Good--I'm glad I'm not the only one taking it slowly! And I haven't gone through a car wash yet (the OCM-detailers are going to shoot me for saying that, I think), so I couldn't tell you. No use yet for that net, but I'm sure I'll find something. Oh, and I'm glad I didn't get the seat warmers--don't need my biscuits burnin'!

 

big time bump

so... how's everyone doing? Anyone complete break in yet? (I'm 60 miles short of 1200.)

 

I'm at about 2700 miles and having a BLAST with this car. No issues yet other than NY idiots pulling up too close and hitting my bumpers. Everyone who has ridden in it has LOVED this car but nobody else has been allowed to drive it. I figure by the time I hit 100,000 miles, I might be ready to let someone else touch the steering wheel. 200,000 miles. Yeah, that's better.

 

Well I just went for my first fill up at the gas station so I guess I am really taking it slow. But remember, I do not commute anywhere. The only other car I have driven since the MINI arrived is the 4-runner.

 

I'm just shy of 800. Getting there slowly.

 

God I HATE that BS some of these redneck a-wipes in the big trucks pull up within micrometers of my rear bumper but no one's tapped me--yet. Just like with my other MINI.

If i lived out there I'd place some 3M clearbra material along the leading edge of the rear bumper cover.

 

got my plates/reg out of the way to-day. $5 and change short of $600, and that was reusing an old 10th Mtn Div spec plate from my previous MINI. Given the lack of tax revenue lately I think the State of CO was happy to see me hand over my wallet. Criminy!

 

Insane. Not looking forward to that!

 

i'm at 1832 miles 2 days shy of a month of motoring...32.9mpg and 43.6 avg mph. the only problem i've had thus far is the ipod connector seems a little flaky. kicks out on occasion for no reason whatsoever, won't keep the ipod charged on occasion...haven't figured out if there is a pattern or not yet. first i thought it was the protective case i had was not allowing full/firm connection, so i dumped the case, but it's still kicks out. no strange rattles/noises, no other mis-operating or non-operating parts, but still missing my anthracite headliner and chrome scoop. my ma called about the ah last week, got some new bulletin from mini, so at least there is some movement on that front and it should be available relatively soon.

drives great, even in snow/ice/sleet so far w/ the standard all-season run-flats. get to do it again tomorrow...

found out the hard way i can't unfold the sideview mirrors once in motion...oops. at least i was more aerodynamic for those miles. also found out the hard way not to park on an incline whilst it is raining and then open the boot doors...that seems like a design flaw that could and should be easily corrected in future editions.

no one else in my family has liked the ride so far...they all think it's too bumpy, especially in the back. after having to drive my folks '06 toyota camry and '08 honda odessey to play musical cars for ziebartification, i much prefer my mccs, so i don't know what their problem is. my brother and sister-in-law have a '00 and '08 honda accord...somewhere i read people who buy camrys and accords have just given up...i'd hafta agree.

and the funniest thing happened on my way home from work tonight. some dope in a heavily modified wrx pulls up next to me at a stop light and makes it obvious they wanna race. 1st light i didn't oblige, mostly because i didn't think the mccs could take a wrx...but it was obvious they didn't know what they were doing, so i blew 'em away at the 2nd light. no contest. no idea what model year the wrx was because it was pretty dark, but they had customized exhaust, spoiler, and tires...obviously thought they were hot stuff. definitely not the new model though. never understood the appeal of wrx's myself. maybe they're fun to drive, but they look horrible and get worse mph.

 

I'm near 900 miles. All city driving. I think my average speed is in the low 20's. Pathetic. Anyway, I'm taking it easy, keeping the RPM's low, trying to change gears at 3k RPM whenever I can. I'm eager to hit 1,200, press the Sport button, and let 'er rip!

 

Me too! Can't wait to rip up to 5,500 RPM!!!

 

well, that didn't take long. just over a month for someone to steal one of my valve stem caps. and they aren't even the fancy ones, just the plain ol' stock caps that came w/ the tires. and to rip off only 1...wtf?

why is it some people just have to mess with other people's cars. i do not get it. i have never in my life felt the urge to mess w/ someone else's car. had the same problem w/ my mx-6. people kept stealing the valve stem caps. the first two sets i can sorta understand, they were fancy chrome. the next set was alloy to match the wheels. but the last two sets were the mundane black plastic. aren't there stores that sell these...prolly in bulk? aren't they super cheap?

and all sorts of weird new rattles and hums coming from all over the interior of the car today. i was riding on some exceptionally rough roads, and it was fairly chilly out, so that certainly didn't help. they seemed to go away once i got on typical road conditions again.

