According to Consumer Reports the reliability of the 3rd gen MINIs has greatly improved. I remember after buying my R56 in 2010 and seeing the horrible ratings on the S model year after year. I felt uneasy about the car. Now 6 years later, it has some rattles, it needed a carbon cleaning and a new battery, but thats about it.

If you check out Consumer Reports now- the F56 is a recommended car, way up from the bottom of the list. It may not be the most practical car, and if you watch you options, I feel that it is priced fairly for what you get in a premium small car. (Too many options and it comes fairly close to a lightly optioned BMW 228i), but thats another story.

 

Yep.. Mazda 3 no EGR.. Which is way cool for clean intake valves with DI. And with no turbo, no PCV oil blow by. It does till have a PCV. Hope those hot valve temps burn what little comes in. Good luck. Let us know what you get.. Wish you would join our MINI family. Bet you would enjoy the many miles. FYI, I have my eye on 2015 blue/red ZO6 convert. 8 speed. He is selling for health reasons. I know under hard track use, they overheat intake. I could care less. Short question and answer (this is MINI forum after all): You give thumbs up on C7? Last KY super car I owned was a C4 Z51. Loved it for that time.

 

I honestly wish I would have liked the Mini a little more or had less doubts about long term, high mileage driving. Highest mileage I saw on an F56 was like 50k miles. Thats like 2-2.5 years of driving for me.

The Mazda 3 actually DOES have reported PCV oil in the intake track issues so I will likely grab a catch can like I have on my Z06(which is also bad about putting oil in the intake).

As far as the C7 Z06, bad *** car, I would wait until the cooling issues get taken care of either by GM or aftermarket(for a 15 you would have to go aftermarket). If you never track the car hard, its not an issue, just on the track. LG Motorsports has a prototype front bumper and a few other cooling mods they have been working on that alleviate the issues, BUT then they caught the front brakes on fire. The paint on the drivers front caliper on their test car was completely charred black except at the very bottom it was still a little red.

Me personally ill stick with my C6 Z06 with heads, cam, headers, etc... putting a bit over 550 to the wheels in a ~3150lb car. I can out run a new Z06. Similar power to the wheels and my car is ~350lbs lighter and less than half the cost including my build.

 

^^^ Good advice.

 

I'm curious to know why you wouldn't get DDC again?

 

I'm sure Peter will respond, but I believe it may be due to the DDC being a bit of a pain if you want to install coilovers or make other mods to the suspension. I have the JCW sport suspension & I love it just the way it is. However, if I install coilovers or make any other suspension mods it will be much easier not dealing with the DDC.

John

 

That's interesting. I contemplated ordering a car with DDC and I've been told in this forum that doing coilovers with DDC is as simple as unplugging the circuitry, removing the old struts and replacing with the coilovers of your choice. With the understanding, of course, that the system is then no longer dynamic.

If this is not the case, I'd like to know.

 

Well, you kinda answered your own question. Why buy DDC if you intend to do mods that make it useless? It can he done as I understand, but why not just put your money into mods from the get go & not buy DDC? DDC is fine if that's what you want, but it has its limitations.

 

Well, because $500 is a good price for a good suspension that is better for more people more of the time on most roads - but no one wants to be locked out of future upgrades or incur extra expense to have replacement parts put in.

For the record, I have the JCW Pro Coilovers but I think most people would find it very uncomfortable. Though MINI drivers are a bit different, I still think DDC is the better value for most people, esp comparing it to the standard suspension.

 

Much prefer the Sport Suspension, but alas, not an option anymore unless you order the JCW.

 

Feel like I'm throwing money away if I put in coil overs after purchasing the DDC.

 

I wasn't knocking DDC....it's just not for me! As I said I have the JCW sport suspension & it's perfect for me! If I wanted adjustability to soften my suspension a bit DDC would have been an option for me but back when I ordered my very early JCW the DDC option wasn't even mentioned to me by the dealer! In the end I'm happy with the SS anyway. And if I modify my suspension someday I can put that extra $500 toward the coilovers! For people not particularly interested in suspension mods that enjoy the benefits of the DDC that's great! I still say if you buy the DDC plan on keeping it though or you're wasting $500 if you decide on suspension mods that make it useless.

 

Agree with you 02.