R50/53 THE APRIL CLUB
Well, it’s been about 6 weeks and I just turned over 3500 miles today. My OMLA ends up being OM+LA, lol, but oh well, it’s perspective, and that’s the point!
I am still in love with the MINI. It’s a total blast to drive, gets lots of fun attention, and did I mention it handles major awesome? Yes, MAJOR AWESOME. Not all things in life are perfect, however, and the MINI is no exception, albeit barely.
Stuff I dislike:
*The choppy ride; my commute consists of lots of broken concrete and boring straight roads, so the choppy ride is observed more than it’s phenomenal handling, unfortunately. Although I dislike the sometimes-brutal ride quality, I would not trade one ounce of jolt for decreased handling capability. This is a dislike I’ll deal with!
*The damn head-unit of the stereo is annoying. It likes to mis-track CD’s randomly (aka skipping), and I still wish there was a time display for track elapsed.
*The aerodynamics, selective annoyance: The boot gets WAY dusty after 20 feet of Motoring. The MINI’s vacuum effect on the road shows by sucking up every particle of crap on the road and putting it on the boot hatch!
Stuff I like (or LOVE):
*The handling [sigh], I’m in love =D
*The looks, both interior and exterior; top-notch aesthetics
*The fuel mileage, I’m impressed with my global average of 28+MPG so far. (mostly city driving)
*did I mention the handling? LOL
*The supercharger whine is fun stuff =D
Motor-On,
Ryan
I am still in love with the MINI. It’s a total blast to drive, gets lots of fun attention, and did I mention it handles major awesome? Yes, MAJOR AWESOME. Not all things in life are perfect, however, and the MINI is no exception, albeit barely.
Stuff I dislike:
*The choppy ride; my commute consists of lots of broken concrete and boring straight roads, so the choppy ride is observed more than it’s phenomenal handling, unfortunately. Although I dislike the sometimes-brutal ride quality, I would not trade one ounce of jolt for decreased handling capability. This is a dislike I’ll deal with!
*The damn head-unit of the stereo is annoying. It likes to mis-track CD’s randomly (aka skipping), and I still wish there was a time display for track elapsed.
*The aerodynamics, selective annoyance: The boot gets WAY dusty after 20 feet of Motoring. The MINI’s vacuum effect on the road shows by sucking up every particle of crap on the road and putting it on the boot hatch!
Stuff I like (or LOVE):
*The handling [sigh], I’m in love =D
*The looks, both interior and exterior; top-notch aesthetics
*The fuel mileage, I’m impressed with my global average of 28+MPG so far. (mostly city driving)
*did I mention the handling? LOL
*The supercharger whine is fun stuff =D
Motor-On,
Ryan
6th Gear
Joined: Feb 2003
Posts: 2,806
Likes: 0
From: Santa Rosa, CA
Chef,
Have you checked out the removable magnetic stripes thread?
Ryan, Mr. Motor looks great. I think the Indi blue looks so cool when the light is not so bright. Great looking at night also.
Andy
Have you checked out the removable magnetic stripes thread?
Ryan, Mr. Motor looks great. I think the Indi blue looks so cool when the light is not so bright. Great looking at night also.
Andy
mmm.. happiness is a smooth, shiny, clean MINI. Looks great Ryan!
I hear you about the boot. I can't get too upset right now since it's pollen season and my car is mostly yellow by the time I get home every day (it sits patiently in the parking lot at home waiting for me). And then it rains! AUGh! Nasty.
There's also the flower blossom attack on the air vents below the windshield. The bits of mesh absolutely collect them and I've had to remove the inserts a few times to clean them out by hand.
My car is in getting serviced this morning. They're going to check out that noise and see if they can figure anything out. It was interesting... this is one of the busiest service areas around (no one goes to the dealership in Boston if they can help it), so they see LOTS of MINIs. The tech that I talked to remembered my car... 'was that the dark silver with the wheels and stripes?! Cool!'.
I hear you about the boot. I can't get too upset right now since it's pollen season and my car is mostly yellow by the time I get home every day (it sits patiently in the parking lot at home waiting for me). And then it rains! AUGh! Nasty.
There's also the flower blossom attack on the air vents below the windshield. The bits of mesh absolutely collect them and I've had to remove the inserts a few times to clean them out by hand.
My car is in getting serviced this morning. They're going to check out that noise and see if they can figure anything out. It was interesting... this is one of the busiest service areas around (no one goes to the dealership in Boston if they can help it), so they see LOTS of MINIs. The tech that I talked to remembered my car... 'was that the dark silver with the wheels and stripes?! Cool!'.
woohoo! my car is healthy!