 

jpp, sorry to hear that!! F*****g people.

My poor car needs a bath...it's been snowy and raining and slushy and muddy and the poor thin looks either brown or gray instead of black.

The creaks are weird when you get on rough road. I hit a hunk of interstate over Thanksgiving that actually had the tires rhythmically vibrating the entire car, and it wasn't grooved pavement! Was so weird. Thought I was going to sheer a wheel or something.

 

just gave mine a bath (in my unheated garage, no less, when it was 15F outside) wednesday night...already looks almost as bad as it did before i gave it a bath. and i had just given it a bath last saturday night too. it's gonna be hard to keep up w/ this winter again i bet.

 

No kidding! I love the winter, but the dirty car is going to drive me batty...

 

I guess that's one benefit to having a Silver MINI. It's dirty as heck, but it doesn't look too bad. The brake dust on the wheels however . . .

 

This reminds me of something that happened with my old Saturn. The hubcaps are actually screwed to the wheel by the lug nuts. I went out to do laundry and someone tried to steal the left rear hubcap. When I came out, the cap was pulled out all around. I just started to laugh imagining the look on the face of the idiot when he could not get the cap off.

Some folks just suck.

 

Picked up my COMPLETE tool set this evening. Was happy to find out that my MA escaped the downsizing of my dealer. Yay!

And I have just over 100 miles before I'm FINALLY out of break-in period! Awesome.

Happy holidays, all!! Wishing the best to you and yours. Drive safely.

 

I am on my second tank of gas and up to 700 miles so I still have a way to go to finish break in. I was very pleasantly surprised at how well the MINI handled the recent snow. I live up a slight hill that never gets plowed or sun so it becomes solid ice and the MINI had no problems getting me home at all.

And I just LOVE the heated seats!!!

bob g

 

I'm at 1,400 miles now. It's nice not having to watch the RPM's anymore. These MINI's love to rev! Let us know how much fun your MINI is after 1,200.

 

got my JCW tune kit and rear susp. upgrades last tues and it completely changed the character of the car. before, it was fast, but twitchy, with torque that'd intimidate ya, now, it's fast, but with authority, and tracks as straight as a rail with torque that's more managable. seems the upgraded rear sway bar and the front strut brace work together and help the car stay steady under acceleration; I took a roundabout at about 50 mph the other day, DSC off, and the car stayed absolutely flat on the road. Wonderful Plus the exhaust has a nice, low-key gnarly growl now, and you should see how far my tips stick out

on sat I went to the dealer to get some of those seat belt holders (HUGE design flaw, AVOID) and some MINI saleslady put her cell phone and keys and gloves on top of my bonnet!! Man was I pissed off; should seen her jump when I hit the alarm's panic button. "Please dont place yr stuff on my car," I yelled. She claimed she thought it was dealer stock. "oh, with license plates, parked in visitor parking?" I shot back. Some people just dont give a damn, totally brain-dead.

Like everyone else my car is becoming unacceptable dirty, and it's been so f***ng cold here lately car washing is out of the question. my friends that think Im too **** with my car should see it now. But Xmas day looks like high 40s, so I'll give it a bath then.

And has anyone else had defroster issues? Mine seem weak, even when turned up all the way. last night I had to crack the moonroof in order to help the windows clear so I could see out the sides. Otherwise 1500 miles no problems, no cold start issues, no major rattle/creaks, and performance defined! Woo Hoo!

Happy holidays to all!

 

Yeah, I agree that the defroster (and fan in general) could be a little bit more effective. So, sequence, the front strut brace seems to have made an effect on the torque steer? I was rolling back to Boulder from RS on Saturday and was passing folks on 36, but I had to keep a firm grasp on the wheel to avoid dodging into the shoulder and the other lane! Kinda freaky, though kinda fun, too.

 

re the TS I dont know if it helped before I beefed up the rear susp but it seems to help now that the car's four corners are torsionally tighter. I still get TS but now that the car tracks on a rail it seems more manageable. But then I didnt have sports susp like you, just the standard with the JCW rsb.

 

Nice.

Oh, and I REALLY should have gone for the Xenons...the low beams suck.

 

those are road harmonic rattles, mostly due to the cheap plastics, temp changes, and rougher roads. after my previous MINI ive learned to accept and live with them, turn up the stereo, C/C, crack a window, etc. Not much U can do about them; conventional tires help some.

They become a problem is when they manifest on glassy smooth pavement. Tip: if you get a rattle make sure and let it go long enough so the dealer can reproduce the sound, and fix it right.