I bought a base 2004 mini recently and like an idiot I didn't really do my homework. Several questions;

1. It doesn't have cruise but came with an extra sport MFSW. My mechanic is up for the challenge after looking at the directions that I found mentioned here or on mini2 and he only charges $40 an hour. What parts (with numbers if possible) are needed to connect the much nicer sport MFSW to my car? Both wheels are two spokes, I assume the current airbag will be needed for the retrofit.

2. The car got 30.6 mpg on the first tank driving very maturely, is this normal? I was hoping for better. Would it get better milage with different wheels and tires? It currently has 205/45-17s.

I'm somewhat bewildered by the optional programing it could have (or maybe not!) and have been very busy reading everything that pertains on this site.

Other then these starter questions, I love this car! I told my wife I was buying a cool econo car and bought a sports car instead (and she hasn't noticed)!

 

30.6 mpg isn't bad, I only managed to get better than that a few times, even when I was driving "maturely". I never could get very good mileage out of the R50, but I don't usually drive maturely.

I don't know if the wheel size would make any difference, we had the stock 175/??-15s

 

Wheel size AND weight help out.

and for programing, Just reset your ECU. It does wonders. Refer to a thread called "Reseting your ECU....Like giving a Mini Viagra"

 

Wheel and tire size/weight (rotational mass) make the biggest difference in fuel economy after driving style. Vehicle weight is relatively fixed so that is not a variable here.