Hey, I do not love R53 at all, but even I can think of 5 reasons to love it!!!
- still easiest to mod
- tremedous (okay insane) value considering what you get
- supercharger whine (intoxicating...can't deny it)
- quick (especially when you need it!!)
- hey, it's a MINI!!!

...and here's a bonus #6: it looks a heckuvalot like a Cooper!!! j/k, my own daughter perfers the looks of the MCS!!

abuzavi, thanks so much for this detailed account !
As a native German, living in the US for almost 6 years now, I was hanging on every word.
Not to hi-jack your thread but I would like to share my experience.
I grew up an hour (with average speed) south of Leimen, left of the Rhine, on the border to Alsace. Made my license with 18 back then (was abot $800 converted) and had 10 years to drive cars, motorbikes and trucks (German Army) on the Autobahn. Fastest I've ever driven was around 130 mph, once with my father-in-law's 730i, the other time with my bike, a BMW K100RS. The car was no problem, smooth crusin. On the bike (on the A5 from Basel north towards Freiburg)... lets just say, I've never driven faster than 75 mph on a bike after that. Nothing happened, no close calls or anything like it but I was still a total nerve wreck afterwards
Coming to the US I needed some time to adjust to the driving style.
My driving instructor in Germany (God bless you, Albert) had emphasized to always take the stupidity of other drivers into your calculations. Needed it in Germany as well, but here ...oh boy...
Taking a nap (sloooow driving) on the left lane , switching lanes without turn signals (I really thought in US cars you can only have either a cupholder OR turn signals ... and most went for the cupholder), passing on the right (funny, several states seem not allowing it but rather tolerate it) etc.

However, I adjusted to it ! In fact, I adjusted so well that after 2 years, going for a business trip back to Germany, I wasn't used to it anymore... not to the speed, not to the concentration needed... I was almost stressed out after a couple hours. But that was gone after a couple days
I remember one night I drove from my in-laws in Zweibruecken over the A6 towards Heidelberg (had some kind of Citroen as a rental)... going about 120 mph when the board computer told me that my tire pressure wasn't exactly up to that kind of speed... the French really are party pooper sometimes

We picked up my wifes MCC yesterday (our first MINI) and today she already said: "God, how I miss German roads !"

Sorry for this long statement and again thanks for your refreshing story.

Lets motor !
Volker

Yeah people here drive like C-R-A-P, thank god Mini's have good brakes, just the other day I got so close to rear ending this idiot at 55MPH who stopped on the on ramp to the freeway , I got so F@cking pissed off, ahhhhh the idiot's reason for stopping is he was in the wrong lane and decided to come to a dead holt for no reason just to get on the feter road , ARGH then going home on I-10 I was behind two idiot's going 65MPH blocking me from the left lane and one idiot from the right, we passed a state trooper and that ******* couldn't give a **** but just talk on his cell phone and not notice anything wrong with two retards holding up a group of traffic .
But yeah, I'm ONLY 16yrs old and I totally agree that getting a drivers license should be more rigorous becuase there are so many teens that mess it up for the good teen drivers .

Herr Volker, you raise interesting points.

The stupidity of others. One thing about that stretch of road on that day: I was lucky to have had such good drivers also on the road. Having them be predictable is important. I don't rely on everyone else being predictable, but with enough experience, one can almost assess where stupidity will occur, as it seems to happen less.

How horrible would it be in America is people got their licenses later in life, as they do here? Oh, the horror of it all! Call the UN -- there would be 16 year olds who not only don't have a new M3 to drive (or Chevy Tahoe, or Mac truck), but not even having a license? I want only $1 for every adult German I know who does not have a license at all, and $1 for every adult German I know who does not own a car that is specifically theirs. Getting the license is expensive -- it's far more than $800 today! -- and the gas is expensive, as are the taxes and the insurance and the repairs.

As for missing the roads here, that can be solved easily: come back on urlaub. I know one NAM guy who is looking to come back over at the end of August this year, for the Minis in the Alps trip to Switzerland. Arrive early, stay late -- see the Black Forest, make a trip up to drive the Nürburgring / Nordschleife, and re-embrace the autobahn. In August, as you know, everyone leaves Germany -- it is a great time to see Germany.

