that technology is still used today... its called anti-lag. The most i hear about it is with Rally racing like subarus and stuff. Its not a feature you would want on a street car because of the added stress on the turbo and exhaust manifold.

 

In general I like stripes. In fact I had stripes until they ruined my paint. Then I didn't like them very much at all. But I never thought they made me look like I was going faster or whatever - I just liked the look. So I consider them a cosmetic change. OTOH race cars used to have stripes so I get your point. If I really wanted to make it look like a race car of today I'd put on giant numbers and lots and lots of sponsors logos - no room for stripes.

 

If anything, this discussion should soften the blow for those who lament the loss of the burble. Yes, it sounded cool...but in the end it wasn't a loss in real performance, so that's good. Sometimes having some philospical leg to stand on makes these things more tolerable. I faced this myself in '03...I ( a die-hard Cooper lover) liked the look of the MCS gas cover. But then I realized it was just a gas cover. Chrome is nice...but so is minimizing the visual impact of a gas cover. Problem solved...I just had to wrap my brain around the plusses either way and I was happy.

So here's my stance, "let those who have burbles enjoy them, and let those who have not shed no tear." Deep, huh!!!

 

But some may perceive it that way. The burble and racing stripes can easily be perceived that way. See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Go-faster_stripes and how they are imitation and referred to in derogatory terms.

Bling is fine. I like bling. Burble might be considered to be sound bling, but imitations are just that ... imitations imitations of the real thing (sorry but that's what I think. Kind of like fake leather). Now a white roof ... cool. That's original mini, I believe. Not imitating anyone.

Now I see a thread where people want fake fire coming out of the exhaust

Good point. Obviously the twin tips are bling and do imitate a V6, V8 or V12 engine. But you know, I've seen exhausts on V engines with, of course, dual headers coming back into crossover pipes and then back to twin tips and people arguing they are posuers.

And that's cool. To each their own. Just consider that others, and refer back to the WIKI article, might not think the same way. When I first saw The Italian Job, and had never seen a MINI before, I was laughing, wondering what that little car was with the fake racing stripes. Yeah, I was clueless about MINIs back then. Then I find people imitating Viper stripes or Shelby stripes. It aint a Viper and it aint a Shelby. I get the youfication thing and its a personal choice. I just saw no reason to imitate anything and hence the stripeless bonnet.

Youfication is cool. Being unique is cool. Graphics ... bling ... cool. I like graphics that are unique, something nobody else has. I personally, just my opinion, dont see any point in imitating other car marques. And so I can see why others in the car world may view them in a disparaging way.

But clearly, according to Gabe's post above, the masses didn't see it that way and MINI decided to remove it. Wow ... the people have spoken and a car company answered. Cool

 

I think stripes have evolved into a odd status. They originated as racing stripes, but today's real race cars have no stripes -- interferes with all the advertising!

 

my 06 did it a lttle but now - the last six months - with the dinan s-1 kit it does it regularly and i love it.... it made my 06 perfect (for me!)

 

IMO, racing stripes are an expression of nostalgia (as is the MINI itself), and they are a message to other drivers. Racing stripes tell them they are not looking at an econobox; the person behind the wheel may be suffering from severe testosterone poisoning. So, cutting them off, pulling out in front of them, or hogging the left lane might not be a good idea as there is a possibility of road rage. The intensity of the message varies with the design of the stripe.

 

If you would like to have a reason for the exhaust burble, this is complete speculation, but; If a gas engine oversprays fuel after combustion, the evaporating fuel will actually cool the top of the piston. This is a technique sometimes employed in turbocharged aluminum engines like the r56's, in which the engine internals are more sensitive to high temperatures than the turbo is. I am not sure about the earlier engines, but it might be a technique you could employ in a supercharged engine.

I would attribute the burble I hear, and the ones mentioned here for other r56's to this. Mine is not a like an old carbureted motor that raps off the whole way down after letting off, it is usually just a couple of quiet bop-bop's after letting off from full throttle.

