there are lots of other marks that have big followings. For many, the Mini was the first car that really got the juices flowing because it is so approachable right out of the box. But it's also relatively new. I wonder how well attended some of the events will be in another 5-10 years...

But back to the original question. Some of it is inevitable. Since cars really are integrated systems, and they are getting more complex and more computer controlled, it is harder to really modify the newer factory offerings on all brands. When you mix that in with the fact that the Mini really isn't that much of a volume seller, you have a rather limited market that further undermines the commercial value of modding... It's too bad really. I work on my cars as a stress releiver!

Matt

 

Wow. On to three pages now, and an obvious place of discussion has been barely touched.

The Competition forums.

In there, we talk about all kinds of proven, or about to be tested mods and performance tweaks. But it's not modding to turn your car into a Fast & Furious wannabee. It's modding for acceleration and handling.

 

There have been some very good points here. As MINI corporate pushes for a more dilluted brand image to entice the more mainstream world, forum attendance will without a doubt pick up fanbois and w00t'ers that are more into fashion than outright technical data. Scientists and Engineers are hardly the majority of the population; they are a select few. Even within those communities there is significant fallout regarding innovative yet level-headed thought that makes for useful exchange. Add in to that the fact this is all our hobby and now our profession and there's hardly the time or budget available for massive investigations, comparisons, and thesis projects.

What we have to deal with is experience. Sure there will be a select few that crunch the numbers, but as I've learned, the more effort you add on your own projects, the less likely you are to readily disclose them with the vigor or enthusiasm of "new-owner euphoria". The R50 and R53 are a pretty well laid out platform with a good understanding by most tuners and even retailers. The R56 is pretty easy regarding brakes and suspension because they are very similar to the old-gen, so tuners and retailers can quickly pick up on those areas. The powertrain has taken more time, as expected, but honesty it's taking less time than when the R53 first launched. Full-on custom ECU tuning for the R53 was only a few years ago, not just two short years after chassis launch! The MINI does not have the luxury of massive production numbers so the people that do work on it are fewer and further between. This means we have to take what we can get and group together to find good data and good solutions.

Finally, emotions really came into play years ago when the MINI was first out. Lots of people were "new" to car modding and had plenty of preconcieved notions to pollute rational thinking. There were lots of heated conversation for no good reason and plenty of people have been forced to move on with their lives, most likely for the best. I'm seeing this happen again with the R56 crowd, but to a lesser extent. I'll go on a limb and deduce it's from the slightly dilluted image MINI has compared to it's first years where there was no 'vert, no clubby, no automatic tranny's, covered-wagon suspensions [the original '02 SS+, remember?], and the like.

Cheers,
Ryan

 

Very well said Ryan! Plus 1 and

 

As a primary instigator of the "diluted brand family", I take full responsibility for the MINI world going to hell. Damn automatic transmission convertible driving fanboi that I am. Now we know the truth. Blimey did it.

 

I'll stand witness that if it can be glued, taped, stuck, painted, drilled, bolted or welded to a Mini, Blimey has or will do it.....

That said, people get all in to things for awhile and then get bored and move on and the Mini has been some what a victum of it's own success in that it has drawn more main stream folks to it, good or bad. I say let's keep enjoying and working together to make them faster, stronger ......Oh crap that's a TV show..

 

Yup. That you did... and some of us followed right along... hook, line, and sinker!

 

Heh - it's funny... at first glance, when I saw this thread, I thought it belonged in the "Site Feedback" forum... but after reading through it, it seems it is well suited to General MINI Talk, because it has become a very intelligent discussion of the evolution (or degradation, to some) of the MINI community as a whole.

Great thread - lots of valuable and accurate insight.

 

The tech discussions have been replaced by the Search button. I wish more people used it when asking " What exhaust or s/c pulley should I buy". 99% of the common questions have been answered and now we are at the point of zingers where no one has encountered the situation yet.

 

I'm not sure if this is true, there are a lot of products on the horizon or in their infancy coming out for the 53, not to mention the 56.

Just like expansion in the big leagues, mainstream sales dilutes the talent pool.

 

I ran into similar progression on Scion forums - when brand was new, every day brought innovation and discovery. By the end of year 3 even the most level-headed and technically-moderated forum slid into forum word games and noob bashing. The core gets bored / moves on, pre-bashed noobs stop asking questions (either because they are afraid or they actually learned to search).

Sad, but not surprising.

 

the simple answer is lack of organization of info. Nobody on NAM has taken the time to develop an encyclopedia of the knowledge base. Sure, the info is there for those who know where to look and/or spend time searching threads and reading. For someone just coming to the forum, it's daunting.

I'll use my experience on a Jeep forum as an example - the last year the XJ/Cherokee was made was 2001. That means it's been almost a decade since the last one rolled off the production line. I was new to XJ ownership a year ago and wanted to learn about some engine issues I was having and also how to do some budget upgrades on suspension. ''Search n00b" was a common reply to every post I made. I'm a veteran forum user and modder....the answers were finally found, but not through the help of the forum. Had someone taken time to catalog ANYTHING, it would have been easier to find and no 'n00b' comments needed to be made.

Some forums do this well (extensive FAQ's for every topic that are a WEALTH of info for all to use)). Most do not.

 

This is chronic not just here, but on a majority of any internet endevors. Effectively, this means that most of the value is burried and lost to most practical standards, and lots and lots of good effort has been wasted.

I'm sure that there is a very good, extensive book to be made out of the information here on the new Mini, but it sure wouldn't be easy to put together.

Besides the actual information that is there, there is also quite a history of the evolution of the understanding of the car. Too bad it's probably not worth anyones effort to wade through all the dilution, repitition and just plain BS to put it all together....

Matt

 

See https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...rs-needed.html

Help out with the project.

 

and personally, I think that I already give enough to the collective. NAM membership is higher, rates charged to vendors have gone up significantly, there are revenues generated by the Alliance program. How about having Internet Brands step up and pay someone to do something extra to create value?

Matt

 

Agree with Dr Obnxs, the road goes both ways.....

 

Let the Community Manager for IB know what you think. His name is Adrian and his username is IB_Adrian.

 

Well for one thing, people get banned for giving opinions around here.

 

Opinions or slander?

 

Care to provide any factual evidence of this?

 

you're still here and I've never seen you not give an opinion

 

Thank You Your still here and you don't even have a Mini

 

yore

 

Totally not true. Just as long as they are respectful posts (and within the other Site Guidelines), you can speak your mind. Many others have, and they are still here.

There does become a point when some folks constantly beat a dead horse and just won't let up... and if they are asked to stop, and they don't... we have a problem.

It may not be anarchy here, but it sure isn't a communist police state either.

 

don't worry Edge...that's his specialty (not true)