And congratulations on the new car. Enjoy it!

[quote=abuzavi;1591521]Herr Volker, you raise interesting points.

The stupidity of others. One thing about that stretch of road on that day: I was lucky to have had such good drivers also on the road. Having them be predictable is important. I don't rely on everyone else being predictable, but with enough experience, one can almost assess where stupidity will occur, as it seems to happen less.

Thank you for saying that , driving for more than a year now I'm very cautious with my Mini I want it to have all the original parts till the day I die or sell it for another Mini. I'm very fortunate to have good parents I got to build and order my MCS with the Premuim, Sport, Coldweather pkgs, panther black leather, harman kardon, plus about a month and a half ago with my hard earned money I got a JCW kit big accomplishment considering I earn $5.75 and hour

Urlaub ? What's that ?
No, seriously, vacay in Germany is always a 2 edged sword for us.
Of course we want to see the family and friends but we would also like to do some touristy stuff, but don't have enough time... you can't imagine how we crave for things like 'Fussgaengerzonen'.
For the 'not yet been to Germany' section: inner city areas for pedestrians only (often with lots of stores and restaurants/cafes with patio seating facing the front)... as for the stores, chains are common in Germany as well but it is not like our malls here where almost each one contains almost 90% of the same businesses.

When we had fieldtrips in school, our teachers dragged us to each and every castle in the area, I couldn't stand it.
What would I give today for these ruins

Abuzavi, ever been down to Annweiler in the Palatine Forest ?
Trifels Castle is there, Richard the Lionheart was held hostage there...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trifels_Castle

And to come back to motoring, the road passing by Annweiler, called B10, while not exactly a tail of the dragon (especially after they put in additional lanes) is still a very nice twisting and winding road.

But so is the German Wine Route (Deutsche Weinstrasse) which isn't far off to the east. Passing through the small villages and the vineyards.
And the roads in northern Alsace ... Oh boy, now I'm getting homesick ...

But we got the Mini now and I promised to find every winding road in Connecticut for her (wife insists it's a she).

Great story. Didn't get to spend much time on the roads when I was in Landstuhl recently and it was hard to see much from a litter when I was but I spent the whole time thinking about being on them in my Mini.

As for the kids in the back, which sounds safer: kids buckled in the backseat in a car with six airbags following the law or a three year old standing on the front seat of a Pinto doing 70 mph? Things were a little different when I was a kiddo.

What a small world. Yes, I've been to Annweiler -- it's at the end of what we lovingly call Poppa Bear Point Run (details are here). I have not been to the castle -- it sounds as if we now have reason to go back!

I suppose this brings up a good point:

Reason 7 why I love driving my car (my first set of 5 was actually six, but who's counting anyway?). It makes me happy, no matter where I drive it. From trips to the store for groceries (when it's just Edeka down the street) to the few hours to get to Luxembourg, from the business trip to the Netherlands to tooling around the neighborhood to show off the car to a visiting friend, it always brings a smile to my face. I had this same sensation, in a lesser form, with my last car: a '69 Camaro. I can be having a crappy day, but when I start walking to the car, it all seems to melt away. It's a sensation that happens 100% of the time, and it is just plain awesome.

Reason #8. Wow, does it handle the twisties. Holey smokes, it drives like a modern day rollercoaster. I am fortunate to live in a great part of the country, where I can throw a rock and hit things like the Odenwald (which I've driven a lot), the Black Forest (my new favorite), and even little ol' Poppa Bear Point. Other than a 15% pulley (there was this pulley party, see, and I had no choice), my car, my Tess Turbo, is stock, and still she drives like a dream in the turns. I may do an M7 USS before the Swiss trip, as a reward for her handling duties in recent weeks, but really, that's just gravy. If I could sneak out at lunch and drive the curves every day, I would. I'd probably skip food to go drive the curves, because doing them in this car is just that good.

Is the R56 as good in the curves? Don't know, don't care. My girl and I, we love 'em. I can't think of anything that would make me want to drive another car.

abuzavi, any plans this weekend to make me jealous ?
hmmm, I could always take the next flight over and at least take my motorbike out on the road, that stood to long in mother's garage... and that's not a place for a BMW

Unfortunately, no. Washed the MCS, in order to put the new Police Interceptor badge on it.



