yeah once it goes solid...everytime I put the ebrake down POP the tire light comes on and the DSC goes off!

 

LOL!! Being a TDI driver, humility is the name of the game... the only time I ever win a stop-light drag is when the opposing driver doesn't realize I'm trying to get ahead of them...

Whenever I drive the MCS (15% pulley and intake) it feels so foreign to me that any sort of spirited driving is out of the question.

 

Nice hijack pissing match fellas.

Nuke this thread, please. Give the poor neon owner a break.

Oh and on topic...Make the switch to the MINI if you like to turn. Keep the neon if you wanna go straight.

 

Same old troll ...

 

slo neon,

If the slo in your sig means San Luis Obispo, send me a pm, and we'll go for a ride in my car. It's an S with a few mods (200-205 HP), and then you can see for yourself.

Also, besides what you may think by now (after reading this thread), the MINI community is a very nice place to be..

 

Ha, don't worry about it guys, I'm used to this type of constant bench racing over on SRTforums, so it's nothing new to me. It got so bad over there I just stopped posting altogether, lol.

My SRT-4 attracts alot of attention, but for the most part it's just from teenage kids in Hondas. Which was fun at first, but having a kid in a riced out civic revving at me at literally every stop light has gotten old. And guys in their nitroused mustangs are always hassling me to race too. At first it was fun how much attention the car got (When I used to street race) but now it's just irritating. I finally got mine with the cops, and somehow by the grace of god the cop let me off the hook, and since then I haven't raced on the street since. Sometimes my buddies and I will do some quick blasts through 3rd gear, but nothing like the triple digit speeds we used to race at.

Anyways, another thing I like about the mini is its annomity. It draws alot of attention from "normal" people, but the street racer crowd barely notices it. Which in that case it could even be considered a sleeper for surprising the unsuspecting Honda rice rocket at a light.

Anyways, I said to hell with it and test drove the used non-S cooper here just to get a feel for the car, and it drove brilliantly. I loved how sharp the steering was and how playful the chasis was around the few turns I went around. It certainly wasn't fast, but I wasn't expecting it to be. But in all honesty it was a little bit quicker than I thought it'd be, especially for being a non-S model. The main point though was it was fun to drive, and if the non-S was this good, the S could only be better. Plus the S has a 6th gear (something the SRT-4 needs badly). And it gets slightly better milage than my SRT. I also love the reliable factory-like upgrades of the JCW kits, which are similar to the Mopar upgrades available for my car.

And the interior was extremely comfortable, visibility excellent, making the car even easier to drive. And manuvering through heavy traffic parking lots was a cinch. While the interior is a little funky and takes some getting used to, I think it's what gives the car its charm. And those toggle switches for the windows and locks were extremely satisfying to use. And just in the 20 minutes I was test driving it, I saw 1 Mini Cooper, 1 MCS, and 1 Mini Cooper Convertible...must be a sign.

But all in all, I loved it. Now I can't wait til I can get to a real Mini Dealer and test drive an S. Realistically, it will probably be about a year or so before I'm actually in a Mini. I need to put some $$ away for a few more months, plus I'm going to have to sell my SRT-4 myself since a dealer wouldn't take it with all the mods...at least not without ripping me off. But in the mean time I'll probably be hanging out here, absorbing as much as I can about the Mini. It's funny, originally I had my heart set on an STi, (I even drove my friend's) but just that one test drive completely swayed me. I had no idea I would have liked the mini so much.

Anyways just a few more quick questions I thought of. In the MCS, how many RPMS are you taching at 60 mph in 6th? And in the MCS, how far can you go on one tank of gas? And can you get the car serviced at any BMW dealer, or does it have to be a Mini-specific dealer?

edit: oh and xman, slo neon is the license plate I have on my car.

 

I am not sure the exact RPM but I know that at 110 in 6th you are at 4500...this cause when you're braking in the S they say don't go over 4500 RPM LOL

as for the tank of gas....if you are crusing on the highway...300 to 340...depending on how much you use the cruse control...I found the cruse will get amazing millage...

and as for service...I belive it has to be mini specific...

That plate is awsome....LOL

 

I fitted the box that my Invidia exhaust came in (with passenger seat down ). The guy i got it from said G35's can't even fit it in their trunks with seats down.

 

why is that?

and what is redline in the S or optimum shift point?

 

4500 is the break-in RPM limit for break-in, all cars have break-in periods. Stock redline is 6800.

 

stock redline is about 7352...LOL so shift there....or just before....I ussually shift right as the limiter comes on...in otherwords it ussually doesn't...but I have done it a few times...when coming into corners and knowing I am going to be down shifting anyway...or just wanting the power to the wheels so as not to get slopping in the corner....

also durning breakin.every 250 miles I would give her a full run of three gears...to insure not babying her to much....I would go up and down the gears a few times...and then settle back in...as my sig says...she ended up strong for a stock 04...was it the break in? I dunno

 

ok that's wierd cause we just tested a car last week and the red line was 7352

it's not known to be intuitive is it....like it was higher casue of the mods....intake pulley exhuast...

