Topic: Any MINI Cooper enthusiasts here?

[IndyFour]

Just curious if there are any other MINI owner/enthusiasts here....either classic Mini's or current MINI's?

[cookindaddy]

It was a long time ago indeed, but here I am working on my Cooper S back in about 71

[petercb750]

I have a '69 Cooper S.

[cookindaddy]

Very nice!

[Roach]

I have a '69 Cooper S.

my dad had one just like that 69 cooper s nice car we have been thinking about getting one and putting a cage in it and doing the "targa de new foundland in it"

[dave500]

the flying brick,didnt the new south wales coppers have them?

[petercb750]

the flying brick,didnt the new south wales coppers have them?

Yes they did Dave. They were slightly altered - they ran a different cam, larger carbs, and the driver's seat was slightly lowered - perhaps so the big bulls could squeeze in.
I stand corrected, but I think over a couple of years there was something like 2000 of them sold to the police, many had to be replaced as legend has it the coppers used to give them a fair hiding.
Once the Falcon GTs and Monaros etc came out they had to change to faster cars for highway work. They had a few XU1's I believe. Would have been fun being a copper back then!
Ex cop S's are highly prized. In fact, any S really, but there's a lot of fakes out there.
They say of the 7500 sold there are still 12000 on the road....
(mine's real).

[dave500]

so if you tried to out run a mini cooper and the cop asks why didnt you stop you just say i thought i was being chased by Mr bean!

[keiths]

I hope to buy a new one this summer.

[petercb750]

I had a 2008 Cooper for work, did 86000k in 2 years, and it was starting to make some concerning engine rattles, and had lost it's "edge", (it was never thrashed, in fact, never saw redline) so we traded it with 12mth warranty still on it. Whilst it was a fun car, and good promo, I'm sorry to say I don't think they are all they're cracked up to be. Too much plastic to be a "real" mini, despite BMW's efforts to try and align themselves with the classic car brigade. And there is actually more room in my '69 for 4 adults than a new one. Service costs were a joke too.
The thing was diabolical on wet roads, despite having everything checked a couple of times, changing tyres, wheel align etc etc - it would tramtrack, bump steer, torque steer worse than my '69, and aquaplane (heart in the mouth stuff). I thought it was me, but having spoken to a few others they have had the same experiences.
One of the roads I travel regularly has a bump in a corner that I am well aware of - in the new mini hitting that bump would throw the wheel out of my hand and make the car dive to the left every time, seriously, in my new car (Comm Sportwagon) I barely even feel the bump at all.
Peter.

[petercb750]

so if you tried to out run a mini cooper and the cop asks why didnt you stop you just say i thought i was being chased by Mr bean!

[MidTNJasonF]

The thing was diabolical on wet roads, despite having everything checked a couple of times, changing tyres, wheel align etc etc - it would tramtrack, bump steer, torque steer worse than my '69, and aquaplane (heart in the mouth stuff). I thought it was me, but having spoken to a few others they have had the same experiences.

I know you said you changed and checked the tires but your experiences are the exact opposite of mine. Our (my wife's) 2006 Mini S Convertible had some really crappy, although quite expensive, tires on it. It was not very friendly in the rain and the ride was overly harsh. I had 4 new tires fitted shortly after purchasing the car and it has been flawless in bad weather since. We have cruised through sleet, snow, and mush without a slip or a slide while others were sailing off into the ditches. We have driven it countless times in the rain now including some serious downpours with no hydroplaning issues. The tires that were fitted at the time of purchase, Continentals, would hydroplane at the first sprinkling on the windshield but with the new tires it stays planted and laughs at the puddles. I have managed to kick in the traction control a few times on snow and it actually worked exceptionally well as did the ABS. It is not the car it is the tires in my experience.


Our 2006 Mini S Convertible now with about 77,000 miles and no issues. It has been a very fun car and my wife enjoys it immensely.

