I am writing a paper for my masters program. No, not the 100 page paper, just a mere 12 pages.

My professor has turned my topic into Innovation vs. Reliability for the Mini Cooper.

I will be concentrating on the R56, Cooper and Cooper S.

Aside from say the turn signal (3 blinks) I can't seem to find much in the MINI's powertrain (engine / transmission) or electrical / interior that seems to be much different than most cars of today.

Maybe I'm looking in the wrong place.

Can anyone tell me the innovations in an R56? Any will be fine.

Thank you.

 

I am a valet so I drive a lot of cars every day and out of every standard transmission car I have driven I will say the mini has one of the smoothest shifts. Clutch pedal is springy but not too springy, and the pedals are placed very well for heel-toe shifting also

 

Thanks for the info. I too was a vary for a lot of years. I am 6'4 and the only reason I bought a Mini is because of all the leg room in the front seat. I miss being a valet.

 

The mini steering is different then the other manufactures.

 

No problem, I was thinking also the smaller storage area incorporated into the dash on the passenger side above the glove box is something not every car has nowadays either

 

Thanks all. Keep them coming!
I guess I was focused more on things that are innovative and fail. So far, as far as I can tell, the stuff mentioned here works great.

 

I don't know how common it is to have a 'sport' button that changes the response of the throttle pedal and steering assist.

I think that there is some form of 'hill start assist', which drags the brakes when you are starting the car on a hill, so that it does not roll backwards on a stick shift car. Mine is an auto, so I don't know this first hand, but I remembered reading it.

Mike

 

Mike, I agree with the sport button. It does change quite a lot, even in my non-S Cooper. I think the hill start assist is common these days.

 

Many cars have a sport mode, my moms and gorlfriends Volkswagens have it. Not sure if it changes throttle or steering but it moves up the shift points

 

How about the electronic limited slip "differential" - eLSD - ? It uses the brake on the inside drive wheel to keep it from spinning when in a corner and you step on the gas, much like a mechanical LSD.

 

Dual vented sunroofs? Non SUV.

 

Its not just the 3 blinks. Its the blinker stalk which is not like other cars (and I'm not sure its innovation, just different). A standard stalk you click on the blink, the stalk stays there. To click off the blinker you recenter it. The MINI stalk centers itself after you click it, it leaves you without a mechanical reference for what state the blinker is in. That makes it something you have to get used to and makes it somewhat difficult to actually use the blinkers until you're used to it. I still have trouble canceling them sometimes, in stead of canceling them I'll switch them to blink the other way.

The 3 blinks is also configurable between 1 and 3. The on board computer configurations may count as innovative.

 

Thanks all.
I figured the on board computer was innovative, I just can't find any info on what exactly does.
It would be great to have something that shows each system in the Mini and what it does.
If anyone has that, and could share it I could sure use it.

Might even save me 3600 big ones, as my company pays for my maters degree as long as I get a 3.0 in each class!!!!

 

I would add the paddle shifters as well. This may not fit the bill, but the standard seat fabric was a real delighter for me, I thought it was leather. I also like the seat adjuster letting me adjust up and down. The ability to program certain configurations like lighting options, and don't forget the neon lights.

 

For the MINI brand, I think of two main things that were innovative:

1. Creating a market for premium small cars.
2. Individual orders can be highly customized (made possible by an advanced, state of the art factory).

Unfortunately, I guess those don't fit the topic of your paper.

Almost everything mentioned so far (paddle shifters, on board computer, e-diff, 3 blinks, etc.) were inherited from BMW, where models already had those features. That's typical in the automotive industry, where any particular feature will be applied to multiple models. Is it innovative to use something that already exists? You make the call.

If you think of innovation as taking a risk and trying something different, these things come to mind:

1. Although much maligned, the CVT auto transmission of the R50 was innovative for its time.
2. The barn doors of the Clubman. Might not be considered too successful, because they are expensive to make and the Clubman hasn't sold well.
3. MINI Connected. This was actually released before the BMW version. The innovation is that software can be updated on the phone instead of the car. I think the implementation is poor and it couldn't be considered a success, but not a failure either.
4. Mission Control. This has some promise, but as implemented you have to feel, "What were they thinking?".
5. The Openometer in the convertible and roadster. Completely useless but something unique to MINI.

