Well, it's not much of an excuse, but my Dad is a very experienced driver. He's driven all sorts of old sports cars and I can ask him the most random car question and he usually has the real answer for it. He's been teaching me how to double-clutch and the ways race car drivers enter turns and bends.

It's no excuse though because I'm the one driving the car, and all I have is the knowledge now, not the experience. We all know that there is a huge difference between knowledge, experience, and wisdom. I've gotta gain the last two with practice.

It's probably best if I keep the sport and premium packages I have ordered on my MINI S. If I can convince my parents its a good idea, I'll put out the extra $500 for LSD. I think it's worth it since I plan on keeping the car for years.

I won't be trying to use the LSD to its potential in the first year. I'm a fairly responsible teen (is that possible?), and I know I'll need lots of practice first to handle the car safely. I feel like I'll be regretting not getting it after the first year though. Hopefully tomorrow will shed some light on the subject for me.

Thanks for everyone's help,
Jonathan

 

Keep the sport package and drop the premium package, add back the multifunction steering wheel, computer, and auto AC then add LSD. Now you have a $150 savings with more performance. I am not sure why everyone wants a sun roof, I have had them on several cars and didn't find them that useful. You might even think about dropping the auto AC and computer then you could get the HK audio and still save $100.

This is the fun part about buying a MINI, you get to make these choices.

 

I'm a sunroof kid. The MINI is more than a performance car, as you all know, it's an experience. I can put sandwiches in the glovebox to keep them cool, open up the sunroof on a nice day, and take corners like a go-kart. The possibilities are endless! I'll post back on these forums whenever I get creative and think of a new way to use my MINI. The LSD would be nice, but I think there is a lot of fun to be had in a MINI, even without it. I'll still keep pushing for it while I can though.

 

Hmm... I like the computer, but the Auto AC is a waste. I prefer to have my own control over the AC. And its also nice to have an off switch

 

--cool user name porco! Finally more Miyazaki fans! Yay! Ok back to the thread...

Yeah If they offered the option to put LSD on my auto I would've done it too. If the car hasn't entereed production yet, ask your dealer to change the order.

Aside from snow and ice the LSD will keep you from losing traction when you start modding your car. When your motor starts putting some seriously mean output the LSD will make sure you go zoom instead of burning out at the start line. I mean yeah the burnouts are fun, but you're wasting your tires and you're probably losing whatever race you're in too.

I agree make the order change. $500 isn't that much more. It'll probably cost you more than $1500 to put an aftermarket one on later. That would suck. That's my $0.02.

--pyratio

 

I was going to bring up the same point, but xtremepsionic beat me to it. DSC for a 17 year old's very first car sounds like a good idea to me.

Jonathan, I'd say that if you're on a tight budget, generally try to stay close to the base car and keep options at a minimum. You'll have a blast even if you get no options at all. I know it must feel that you are buying your dream car and you want to get it "right", but these options are preferences, not right and wrong choices. When you are getting your very first car, you are still figuring out which things are important to you, and it is a process that takes years.

For example, LSD. When you purchase your second or third car, you'll have a better feeling for whether LSD (or other options) might help your driving or not make any difference for you. I just don't think you're in a position to know before you've owned your first car. You would be committing $500 mostly because of performance-oriented NAM peer pressure. Here's some more perspective. Factory LSD was not even available on MINI until the beginning of 2005. 99.9% of MINIs on the road do not have it. If you don't get it, it won't make your car "not good enough". If you hope LSD will help you go faster, apply that $500 to a driving school, and it will make you faster than what any LSD can do. With an ample budget, factory LSD is a good choice, but on a limited budget I think it is a good place to save.

 

Well said.

But, I have to ask: Whats wrong with performance oriented peer pressure?

 

Get State Farm, good grade discount, steer clear discount. I wouldn't drive with any other insurance. If your a good driver with a clean record they can't be beaten in price.

If you plan to actually have fun in the car, don't settle for anything less than the LSD unit. Possibly ASC for those rainy days. If your a good driver who thinks as their driving and knows their car well <shamelessplug>can be learned really fast thru autox</shamelessplug>. DSC and ASC are kind of a mut point.

Personally I prefer to control the car, when all that skid control stuff starts kicking in it makes the situation worse IMO because what I know to do and what the computer thinks it should do are fighting each other. On a sidenote I LOVE ABS, it saves tires.

Another option is to save a few K and just get the base cooper fully loaded, it'll save you on car insurance and is an awesome car to have for HS autocrossing.

 

my opinion is this:
you only buy a new car so many times in your life. If there is any way to get it, get it. you are already toiling over whether you will regret not getting it. the short answer is yes. you'll regret it because you already think you will. over the course of the time you have the car you'll spend a LOT more than 500 on a lot of silly things. it would be a shame to go through all the experience that is buying a new MINI and then having some little thing make you wish you did stuff differently. Either way you'll love your car to pieces... but part of getting a MINI is getting EXACTLY what you want. don't slight yourself if you can avoid it.

 

Like I said, people confuse traction control with DSC. This brings up another thing I wish MINI did differently with DSC, which is make a different button to disable it. When you disable the DSC, you are also disabling traction control, which is why that stops. To prevent the stalling, try slowly pulling out. Once the wheel is almost straightened out, you can then apply lots of throttle without triggering traction control.

Until they come up with some sort of control system that allows the driver control of the brakes individually, there's no way a human can regain control of a car as well as DSC. Also, no human driver is at their best 100% of the time, so I'm glad I have DSC waiting in case I screw up and put myself into a situation where I shouldn't be. For example, I use to drive through an off ramp several times a week. One day I went through it at the speed I was used to when I must have hit an oil slick. Fortunately I was able to regain control of the car before I hit the gaurdrail (if that emergency lane wasn't there, I wouldn't have had enough space to recover). So my point is, you never know when something like DSC will save your butt!

