Heya
Long-time MCS admirer, but only recently traded in the GTI for my new Mini.
My dealer was clever, ordering the car based on my custom specs after our initial discussions (no deposit, I didn't actually order it, he just decided to build that selection on the chance that I'd still be interested in a few months, otherwise selling it through the showroom,) then letting me know it had arrived. That's quite an incentive.

Gorgeous, and driving experience is night and day. My commute is part city (SF) and part freeway (Marin) over the Golden Gate Bridge, and it's a blast in this car.

MCS PW packages 1 and 2
Flame spoke 17s...

Here's a pic from last night:


Here's a question for the long-termers here: Is there a buried thread of break-in FAQ or Q&A to allay some squidish fears? I hear and detect all manner of odd things and don't know how much are to be expected, and what might be irregular. I was searching a bit, but nothing came to my attention. Any pointers in the right direction would be helpful, lest I annoy the lifers with redundancy...
thom

(I posted this in the "Welcome to NAM" thread, but wasn't certain if that was the protocol, or here. So both!)

Also: I've posted something to the Audio section about my initial thoughts re: aftermarket issues. I'd love to see what some of you think.

Cheers

 

Welcome aboard & to the family! there is a break in period which can be found in the manual. I don't know if there is a link to any FAQs or anything, but what issues are you having? Maybe we can help!!!

 

What I'm noticing so far is short popping backfires from the exhaust if I step off the accelerator in gear and let the revs start to drop a bit. Also some knocks and rattles in the cab, which I knew to expect to some degree anyway. Unfamiliar car, so I'm hyper-sensitive right?
Thanks!

 

According to this thread, I'm hearing the telltale gurgle of a MCS... which I guess is good!

https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...ad.php?t=67770

 

I should also mention that SF has had nuclear-poor weather all Spring... until the day I picked up my MCS... when it turned suddenly sunny and warm. Even my cycling has been better! Now, I'm not saying it's a direct correlation.

But it probably is.

 

I think the weather thing *may* be imagined, we had some fantastic weather earlier in the spring

Anyway, congrats! Glad to see another NAM involved owner in SF, ups the chances of being waved at (there are sooooo many Minis in this town but not very many that wave/flash lights).

Cheers, enjoy, and I'll see ya 'round

 

Is that YOU who's pup is waving at me from a blue MCS with the black maw???

Ha, it's crazy the sheer number of Minis in the Bay Area. Yesterday I counted 9 on my commute back in from Marin... 3 on the bridge! Mostly MCs though...

I was wondering how prevalent the wave was in Mini culture... with old aircooled veedubs it was there, of course, and with motorcycles it was there (just low to the thigh) but the last few Minis I've passed seemed oblivious. Must not be NAM folks!

See you around town!

 

...oh, and I'll have what you're having... we've had the most rain days this year than in what, 15 years? It's been a tough spring... but I'm glad for the weather now! I guess it also depends on where you are.

Cheers

 

I see a lot, too, but very few in the coolest color: Pepper White!

 

Welcome and congrats on the cool color. Hope you join some local clubs and we see you on some runs.

 

I'm in San Francisco, and Pepper White too! If you see a Pepper White MCC around the city with a black front grille, it's probably me.

 

thirdraildesignlab,
I have a brand new MCS. Had it 3 days. It pops upon decleration. It is normal and reminds me of two BMW motorcycles I used to have. They did it, too.

Some break in notes as provided to me by a Mini racing and speicalty parts vendor:
1. Drive gingerly the first 500 mi
2. Then push it a little bit to heat and stretch moving internal engine parts, but still to exceed the revs indicated in break in
3. Don't expect complete complete engine break in for 5000 to 7000 mi
4. change the oil according to the bmw recommendation (long interval)

I'm a Bay Area driver, too. I do a lot of outside sales and have meetings all over the the Bay Area. Today I had a pre-construction meeting in Concord and a contract negotiation in Sacramento in the afternoon. I'll go to meetings in Mountain View, SF, Berkeley, etc., next week. Maybe we'll pass one another. Look for the brand new Royal Grey MCS.
Billie

 

Yeah through the winter (all of March) and part of the spring but not the whoole time - I know there was a good weather for several days at least around early/mid April, even went on a bit of a drive around Marin

 

first congrts! nice MCS!

I just got back from a long weekend in SF - my first! - and yes, that place is just jam packed witn MINIs. seems like every street there is at least one more...

As for your picture, what a great shot. I was just at that exact area this weekend, and the views are just amazing. i can not imagine crossing that bridge daily in my mini....

enjoy!

-jac

 

Yah, and white roofs on em even less...

Though yesterday I saw one with a zebra print roof on Van Ness Blvd...

 

I've always been a huge fan of the ivory or near-white body color. I custom painted my Karmann Ghia this way (though that mix turned out a little more yellow than gray in tone) and was dead-set on Pepper White on the MCS once I made the financially irrational decision to ditch my 2 year old GTI and get the car I REALLY wanted... heh.

I have to do some investigation into the local scene a bit...
I do hope to be out on the 27th and see what's what!
t

 

Sound slike our timing is synchronized... I picked mine up a week ago today... with 8 miles on the dial.

I'm really trying to be mellow with the car, and it isn't easy. I've popped up in the high 4000's once or twice getting on the freeway, getting used to the shift pattern, but in general, I've kept it under 75mph and 4000rpms.

Sounds like you are in the construction industry?

 

Jac
I'd love to see a graph of Minis in distribution around the US, see where the most are... if we aren't THE most, and my dealer thinks we are, ahead of LA, we'd have to be close to the top.

So you went up into the Marin Headlands? I took the car on some of my usual cycling routes, to get a tatse of the handling... Headlands, Paradise... Alpine Dam this weekend. It's brilliant. I have a few more pics from this series I'll throw in the gallery.

Cheers!

 

...by the way, I uploaded a few more pics from the Marin Headlands into my gallery. Take a gander...

 

3 cheers for Bay Area MINI's

Im almost there....

 

I just took a few more pics from up int he Presidio... but they're kind of washed out. More opportunities to be sure, in the future. Plus, drive a week in the city, despite garaging it, and the pepper white becomes more pepper than white! And oh, what fun, cleaning those flame spokes...

 

Overall, I actually find Pepper White to be not as bad as a whiter car I owned in the past. The rear of the MINI gets famously dirty because of the aerodynamics. It was especially bad during our rainy March and April. The accessory front mud flaps from MINI look good and help a bit.

By the way, your wheels are called Web Spoke, not Flame Spoke. The Flame Spokes (also known as horseshoes) are the ones that come with the Checkmate package. There is some resemblence between the two but the Web Spoke looks much better (and harder to clean).

 

ah yes, webspoke, tis what I meant.
My old Ghia in a similar color was always getting darker by the day until I'd re-wash it. Ha. That's the price you pay for living in the city.

I have been thinking about the magnetic flaps that go on right before the rear wells... not sure about the front flaps, though...

 

On the subject of many, many Minis in SF... we parked in Noe Valley to run an errand and grab some Barney's. You'll note I'm the 4h MC in a shot-put's throw, yes?



But when we came back, the yellow MCS behind me was gone, supplanted by a Honda. However, behind THAT.... a chili red had joined us.

 

The mud flaps won't do much now that it has stopped raining. However on wet pavement, front flaps help with stuff getting kicked up on the doors.They blend in well and are inconspicuous.

Photos from jwardell...