 

There are several innovations that were unique to BMW and carried over to the MINI. These include door locks which can be opened by pulling the handle twice and windows/sunroof can be opened from outside car by holding the unlock button on remote. Also, when the R56 was introduced in 2007 it had the "start" button -- one of the first on a small car, I believe. Other innovations are the changeable mood lighting and "light show" when the car is started. The pop and burble exhaust sound on late model MCS's when in sport setting is also innovative. To my knowledge from monitoring this forum none of these innovations have been problematic.

 

Holy cow! I never knew you could open the windows like that. I just ran out to the garage to try it out. Cool. Thanks.

 

Kind of a pity if the topic can't fit it, because MINI's innovations are far more in product design and marketing than in technical geegaws. They built a brand, but even more they built a culture -- NAM is part of it and so is this conversation -- from nothing much into a mainstream success.

The only other modern example of this I've noticed was GM's Saturn experiment in the early 90’s, before they pulled it in house (and ****ed it up). They built a "new" way to sell cars (treat the customer decently, who knew?), and they encouraged a culture of early adopter enthusiasts. BMW took it to a whole new level.

Sent from my iPad using NAMotoring

 

Thanks everyone.
I wrote 8 pages today. I will be using this as a reference and quoting some when I begin writing tomorrow.

 

Variable valve lift on the newer Justa engines isn't particularly common and reduces pumping losses increasing efficiency but it is a complicated design.

Showing my ignorance on the turbo cars here, but don't they have a aux water pump designed to improve turbo reliability but that is also a failure prone piece? You could do a paper just on that if so.

What are you getting your master's in? No offense, but if its in engineering a prof is going to be pretty unimpressed if you spend the whole paper on the turn signal stalk.

 

Haha, I will not be even mentioning the signal light stalk. My masters will be in systems engineering.
It is my understanding that a lot of turbo charged cars have an aux water pump.
I'm going to do some research, but I think the vacuum pump on the justa is not normal. Most small engines can get the vacuum pressure for the brake system from the engine. Oh and mine is now leaking

 

It was mentioned earlier, the steering system. On my 2011 I can revenue the engine up to 6k and dump the clutch in 1st with my hands off the wheel and it will go straight. No tq steer is a big deal, golf gti and especially the maszaspeed 3 have awful tq steer. Its also adjustable rack ratio if my memory serves me correct 2.x-4.x sport vs non lock to lock. I like the adjustable valve lift, that is something I had not heard of since hydraulic lifters on Chevys. Sport mode on the 2011+ s models also adds the pop and burble, I think its done with the vvt. You could talk about how the keys save your profile so radio and CD presets and that they hold ownership and car model information that the dealer can use when servicing the car. Bluetooth integration that works well. The car is also a global platform meaning that very little work is required to change the steering wheel side in the factory because of shared parts and gauge location.

Hope that helps, that's what impressed me anyways.

Sean

 

Not that it's uncommon or a failure now but MINI was one of the earliest adopters of the electrically assisted steering in lieu of hydraulics. This does go back to the previous generation though not specific to the R56 chassis.

You could add something more obvious like the ergonomics unless you are focussing on more mechanical items. Things like the placement of certain controls for the windows and locks and placement of the heated seat controls are poorly thought out and a failure of design while trying to stand out. As a MINI community we like these quirks as we feel it gives the cars character but let's be honest, when a bottle of water in the cup holder renders the heated seat useless and you can't reach the window control toggle, it's not really well thought out.

Lastly, along the same lines as above, being one of the first adopters of run flat tires has been a win and a fail. The very rough ride has turned some potential buyers away and due to the ultra stiff sidewalls, caused a tremendous amount of wheel damage. While this has allowed for clever packaging and space savings, it's been a turn off to some consumers.

Best of luck with your paper!

 

The tq steer management I was talking about was adopted on 2011+ to the best of my knowledge.

Sean

 

On the topic of "Innovation vs. Reliability", you can talk about direct injection and how it causes carbon deposits on the valves. Also look into High Pressure Fuel Pump failures.

No, the pop is created by making the fuel injector squirt extra fuel to induce a backfire. It was already introduced back in the 05-06 R53, but removed from the US market in 07 because of customer complaints.