Got a hold of a GREAT tech, apparently! My car is sporting felt tape everywhere in the door panel - rattle is gone!
The rattling noise under the bonnet was a clip from the tensioner getting warm and contacting something. I'll get more details once I can see what was being talked about.
Ryan===> The tech mentioned that his understanding of the car being slow to start (mine just started this) was a design-stupid on the part of MINI. The fuel pump doesn't hold pressure very well if it's left to sit, so rather than being intelligent and running the pump harder when the fuel is low, the danged thing shuts off, cutting the throttle and stalling the car. I guess holding the key at the start position for a second longer helps. Requests have been sent to MINI to replace them, but, well....
And he's found that the 40-lb flywheel on the MCS rather bogs it down when starting to roll in first gear. A switch to a 12-lb one makes a huge difference.
And my dealership'll install the pulley upgrades. ~3 hours of labor.... they'll install the flywheel too... 7 hours of labor. Tempting...
My boyfriend also got to see the dealership's racecar.Zoom!
_________________
~Proud member of the CWFAC '03~
Got a hold of a GREAT tech, apparently! My car is sporting felt tape everywhere in the door panel - rattle is gone!
The rattling noise under the bonnet was a clip from the tensioner getting warm and contacting something. I'll get more details once I can see what was being talked about.
Ryan===> The tech mentioned that his understanding of the car being slow to start (mine just started this) was a design-stupid on the part of MINI. The fuel pump doesn't hold pressure very well if it's left to sit, so rather than being intelligent and running the pump harder when the fuel is low, the danged thing shuts off, cutting the throttle and stalling the car. I guess holding the key at the start position for a second longer helps. Requests have been sent to MINI to replace them, but, well....
And he's found that the 40-lb flywheel on the MCS rather bogs it down when starting to roll in first gear. A switch to a 12-lb one makes a huge difference.
And my dealership'll install the pulley upgrades. ~3 hours of labor.... they'll install the flywheel too... 7 hours of labor. Tempting...
My boyfriend also got to see the dealership's racecar.Zoom!
_________________
~Proud member of the CWFAC '03~
2nd Gear
Joined: Feb 2003
Posts: 51
Likes: 0
From: Santa Ana, California
https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...view_photo.php
I hope this will work. If so, you're looking at my baby in the showroom in Baton Rouge, the day I got her.
I hope this will work. If so, you're looking at my baby in the showroom in Baton Rouge, the day I got her.
Marc, here's your MINI!
The trick is to right click the image, and find the address for the IMAGE. You were using the gallery address and trying to post the window as an image, which obviously does not work. Right click your "X" boxes and look at how the address differs from the pic I posted above.
Cheers,
Ryan
The trick is to right click the image, and find the address for the IMAGE. You were using the gallery address and trying to post the window as an image, which obviously does not work. Right click your "X" boxes and look at how the address differs from the pic I posted above.
Cheers,
Ryan
1st Gear
Joined: Mar 2003
Posts: 29
Likes: 0
I'm a few days early, but I'd been thinking about my OMLA for a while, so here goes...
My last car was a 2001 Miata which I owned for only 9 months. I loved that car, but when I finally was buying another car, I couldn't justify buying a two-seater again. And after a month with the MINI, I'm sure I made the right decision. But every so often, I still want my Miata back. Here's why I know I did the right thing, and why I still have regrets.
REASONS WHY I DON'T MISS MY MIATA
- Style. The Miata had nice clean lines (as long as you didn't opt for those ridiculous looking "appearance packages", but the MINI has mad style. My office window looks out at the parking lot, and I can't help but glance (or stare) out at it every twenty minutes or so. The MINI turns heads. The Miata drew yawns.
- Power. The Miata felt fast because it had very zippy tuning for first gear. But once you got off the line, everyone would pass you. It couldn't accelerate at higher speeds to do things like, oh say, pass cars on the right going around a curve on this stretch of Highway 17. You know, important driving maneuvers like that. The MINI has no trouble accomplishing this.
- The stuff I never knew I needed. The air-conditioned glove-box. The rain-sensing windshield wipers. Toggle switches. All great stuff.
- Practicality. The MINI is equally as fun to drive as the Miata, but I can actually cram four people in the car when I need to--although it helps if the two in the back are dating. I got 3 in a Miata once, but I can't say it was legal.
REASONS WHY I WANT MY MIATA BACK
- Brake dust. Yes, it was my own dumb idea to buy white wheels. And I love the way the look when they are clean. But what a PITA to have to wipe them down at least twice a week. I don't think I ever did anything special to the Miata wheels, and they looked almost new when I sold the car.
- Sunroofs are great, but convertibles are better. Don't get me wrong, 90% of the time I would rather have the better visibility and quieter ride (don't hear that about the MINI much) of a coupe. But for the other 10%, the big sunroof just doesn't cut it.
