A quick motoring story:

Between putting in my order and actually picking up the car, I was constantly making a mental list of stretches of road or highway entrance/exit ramps I wanted to experience with the MINI. The other night I got the chance to hit a good exit ramp - a really sharp 270 degree one. In my previous car, doing 30-35 through the exit was really pushing it. But in the MINI I was able to go 50, and felt like I could go faster! The DSC never even kicked in! Needless to say, I came outta the curve with a huge smile on my face .

 

Pretty slick, eh? Btw, MossMINI.com sells this for $50...it's $70 at OutMotoring.com.

I think I'll probably be more in the middle on the stereo vs engine sound thing. But, surprisingly, one of the LAST upgrades I did was the stereo.
I would have done that FIRST on any other car. I was so wrapped up in all the other details and you-ification.

Also, found out that the sport stripes are a dealer installed option at MINI of Scottsdale.

Right now, I'm in serious consideration of the boot stripes. I've seen them mostly on PW/B but they look GREAT!

Now, if my MA would just call me back.

Give me fricken break why don'cha? Need the INFO! - Austin Powers

 

Yup, they were installed by my dealer as well - they're only available that way. Sorry for forgetting to mention that earlier.

 

Dohhh! Well, now I don't feel CRAZY. Well, a little bit but it's not your fault.

 

Turcicus -- I didn't know that! Maybe I'll be making an MP3 CD instead now! :D

Its always fun to hear new songs... because we never know what we might like! The "German one I don't know the name of" SOUNDS like they are saying "Leaving is all well to me" in the lyrics, but I know they aren't. Have you ever seen Super Troopers? The German couple that get pulled over in the Porche had music playing that sounds exactly like this song. If I knew, I'd gladly post the name... its a really cool "fast driving" song... also a good "twisties" song.

 

I actually have the song from Iron Eagle in my car (One Vision by Queen)! Doogs, we have got to meet. Are you coming to Hill Country Rendezvous Labor Day weekend in Fredricksburg?

 

Unfortunately, no. I had already committed to flying out to Vancouver to visit my parents (lucky them, spending the summers in Canada and the winters in Arizona...) when I learned about it...

 

Check out what I picked up on Ebay for $4? Now I need to find a way for it to light up when I open my garage door and hang it on the wall in front of my parking area!!! Or start a MINI bar or something!

Here is another one for sale! Cheap!

 

Well there's no getting anything past you, GBMiniGirl! Actually, I decided that I want to get the aftermarket PIAA lamps. Also, I was spending so much on accessories & INSTALLATION charges that I also decided that could wait a few weeks. Definitely plan on putting those on, and am also going to attempt to pinstripe the black bonnet stripes on the edges with red tonight!

LOVING the JCW Tethernaut.... also, the interior of mine is all dark (black leatherette and anthracite everything) with chrome, and it is absolutely beautiful. Especially at night. I wil take more pics and post to the gallery.

Thanks for everybody's compliments; I am so happy with the MINI and can't imagine driving anything else!

 

I have taken to speeding up in every curve vs. hitting the brakes; it is truly exhilarating!

 

I don't know about your dealership, but mine charges about $400 for the light install. Speaking as someone who installed her own driving lights, it's money well spent. I decided just to have the dealership do it this time. It was an insane PITA. You have to take out your radio too! Who knew?

 

VERY, VERY COOL! What a great eBay find!

 

Hey

 

I finally talked with my MA and I watched as he pulled the BMW report (I just happened to be in the neighborhood! ).

Anyway, their system finally shows what the rest of the world does. No AUTO BANNER in Port Hueneme until August 9. Not sure where they got the August 5 date but that's the news folks.

 

MORTRBL, I am also loving the JCW and am in your neck of the woods. What are some of your favourite roads in the area?

 

OK. A very recent pic, this one taken at home after the rain we had a few minutes ago.



I also made a backup copy of my NAV DVD just so I wouldn't have my only original under the seat and subject to damage. The copy works fine and the original is safely put away.

On the subject of music vs engine sounds. That's where the controls on the steering wheel come in pretty handy. Just quickly turn down the music at crucial supercharger whinning periods.

Last night I quickly dumped most of about 4 CDs onto a rewritable CD in mpg format. Just put each CD in a different folder and you can quickly switch between CDs and tracks. When you get tired of it you can just overwrite it with different tunes. Very flexible system.

"Brick House" by the Commodores sounds awesome on the H/K system. The other CDs were by Eric Clapton and they sound great also. Of course I also have a Dell Pocket DJ plugged in with about 1,000 tracks on it so there is no end to listening pleasure, including just the engine and supercharger.

BTW, I have about 150 miles on it now and everything Turcicus and Julie have said about curves and handling goes double for me. I can now confirm that this is an incredibly fun car.

creseida, where are you? How about filling us in on your motoring experiences.

 

Beauregard,

That's a Beautiful Baby! Sounds like you are already becoming a great motorer in no time. I love the "kick the sound down to hear the supercharger" bit!

Btw, have you a name (Beau) for your (Beau) baby yet?

 

Ooh, let me see... I plan on taking a mini-road trip (no pun intended) to Skyline Drive this weekend to test out the twisties. Also, a small stretch of road in Fredericksburg behind the mammoth shopping center Central Park called River Rd is very nice, as long as nobody else is in front of you... :impatient The mountains toward the western part of VA are really the best to drive in, just a little farther away to get to.

We're doing the Charlottesville-to-DC leg of MTTS the first week in September too! GW Parkway is a nice drive, but I don't go up to DC often. There are lots of open country roads outside of town going towards Charlottesville and Culpeper, and I plan on exploring them often! How about you, any suggestions?

 

What a beautiful pic!!! Love the blue MINIs...

Did anybody get Astro Black? I was totally infatuated with that color too, but couldn't make up my mind about it. Also BRG with Union Jack mirrors. They're all so neat looking!

 

Hey everybody, here are some pics I took tonight of the gutter guard grille mod:








The wife got her first shot behind the wheel tonight. She's officially hooked

 

WOW, Turcicus! So such a clean install and look, like it just came straight from the factory! Good job! Loving the pics of Nitro.

I wonder if a black one would look nice on my PW/B.. including if I do the aero grill mod along with it?

 

Grille looks great...I'll probably do the same just to avoid the intercooler getting hit with anything large, but I do wonder how much it impedes airflow.

 

Someone brought that up in a thread about this mod, and apparently the effect is little to none. A few people have had these on their cars for a year or more and haven't noticed any effect on peformance/airflow.

 

Turcicus, fantastic.

My wife will probably get her test drive tomorrow, she'll be hooked.

 

Thanks crishchun! A black one is a little difficult to see, but still looks good.