Next weekend should be a garage weekend -- new M7 USS from Custom Mini Shop should be here by then. Of course, after installation, it'll need to be tested -- maybe Poppa Bear or Odenwald II, just to make sure it really, really works.

I suspect I'll really need the USS for the MITA trip.

1.) Because it's mine
2.) Because it's all mine
3.) Because it's only mine
4.) Because it's so much fun
5.) Because my wife "smiles" for days when I toss her the key

Need to adjust it for several reasons for myself

1a.) It's a R52 (that's a 2006 MCC, right ? Sorry, new to MINI )
1b.) Because it's hers
2.) Because it's all hers
3.) Because it's only hers
4.) Because it's so much fun
5.) Because I smile for days when SHE tosses me the key

Reason #9: Alta 15% reduction pulley, and NAM friends willing to throw a pulley party. Egads, what power!

Reason #10: M7 USS. OMG, I now drive a 200hp go-kart! I use to say that the 15% pulley was the best thing ever, but adding the USS yesterday has taken this car to a whole new level. It is unreal. What an awesome combination.

Told ya.

Put on an H-sport adjustable rear sway, set it to the middle setting, and your journey to the dark side will be complete. It will be yet another one of those "HOLY *****!!!" moments when you drive THAT through the twisties. Honest.

Patience, Blimey, patience. Let me revel in this for a while! (Well, that and build the slush fund back up so I can buy more parts!)

my own list
1. Because it makes me smile
2. Because it makes her smile
3. Because it makes everyone around smile
4. Because it can leave a M3 in the mountains
5. Because it proves that power isn't everything

sorry for my ignorance... even after reading through this board and others I haven't figured out yet what a pulley is or does... and what is the M7 USS ??

"Pulley" = supercharger reduction (overdrive) pulley - replacing the stock supercharger pulley with a pulley of smaller diameter (typically 15%, 16%, 17% or 19% smaller) - which means that for a given engine RPM, the supercharger will spin that percentage faster, which increases the boost pressure created, which feeds the engine more air, which then tells the computer to provide more fuel, which yields more POWER!

"USS" = M7 Under Strut System - a system of three alloy braces that mount on the bottom of your chassis, that increase the structural rigidity of the front half of the chassis. The effect of this is that your suspension has to do less work dealing with "smoothing out" the flex of the chassis and instead can do what it's designed to do - keep the tires in contact with the road surface while providing a smoother ride. This nets surprisingly better handling for something that doesn't actually modify the suspension - just makes it work better. In most people's experience, it reduces the "understeer" of the car - the car has less of a tendency to "plow ahead" in corners, because you've effectively increased front tire grip and steering response.

Thanks so much Blimey !

Volker - the USS REALLY shines on cabrios, which have MUCH more front end flex than coupes. MINI did a good job of adding bracing to the rear of the cabrios (look underneath, there are several steel braces under there) but didn't do much or anything for the front. The result is what we call "cowl shake" - the front end of the car vibrates on rough pavement... on a cabrio, the USS virtually eliminates this - it's like a different car from only 7lbs of aluminum... unbelievable really, but true.

But you really only notice this in performance driving - twisty roads. That's where the difference is tremendous.

Volker you talking about the M7 USS, is that an air intake?

The M7 USS is the understrut system as described by Blimey.

HighSchoolz - you may be thinking of the M7/DDM which is an air intake

ooooo there you go thats what i was thinking about

M7 USS details are here. Blimey did nail it, though. But then again, he's a total convert.

Pulley is here (now with video, which I missed before).

And I should probably add reason #10: awesome vendors. Be it M7 and their very good walk-throguhs for installation ('cause I'm stupid enough to try the install myself), to folks like Custom Mini Shop, who share the passion for the car we all love so much. Seriously, just a year ago when I was still driving my '69 Camaro RS, parts sellers for it were so ho-hum about what they sold. Not so with Mini parts. Minis seems to only collect vendors who are also nuts about the cars, too -- or there are enough of them that I can ignore the rest. There's little that is more dangerous than a passionate seller -- imagine if crack was sold in the same positive light as reduction pulleys and USS!

Tru Dat...