I have all my mods delivered to work instead of at home (this goes for computer upgrades too!)

I do have one GREAT quality in my SO regarding the MINI - she loves manual transmissions! =-) =-)

 

Nice photo in your sig there sir -- now that you've got the FMIC and the tune what class are you running in? [sorry for the OT - just curious].

Cheers,

Charlie

 

The tune itself will throw you into SM. The sig pic is from my 07 S. I'm not racing my current MINI.

 

My wife has a fully restored '67 Plymouth GTX. Mods are NOT an issue!

 

Girlfriends and wives are different. Marry her...You'll see.

 

Similar situation at our house. Husband & I both drive MINI's and I'm just as "into it" as he is, if not more so!

 

So, as some of you might know, I installed a Sprint Booster in Benson this past week and it has improved the cars responsiveness in a big way. Well, the moment my wife got in the car for the first time since the install she immediately noticed the little light that selects the drive modes and she said "what's that, is that new, what does it do?". I explained that I installed this electronic device that would give us greater throttle response and help the AC to not lag the car down when on. Well, I got no response so I thought to myself, she's getting use to these upgrades as long as the ride continues to improve.
About a half an hour later she says to me, "I'm not sure I like this new button, I'm getting scared at how fast you're going and how your shifting has changed." I told her that this is how the car should have performed before we put this part in and that I would adjust my driving behavior while she is with me.
Damn, I like this Sprint Booster!

 

Well my wife thinks the mini is a bad a$$ car - and we have no issues there. But of course she is the one who is the primary driver of it ... and I am the one who gets on the forums for our cars and learns about them... I drive the "other" car lol.

 

Just remember, when she says "do whatever the f*** you want", she doesn't really mean it.

 

Ok I've decided to try and bring this thread back from the dead, because I'm in the middle of a "crisis" and I thought the thread was a laugh

So Technically Our mini is actually her Mini.... She's been wanting one for a very long time. My wife is French (Yeah as in from France) So driving stick is the only way she knows

So when she grew up she wanted the old cooper from over there you know, and when she got her license she was about to buy a special french edition of the cooper known as "The After height" an all BRG and Black edition.

But problem is her favorite uncle who's a mechanic told quote: "There's no way you'll buy one of those car while I live or heck you'll find yourself a new mechanic" That was obviously translated form french

So she gave up the Idea and bought her peugeot 106 (small but good car)

she then changed a couple of times until we where given a Ford focus TDI (yeah they have those over, not that bad either) as our wedding gift

We then sold the car when we decided to Cross the Ocean this way and started to look at cars that we could buy over here, we wanted An European feel when driven, you know what I'm talking about, we needed performance, handling great mpg and for it to fit the budget we got selling our other car. (Thank god at that time the Euro was trough the roof ) So considering her history the Mini S came as a no brainer for me only had to find the right one....

2 months and 18 different mini checked in person I found our "after height" when she saw her, she said "Yeah that's the one".

At that time everything was perfect on it but I wanted to play with it you know for the fun

Verdict came down hard and fast; -Why on earth would I want to change perfectly good parts????" can't say that I blame her so I've been waiting patiently for two years and 30000 miles.....

now There's like a sheet load of parts that NEEEEED a changing I took the car to the mechanic and he made a quote for labor and parts (OEM-Jobber parts)
That was HUUUUUGGGGEEEEE

She turned to me almost crying about how expensive it was (You see that's the problem with having a great uncle who's your mechanic, he never charged her a dime for labor and all the parts where at cost on all paid by dad before me so..... she truly never had a clue, it just always ran like new)

Then I jumped in, great thing now with the mini's is that you can find loads of goodies that will be cheaper and better than the replacement parts offered by regular joe's garage (not even talking about the dealer) and also found a way better mechanic

So I guess being patient is a certain way to go about modding, You can always take into account that if you want to KEEP the car a very long time (witch she does) figuring between 200 and 300 a month for maintenance and repair will ALWAYS give you a better car in a mini than in anything else you could afford with that amount.

She agreed to the logic and she works in accounting and management so...

