Mini Cooper, any owners/

[911st]

Any of you Porsche owners, own or have owned a Mini Cooper?

Have you tracked it?

If so, how did/do you like it or how dose it stand up to a 911?

Any pics or Porsche / Mini pics would be cool.

[BlueSideUp]

There was a Mini thread recently in the Off Topic Forum. My wife and I own a Mini Cooper S but we haven't ever tracked it. It is surprising how big the Mini looks parked next to my 911 in the garage.

[Macroni]

I am considering one as a commuter to replace the current bus I am driving. One of the PCar rags, I think P world, did a road test review w/ the lightweight GP version against a 996 turbo and a ferrari and they loved it.

[jbell959]

I have a Cooper S as well but never tracked it. The car is a blast to drive. I do have a couple friends that have tracked their Minis but niether has a 911 for comparison.

[carreraken]

There are a few videos of MINI & P on utube.

[Macroni]

Originally Posted by jbell959

I have a Cooper S as well but never tracked it. The car is a blast to drive. I do have a couple friends that have tracked their Minis but niether has a 911 for comparison.

We are probably going to get zapped by the board patrol, but I will ask this question anyway....what type of mileage do you get?

[BlueSideUp]

Ours is an '06 with the 6 speed automatic and every option you can think of, in other words it's heavy for a Mini Cooper. We get 24 in the city and 32 on the highway. The '07s are turbocharged and direct injected so they average 2 to 3 mpg better.

[tcar]

Originally Posted by BlueSideUp

It is surprising how big the Mini looks parked next to my 911 in the garage.

If you think it looks big next to a 911, you should see it next to an ORIGINAL Mini Cooper (non-BMW).

[jwhcars]

I had 2002 MCS and got low 20's when I did spirited back road driving and high 20's on the open road.They are a blast to drive but the S is not a economy car.

[Macroni]

Originally Posted by BlueSideUp

Ours is an '06 with the 6 speed automatic and every option you can think of, in other words it's heavy for a Mini Cooper. We get 24 in the city and 32 on the highway. The '07s are turbocharged and direct injected so they average 2 to 3 mpg better.

I want one! I am considering the clubman version.....okay I have officially crossed the boundry.... this thread is Off topic

[BlueSideUp]

I would suggest riding in a car with each type of suspension available. Some people don't like the sport suspension and I personally don't like the ride in Minis with the 17" wheels. Ours has 16s and the ride was really choppy with the run flats. Ditching the run flats makes a huge ride improvement regardless of the wheel size.

[Jims5543]

I used to own a 03 MCS with the JCW kit on it and tracked it once. It had Zimmerman rotors braided brake lines and track brake pads with Motul fluid, I also had a fully adjustable coil over suspension, camber plates, adjustable shox and swaybars on it. The suspension was called a spax suspension the same one John Cooper Garages uses in England for their spec class cars.

I also ditched the run flats and ran 16" Kosai K1 rims with Yoko Prada SpecII tires.

The car could have used 50 more HP and it would have been a track weapon, we corner weighed mine, it had minimal options and no sunroof and weighed in a 2640 lbs. not bad for a 205 HP car.

On the track with its FWD and aftermarket suspension it was a blast, it braked hard and short, and with the ABS it made you look like a pro braking in deep and rotating the rear end around in the turns. It was also easy to throttle steer with, the only thing it really lacked was about 50 HP it has good acceleration but on the track if it had 50 more HP it would be able to hold it own, especially at DE's where faster cars in a straight line were reluctant to give you a pass instead opting to outrun you down a straight just so you can brake back on their @ss again and push them trough the twisties.


I wish I never sold mine.

[911st]

Isn't this a Porsche thread if it is Porsche owners giving there educated opinion and thoughts about the Mini?

For some reason, as a long time Porsche owner (several 914's, a 928, 72 911T w 2.8 twin-plug dizzy & mfi, 72 911S, 91 C2 Turbo w ruf goodies), I am drawn to the mini.

Thinking I can get the 911 and mini in the same garage bay.

[gestalt1]

i'm also thinking of getting a new normal cooper for a commuter. it would make a good back up race car if needed. there is a big difference in hp between the normal cooper and the s version. there optional suspension packages seem expensive for what they are and i don't think there would be much better handling with them. better tires would make a bigger difference.

[Jims5543]

The single best upgrade I did to my MINI was dump the runflats and put on some lighweight rims and sticky tires.

[Jims5543]

Great resource for MINI information, very active Track / Autocross section too.

http://www.northamericanmotoring.com/

[Christien]

I've spent a fair amount of time in a Cooper S - my dad has one and often leaves it with us for weeks at a time when he goes out to the east coast. It's a 6-speed. I've never measured the gas mileage, but it's pretty damn good. It's an exceedingly fun car to use as a daily driver, and fairly practical. It'll take a child seat in both rear seats, or with them folded down can store a fair amount of stuff. I loaded my entire guitar rig in there - a 4x12 speaker cabinet, medium size combo amp, 2 guitars and 2 bags of cables, etc. The sound system isn't the best I've heard, but adequate.

Some of the little idiosyncrasies get on my nerves, though. You have to pull the door handle twice to open it after driving (once to unlock, once to open). The window switches, etc, while appearing cool, are annoying. The sunroof only has a screen to block the sun, rather than a full panel. A few little things like that.

My only major complaint was the stock tires - way too little grip for the car's handling capabilities. I haven't tried it out on the track, but there are some fun twisty roads around my house that I got a little slippery in where I'd expect better grip.

[carreraken]

I work with MINIs every day - if you have any specific questions, drop me a pm.

There is also a good article in the current Road & Track about buying a used MINI. Lot's of good information...

[Noah930]

This doesn't exactly answer the OP's question, but I have been looking at new Minis these past few weeks. Obviously, everyone extols the athletic virtues of the car. Free maintenance for 3 yrs is nice. I worry a bit about BMW parts prices and dealer service costs after that, though.

Problems I came across in shopping for one: They're pretty popular right now, with gas prices the way they are. So dealerships here in L.A. are charging MSRP, if they're even in stock. One dealer had all but one car sold. So you can place an order, and wait the 2-3 months for delivery. 90+% of cars on the lots seem to be automatics. It's hard to find a manual transmission, unless you order it from the factory. And the Clubman model commands a $2000-5000 premium (on top of MSRP). The exception was the one dealership that had sold everything, so they conceded they'd only charge MSRP to order (and wait) for your car to come in.

[Overpaid Slacker]

Here's a little perspective on the size thing. I'm frequently amazed at how small the Porsche seems (even the 930) when next to other cars. It seems so large when it's on its own.



Once I get the ride-height figured out on the Mini... I might autoX her!

JP