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I thought we could start a thread on anything about our roadsters for the day. I'll start even though it's not the most fun start I would have hoped...
Good day / Bad day
I knew one of the biggest life's lesson that can be learned is that one can order someone to do something, but one cannot force someone to care...
Today I go an email saying the custom cover for my spare wheel project was on its way which I got pretty excited . . . shortly after that I got a text from my wife asking me to call her. It turns out that with a friend they rear ended each other's car on a parking lot. It's now the second time around in about 3 months I have to fix the same bumper (granted the first time truly was not her fault).
I feel so frustrated right now, not just because I had just spent a tone of time and energy a little over two month ago to get the car fixed with the insurance and everything..., but also because I can't force her to care enough to pay more attention
To this day I don't understand how people can back into someone else unless they just aren't paying enough attention!
Trying to wrap my brain around how this could happen...
exactly . . . as well... Well, I know she doesn't like to turned her head around to look back and imo rely too much on the mirrors which can easily lead to this sort of incident when not paying enough attention to look in everyone of them repeatedly. To me I always turn my all body around when I pull back no mater what car... and I'v never been near where close to ever hitting something this way.
. . . I'll just get it fixe and move on as quickly as possible...
Condolences as well. To be fair, the 6 o'clock view is quite restricted in this car. Maybe rear parking sensors could be of help? I am thankful my MA ordered them on my ride.
Condolences as well. To be fair, the 6 o'clock view is quite restricted in this car. Maybe rear parking sensors could be of help? I am thankful my MA ordered them on my ride.
ps: She has rear park assist . . . but when two vehicles are in motion I don't think it matters much... even if she may have heard and see the other car by the time she pulled out enough it was probably already over. It would have required both to see it soon enough I'm guessing enough.
A school friend lived in a remote country house with a long, rutted drive so cars would pretty much steer themselves in the ruts in dry weather. One day, Dad was driving out and met Mum driving in, not looking where she was going, having turned round to talk to the kids while the car steered itself. Dad claimed he had already stopped and engaged reverse when the impact occurred, but he didn't think to use his horn. Of course having both cars in the body shop was not ideal - in the 1960s in Britain, a 'courtesy car' or loan car was still in the future. After that, they always looked....
ps: She has rear park assist . . . but when two vehicles are in motion I don't think it matters much... even if she may have heard and see the other car by the time she pulled out enough it was probably already over. It would have required both to see it soon enough I'm guessing enough.
Oh my! This is way beyond tragic! I am about to bawl too! Here's hoping for a quick and competent repair on your baby!
one I got a paint problem fixed only to trade it for an other... I won't go into details but I had the body shop repaint our front bumper because some paint was peeling off in a none visible area (I was afraid would worsen, only to find out that rather then touch-up that area they repainted the whole bumper. The quality is great BUT the problem is that I had this custom piece of vinyl on the front. Rather then calling me (to which I would have said just peel it off, it's of no importance) they painted around it leaving a not so perfect transition. it's okay, I'm redoing the vinyl piece and it will look fine but geez people, just call me for crying out loud
I don't know why these places simply can't call you when ever they have "any questions" or doubts about something?!
It will be fine. I'm too much of a perfectionist
Meanwhile I got to ride a new MINI 2 doors hard top for 5 days.
It was interesting all around. My initial impression was pretty good. The interior is more plush and of marginally better quality. The engine is quite a bit smoother and you can definitely feel that it's more powerful. The power recovery after quick slow down is very good.
The 3 modes (green, normal, and sport) is nice, but the sport mode is a definite gas guzzler from looking at how much gas I was using for the little distance I did.
While I like to save on gas in some condition, the auto shut off at stops is a little irritating since the engine start isn't that smooth however.
The car feels heavier which isn't great in quick turns, and I was a little bothered by the heavy front looking nose view from the inside of the car. But overall the car is quick and I still liked it. I definitely felt you would get a better value for your money for those looking at that aspect more so than other aspects.
Now having said all this I have to say, roadster "motorers", when I sat in the roadster again it really made me happy and brought a huge smile on my face . The roadster felt so nice to drive and you get all this response from the sound of the engine and the exhaust, the body responds so much better even at standard suspension height we have, so much that the interior differences and tech stuff fades away in my mind. The experience is really priceless in comparison. I would still consider a new platform MINI roadster or convertible in the futur, since my experience was nice but it definitely renewed my loyalty in our Roadster. We're going to hang on to that little guy
Meanwhile I got to ride a new MINI 2 doors hard top for 5 days.