Morale is If you have a budget for repairs, and replace failing part with better ones a the same or around price who's to say no

 

haha... my better half was at a MOTD and she heard a rather load one-ball exhaust on a very modded MINI and she immediatly says, "woooo.... I **LIKE** that!!". Two weeks later, we both had cat-back systems.

It's good to be with another MINIac.

Funny thing is, when I met her in 2005, she had no idea what a MINI was. Bought her a PW Justa and now she's all about MINIs.

 

Yeah it's good can't say she's crazy about spending tho

First mod was adding a cat back last week and she likes it (sold the stainless idea)

 

haha... trick is, not to tell her how much the mods cost. When asked... "wasn't as much as I thought it would be" or "I caught it on a nice sale".

 

Yeah not telling how much woudnlt work for me she's in accounting so budget wise its her department .

But theres always that stealer ship quotes that helps when looking for replacement parts she then realizes that I'm actually not trying to screw her (well at least not that.... you know what I mean )

And there truly are sales and deals if you keep a keen eye

 

My wife commutes (I will be joining her this fall) 50 miles each way, 4 days a week. We were looking to trade in her Escape for something that got better mileage and I wanted a Mini, so she humored me. First one we saw getting out at the dealership was the one in my sig. She fell in love with it. After her first week of driving it her exact words were "This car is FUN. I love this thing!" Before this, her cars were only forms of transportation to get to work, the store, etc.
Her driving style has since changed, and the second button she pushes after the start button is the sport button. I'm thinking about getting a Sprint Booster next, she complains about the odd throttle response a lot lately
She isn't exactly thrilled at spending money on modding it, but she is definitely warming up to it! (The stubby antennae was actually HER idea)
After I graduate in 2 more years (I went back to school at age 34) and am working full time again, the MCS is all mine, and she is getting a Coupe, probably a JCW!.

 

Congrats on the back to school thing did that at 32 (now 34) and its not as easy as someone would think :clap: :clap:

For the Driving part tho, check her if she gets behind something else wheel, my wife is taking my 2008 accord (stick) and she's beating the blip out of that thing She said it not as reactive as the mini so she has to press a little harder on the throttle OMG the bad MPG she gets AWWWWW

Anyway won't have the accord for long I will be trading for 2 used cars, probably an S4 v6 twin turbo (for fun) and Chevy hhr (for work)

 

What is an fmic?

 

http://www.altaperformance.com/p/112

Just a exemple

 

Acronym for front mounted intercooler

 

Mine is the same way, and doesn't get why I would want to modify it anymore than what it already is (stock). Thankfully, while she may not get it, she's ok with anything I want to do (since it is "my" car) - just so long as we have the money for it.

 

Ah gentlemen, see my significant other is my husband....and he also did not "get the car thing". He always has thought that, as someone mentioned earlier, "a car gets you from point A to point B" and is no big deal... And that we "should spend as little as possible on a car and then run it into the ground". Youch, that hurts...I have a whole lot more respect and love for my cars than that!!

Now, he and I got married 6 years ago - second marriages for both of us, so we had a lot of rewiring to do with one another. Thankfully, on the car front...I'm getting him to see the light due to a few things:
1. Six weeks ago we were driving home to CT from JFK airport when he fell asleep at the wheel and my neck was broken. (I'm going to be okay, thank God!)
2. I forgave him immediately .... That's why they're called "accidents". That's also why I am a really good and loving wife! Lol
3. My current car is a 2001 Mercedes ML320 and I've put 339,400 well earned miles on her. I take excellent care of her....but do not believe that I can never get a new car as punishment for being a really great car owner!
4. That's when he agreed to order my new 2013 "justa" on 6/16
5. After much conversation I found out that he doesn't really hate cars, but his ex used to make him feel foolish for wanting a "fun" car, so he had to let it go.
6. He has ALWAYS wanted a convertible...but thought it was too frivolous.
7. I convinced him that he too should have a fun car, and yesterday we took delivery of his beautiful used silver and black, Saab 9.3 convertible!!!!

8. He is a happy man! (and he has a happy wife as well!!!)

So that's my current significant other story...and I'm sticking to it! :-)