Hey everyone, I just signed up here today. So my friend got a Mini about a year ago and I loved the thing... never thought I'd really be in a position to get one. I have a 99 Civic and LOVE it but it's starting to get up in age and in a couple months I'll be in good position to buy something new. I was looking at an EVO but they're expensive and not really practical or a particularly pleasent car to drive day-to-day which led me to one conclusion: Cooper S!

I just have one major question really. I added the performace package which comes with 17" wheels and high performance tires but I want the 17" 5 spoke anthracite wheels which are dealer installed, so... what happens to the wheels it comes with?!

Here's what I'm thinking I want, Let me know what you think!

http://www.rit.edu/~amg6975/my_mini_brochure.pdf

 

Looks great.
Skip the driving lights. There are really nice ones to be had aftermarket, plus the dealer generally charges way to much for install. You can buy better lights and have them installed at a significant saving.
Think about the Anthracite headliner.
Just an FYI - Mini generally refers to the classic Mini, while MINI is current "modern" version. Don't worry it will become second nature to type it in all caps in no time .

Welcome to NAM!
Annette

 

Thanks for the reply... I had no idea about the MINI Mini difference. Anyways, I REALLY like the look of the driving lights, do they have aftermarket ones that look the same?

 

I'd have to suggest the anthracite headliner as well. It's really nice. On my MINI, I had the anthracite headliner and the anthracite dash, which makes for a good black/dark-grey combo.

Also, since you're up at RIT, I'd urge you to consider the heated seats. They're great, even in Seattle. From what I remember of the weather around Rochester, you really can't go wrong.

About the wheels, I think they're pretty much yours to keep. You'll probably have two sets, the original S-Lites and the R99s.

 

Welcome!

The driving lights are okay... You can do better for your $$ aftermarket... like ALTA...

I too vote for the heated seats and the anthracite headliners.... SO worth the little extra $.

You should be able to keep your 17" S-Lites.... Just make sure the dealership gives em back!

 

Yeah, I was thinking about the whole cold weather package but I'll only be up here for maybe two more winters then it's more than likely off to Southern California for me. I've lived without them for this long... I can deal without. You're definitely right about Rochester winters though, although we haven't even had snow that's stayed around this year, it was around 45 and sunny today.

I guess it's cool I get to keep both sets of wheels. I'll use the S-Lites as track wheels. But I'd rather just not pay for both sets ya know?

What color is the regular headliner? I wasn't going to get the anthracite dash to keep some contrast. The antracite is still lighter in color than the rest of the dash right? I was definitely torn though.

 

Im wih everyone else on the anthracite headliner and heated seats

And be sure to remind the dealer to give you the wheels back. The dealer threw my original suspension and brakes out and i wanted them.

 

I'm sure your dealer recycle$ the parts.

The anthracite dash and headliner look great. I got both, along with the chrome lined interior and cockpit chrono, and altogether, the interior looks VERY classy.

And IMHO, 16" wheels make much more sense. The higher aspect ratio gives you a better ride, both for smoothness and handling, and tires are WAY cheaper.

 

First off welcome to NAM. Next, as far as the wheels go if you are around snow for more than a few weeks out of the year I'd say keep the 17" S-lites for ture snow tire and have the anthicites as your summer wheel and put a prefomance tire on there. For driving lights PIAA makes a set that looks almost identical (slightly larger) to stock and can be self installed, for about half of what the dealer would charge you for the lamps w/out the install. You can find instructions and reviews of the aftermarket products throughout NAM. Looks real nice, I have a jet black MINI w/ the regular head liner, sometimes I wonder how it would look with anthricite headliner but never really felt at a loss for not having it. For the H/K sound system I'd suggest reading a little bit about it on NAM from those who have it, some love it and some hate it. You're going to love the LSD. Hope it all works out, have you done a test drive yet??

 

Yeah... the LSD is a must have item. And the HK stereo I want because I just want to leave that all stock but want the best I can get. I have a really good Infinity/JBL system in my Civic right now but I don't think I could bring myself to swap out the stock head unit in the MINI, it matches everything so nicely.

I think I'm with everyone on the anthracite headliner and dash. I'd really like to see it, anyone have pictures? I also added the cold weather package to it. I guess the heated seats could even come in handy in Cali sometimes. Do the headed mirrors and sprayers turn on and off or are they always on?

As for test drives, I haven't been in an Cooper S yet. The closest dealer is like an hour away. My friend has an 05 base that I've driven a couple times and loved so I assume that I would fall in love with the 168hp S even more.

 

Speaking of driving lights, I'm in a similar situation. Looking to get driving lights on my new mini I'm ordering. Where are some good places to order lights from? Would installing them mess with the warranty? I'll check out ALTA and PIAA brands, anywhere else to look?

 

Here's a couple of pics of my anthracite headliner and dash. I was actually taking pics of some decals, but you'll get the general look.




Please excuse the mediocre photo quality. There are many people on this site who are WAY better at getting a truer photo, but it's a start.
Annette