It was interesting all around. My initial impression was pretty good. The interior is more plush and of marginally better quality. The engine is quite a bit smoother and you can definitely feel it's more powerful. The power recovery after quick slow down is very good.
The 3 mods (green, normal, and sport) is nice, but the sport mode is a definite gas guzzler for looking at how much gas I was using for the little distance I did.
While I like to save on gas in some condition, the auto shut off at stops is a little irritating since the engine start isn't that smooth however.
The car feels heavier which isn't great in quick turns, and I was a little bothered by the heavy front looking nose view from the inside of the car. But overall the car is quick and I still liked it. I definitely felt you would get a better value for your money for those looking at that aspect more so than other aspects.
Now having said all this I have to say, roadster "motorers", when I sat in the roadster again it really made me happy and brought a huge smile on my face . The roadster felt so nice to drive and you get all this response from the sound of the engine and the exhaust, the body responds so much better even at standard suspension height we have, so much that the interior differences and tech stuff fades away in my mind. The experience is really priceless in comparison. I would still consider a new platform MINI roadster or convertible in the futur, since my experience was nice but it definitely renewed my loyalty in our Roadster. We're going to hang on to that little guy
Your impressions are very similar to mine when I got a 3rd gen as a loaner: probably a better car, but I'll keep my Roadster, if it's all the same to you.
Your impressions are very similar to mine when I got a 3rd gen as a loaner: probably a better car, but I'll keep my Roadster, if it's all the same to you.
I didn't want to start a new thread to avoid clutter so I thought I'd revive this one!
Here is what I got in the mail. Pretty excited to rejuvenate the steering wheel and get that new car feel there.
Hopefully I'll find better, more gentle ways, to clean the steering wheel while not abusing the leather... I picked this up before I could no longer find it!
Thx Mike @ ECS tunning for making this possible...
Yes it does. It's a direct replacement to the MINI yours soda color scheme we picked when we got the car.
It has been 7 years we've had the car and it's a nice refresh. It has that new car feel
It is really the first time I'm changing a steering wheel on a car. However the roadster is worth it and we intend to keep it for the long run.
When I have time (and if I have time) I'll see if I can restore the hold one for the future...
I just mounted the new steering wheel. Considering all the things I've done on cars this was really a piece of cake to mount.
Interestingly when I first turned on the car (and after I plugged the battery again) I got a steering positioning icon showing 000.000 or something like that. It was fun to see for a few seconds.
I'll take a picture later thought it will look like the same as when we bought the car :D
Spring has sprung!! Insured Loki today and fired him up for the 1st time since being put away for winter hibernation.
No problems, runs like a dream. Took a drive up the lake road Like getting a new car all over again.
We've driven ours in the winter now and then but with the pandemic I've been working from home a lot so we have saved the mileage on the roadster by using the other car much more. Which is just as well since we did a 3,000 miles road trip in the roadster last fall from PA to FL. That was quite a trip considering we broke down 2/3 of the way down, lol. I'm happy to save on the miles for when the weather get's warmer or for our next trip.
Sun was out this past weekend so I took the roadster to a MINI meet with the top down (pictured at the far left, below), then cruised all over the back roads before going home. Can't wait for warmer weather!
Warmer weather is now about over, but it's still perfect weather for top down driving. Here's my car at the local Cars & Coffee last weekend and I'll be out there again tomorrow morning:
Warmer weather is now about over, but it's still perfect weather for top down driving. Here's my car at the local Cars & Coffee last weekend and I'll be out there again tomorrow morning:
The Roadster looks great!
Any more pictures of that Spitfire? Having had a Spitfire in college, I have a soft spot in my heart whenever I see one.
(granted the first time truly was not her fault).
as well... Well, I know she doesn't like to turned her head around to look back and imo rely too much on the mirrors which can easily lead to this sort of incident when not paying enough attention to look in everyone of them repeatedly. To me I always turn my all body around when I pull back no mater what car... and I'v never been near where close to ever hitting something this way.
. . . but when two vehicles are in motion I don't think it matters much... even if she may have heard and see the other car by the time she pulled out enough it was probably already over. It would have required both to see it soon enough I'm guessing enough. 
. The roadster felt so nice to drive and you get all this response from the sound of the engine and the exhaust, the body responds so much better even at standard suspension height we have, so much that the interior differences and tech stuff fades away in my mind. The experience is really priceless in comparison. I would still consider a new platform MINI roadster or convertible in the futur, since my experience was nice but it definitely renewed my loyalty in our Roadster. We're going to hang on to that little guy 
It's on