[petercb750]

The thing was diabolical on wet roads, despite having everything checked a couple of times, changing tyres, wheel align etc etc - it would tramtrack, bump steer, torque steer worse than my '69, and aquaplane (heart in the mouth stuff). I thought it was me, but having spoken to a few others they have had the same experiences.

I know you said you changed and checked the tires but your experiences are the exact opposite of mine. Our (my wife's) 2006 Mini S Convertible had some really crappy, although quite expensive, tires on it. It was not very friendly in the rain and the ride was overly harsh. I had 4 new tires fitted shortly after purchasing the car and it has been flawless in bad weather since. We have cruised through sleet, snow, and mush without a slip or a slide while others were sailing off into the ditches. We have driven it countless times in the rain now including some serious downpours with no hydroplaning issues. The tires that were fitted at the time of purchase, Continentals, would hydroplane at the first sprinkling on the windshield but with the new tires it stays planted and laughs at the puddles. I have managed to kick in the traction control a few times on snow and it actually worked exceptionally well as did the ABS. It is not the car it is the tires in my experience.


Our 2006 Mini S Convertible now with about 77,000 miles and no issues. It has been a very fun car and my wife enjoys it immensely.

You may well be right about the tyres, though I did try 2 different brands. Both brands were quite good when new, but at 1/2 worn were almost undriveable. I can't remember what brands they were. Like I said, others I have spoken to have experienced the same quirky handling characteristics, but then others don't know what I was talking about. So maybe it really does all come down to tyres. I also think the run-flat tyres are far too hard in the sidewalls, and this may contribute to some of my experiences.
But I'm glad for you that yours is a good car and that you are enjoying it.
Have fun.

[dave500]

front drive?i drove my wifes little hyundai excell a while back,i never drive it,shes had it since new 99,it has good yokohama "A drive" tyres,it was tram tracking and felt shout house,she hadnt noticed it so much as to say it always does that, because she drives it all the time,it had badly worn bushes in the left contol arm,now she knows better its fixed,could the bushes or wheel aligment be out on your mini?hit a kerb or similar?

[petercb750]

No dave - it was a brand new car, never hit anything (I was only driver) and the front end etc was checked a couple of times to try and cure it. We were sure it was tyres, but changing them to a differnet brand didn't fix it - maybe we were just unlucky getting 2 dud brands.
It's gone now anyway, so someone else's problem. Maybe they will sort it.

[dave500]

yeah seems odd,a dud car not quite square?you said it pete,not yours now,my wife hit a giant square edged pot hole recently real hard she tells me,weve had heaps of rain,even she was worried about the cars integrity,so she asked me to drive it to see if its out of shape,its fine,steering wheel tracks true,no hands hard braking tracks true enough,tough little tin box!i wouldnt want to hit it twice though,she showed me the pot hole,man,its a goodun.

[IndyFour]

Glad to see there are a few of us here.  I almost had my hands on a project classic Mini this fall, but it ended up being way too big of a project than I wanted to take on.  I have owned two modern MINI's....and '06 Cooper and now an '08 Cooper S.  I have enjoyed owning both of them.  The newest generation of the car has its drawbacks for sure ("plasticky" and cartoonish interior for one), but the power of the powertrain is great.  The car turns on a dime and is fantastically fun on curvy roads.  My '08 has a limited-slip front end, so it is even more fun than the first car was.

There are some quirks with the suspension as noted in an earlier response.  Tires do make an incredible difference in handling.  The runflats are very harsh and unforgiving (and extremely expensive).  Even though there is no spare on the Cooper S, I opted to go with non-runflat tires and have not given it a second thought....just carry a compressor, a plug, and tow coverage.  I have, though, experienced what petercb750 mentioned in my own '08.  While taking a curve in certain situations and encountering a bump in the road, the car does have a tendency to "jump".  I believe this is attributed mostly to the weight of the car and the factor camber adjustment on the front suspension from what I've read.  Other than taking getting used to, it has caused me no issues and I'm used to it now.  It only happens in certain situations.  With the limited-slip, I do not really get any major torque steer either.

Here is my first MINI at a local MINI club hosted track day....



And my current MINI....and '08 MCS....