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Well, I missed the mini so much, that even after many years of E39 M5 and E30 ownership I got another one. 2012 Mini Cooper S. Plan is mostly to daily it.
My 2006 had about 140k but was pretty much reliable except for the harmonic balancer going on me and ripping the drive belt. I've read a ton of horror stories on the R56 and hoping I can luck out here. Car has ~65k on it, dealer records state chain was replaced under warranty for some reason early on ~15k. Don't remember off hand, I think the thermostat was done twice as well, amongst other things. Seems the maintenance is up to date, but I will be going to check the car out with my mechanic this week and want to know what I should look out for, besides the usual.
Other questions;
1. Bluetooth? - the car has the basic audio I believe (no tweeters) and has the Phone buttons but seems it is not bluetooth equipped. Can I add that easily?
2. Any audio upgrades that can be easily done? Thinking possibly to just get the tweeter pillars and wire them into the speakers with the capacitor in place to at least improve the soundstage a bit.
3. Android radio? - Generally I am usually unhappy with their sound quality (I am a bit of an audiophile and tested the Avin USA Avant 4 w/ DSP in my M5 and the SQ was MUCH worse than my Pioneer headunit) - however since I am keeping the speakers stock mostly in this car, perhaps I may still do it - mostly for Carplay. Which unit is best?
4. The car came with regular tires (no runflats) which I am pretty happy about, I REALLY hated the runflats on my 06 MCS. But I need a donut, which is a cheap one that fit?
5. Cheap headlight upgrades? Car came with halogens and I am thinking do I just put a LED/HID kit in them or are there some cheap aftermarket headlight projector options that look stock.
6. Any other mod recommendations?
Well, I missed the mini so much, that even after many years of E39 M5 and E30 ownership I got another one. 2012 Mini Cooper S. Plan is mostly to daily it.
My 2006 had about 140k but was pretty much reliable except for the harmonic balancer going on me and ripping the drive belt. I've read a ton of horror stories on the R56 and hoping I can luck out here. Car has ~65k on it, dealer records state chain was replaced under warranty for some reason early on ~15k. Don't remember off hand, I think the thermostat was done twice as well, amongst other things. Seems the maintenance is up to date, but I will be going to check the car out with my mechanic this week and want to know what I should look out for, besides the usual.
Other questions;
1. Bluetooth? - the car has the basic audio I believe (no tweeters) and has the Phone buttons but seems it is not bluetooth equipped. Can I add that easily?
2. Any audio upgrades that can be easily done? Thinking possibly to just get the tweeter pillars and wire them into the speakers with the capacitor in place to at least improve the soundstage a bit.
3. Android radio? - Generally I am usually unhappy with their sound quality (I am a bit of an audiophile and tested the Avin USA Avant 4 w/ DSP in my M5 and the SQ was MUCH worse than my Pioneer headunit) - however since I am keeping the speakers stock mostly in this car, perhaps I may still do it - mostly for Carplay. Which unit is best?
4. The car came with regular tires (no runflats) which I am pretty happy about, I REALLY hated the runflats on my 06 MCS. But I need a donut, which is a cheap one that fit?
5. Cheap headlight upgrades? Car came with halogens and I am thinking do I just put a LED/HID kit in them or are there some cheap aftermarket headlight projector options that look stock.
6. Any other mod recommendations?
Thank you guys!
For the Bluetooth audio get the Bovee Bluetooth for bmw/mini off of Amazon, cost 89 bucks and worth every penny. Works great in my 09 clubby s with iPhone 12 Pro Max.
For the Bluetooth audio get the Bovee Bluetooth for bmw/mini off of Amazon, cost 89 bucks and worth every penny. Works great in my 09 clubby s with iPhone 12 Pro Max.
Thank you, will this allow me to use bluetooth phone and automatically switch to it? Or just play from the phone?
My phone is paired to the mini for phone calls, and the bovee for everything else. I honestly don’t get to many phone calls so the swapping part I don’t know of yet.
My phone is paired to the mini for phone calls, and the bovee for everything else. I honestly don’t get to many phone calls so the swapping part I don’t know of yet.
So I have the PHONE buttons on the steering wheel and radio, but I don't think the radio has the bluetooth module, can that be?
Thank you for the link. You guys are really making me feel like a noob, haha. But I did check the menu, and the radio menu did not have a phone option. I will check it again when I am in the car.
The first post really has everything you need to know ++. I recently upgraded my R56 with a component set up front. I put the mid bass speakers in the lower doors, and tweeters in the upper doors. Sounds SOOO much better than stock. Would still like to move the tweeters to the pillars, but would need to get the a-pillar covers that hold them...and they are not cheap. I will also be adding a new head unit eventually. Check crutchfield - they sell kits that make it all work nicely, so I have read.
Thank you! - lol.. I knew I wasn't crazy with it. Finally had time to check the car out in detail. It does not have a phone option in the radio or a usb port. Only Aux, so I guess I dont have any bluetooth.
The first post really has everything you need to know ++. I recently upgraded my R56 with a component set up front. I put the mid bass speakers in the lower doors, and tweeters in the upper doors. Sounds SOOO much better than stock. Would still like to move the tweeters to the pillars, but would need to get the a-pillar covers that hold them...and they are not cheap. I will also be adding a new head unit eventually. Check crutchfield - they sell kits that make it all work nicely, so I have read.
Did you upgrade the amps? Or you just changed the speakers?
I'm really interested in getting an android unit for my R56 as well. I'm interested to see what people think. There is a LONG thread in the Navigation/Audio subthread but it never came to any definitive conclusions it appears.
Hi Jason,
I know for a fact that I do not have a USB connection on my radio when I pulled my radio just this past weekend. Will the first one would work for me? I have an '07 MCS R56 N14 engine. I do have an AUX jack. Can this still work without the USB plug and use the mini plug?
Vanski
Last edited by Vanski; Apr 29, 2021 at 05:10 AM.
Reason: Wording
You can buy the Bovee adapter, but without onboard bluetooth, that call button on the steering wheel will not work. The Bovee adapter will only allow for Bluetooth audio streaming through the aux port.
I would save the money on the Bovee adapter and just get one of these:
Hi - sorry @olegd88 I didn't see your question from months ago! I didn't change the amps. Just the front two speakers. I may change out the head unit, but that depends on further plans for the car.
I ended up going the route of a Bluetooth adapter on Amazon. For the BASE Minis with no USB support, this is the cheap way out. The other, better alternative is the android radio but I didn't want to deal with it.
I got this and hardwired it with a 12V to 5V adapter (but you don't need to do all that, can just plug it in and hide the wire under the dash with your hands). I mounted it next to the key so the mic is there and the buttons are there as well. Obviously not as good as having original mic and steering wheel controls, but its not terrible for $30. Phone automatically connects to the car and works well.
