What is meaning of the 1st and 2nd generation Mini Cooper? What is the advantage of putting nitrogen in your tires? Bill

 

1st Gen MINI's are the '02 - '06 Cooper and Cooper S's
2nd Gen MINIS are '07 + Cooper, Cooper S and Clubman's

No idea about the nitrogen though!

 

Tires inflated w/ nitrogen should maintain more consistent pressure over the long haul.

 

Although, unless I'm mistaken, the '07 and '08 Cabrios are still considered 1st Gen MINIs too since they haven't undergone the body/powerplant transformation (yet)

 

Yes, sorry. Duh!

 

+1 to all of the above:
R50, R52 and R53-- first gen.
R55, R56 and the upcoming R57-- second gen.

and, yes, nitrogen supposedly provides more consistent tire pressure (doesn't leak as much and doesn't expand/contract as much as the tires heat/cool). Several threads exist discussing this: general concensus seems to be -- nice if you get it for free (ex. Costco) but not worth paying for.

 

+1 on the 1st gen and 2nd gen issues above.

re/ the Nitrogen issue:

Nitrogen is 79% of the air we breathe, and the nitrogen used to fill tires isn't absolutely pure, but certainly pure enough (generally made with membrane "filtration" or osmosis, rather than air distillation). Main benefits:
- No oxygen in the tire means no potential for oxidation (not a major issue)
- No moisture (or minimal moisture) in the gas that's in the tire, meaning a more stable pressure relative to usage and outside temperature.

This is well said: " general concensus seems to be -- nice if you get it for free (ex. Costco) but not worth paying for."

Considering most pressure adjustments in the field are done with plain old air, and some are even done in high humidity or raining conditions, the positive effects of an initial Nitrogen fill can be (literally) diluted.

 

R55 = Cooper or Cooper S Clubman.

R58 not currently used (Rumored to be the code for a MINI roadster)

 

^ yes, you are right (corrected my first post).
. . . and I guess I could add the R60 to (upcoming) second gen

 

Yep. R60 = Colorado SAV AWD. (2011)

 

What's the cost of filling up with nitrogen? ...

 

Pretty cheap, I imagine, check with Costco. You should actually purge the air out 2-3x to make sure the tire's filled with nitrogen, not just diluted humid air. If the shop simply installs the tire on the tire machine, it's got one "atmosphere" of air in there (14.7PSI, or zero PSIG). Simply using nitrogen to fill the tire the rest of the way puts ~2.5 atmospheres of nitrogen in, and the tire will have about 2/3 nitrogen, 1/3 air at about 35 PSIG (49.5 psi). If the tires are already mounted and full of air, even if you "flatten" them they'l still be 3/4 full of atmospheric-pressure air. Filling with nitrogen, then purging, then filling again would get you to 85-90%, once more would get you to ~ 97%. At some point, you say "good enough", and move on.

FWIW, some wheels actually have TWO valves - one for filling and one for emptying, which allows better purging (and a rather odd look, BTW).

(PSIG = psi as read by gauge, which subtracts out the 14.7psi atmospheric pressure. PSI includes the 14.7psi atmospheric pressure and measures pressure relative to vacuum).

 

Both Costcos I've used only use nitrogen. If you buy tires from them, they fill with it and will do free refills for life of tire.

 

^ That's good to know, since I'm watching my two rear tires closely for replacement.

 

1st gen Mini is the car the designers wanted to build.

2nd gen Mini is the car the accountants and EuroNcap told the designers to build

 

Please! Why stir the pot, they are all cool cars and a blast to drive. Going down the Dragon the smiles did'nt look a bit different.

 

That was cold.

 

Ok, being new to this forum I wonder if anyone can tell me why the 2nd gen is worse than the first? Is it appearance? Size? Performance/mechanical features? Please don't say "all of the above" - give me specifics. I am not trying to start a flame war and I realize there is a risk of that; but I've been reading NAM for about a month now and every now and then I see some comment along these lines that is taking a shot at the gen2 - and being a novice, I don't see why the fuss. I can see pluses and minuses of the MCS grill being so different in gen2, but otherwise I don't see it. Of course, I don't even have my own MCS yet, so maybe I'll find things I don't like about it, I don't know. (and, along these lines, why do some people seem to dislike the non-functional scoop? I think it looks kind of cool.)

Thanks!

Tony

 

IBTL

(this can only go downhill from here . . . it has in the 20-30 threads before this one)

 

I don't think it *has* to go downhill. Maybe I'm naive, but I think it's possible that people could say "I don't like this" or "I prefer that" without making judgement calls on other people. I could wade through other threads, but I was hoping for information without the innuendo, snide comments, defensiveness, anger, etc. Since some people really don't like the 2gen they must have reasons; I (or anyone else) don't need to agree with those reasons, but it would be nice to hear them. And a thread titled "1st/2nd Generation Mini" seems like a good place for them to live.

Here is what I think I understand so far:

People who prefer Gen1 over Gen2 like:
a) gen1 is smaller (I think Gen2 is three inches longer?)
b) gen2 has non-functional scoop; for some reason, people don't like that
c) gen2 MCS is turbo, gen1 is something else; some people prefer that, don't like the turbo
d) interior design changes (center stack?)
e) different grille on the gen2 MCS

Tony

 

I agree that it doesn't have to -- but it does
If you do want to find the threads, it's real easy -- just look for the ones with the big "Locked" on them

 

Anyone who purchase nitrogen for their car tires has a screw loose.

With the air we breathe already comprising of close to 80% nitrogen, you're getting really ripped off to add the remaining 20%.

This one of the biggest scams I've ever heard of!

Come on, people!!!

Don't fall prey to this nonsense!

 

i would wield the mighty ban hammer without blinking an eye at chpsk8 if i could. this is a MINI family. we should all love each other, theres no reason to start stuff.

 

All right all right... didn't mean to ruffle the feathers... well maybe a little bit, but only in good humor.
Nothing wrong with either version. Gen 1 or 2 is a fine Mini and I know plenty of folks that have experienced both.
The basis of my comment is that when a car like the new Mini or the new Beetle is built the first few models years are more designer inspired rather than profit machines. As the cars mature they are tuned more to the bean counters and to the mainstream public.
The EuroNcap reference has to do with the body redesign that was done to satisfy the new EuroNcap requirements for pedestrian safety. There must be a certain "cushion" for a pedestrian that is struck by a car. That cushion was obtained by raising the hood above the motor a couple inches which causes the beltline to be raised all the way around the car.

All in all a Mini is a Mini is a MINI is a Clubman and they are all part of the family...

 

I have friends who are into classic Minis (I was talking to one this morning) who dislike the BMW MINI altogether!!!! Bottom line though, despite personal preferences, first and second gen cars have proven themselves in their own right and each has certain strengths. There really is something to love in each iteration of the Mini/MINI and I think most of us realize that, even though it's natural to have personal likes/dislikes.