiting for isa-racing to get their shit together.
Anyway, here?s a few more pics. Still no interior shots though, my mom recently bought a proper camera, but I haven?t got round to playing with it yet.
Ring:
http://img339.imageshack.**/img339/8995/1112009touristenfahrer0.jpg
http://img38.imageshack.**/img38/641/2577167.jpg
http://img42.imageshack.**/img42/8571/vs250720096.jpg
Spa:
http://img33.imageshack.**/img33/342/34092406581dbe3ef78fo.jpg
http://img697.imageshack.**/img697/5711/340843804378c92b1ccfo.jpg
http://img580.imageshack.**/img580/381/3408433401268371e130o.jpg
I was at Anneau as well since the last time I posted here, but I didn?t find any pictures. There?s also definitely some onboard footage from handheld cameras, but it has never been posted anywhere so I haven?t even seen it myself...
Pry
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Nice car! I really prefer this old new Mini over the new one. The styling is better and the interior is much more stylish. The new one is cheaper to make which actually shows.
I had a 2003 Cooper S once. It was an extremely fun car to drive maybe the funniest I've ever driven. The steering is so fast and pointy and there's not much give in the suspension.
It even felt much faster than it actually was with all that supercharger whine and sporty exhaust note. Man, I actually miss those hair dressing days!
I had a 2003 Cooper S once. It was an extremely fun car to drive maybe the funniest I've ever driven. The steering is so fast and pointy and there's not much give in the suspension.
It even felt much faster than it actually was with all that supercharger whine and sporty exhaust note. Man, I actually miss those hair dressing days!
Ford Prefect
Well-Known Member
I totally agree with you, but as far as the technology underneath goes, the R56 is definitely the better car. But it drives and handles like a BMW, unlike the R50/R53, which handles like a Mini. It also has that annoyingly exaggerated interior, where they really went a bit overboard in order to make it all funky and different. As far as exterior styling goes the differences are only in small details, but somehow I don?t like a single one of these details.
Well, MINIs certainly aren?t generally unreliable cars. But mine does seem to be well above average in that respect...
equiraptor
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You show wisdom! I have a similar experience in my MX-5. The lower powered cars really teach you a lot. I'm at the point now where people on track with me (in red/Advanced run groups) keep asking me what kind of turbo I have. The look on their face when I say "None" is priceless. It's especially fun when it's a girly car, driven by a girl, and the overtaken car is a Corvette or Mustang with a driver who thinks they're very manly.
How's the skill development on track going? Are you considering adding another car to the stable anytime soon?
Ford Prefect
Well-Known Member
Are you reading my mind or something? 
I made the decision to get a track car on monday. I already have one in mind, the first negotiations took place yesterday and I might even take it for a test drive next weekend. The skill development has started to stagnate, and I really want to start gathering some experience with a RWD car. And just to keep the RWD fanboys from screaming "hell yeah" right away: FWD track cars are no less awesome than RWD. They are just different, and I don?t think I?ll be able to completely retire the MINI from it?s track duties, it?s way too much fun to drive on a soaking wet Nordschleife...
I made the decision to get a track car on monday. I already have one in mind, the first negotiations took place yesterday and I might even take it for a test drive next weekend. The skill development has started to stagnate, and I really want to start gathering some experience with a RWD car. And just to keep the RWD fanboys from screaming "hell yeah" right away: FWD track cars are no less awesome than RWD. They are just different, and I don?t think I?ll be able to completely retire the MINI from it?s track duties, it?s way too much fun to drive on a soaking wet Nordschleife...
equiraptor
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"Hell yeah!"
<-- RWD fangirl, sorry. I'm also migrating toward another vehicle (or two) in the stable, so the question was on my mind.
So what's the car you might test drive?
<-- RWD fangirl, sorry.
I'm also migrating toward another vehicle (or two) in the stable, so the question was on my mind.So what's the car you might test drive?
Ford Prefect
Well-Known Member
It?ll be an E30, the standard Ringtool around here... It?s been parked for almost a year though, so I?m not sure if it?s fit to go to the ring, we?ll see...
edit:
this is it:
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this is it:
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Ford Prefect
Well-Known Member
So on sunday the Mini did something it doesn?t usually do. It caused problems.
I was at the Ring and in the morning I already thought that the engine is running slightly weird. When I went out on the track I quickly realized that I?m missing power, so after just 7 laps I decided to call it a day. In the end it turned out just to be a blown fuse, which happened to be attached to quite a lot of important sensors.
