My only mod..... IMO, I think the stickers look great... just so i can keep the OEM wheels perfect, plus I like the way 18's look... my 06 GP is totally bone stock with 12,000 miles....

 

It looks really nice.

 

Your car looks great with those wheels....much better than the OEM GP2 17's

 

Way too much thought going into this topic.

Taking off the decals makes the car's styling simpler, cleaner more subtle.

Reminds me of the different "shades" of Porsche GT3 RS cars out there.

Some have all the decals, contrasted wheel colors, bright exterior colors, while other RS GT3s look like a regular grade GT3.


For examples:

 

I have GP 0173 which I purchased a couple of weeks ago, I removed all the decals except the GP decal on the hood. In my opinion it looks super clean and subtle-----and I like it that way! By the way, the car is amazing with only 220 miles on it so far and I am very excited to see what it will do once I pass the 1200 mile threshold. Once a person purchases the car it is theirs do to with it what they want. One of the things that attracted me to Mini was that like Porsche there are so many different ways to make the car "yours". I don't like every 911 or Mini I see, but they are all fun to look at and see how creative and passionate people are about certain cars!

 

What tires do you have (size)?

 

I went with 215/40 18 Hankook V12 evo, I was told a 225/35 would work but I opted for more side wall and better comfort. I had this exact tire and size on my 09 FJCW and loved the way it drove so I knew what to expect. IMO it drives very similar to the way the car drove with the Kumhos. A friend put some Falken 912 on a GP ( I think that's what they were) and it had a lot of roll and the handling was not nearly responsive. I didn't like the way it drove at all. She has now moved to the Hankooks too with 18's

 

I definitely think the answer to the original question, as many have concurred is: "different strokes, for different folks"

Everyones arguments makes sense to me. Bottom line comes down to what are you looking to get out of your car? Whether its to be a collector car or a weekend track beast. everyone has their own personal goals for their Mini set.

In response to people saying "why spend $40k just to make a GP like any other JCW?". Taking off some decals doesn't make a GP like any other JCW. With a small search one will find the GP has a slew of go fast goodies that easily add up be a large chunk of change. Also, I would hope the majority of people spent much less than $40 on their GP.

I didn't buy a GP because its limited production or anymore special than a JCW. It simply came down to the fact that if was cheaper than if I ordered a JCW built like how I wanted. A conservatively built JCW with Recaros was only $1k less than the GP. Just the cost of the carbon wing fills the price difference. Thats not even counting what the upgraded brakes, suspension, diffuser, etc. would add up to.

I'm sure someone will think well I can just buy a base JCW and mod it myself. My argument to that after doing countless high performance builds myself is no heavily modded car has the level refinement of a purpose built factory car unless you have very very deep pockets. Also, builds ALWAYS end up costing way more than what you originally budget them to be.

Just my $.02

 

Ain't that the truth; for many years, I kept track of how much I spent on my R53 MCS in aftermarket mods. Then a few years ago, I stopped doing that, and I'm glad I did. I kept on modding, but it's almost like I just don't want to know how much money I've poured into it. What kind of MINI could I have purchased with the grand total? Probably a GP...

But with all my mods, I'm sure I couldn't get KBB value on my car if I sold it. Those mods lessen the value to everyone else out there that isn't, well, me...

I don't have the energy or money to return all the stock parts back onto my MINI before selling it, either. So someday, when it is finally time to say goodbye to her, I'll probably take quite a hit...

 

Well said there. I share the same thought with you. But for me, I am just sick of heaving modding the car only to find out after spending so much money, I will just have to spend much more to fine tune the car to get it well balanced. This is simply too much time and effort and money. I just want to get a great car that is well tuned and balanced from the factory. I honestly think GP2 is a steal for what it is.

 

I couldnt agree more. Something to be said for paying a little more and having a car thats damn near exactly what your looking for and its done right. No arguments over warranty work and piece of mind knowing its going to stay together if you decide to cut accross the nation and carve some mountain roads.

Either I just have bad luck or things dont actually come together as gracefully as TV shows and some of these performace companies build threads lead one to believe. I've never had a happily every after with a serious builds. I know you have to pay to play and its the nature of the beast to have things break when your upping the power ouput by over 50% but I guess I use to be a bit naive with my expectations.

But after all the years of blood, sweat, tears, and knockin the bottom out the piggy bank I've come to love and appreciate my Mini just that much more!

 

Ditto. After checking to see if I could buy replacement stickers, I peeled them right off and am very happy with my choice!

I also bought a set of GP1 wheels for winter tires. The don't clear the width of the 6 pot Brembos. Now I'm looking for the right spacers.

 

Let me know how you get on with the spacer thing. I have a brand new set of OEM 06 GP wheels that have never been mounted , bought them as a spare set for my 06 GP, I thought about putting tires on them and sticking them on the GP2 but they will need very substantial spacers!!!!
Thanks

 

I didn't read all the pages but I prefer people who spent money for a GP2 & then modified it til it's almost unrecognizable vs those who keep it in a glass box never to be driven.