- No sense of danger. The MINI is so good at taking curves, that you take it for granted. Maybe it was the rear wheel drive of the Miata (honestly, I have no clue what it was), but when you swung the Miata fast around a tight curve, you felt like you were getting away with something. The MINI just seems to say, "Is that as fast as you can go?"
- The Miata's stubby shifter--not the shifting, just the shifter itself. I loved both the short throws and the diminuitive size. In general, the shifting is smoother in the MINI, but the pool ball doesn't feel nearly as good in your hand as that little leather **** did.
ONE NOTABLE THING THEY SHARE
- Passionate owners. Great online communities for both cars.
THE ONE THING NEITHER CAR GOT RIGHT
- Cupholders. Enough said.
PLEASE, NO FLAMING
I'm sure loyalists on both sides will argue that I probably don't drive very well if that's what I think of the Miata/MINI. I agree 100%. These are the impressions of someone who doesn't auto-cross, never went to performance driving school, can't heel/toe around curves, and will never modify my car from stock because I believe all those dire warnings about the warranty.
Quinn
P.S. -- No I don't have pictures or a name yet. My friends are divided into two camps on prospective names, and I'm still searching for something to satisfy everyone.
My last car was a 2001 Miata which I owned for only 9 months. I loved that car, but when I finally was buying another car, I couldn't justify buying a two-seater again. And after a month with the MINI, I'm sure I made the right decision. But every so often, I still want my Miata back. Here's why I know I did the right thing, and why I still have regrets.
REASONS WHY I DON'T MISS MY MIATA
- Style. The Miata had nice clean lines (as long as you didn't opt for those ridiculous looking "appearance packages"
, but the MINI has mad style. My office window looks out at the parking lot, and I can't help but glance (or stare) out at it every twenty minutes or so. The MINI turns heads. The Miata drew yawns.- Power. The Miata felt fast because it had very zippy tuning for first gear. But once you got off the line, everyone would pass you. It couldn't accelerate at higher speeds to do things like, oh say, pass cars on the right going around a curve on this stretch of Highway 17. You know, important driving maneuvers like that. The MINI has no trouble accomplishing this.
- The stuff I never knew I needed. The air-conditioned glove-box. The rain-sensing windshield wipers. Toggle switches. All great stuff.
- Practicality. The MINI is equally as fun to drive as the Miata, but I can actually cram four people in the car when I need to--although it helps if the two in the back are dating. I got 3 in a Miata once, but I can't say it was legal.
REASONS WHY I WANT MY MIATA BACK
- Brake dust. Yes, it was my own dumb idea to buy white wheels. And I love the way the look when they are clean. But what a PITA to have to wipe them down at least twice a week. I don't think I ever did anything special to the Miata wheels, and they looked almost new when I sold the car.
- Sunroofs are great, but convertibles are better. Don't get me wrong, 90% of the time I would rather have the better visibility and quieter ride (don't hear that about the MINI much) of a coupe. But for the other 10%, the big sunroof just doesn't cut it.
- No sense of danger. The MINI is so good at taking curves, that you take it for granted. Maybe it was the rear wheel drive of the Miata (honestly, I have no clue what it was), but when you swung the Miata fast around a tight curve, you felt like you were getting away with something. The MINI just seems to say, "Is that as fast as you can go?"
- The Miata's stubby shifter--not the shifting, just the shifter itself. I loved both the short throws and the diminuitive size. In general, the shifting is smoother in the MINI, but the pool ball doesn't feel nearly as good in your hand as that little leather **** did.
ONE NOTABLE THING THEY SHARE
- Passionate owners. Great online communities for both cars.
THE ONE THING NEITHER CAR GOT RIGHT
- Cupholders. Enough said.
PLEASE, NO FLAMING
I'm sure loyalists on both sides will argue that I probably don't drive very well if that's what I think of the Miata/MINI. I agree 100%. These are the impressions of someone who doesn't auto-cross, never went to performance driving school, can't heel/toe around curves, and will never modify my car from stock because I believe all those dire warnings about the warranty.
Quinn
P.S. -- No I don't have pictures or a name yet. My friends are divided into two camps on prospective names, and I'm still searching for something to satisfy everyone.
6th Gear
Joined: Feb 2003
Posts: 2,806
Likes: 0
From: Santa Rosa, CA
Great review Quinn. I was at a friends house tonight, and some other friends brought their new red Miata named buzz. Looked really good parked next to Pyro.
