yesterday, we said goodbye to our Chili Red 2002 Mini Cooper S.
I loved the car, but two factors influenced my decision to
say goodbye.

1) Needed 4 doors.
2) I race with BMWCCA, NASA and SCCA in the club racing (road course) programs, I calculated the cost of upgrading the Mini to my standards including limited slip, pulley, big brakes, larger wheels as in width and decided that
I would buy something that already had these put on.
3) The dealer could never stop all the rattles and could not cure the stall in 1st gear.

I ended up with an all wheel drive car with a turbo charged in line four, brembo brakes, limited slip, lightweight forged alloy wheels, and a 5 speed transmission, with a carbon fiber wing and a moonroof and a suspension to die for.
It is not a BMW, but it is faster than all BMWs minus the M3. Which should do for me, since I already own an M3 race car.

I appreciated these forums, thank you all very much.

Bora

 

It's too bad to see you go: the MINI is a great platform to start from. December 1st is when the V36 software is released that will fix the stumble on affected MINIs.

So...what car did you end up buying? My guess is it sounds like a Mitsubishi Evo or an older modded Eclipse.

Enjoy, Cheers.

 

EVO or STi? :smile:

 

A carbon fiber wing? Sweet. Thats gotta be good for about 5 HP at least.

 

I'd take an STi or an EVO over the MINI if I had the money.

 

He got an EVO from what it sounds. And the carbon fiber wing is factory fit antsmini so you cant make any ricer jokes. It's not a big double decker thing like the kidies use, it actually functions.

 

I wouldnt. Both cars are ugly as sin.

 

I dunno Dave - it's not my type. I'm a naturally aspirated snob, so having the MCS's supercharger is slightly self-demeaning. I could never tolerate driving a turbo-mill on a daily basis; I treasure my predicable power curve and no waiting.

If my budget was about $40k, that puts me into S2000, Elise, 350Z, or a fully tuned-up MCS JCW plus enough cash left over for a winter beater.

I'm a bit miffed why you'd ever need to toss a MINI for something else for racing duty; out of the box an MCS will spank an //M3 (pick your chassis) in autocross, and with a some engine work it will hang with it on a roadcourse too.

that's my $0.02

 

yeah, well $40k to spend on a car right now and I'd probably go for the G35.

 

Personally, I'd probably lean toward an STi for racing. I actually like the way they look (except for the fugly wing). But It's a safe bet that the original poster did not get one. He said he'd got an inline 4. The WRX and STi have flat/boxer 4 engines.

 

Next you're going to say you want the space and comfort of an Acura TSX (which is an awesome sedan, btw)

 

I like the TSX a lot too. :smile:

 

>>yeah, well $40k to spend on a car right now and I'd probably go for the G35.

I'm saving my $40K Fur Elise!


I'll keep my MCS thank you.

 

Ooooooh, Ahhhhhhhh.

I wonder how that would do with Blizzaks in a MN winter

 

$40 k..huh....

I'd get one o these :smile:...again :smile:

(& only pay approx $37,500 more than I did the 1st time ...lol )


_________________
I own a 2002 MCS w/ alot of stuff on it.

 

I had the pleasure of driving an Elise last summer for a few miles on my way home from Columbus, rode in it the rest of the way (was afraid I'd wreck it, lol). Bang for your buck, its on my list. Here is my top 10 list of cars in the $40k or less range I would jump at for pure fun factor:

1. Mini Cooper S
2. Lotus Elise
3. Subaru WRX STi
4. Infiniti G35 Coupe (if only they'd put an I-6 in it... not a V6 fan)
5. Jeep Wrangler Rubicon (call me a traitor, lol)
6. Neon SRT-4
7. Mitsu Evo (I'd place it higher, but its so freaking ugly...)
8. Chrysler GT Cruiser (function and speed; my bro has one. Good car.)
9. Nissan 350Z Track
10. Chrysler Crossfire

 

>>yesterday, we said goodbye to our Chili Red 2002 Mini Cooper S.
>>I loved the car, but two factors influenced my decision to
>>say goodbye.
>>
>>1) Needed 4 doors.
>>2) I race with BMWCCA, NASA and SCCA in the club racing (road course) programs, I calculated the cost of upgrading the Mini to my standards including limited slip, pulley, big brakes, larger wheels as in width and decided that
>>I would buy something that already had these put on.
>>3) The dealer could never stop all the rattles and could not cure the stall in 1st gear.

