I believe that is a list of OEM wheels. You can do better with third-party wheels. Check out Tire Rack for some possibilities. Also, some of the NAM vendors sell wheels. With 17" wheels you can get down to 15-16 lbs. fairly easily. With 16" wheels you can go lighter still.

Not only does the unsprung weight affect acceleration, it also affect ride smoothness and handling. I can't tell you how great a difference it would be, but 16 is about 70% of 22.5. Seems fairly significant, numerically.

I changed from Crown Spokes with runflats to 16 lb. wheels with non-runflats. So, I can't say which accounts for what % of the change, but the overall change was significant in the ride and handling.

 

You will hear a lot of opinions on DSC. There have been serveral very long threads on it. IMO, skipping it would be a significant mistake. It doesn't get in the way of spirited driving, and can be an important safety feature. A lot of the bad feelings about DSC come from other cars where it was too aggressive and not that helpful. I haven't heard any descriptions of actual incidents where MINI DSC interfered in ways that weren't wanted.

 

Oops. you're right! After looking at its content, I know why I didn't want the sport package--the 17" wheels. Thanks for pointing that out.

 

I'd skip the cd changer for sure (dinasour item). I think the wheels make the car look great, just like the color, so go with the ones you like and don't worry about how much they weigh (your GF weighs more than the extra weight of different wheels and you wouldn't leave her out would you?). With sport seats I think lumbar support is uneeded. The auto wipers/lights/rv mirror/ac are nice if you want to pay or if they're in a package you want, but anyone can do without them and the car drives the same. That's the cool thing about the Mini, the options available. Everybody's different. I like your color choices a lot. Cream/English Oak with the black seats will look great. If you are not getting a sunroof Anthracite headliner is very nice compared to standard. Consider it.

 

...but the GF is not unsprung...

 

Thanks to everyone's suggestions, I've been able to refine my specs. I've dropped the idea of iPod integration and CD Changer in favor of getting an iPod and just plug in the AUX port. I've also settled on 16" tires, and decided I don't need the "convenience" stuff (auto headlights and rain sensors, auto dimming rear mirrors)--fewer things to worry about breaking.

The only thing I'm still stuck on is which headlamps to get. I like the Xenons for their brightness...and apparently they're well aimed not to annoy other people. On the other hand, Robin does make a good point that they're so bright that it make the area next to the light very dark. Also from what I've read, with a dark-colored car like this one, people do not see it as easily as with brighter colors. So I may need to have some lights on (aka DRL). But it is recommended that one don't enable DRL with Xenons (per a couple of NAM threads). Does anyone know if I enable DRLs, the DRL module would attempt to power on and off the headlamps very quickly, like it does with halegon bulbs, thus wearing out the Xenon bulbs much sooner? Or can I just use the Xenon headlight all the time? Is the wear really just number of power cycles it has gone through, or how long it has been on?

Hmm, not sure if my questions above are clear enough --so if you're not sure, just let me know. Thanks!!

 

The rumor is that it is power cycles for the Xenons. You might want to do some Googling to see if you can verify that. I've disabled DRL because of my Xenons and the rumored cost of replacing them. I also don't flash my lights as much as I would with another car (at other MINIs, or if I want to pass). I may be overcautious. I don't really know.

 

It all sounds good, you should consider the wood MFSW, it looks great with the english oak it also comes with a wood shift ****, and the best part is it does cost anything extra.....