Get a radar detector. Then you can speed and not get caught. I used one for years save me may tickets.
The link below will help you with the right radar detector if you want one.
http://www.radarbusters.com/

 

There's also the built-in speed warning that you can set to any speed and when you violate it, a tach warning pops up and the chime goes off.

It's factory set for 150 mph, so if you haven't seen it, you haven't kicked it into sixth gear yet.

 

That's one of the few features that are only available with the OEM nav system.

 

Even in the plain old MC auto, 70 feels slow. The second I'm relaxing....it's over 70, and on it's way to 80.

 

Funny seeing this thread tonight. I just told my wife today that driving the MINI is a painful exercise in constant/continuous restraint. How can one not want to open up the throttle on a machine that is an absolute rocket?

You should have a radar detector on board... I've heard that if you are caught at >80mph in CT, the LEOs take you to the State Police barracks and tow the car. That was rarely a threat to my license before the MINI came along, even though I also run a Triumph TR6 modified to factory S2 fast-road specs. In the TR6, 80 feels fast; in the MINI, 80 feels like 50, and 40 feels like 25. Brain games, I guess.

Now I'm not running 80 a lot, but 15 - 20 over the limit seems commonplace in this machine.

 

I have my speed set on my display on the tach, but I have to watch it carfully. I am constantly going over the speed limit. Its hard to tell in this car how fast you are going. I thought it would be easy to tell since it was a small car. Guess I was wrong.

 

I think it is the height and high waist of the MINI that throws one off. My Integra was much lower and the waist was lower as well. The Integra seems like it going much faster than the MINI does, at a given speed. About the only thing small about the MINI is its length. It is taller than many sedans.

 

Yes, in fact so much, I am the proud owner of a ticket! I was called into work for an emergency. On my way home, I got clocked 62 in 45. oh well, i shouldn't have been speeding. Off to the attorney on Monday.

RT

 

We had a Mustang GT (last year of the carburetors) and had the same problem. Lots of power (not nearly as agile as the MINI). After my first speeding ticket, I used the cruise control a lot. That helped immensely.

I'm planning on doing the same thing in my MINI. I've been finding myself up over 80 frequently the last week.

 

I second that....the nice part about the MCS is that you can set the cruise even on secondary roads.....since you don't have to slow down for the corners!

 

Yep, I always use the cruise control when on the freeway. That goes doubly true when ther eis no traffic. My morning romp to Estella's on any given Saturday or Sunday has virtually no traffic for 20 miles. That is when cruise control will save you a lot of headaches.

I am the kind of guy if I go 1 MPH over the speed limit, there would be S.W.A.R. teams, helicopters, state police, FBI, CIA, and NSA all over me!! The Air Force might get involved as well.

The Wife unit, on the other hand, can drive around with an out of date license plate for a year, an out of date inspection sticker, and drive 90MPH in a 40 and never get busted. It is really bizarre.

In my previous car, the inspection sticker lapsed by a week and I got two tickets, on the say day, 15 minutes apart. Went to court, and the judge got pissed off I was wasting court time challenging one of the tickets and not only made me pay the fine, but added an ancillary cost to the court fees! $800.00 later, I got my car back. Oh, he ordered my car impounded until I paid the fines, thus adding more costs to get back on the road.

Back on topic,..cruise control can save you a bunch of money and reduce hair loss when motoring around in a Mini.

 

A few thoughts:

• The MPH gauge runs a little high, maybe 5%, so your actual vs. displayed may be off a little. This is good in terms of insurance, perhaps helping you hold down your speed and reduce chances of tickets.
• I found that after owning the car for a while I've gotten a little more in tune estimating my speed from the sound of the engine. Not a lot, just a little.
• My problem is not that the car gets away with me, but that I want to get away with the car. It is extremely tempting to get on the gas in this little zipster, and impossible to hold back always.
• Highway on ramps are your friend :-)

 

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It's actually a bad thing that I discovered your first point. Ever since then I purposely go over what the speedo says since I know it reads 'too fast'.

Second your last point - love the on ramps!

 

Note that I don't use cruise control on the curves. Just on freeway/commute type driving.

 

how easy or hard is it to set the speed? like is it something you could do while driving or is it one of those settings that takes a bunch of button presses and concentration?

 

Very well said, Halifax...

Here is a picture of my license plate which I think suits the MCS well...

 

uzun, VERY nice license plate!

 

Glad to see I'm not the only speed demon here. Actually, what has helped me a LOT is speaking with a friend of mine at the gym who's works for the Sheriff's Dept here. He told me that he drives 40 MPH...EVERYWHERE. This is a big guy who drives a fast car, and can also use his police car to speed anywhere he wants to. However, he has seen every accident imaginable, and knows that at 40 mph, you will get harmed the least even on full impact with another vehicle, yet you will still be moving at an acceptable rate for driving. He takes photos on his cell phone to show me accidents involving people cutting other people off, and simply reckless driving/speeding. He has changed my attitude towards driving tremendously, and I need to keep all that in mind with my MINI now, too.

Sharon

 

hehe especially if you're on like 75 or the turnpike down here its a breeze. its soooo hard to like control yourself and make sure you dont drive to fast. what are we gonna do if there are these large gaps in traffic.

 

Someone else said you need to have the navigation system. I wasn't aware of that. If you do, go to the top of the navigation menu, as if you were going to input a new destination.

At that spot, there are a series of choices that scroll across the top of the screen from left to right. The first two are "navigation" and "car data." Choose car data and you can either input the speed at which you want to set the limit or go to that speed and you can select the current speed.

You can set it while either idling or while driving.

 

I like how the laser blue is shown in your sig. I would have bought the smurf blue if they had offered it like. .. .Laguna SECA blue.... I love that color.

 

I got a speeding ticket about 2 months after i got my mini, cost me almost $400 to not get points. You play you pay.

 

I am waiting for day when the posted "recommended speed guidelines'' will one day catch up to the speed that my MINI likes to comfortably run at

 

Two words-Valentine One