The Wife's New Car

[gmhl10]

Got a '08 Cooper S on order for my wife.
Should arrive in mid June.

Laser Blue body, roof, bonnet, mirrors.
Carbon Black Leatherette.
Auto Tranny
16" Bridgespoke wheels
White Turn Indicators
Convenience Package
Xenon Lights
Automatic A/C
Anthracite Headliner
Navigation System
Alarm
PDC

Things that I don't like about this order is the auto tranny (my wife refuses to learn a manual tranny), which also removes my option of adding a LSD, and the no sport package (because she wanted a smoother ride, compared to my very stiff modded M3).
This car replaced my Subaru Impreza which was also a fun car and a stick shift.

Gonna get some charcoal 35% tint (legal... ) all around and a clear bra for when it comes in.
Gotta get some rubber floor mats in there too.
Bought some Volk Racing TE37 in 16x7" mercury silver which should be coming in about 2 months from now.

I'll post some pics when it gets in.
Even though it's the wife's car... I can't wait!!!

[DaKineMINI]

Welcome to NAM HJ. I've never spoken to you but I've been following your similar post on BFC. I know you've taken your M3 out to TNT so you should bring the MINI out too. Fun car for auto-x.

If you folks are interested, there is a local Mini/MINI club on Oahu. Check them out at : http://www.hawaiiminiclub.org. Not as big as CCH but some of the members are also CCH members.

[gmhl10]

Thanks! I'll go check it out too.

[minihune]

Originally Posted by gmhl10

Thanks! I'll go check it out too.

June is just around the corner.

Aloha and welcome to NAM.

Which tires are you going to use with the Volks?

[gmhl10]

Originally Posted by minihune

June is just around the corner.

Aloha and welcome to NAM.

Which tires are you going to use with the Volks?

Well, wife wants to use up the stock tires first...
But... might as well... for the break-in 1200 mile duration.
Then I'm gonna try and convince her to stick some Hankook Ventus R-S2s on so she can come out and try autocrossing with me.

[minihune]

Originally Posted by gmhl10

Well, wife wants to use up the stock tires first...
But... might as well... for the break-in 1200 mile duration.
Then I'm gonna try and convince her to stick some Hankook Ventus R-S2s on so she can come out and try autocrossing with me.

Although Hankook Ventus Rs2 is a good tire if you have 16" Volks you can also consider other Extreme performance summer tires.

Bridgestone Potenza RE-01R 205/45-16 23.2" tire diameter
$161 each 180 treadwear fits rims 6.5-7.5" wide 21 lbs.
or
Dunlop Direzza Sport Z1 Star Spec 205/50-16 24.1" tire diameter
$107 each 200 treadwear fits rims 5.5-7.5" wide 21 lbs.

vs
Hankook Ventus Rs2
205/45-16 $94 23.2" tire diameter 20 lbs 6.5" wide rims
and
205/50-16 $92 each 24.1" tire diameter 22 lbs
200 treadwear fits rims 5.5-7.5" wide

While the Hankook is the best value, The Dunlop Star Spec is worth a look and has a $50 rebate right now.

[gmhl10]

I was actually looking at the 205/50/16 Hankooks since that tire size calculator thing says a 205/45/16 would make the speedometer read 4.8% too quick.

As for the Bridgestones... they are awesome too!
I got the same RE-01R on my car right now... treadwear's a bit quick though. Got slightly under 1k miles on it and already it's down to nearly 50% tread.

I've had bad experiences with Dunlop tires, so I think I'll pass on that.

It's too bad they don't have Yokohama Advan Neova AD07s for this size...
Those are one of the best non R-compound tires I've ever used before. Plus, they have WAY better tread wear than the RE-01Rs.

[minihune]

Originally Posted by gmhl10

I was actually looking at the 205/50/16 Hankooks since that tire size calculator thing says a 205/45/16 would make the speedometer read 4.8% too quick.

As for the Bridgestones... they are awesome too!
I got the same RE-01R on my car right now... treadwear's a bit quick though. Got slightly under 1k miles on it and already it's down to nearly 50% tread.

I've had bad experiences with Dunlop tires, so I think I'll pass on that.

It's too bad they don't have Yokohama Advan Neova AD07s for this size...
Those are one of the best non R-compound tires I've ever used before. Plus, they have WAY better tread wear than the RE-01Rs.

Yes, 205/50-16 is a good size.

Dunlop Star Spec is a new and higher quality tire.
Almost every tire company makes a range of products from excellent to otherwise.

Advan Neovas definitely very good but not friendly for MINI use.

[gmhl10]

Well... still waiting on those Volk TE37 wheels.
I was told it'd take 3 months to get those in. I'd say by mid July then...

In the meantime... look what did come in.

JCW CF Boot Handle/Plinth









JCW CF Hood Scoop







Unfortunately... I ordered a JCW CF/Leather e-brake too, but I got sent the JCW CF shift knob instead. Gotta send that back...

Also got in the "No Holes" license plate bracket.
http://www.gominigo.com/NHLPB-MINI.html

Now just waiting on the JCW front grill, black grill trim, and the blackout beltline kit.

[gmhl10]

Oh sweet!!!
Tracking says the car is not at the distribution center.
How long does it usually take at the VDC before it gets sent to the dealer?

[mikey0630]

i'd love to know the same thing.. how long from time at distribution center to the dealership? i ordered from MINI of Manhattan and the ship arrives on 5/29, late weds. night.... should i expect to pick it up next week?

[gmhl10]

Well... mine needs to get on a boat again to get here.
As for Manhattan... I'm not sure if Mini has another VDC on the east coast or not.
Also, it would be trucked to Manhattan (my guess) than boated.

But.. my tracking says June 12 is my expected delivery date. Don't really know how accurate that is since this is the first car that I've ever ordered.