Hiya!
This is the first car I've ever owned that I want to mod a bit. My first concern is I test drove a MINI w/o a sunroof and ended up ordering it and all the option packages. I'm afraid I won't like the reduction in performance.

Is there an appreciable difference? I think there would have to be! What would be the easiest way for me to compensate? lighter tires? Or?

I might go for the JCW in a year or two if my bonuses are good... :smile:

OH and can anyone recommend books or online resources for a newbie to learn about these things?

Thanks loads!

 

ehhhhh.... some may disagree, but I really don't think that the sunroof's weight makes that much difference in terms of performance. Sure, if you're a very serious auto crosser, then yeah, I suppose that every bit counts...but A LOT of folks out there have the sunroof and unless you're buying a car strictly for competition, I wouldn't worry about it.

That said, many folks have noted that reducing wheel weight is a big help, and pretty easy to do. The stock 17" wheels and runflats are VERY heavy. A number of people have noted that aftermarket wheels both look and weigh better. So, that could be pleanty of compensation for the weight of the sunroof. IMO.

 

cat,
Aloha and welcome to MCO-
If you already ordered the sunroof then just enjoy it and not worry about the 50 pounds in weight.

If you are interested in performance then send yourself to a driving school. Contact your local chapter of the BMW
Car club of America. Having the skill to drive is something you will need to work on and improve over time.
Buying mods for your car will help a little but you will still need to learn how to drive well to the full potential out of them.

An high performance driving instructor in a stock MC or MCS will run rings around a full modded MCS even with JCW kit on any track.
You can have lots of fun driving any stock MC or MCS without adding anything to it. If you don't know how to drive well- you can get
yourself into serious trouble.

Lightweight wheels do help acceleration and smoothness of the ride if you replace the runflats with standard tires and light alloy rims. But the dost can be ghit
maybe $1000 to $2000 for the set. Better to stick with your standard wheels. If you have the stock 16" then that is fine. Stock 17" are a bit harsher. Stick to
smooth roads when you can.

You can start with appearance mods first- things to make your MINI unique from a personal basis. Then driving school. One thing to realize abut MCO is
if you pay attention to all the HYPE you will get caught up in the stuff you can buy for your MINI and end up spending lots of $$$ that might
be unnecessary. That is why driving school is good- it's all about skill.

 

In my opinion I'd get the sun roof. Then have fun with it.
If you *ever* do get to the point where you are so competitive with the car that you want to cut every little ounce, you will have a BIG advantage over the steel roofed cars.

Yea, you'll take out your sun roof and put in the carbon fiber panel that is available now. There you go! You'll have a goodly advantage over the lowly steel roofed cars!

Enjoy your new sun roof!

Yfoiler

 

Thanks for the great tips, everyone! Keep 'em coming!

I do plan on going to a perf driving school. :smile: Especially since I'm used to driving RWD (280zx, Camaro). I'm used to slowing down before a turn, then accelerating through, and being very careful and cautious because the oversteer is instantaneous.

And no way do I have that whole heel-toe shifting thing down. I could do it fine on a motorcycle but a car? Yeesh! Awkward.

 

Cat,
Congratulations on your new purchase! I hope you get it soon.

See my sig for my car's configuration. Just about all I am missing is Nagagation and Cold Weather. I do have the sunroof.

Let me reassure you. My car KICKS BUTT! Even with a friend along and the Air Conditioning on, it still kicks butt! Fast enough to scare my passengers in a straight line. Most passengers would be crying if I took them over a good sports car road.

Don't worry, order the Sunroof, it is fun and you will enjoy it.

Eric

_________________


'03 MCS CR/W Premium/Performance/Leather
Pulley
Evotech
Madness Intake
Scorpion Exhaust
H&R Springs
ASA 18" JS5s with Yoko Parada Spec2s

 

I offset the weight of the roof by losing 25 pounds and may lose another 25 just to make it all even.

Mona Cooper

 

If you went to your local MINI dealer parts department to order a new factory sway bar or coil springs and shocks and they asked if your car had a sunroof or not, then I would have a concern about the sunroof affecting handling. But if the manufacturer doesn’t see a need to modify suspension parts that can greatly help or hinder handling, I personally wouldn’t worry about it either. I didn’t order a sunroof on my MCS, but I have had them in the past and enjoyed them. So get the sunroof and enjoy! Life is too short not to!

 

We've only noticed one drawback to the sunrroof... in the southern US, the interior gets really HOT, driving or parked!

The "sunshade" is perforated, so it doesn't block many of the rays. I'd prefer to replace it with an opaque sunshade... vendors???

I'm sure we could cover the glass with vinyl as some have done, but we are replacing our '03 "S" with a non-sunroof car instead. Our present '03 is for sale in the marketplace section.

All that said, I agree... for autocrossing and street squirreling, don't worry about the added weight... enjoy the sun and the breeze.

If you were going to track the car, I'd advise differently... 50 extra pounds of roof-hugging weight has no place on the racetrack.

 

Greetings,
Originally I didn't want the sunroof but I opted for a car on the lot with a sunroof and I don't regret it one bit.
As far as performance goes, below is a photo of Rany Webb of http://www.mini-motorsport.com. This is probably the fastest MINI in North America - notice the sunroof !!



Enjoy the sunroof!!
Ron

 

Hey, thanks for all the help guys! You're awesome!

I asked the salesgirl about that net, thinking the car would get too hot here in So Cal. She said there was going to be a replacement for it that was more opaque, but she was brand new and didn't seem to really know her stuff.