On the one hand I?m happy that all I had to do was replace the fuse, on the other hand I?m pissed that I didn?t think of that on sunday, and instead let it ruin my day at the ring. But anyway, I got home alright on some emergency map, and the Mini remains unstoppable.
I was at the Ring and in the morning I already thought that the engine is running slightly weird. When I went out on the track I quickly realized that I?m missing power, so after just 7 laps I decided to call it a day. In the end it turned out just to be a blown fuse, which happened to be attached to quite a lot of important sensors.
On the one hand I?m happy that all I had to do was replace the fuse, on the other hand I?m pissed that I didn?t think of that on sunday, and instead let it ruin my day at the ring. But anyway, I got home alright on some emergency map, and the Mini remains unstoppable.
Spazatao
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So on sunday the Mini did something it doesn?t usually do. It caused problems.
I was at the Ring and in the morning I already thought that the engine is running slightly weird. When I went out on the track I quickly realized that I?m missing power, so after just 7 laps I decided to call it a day. In the end it turned out just to be a blown fuse, which happened to be attached to quite a lot of important sensors.
On the one hand I?m happy that all I had to do was replace the fuse, on the other hand I?m pissed that I didn?t think of that on sunday, and instead let it ruin my day at the ring. But anyway, I got home alright on some emergency map, and the Mini remains unstoppable.
Wow!!! I was on the 'Ring last sunday too!! With one of those Rent 4 Ring Suzukis. Though I don't actually remember seeing a Mini like yours passing by... must've been after you pulled out. Damn fuse!
Ford Prefect
Well-Known Member
well as I said, I only did 7 or 8 laps, most of them before noon... I had planned to do quite a few more in the evening, but the loss of power sort of took the fun out of it. I stayed till the end though, as my friends were still going round, but my car remained in the parking lot.
Ford Prefect
Well-Known Member
Wow, 4 years since my last post in this thread. The Mini has done 260000 km now and is still running like clockwork.
In the meantime it has finally received a suspension update in the form of a KW V3 Clubsport, which means I now have lots of extra stuff to play with as far as the setup goes.
I?m currently driving around 4000km/month, since I now live in Stuttgart, work in Weissach, and have a girlfriend in Regensburg, which involves quite a lot of driving, mostly on the ever-boring autobahn. The retirement of the almighty Mini is near though, as I love the car too much to keep throwing all this mundane daily driving abuse at it. I?m still not sure what to get as my next daily driver, but after 11 years with the Mini I don?t think I will ever be able to cope with a "normal" car, especially since I?m spending a great deal of my free time behind the wheel at the moment. The next car needs to be fun, it needs to have more power (because a topspeed of 210 just feels slow after a while), and it needs to be reliable. So I?m really not sure what it will be (pondering the Toyobaru), but I kind of want to have it before the middle of the year.
I?m not sure about the plans for the Mini. Selling it is out of the question, so I?m thinking about finding a nice place where I can leave it for a while until I?ve decided on the direction I will take with it. It will definitely get a more track-oriented role, I?m just not sure how extreme I?m willing to go. I still have the BMW for trackday abuse, and I sort of liked the way the Mini has been a great daily driver as well as a tracktool in the past decade, so I?m thinking it will stay somewhere in between, but I will finally start messing with the engine as reliability will no longer be an issue...
In the meantime it has finally received a suspension update in the form of a KW V3 Clubsport, which means I now have lots of extra stuff to play with as far as the setup goes.
I?m currently driving around 4000km/month, since I now live in Stuttgart, work in Weissach, and have a girlfriend in Regensburg, which involves quite a lot of driving, mostly on the ever-boring autobahn. The retirement of the almighty Mini is near though, as I love the car too much to keep throwing all this mundane daily driving abuse at it. I?m still not sure what to get as my next daily driver, but after 11 years with the Mini I don?t think I will ever be able to cope with a "normal" car, especially since I?m spending a great deal of my free time behind the wheel at the moment. The next car needs to be fun, it needs to have more power (because a topspeed of 210 just feels slow after a while), and it needs to be reliable. So I?m really not sure what it will be (pondering the Toyobaru
), but I kind of want to have it before the middle of the year.I?m not sure about the plans for the Mini. Selling it is out of the question, so I?m thinking about finding a nice place where I can leave it for a while until I?ve decided on the direction I will take with it. It will definitely get a more track-oriented role, I?m just not sure how extreme I?m willing to go. I still have the BMW for trackday abuse, and I sort of liked the way the Mini has been a great daily driver as well as a tracktool in the past decade, so I?m thinking it will stay somewhere in between, but I will finally start messing with the engine as reliability will no longer be an issue...
