Hello out there, I'm brand new to this spot, and getting ready to get my Mini S ordered.

Just so you understand the theme, this will be my fun car/autocrosser/still used for commute and road trips. That being said, performance is much more important than comfort, and I am somewhat flexible on cost, but I'm just not willing to spec a $28,000 mini.

My musts: limited slip, cruise

My test drive was with sport suspension, and I could already tell I would want a stiffer rear sway and possibly stiffer springs. One question: Are my factory shocks going to be useless if some H&R springs may be in my future?

JCW: Is it likely that horsepower upgrades will soon be available as a factory installed option, not a dealer installed option? If so, I would wait for some more factory installed speed. I think this topic is still a mystery.

Seating: I've heard good opinions about almost every type of seating. I would probably go leatherette or cloth, but I admit the leather in my test drive was nice.

Xenon: what is the big hard on for xenon? I've had a car with and a car without, and I'm just not sure of the benefits.

Audio: $1400 is the good sound system with lifetime sirius. For almost free, I can install a clarion sirius tuner and clarion control panel through the aux input on the factory stereo. So other than the factory look, I'm not sure it's worth it.

Wheels/tires: I plan on getting rid of the run-flats brand new. Perhaps my dealer will make something happen with a local tire shop? If not, I can ebay just the tires or maybe the wheel/tire package.

any advice on these topics, or something important you think I missed would be appreciated!

Cheers

 

Three Comments:

a. Factory JCW a couple of years away
b. MINI Xenons are Bi and the best that I've seen. My A6 Audi has them and they are rubbish.
c. It's easy running up the cost of a MINI because of the plethora of options

 

Yup, LSD is a must. For cruise you need the Multi-function Steering Wheel.

I think you can find info on this in the Suspension Mods forum

Don't know.

The cloth does not have lumbar support. I know the leather does, not sure which others do.

I have Xenon and don't like it. Low beams too bright and cut off abruptly. So, they destroy your night vision and leave the area beyond their throw pitch black. They may be fine in an over-illuminated city, but they are bad in the country.

The factory wheels are heavy. You want to get some after-market lightweight wheels and non-runflat tires. So, go with the cheapest factory wheels you can choose.

 

Welcome to NAM!!!

LSD is gonna help with Auto X for sure. Gotta get the MFSW to get cruise.

Factory shocks will work for a while with lowered springs, but they should be replaced for best results.

Dealer installed JCW Stage 1 kit (intake, exhaust, ECU) should be available any day now. Price is $2100 + 2 hours labor to install.

Factory installed JCW Stage 2 kit is not expected until the 2009 model year.

Everything else I have little to no opinion/experience on, so your guess is as good as mine.

 

I think that the cloth/leather seats ($1000) have the lumbar adj, the std. checked seats do not... that being said I do not miss the lumbar.
Also with the cloth seats, I've found that I don't need seat heaters either...

You might also want to keep the wheels as a spare set for winter treads esp. if you are going to autoX (don't really want all-seasons there) and commute in the snowy stuff... (don't really want all-seasons there either)

HTH
(and don't let yourself go nuts second guessing those options!)

 

From my dealer: the JCW stage 1 should be available as a build option, as well as dealer installed. From what I've read at NAM, dealers don't always know the best info.

For suspension, I'm just not sure still. If I just want to upgrade springs and rear sway, the sport suspension shocks will be a little more compatible with H&R springs. Either way, stock or sport suspension components are probably worthless to sell later on?

Thanks again, I'll get thinking here.

 

You may want to spec the standard suspension from the factory and then upgrade to the JCW suspension as a dealer installed option. That's the route I am considering. The JCW suspension should meet your autocross requirements and still provide everyday driving usability. It also will be covered by your warranty unlike other after market suspension modifications.