The MINI had 2 doors when purchased and its equipment and price should have been well known to you at that time. Sorry if you made a mistake in your purchase. Also sorry to hear that you had the problems you've stated. They haven't been issues for me.

>>I ended up with an all wheel drive car with a turbo charged in line four, brembo brakes, limited slip, lightweight forged alloy wheels, and a 5 speed transmission, with a carbon fiber wing and a moonroof and a suspension to die for.
>>It is not a BMW, but it is faster than all BMWs minus the M3. Which should do for me, since I already own an M3 race car.

Your spec.s for a street driver sound a lot like race car spec.s and if you've already got an M3 race car, I'm not sure what you've got in mind for street driving. Please don't be one of those folks who confuse the street with the track. Be careful. One of the things I love about the MINI is that I don't have to drive like I'm at the track to have a ball. BTW, what is this mystery car you've purchased?

>>I appreciated these forums, thank you all very much.
>>
>>Bora

Cool, good luck.

 

Curious.
why the crossfire so low on the list?

_________________

 

I could spend $40,000 on a car but why bother.
The new S I just bought was only 25 and change.
There is not a car on the road (street) more fun
than the S. IMHO.
The only thing that makes me smile more is the
bike on the right.

 

>>I'm saving my $40K Fur Elise!
>>

Yeah, baby! That's gotta be Wanda's next stablemate! Woo Hoooo!

_________________



clover@northamericanmotoring.com | "Wicked Wanda" '03 All Jet Black MCS!!!

 

I got a rally red Evo Lancer.

brgfan, I am a licensed race car driver, I think I know how to drive on the street vs on the track.

And about the G35, if you have not driven an Evo or an STi you have no idea what these two cars are capable of.
I would take Recaro seats over plush leather luxury stuff any day of the week.

My race car is a 1989 E30 M3, just like the Evo or the STi it is a homologation car.

MCS is a great car, and I was sad to see it go. Just did not meet my desire to have an open track day car
so that I don't have to tow my race car to one day track events. AND it really really needs a limited slip diff.

Bora

 

Evo Lancer retails for 29K.
271 HP, 273 ft*lbs of torque, 0-60 of 4.8 seconds (R&T), brembo brakes front/rear.
AWD, and limited slip diff in the rear.

As far as turbo lag goes, there is some of it below 2500 rpms, but nothing like
the old Porsche 930s.

>>yeah, well $40k to spend on a car right now and I'd probably go for the G35.

 

Cos I'd take the Crossfire after all the others, lol.

 

>>>>yeah, well $40k to spend on a car right now and I'd probably go for the G35.
>>
>>I'm saving my $40K Fur Elise!
>>

BTW: the photo posted is the older body design. The new ones are even nicer looking!

 

>>I got a rally red Evo Lancer.
>>
>>brgfan, I am a licensed race car driver, I think I know how to drive on the street vs on the track.
>>
>>And about the G35, if you have not driven an Evo or an STi you have no idea what these two cars are capable of.
>>I would take Recaro seats over plush leather luxury stuff any day of the week.
>>
>>My race car is a 1989 E30 M3, just like the Evo or the STi it is a homologation car.
>>
>>MCS is a great car, and I was sad to see it go. Just did not meet my desire to have an open track day car
>>so that I don't have to tow my race car to one day track events. AND it really really needs a limited slip diff.

>>
>>Bora
>>


Personally, I think I would have kept the MINI and just got another E30 M3 (kept street legal) for track days and DE's. Best of both worlds, the way I see it.

More seriously, what kind of stuff have you done to your M3? I'm hoping to get a car in a few years to use mainly as a A-X/track car (and maybe a club racer after I get more experience) but keep it basically street legal. I really like E30 M3's, but not sure how easy it would be to find an already modded one (cage) and I couldn't bare to rip the interior out of a nice stock one.