 

Well I still have my stickers but slowly working on little mods, so far just the interior and wheels have been updated. 3 months old, just over 4,000 miles and it’s not my daily driver (weekends only)... I will say though that my 06 GP rarely gets driven, just turned 12,500 miles last weekend. It’s not in a glass box but looks as if it just drove off the showroom floor.. , but that the way I like it.

 

Well I still have my stickers but slowly working on little mods, so far just the interior and wheels have been updated. 3 months old, just over 4,000 miles and it’s not my daily driver (weekends only)... I will say though that my 06 GP rarely gets driven, just turned 12,500 miles last weekend. It’s not in a glass box but looks as if it just drove off the showroom floor.. , but that the way I like it.[/QUOTE]

Where did you get your CF dash panels? Do they match the Mini made pieces in quality and look?

 

Where did you get your CF dash panels? Do they match the Mini made pieces in quality and look?[/QUOTE]

The Dash is an OEM JCW MINI part...
Here is a write up I did on installing it with the hidden compartment on the GP: I went with the CF but you can buy just the door part in Piano Black. Part Numbers are at the bottom for the Carbon Fiber for the hidden compartment install, a non hidden compartment part is also available.

FYI…. To all my GP2 friends who want the Secret Hidden Compartment…

I’ll try my best to cover everything and the parts needed… pretty straight forward, parts department said I needed another huge $100 something bracket but It must be if your using a CD changer Unit, there was no way it was going in and I couldn’t even see how it would fit without taking the entire dash out, it was returned. All these parts fit perfect and are very secure… you will see what I mean if you decide to do this mod. Why they didn’t do it I don’t know… a McDonalds Happy Meal in my stomach weighs more than these parts...lol

These are the parts I used for the hidden compartment. Once you pull off the passenger side piano black faceplate and remove the right AC vent housing and leather knee bolster its very simple. Just be careful with the knee bolster and not pull it straight out as it is nested a little on the left behind the big speedo trim. I nicked mine a little but you can’t really see it after I re-installed everything. The two speed nuts I had to buy at Home Depot clip into the dash for the 2 bottom screws to hold in the Carrier CD Changer /door mechanism using (2) of the (3) self-tapping screws from the dealer, the third screw will go into the clip (51452756285) but one of the existing clips next to the hole will need to be removed and the new clip put in next to it.. In fact all the clips that held on the existing front trim need to just be pulled out (they are white/clear female type housing socket looking clips)… lol, It really is easy to do and if I had to do it again I’d say it would be done in an hour or so. The parts are not expensive either (the only expensive part is the trim piece). One guy had it done in a forum and he said it was $575 for the parts and 2 hours of MINI labor at the dealer…. No way, parts are about $300 and I think that would include the (1) new trim piece you need if you’re going piano black. My parts were a lot more since I did the Full Carbon Fiber on both sides. My dealer had all these parts in stock and shipped them in one day....Here are pictures of the install… I just ran cable extensions so I could keep my IPod in there… you don’t have to do that unless you want to. I love it, no more IPod kicking around the floor or in a cup holder

http://www.flickr.com/photos/digitalcanonpix/sets/72157635014969045/






http://www.flickr.com/photos/digitalcanonpix/sets/72157635014969045/

 

Noticed you even added a sticker. I remember that back window sticker from Houston back in the day. Everyone with a fast car had to have one-definitely a must have for the GP. Get you out of anything yet? Enjoy not having to get winter rubber...

 

Edit: posted in the wrong thread, post moved

 

My first comments are....whatever an owner does to his ride is the right thing. We buy these for fun. When the GP came out I ran to the dealer to look at one. My very first impression was Ya gotta be kidding....in reference to the side decals and red scoop decal. My Laurel has nicer side stripes. And the more I looked I realized the GP is not really for me. I'd enjoy a JCW vert with some options for the same price.
There is something about the GP in stock form...but also looks good with the decals removed. I still might pursue a GP. Not sure what I would do to it if I did get one.

 

Mine is for sale, you could get one at a discount

 

Never gets driven because it's not as fun as the newer one?

 

It's as fun or funner ...lol, the Gen1 is more like a race car to me, rough, bumpy, rattily and loud…. The look and feel of it is just amazing rattles and all. The new GP2 is easy to drive and more refined, it's quiet and you don’t really need to be in control like you do in the 06... you feel the road in the 06 and you get to be in control and make everything happen, it's a drivers car. Both cars are awesome in their own individual way. I honestly can’t say which is better as they are totally different cars. But if I had to choose between both I would pick the '06 Gen1...

 

I bought the car for performance, the graphics are a bit cheesy, I added my own...



Not the best picture but even from a distance it looks better.