Probably in another 10+ years, DSC will become as accepted as ABS. We'll probably wonder how we could drive safe without it.

 

I have both DSC and LSD and have been very pleased. We can get heavy rains in the Houston area that can cause the freeways to sheet over with water. In those instances, you might not notice the water level over the road. There have been a few instances where I have hit a layer of water and the car did not pull to either side. I know that it was the LSD taking control and not the DSC as the DSC light did not come on. Typically when cornering hard, the DCS light will come on.

 

If the look of the tires on the S-Heavys is what is keeping you from dropping the Sports pkg (post #17), forget about it. You'll burn thru those rather quickly. Drop the Sports pkg, get the xenon's and DSC (which will help after the first rain here in Florida when all of the oil on the street floats to the surface) and get the LSD, which you will really wish you had in a year or 2.

I have wisdom and experience as I am an old fart (by 17 year old standards anyway).

 

I'm getting the black bonnet stripes as well on my Dark Silver MINI. So that's an extra $100 that woulda been covered by the sports package, if I get rid of it. FYI

I'll look into the wheel options. Don't you think the 16" looks too small?

 

If I were to get an "S" I would do the 16" VSpokes, NO QUESTION.

Lighter (quicker), cheaper tires, smoother ride and still a great look. They'll become your track wheels (stock size to stay in class) when you get some aftermarket street wheels and tires.

 

Here is my car in action on 16's.

 

Just posted this on my MINI2 thread:

I called my dealer today and added LSD. So, it's official now, unless I decide to take it off before it goes into production. I figure, hey, if I really want to keep this car for the next 4-5 years, I might as well build it strong. It's gonna take more work to pay off the extra $500 plus tax, but not much, and it sounds like it's completely worth it. Today in Orlando, Florida it has been very wet and rainy. The streets are pretty slippery. A large amount of the Florida year is spent with rain, so the LSD is a safety feature in a sense.

I can't wait to get my MINI now. Thanks for everyone's advice. I'm still getting the Sport and Premium package. For what I wanted on the car, that's just my best choice. I love the look of the Xenons and if I had to get aftermarket wheels I'd have to pay even more for those. The S-Lites are pretty cheap coming in the package, and they aren't that bad... but what do I know? lol I highly doubt my MINI will let me down.

Adding all these features makes me realize I'm driving a very expensive piece of equiptment. It's forcing me to be more aware on the road, because when it comes time to drive the MINI, no one better be crashing into my baby.

 

good choice! I can assure you that you will never regret getting the LSD. believe me, every second of work you've put into getting the MINI will be worth it 10 fold. nothing can accurately describe the feeling of working for something you truly want, building EXACTLY what you want, watching your baby be born and go through tracking and then the joy of taking delivery. it's just an awesome experience!

 

Good choice getting the LSD. Obviously a large portion of teenagers don't end up crashing in their first couple of years, so I hope my opinion didn't offend you From your responses I'm sure you're a pretty responsible person indeed.

That said, a friend of mine (18) just crashed his car on an icy road. I've also had the displeasure of picking up the pieces of 2 other friend's cars (both under 20 years of age) in the last couple of years. All I can say is, you can drive fast and have fun, as long as you know when to slow down! But hey, you're paying for the car, I'm sure you'll treat it well. The Mini is one of the best car for road feel, a great asset in determining the actual grip level so you can drive accordingly.

Post some pictures when you get the car!

 

Thanks! I'll definately post pictures when I get the car.

I think the LSD is something I'll grow into. As I gain more experience driving, I'll make better and wiser road decisions. This will all lead to me being able to safely handle the "LSD driving fun".

 

I found out that Florida requires all insurance companies to replace windshields for free. Good news for any stress cracking MINI shields.

*happy dance*

 

Just to clarify, if you have comprehensive coverage there is no deductible for windshield replacement - this is very different from replacing windshields for free.

 

Would anyone mind giving me some examples of when LSD is really useful? My parents, and my dealer (how odd), are questioning why I really need the LSD. If I give them some good examples related to driving in general or the rain in Florida, maybe they'll be more accepting of it. (I'm still already getting it though. :D )

 

The dealer is just blowing smoke to keep your parents happy. He's full of it.

Despite what some of the naysayers think, there will absolutely be a group of buyers who will be out looking for nothing but an LSD car. Granted, this will be a fairly small percentage of buyers, but it will still exist. Just look at the miata market. The exact same thing happens, although a little less lately since many of the spec miata buyers are going to replace the diff anyway.

For me, an LSD would be a mandatory purchase for ANY vehicle that offered it. The fact that you're not sure though, means seems to indicate that it won't be a big deal. I'm sure you'll be happy with the car either way.

 

Well it'll be kind of difficult to explain to them since the uses are usually more performance oriented which might not go over with the rents.

 

Here's another try at explaining LSD without a lot of jargon and acronyms...

Without LSD (limited slip differential), the car is two wheel drive UNTIL one tire breaks loose. Once it breaks loose, it'll spin like mad until you let off the throttle (if traction control is off) or the traction control kicks in. While that tire is spinning, you have no propulsion....it just won't pull.

With LSD, the car is two wheel drive ALL THE TIME. Think about that for a little bit.... Yes, the traction control will still kick in and kill the power (if it's on), BUT it SINCE BOTH WHEELS ARE PULLING it's much less likely that they start spinning in the first place.

If I had you here with me, I could disassemble a radio controlled car's differential and make all this crap make some sense to you. As it is, I hope this helped.

Rawhyde