I just got my pass the the SF Italian Job screening. We are going to met at 5:45, line up and drive around the block by the theater where people and news/tv cameras are supposed to be waiting to see the screening. Then we have a parking garage reserved next to the theatre, (we have to pay the $1.50 per hour parking) and passes for two to see the film.
Question. Should I install the Rogue exhaust for the drive by? If I did, it would interfere with my performance testing plans, but I can always but the stock one back on later to complete my testing. I am thinking the low growl would be pretty cool.
Andy
I just got my pass the the SF Italian Job screening. We are going to met at 5:45, line up and drive around the block by the theater where people and news/tv cameras are supposed to be waiting to see the screening. Then we have a parking garage reserved next to the theatre, (we have to pay the $1.50 per hour parking) and passes for two to see the film.
Question. Should I install the Rogue exhaust for the drive by? If I did, it would interfere with my performance testing plans, but I can always but the stock one back on later to complete my testing. I am thinking the low growl would be pretty cool.
Andy
4th Gear
Joined: Sep 2002
Posts: 499
Likes: 0
From: New York
Whewhhh!!!!! Hey guys, I'm finally back! I feel so out of the loop, I've been gone so long, and I missed you all so much!!!!I Just wanted to let you all know that I did not ditch the April Club! In the time I've been gone, my computer's been fixed, I survived finals and a HUGE senior show, plus all of my family being out here and a college graduation!
Yeah me! It's been vary hectic.
But anyway, I figured I'd have to post here before hitting up any other threads. And I do have a special occasion to announce. Yesterday I recieved my "Welcome to the Neighborhood" mini box of goodies and it was sooooooo cooooool! I wasn't expecting them at all and when I got them I was sooooo excited, I knew I had to come back here and post about it. Anybody else receive a goodie box yet, and if so have you made any use of them?
Yeah me! It's been vary hectic. But anyway, I figured I'd have to post here before hitting up any other threads. And I do have a special occasion to announce. Yesterday I recieved my "Welcome to the Neighborhood" mini box of goodies and it was sooooooo cooooool! I wasn't expecting them at all and when I got them I was sooooo excited, I knew I had to come back here and post about it. Anybody else receive a goodie box yet, and if so have you made any use of them?
no good!
2nd Gear
Joined: Feb 2003
Posts: 51
Likes: 0
From: Santa Ana, California
I can't believe I got this to work! You won't believe the conveluted way I had to go around things to be able to post a photo using the Mac. Thanks Ryan for your help. You inspired a way around things that finally worked. Anyway, this is the MINI observing the buried Cadillacs at Cadillac Ranch. Could you imagine if this was done with MINIs? It'd be just a bunch of nubs!
>>I can't believe I got this to work! You won't believe the conveluted way I had to go around things to be able to post a photo using the Mac. Thanks Ryan for your help. You inspired a way around things that finally worked. Anyway, this is the MINI observing the buried Cadillacs at Cadillac Ranch. Could you imagine if this was done with MINIs? It'd be just a bunch of nubs!
and what a bunch of cute widdle nubs they'd be!
What's this about convoluted ways to get your mac to post the pics? Works about the same way, I've found, except to have to option-click instead of right-clicking.... If you ever need a hand with something, give a shout, okay? I've been using 'em for a while now
If you haven't seen it yet, we're all sharing pics of our pets in the off-topic area. Some cute fuzzies there!
and what a bunch of cute widdle nubs they'd be!
What's this about convoluted ways to get your mac to post the pics? Works about the same way, I've found, except to have to option-click instead of right-clicking.... If you ever need a hand with something, give a shout, okay? I've been using 'em for a while now
If you haven't seen it yet, we're all sharing pics of our pets in the off-topic area. Some cute fuzzies there!
6th Gear
Joined: Oct 2002
Posts: 1,444
Likes: 0
Oh Boy! :smile:
And I have met a great community in this club. Perhaps someday I will get a digital camera and scanner and join the new century. Until then just picture an incredibly handsome guy driving a PS/B MCS.
When is the next update due Ryan?
Regards,
Red :smile:
And I have met a great community in this club. Perhaps someday I will get a digital camera and scanner and join the new century. Until then just picture an incredibly handsome guy driving a PS/B MCS.
When is the next update due Ryan?
Regards,
Red :smile:
2nd Gear
Joined: Feb 2003
Posts: 51
Likes: 0
From: Santa Ana, California
Here's my MINI at my B&B in New Orleans, the day after I got the car in Baton Rouge. A good friend from Atlanta drove down to join me for the weekend; exploring the Big Easy and going to JazzFest. Is it my imagination or does my car look like a toy next to him! It barely comes up to his waist! I suppose it could be because he's 7' tall. (And would you believe he actually FIT in the MINI without any problem!) This is definately a car that's bigger on the inside than on the outside.