 

The Mini's a blast to drive, that's for sure. It's like wearing a rollerskate with a motor!

You can mod the exhaust however you like, but it's a four-banger, so it will never sound like a big block (but it can get real loud!)

It's pretty easy to get more streetable power than you can use in the car and still have it be very reliable.

With a few handling improvements, you'll shock most other cars in the hills, even though they have much more power. You;ll surprise motorcycle drivers too!

If you know the limits of the car (no towing your ski-boat, or loading 4x8 sheets of plywood in the back) before you buy, I'm sure you'll be happy. Most that have bought and quickly sold have either overspent and had to bail, or didn't really know what they were getting, and were dissapointed that it wasn't what they expected. A couple outgrew the car, and a few got hooked on performance, and moved on to other experiences.

Dispite off-tipic pissing contenst like the above (that really should be tabled, or at least have to courtasy to start a new thread "Monster Minis vs All Things Automotive") the ownership experience is really good. I've got friend and neighbors with really, really nice cars that have and drive Minis.

One other point, it's a very, very easy car to drive fast. With great handling, and not having monster power, it's a really good learner car for performance driving. You have to try REAL HARD to get it backwards, with rear drive and torque, all it takes is a slight distraction.....

Hope you sign on, you'll have fun!

Matt

 

Trust me I know.. as mentioned.. I have one too. But refuse to part with it and good point above.. just felt bad for slo neon.

 

I'm usually not in 6th til somewhere above 70, but I'm thinking that it might be somewhere around 2.5K RPM @ 60 in 6th...

 

yep, mines pretty much stock and I've hit the limiter a few times, my guess was around 7250

 

I believe a chip would change the rev limiter (atleast thats the way it was in volkswagen land)

 

My '05 with the stock ECU program is at 6800. With MTH it's raised to 7000. Maybe the 7350 car you drove was modified with an ECU flash already.

 

no the ECU was stock...I am sure of that....it did have an AFC on it...but to my knowledge that doesn't mange the rev limit...if so I am sure alot of us would be using it....LOL

 

Slo neon,

I recalled seeing your post today and watched my RPM while driving... problem is, I thought you said 70 mph! In my car (2005 MCS), at 70 mph in 6th gear, the tach is at about 2950 RPM. I'll try again tomorrow for 60 mph.

As for a tank of gas, if you're driving very conservatively on the highway (e.g. cruise control at 65 or 70), 300 miles is EASY to do... and I'd venture that 400 is achievable too.

And you have to go to a MINI dealer for full service. I imagine that in an emergency type of situation, a BMW dealership might have more of a clue than anyone else, but I wouldn't attempt to go to one ordinarily.

IMPORTANT POINT OF NOTE: The gearing in 2002-2004 MINIs was much more conservative than it is in 2005s (and presumably will be in 2006s). This of course means the RPM levels will be higher in the 2005s at the same speed, and it may also have an effect on gas mileage. The gearing change is a very welcome one though - it really helps the MCSes get MOVING when you need it. :smile:

 

FWIW I came from the Neon world, I used to own and race a 2001 Neon ACR and a 1996 DOHC Sport Coupe. The '96 was fairly heavily modified and would run low 14's in the 1/4 mile, and the ACR had mostly suspension modifications, primarily Mopar/KW Stage 3 coilovers, Hotchkis sway bars, and strut tower braces. My '01 Neon handled great, but rode a little rough. I did have a chance to drive three different '04 SRT-4's last year, one at an autocross, and just wasn't terribly impressed. Sure they had good power, but they handled poorly and were overweight. Adding about $2000 in suspension mods like I did to my ACR would make a big difference to any SRT-4, but you still have a car that attracts a lot of attention (the wrong kind IMO) mainly because of the huge wing. Get rid of that and it looks like any other 2nd gen Neon to most people.

As well as my ACR handled with all of the suspension work done to it, my '05 MC with the Sport Suspension Plus package (same suspension that's on the S), feels like it handles as well or better in stock condition as my Neon did modified, and rides better too, and the resale value is on the opposite end of the scale from any Neon/SRT-4. Having great straight-line speed is fun for awhile (I've owned several V8 Mustangs), but its a lot less risky to your license and insurance to push a Mini through the corners than it is to probe the limits of an SRT-4's power on the street.

-Keith

 

Another big selling point is a very lively and ethusiastic community of MINI owners.

 

Mines a 2004 and I know it's definitely above 7000 rpms, stock ECU also.

 

Hey, Thanks!! :smile: :smile: :smile: ...here's a better view:

 

As a WWII history buff, that's just...well beautiful.