 

I am not sure if my question pertains to this topic but my car, after driving, and shut off. The exhaust pops for awhile...This doesn't happen when driving or shifting or anything...Just when cooling down...Any ideas????
Very much appreciate any input!

 

Does anybody else see other cars with stripes and think... "Pfft, LOL." But then seeing them on another MINI looks great? It just seems like there's a difference between having stripes on a Cobalt vs. having stripes on a MINI.

And chows, its not like Viper's invented that style of stripes, they're just called "viper stripes" now because thats what every associates them with nowadays, as I'm sure you know. They're just stripes, and putting them on a car hardly means you're actually trying to imitate a Viper.

 

Yeah, it's funny about those masses, isn't it? The masses around here seem to mostly bewail the burble loss, but the masses BMW listens to must be altogether different bunch. It points up the fact that although we may see NAM as the center of the MINI universe....it ain't necessarily so.

I never had a burble so I never missed it, but I expect the masses probably were responsible for softening the dampers in '03 and for the larger rearview mirror. Ya can't please everybody, but if MINI makes a tweak based on customer input, one might imagine it'd be pretty substantial.

 

What the heck is a "muffler bearing"?

Is that like a "cross drilled brake lines"?

If this noise is programmed into the ECU, then it is not a retrofittable feature for earlier R53s?

 

Good questions!!! Why not!

 

Ahh, Cunningham actually "invented" them. Caroll Shelby brought them back to the Viper ... See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Go-faster_stripes so no, they didn't "invent" them but they brought back the revival in go fast stripes.

BTW, there are muscle cars that "racing stripes" look great on. In fact, auction prices go down if they are not in good shape or missing. Just the other night on the Speed Channel's Appraise my Car, they showed exactly that, racing stripes on a Muscle Car and how the value dropped if they were damaged.

 

Stripes are posing to the extreme? Maybe when I see them painted on an '88 Corsica or forced onto some Cavalier along with a wing the size of a small airplane. But on a MINI, they look like they belong. Anyway, posing to the extreme to me is riding around in a 4x4 when you know the owner has ZERO intention of going offroad.

 

Same thing on my car Wally w/jcw exhaust. It is from the exhaust most likely. I just took it to the dealer and they said everything underneath is good and solid. My SA had the same issue with his exhaust and after about 20k it went away.

I just think that Wally is talking to me.

 

(functional hood scoop + useless burble) > (useless hood scoop + no burble)

 

Am I the only one who gets this? Kudos to you!

mb

Edit - I suppose I'll add to the conversation. Whenever someone's in my car and they ask me about the noise, I say it's a fake (however audible) overrun programmed in by MINI. I happen to love it and hate the fact that people got it taken away from the R56. BTW, I'm driving around a modded R56 for a few days, and it DOES NOT burble or pop AT ALL. I've listened in every situation possible - it doesn't happen.

 

no longer with me BUT this multi Weber carbed V-8 had serious pop/gurgle..real and unforgettable. I liked the gurgle on the R53s even if it was 'engineered" wish the R56 had it...

 

Ah, back in the days when 60-series tires were "low profile", and 16-inch wheels were "big". I've always loved the 308, though.

 

205/70-14....LOL....if you kept it OEM which I always did.

Owned this car from 1981 till last October.
Time and storage forced sending her to warmer weather in Texas. Miss it everyday even though its replacement is an infinitely better car.
I consider myself very lucky to have owned and enjoyed a Ferrari for all those years. Nothing sounds like a carb fed Ferrari.

 

I heard mine pop today. 2121 miles.

 

Better check your tires.

 

and it's not what you'd expect. The holes in the fake screen let hot air from under the hood out, helping keep the hood temp from getting to high. Two manufacturers have aftermarket air boxes that use the scoop now.

Matt

 

I'm sure it was painful to let her go. I loved those cars, too... I'm just part of the "Magnum PI" generation, I guess...