Got a Mini...
 

Yes, I picked up a 2009 Mini Cooper S John Cooper Works edition. Has just over 8k miles on it so it feels like new. No sun roof so it's nice and light weight...Brembo brakes have a great feel. I'm shopping for some black wheels for daily driving and autocross...

This car flat out flies, I hope I can get the FWD to hook up at autocross:cool: Anyway, so far it's great. It gets tint on Thursday and hope to make it to the DMV to register one day this week.

Also, a sweet picture of Carrie's STI we took at the Ryholite Ghost town site in central nevada...

I saw Carrie driving on Thursday in this bad boy over by the supermarket! Damn good looking car!

Front wheel drive rules!

Shut up Kevin...

Looks awesome. Congrats!

Car looks sweet. Congrats!

That's a really sweet car. The only thing I don't like is the giant speedometer on the middle of the dash.

Nice Matt. Looks like fun.

When I first saw this I thought it might be the new larger one with AWD.

JCWs is very cool though. Can't wait to see it.

I thought about a countryman, but they're super expensive and I don't know that they'd be a ton of fun at autox or on track without spending a lot of money on suspension...

Yeah, I think you made the right choice. If the Mazda had a bit more power and a limited slip to be able to actually use it, I'd probably stick to racing it for a couple more seasons.

Sweet!

I've always thought the Minis would make awesome DD/weekend racers.

Cool dude, I bet it will look awesome on black wheels. Or bronze.

Looks really good, Matt, Congratulations! I can practically picture it with letters/numbers on the side.

Thanks all, just picked it up from Thomas at Custom Tint, it looks hot.. Now to find the right black wheels...It's looking like I may go the enkei route...

Put on the new shoes today.. Thanks to KSpeed/Cory for the mount and balance.. 17x7 Team Dynamics Pro Race 1.2 in Anthracite...Dunlop Star Specs... Also, had the windows tinted...starting to look like I wanted it to. Friday took her down to Niello Mini for a check up. Couple small warranty fixes, and they did all fluids including clutch and brake as well as an oil change under warranty? The car is SO much faster on the lighter wheels and tires.

Those wheels look great on there.

Yes, I'm pretty pleased with non-black wheels..

Man, those look fantastic.

You really got the gray on gray look going there. Paint the mirrors yellow! :p

Then they'd at least match my autox numbers :lol:

That setup looks great. Love the TD wheels

Looking good!

+1

Hey Matt, I curious about how the turbo motor compare to the supercharged version. What are your thoughts?

On the subject of Mini, I really like the Rocketman Concept.

Yeah, since we used to have the R53 w/ supercharger and now an R56 with Turbo, I've decided I really like the turbo version better. The engine is still quite torquey, and has a small turbo lag.

I think Carrie prefers the instant power feel the supercharger used to present, but the overall power of the JCW engine is quite a bit higher. Overall, they drive quite alike considering the different set ups.

The rocketman is a bold move, I think it will be successful.

Congrats, that looks really sick. I remember riding in Ansels Cooper S with a turbo. damn thing pulled really really hard and it didn't even have the go really fast package !

I'm super jealous seeing this... was trying to track down a decent JCW '07+ before I got the WRX, went for AWD for a driver though. Can't wait to see you tear this go kart around.


Did the JCW cars come with all black trim? Or was the grill surround, fender vents, etc., blacked out by a PO?

Yeah, the previous Owner did the black trim. It appears to be a vinyl overlay on everything. That reminds me Rory, are you still doing vinyl? I'm looking for something specific and would like to talk to you about some decals for Autocross....

Yes and no. Quit my job, on to new. That means my only customer is no more. So, I'm selling the machine. Have about two months before they take it all though.

Whacha looking for?


I'll still have some connections in vinyl and supplies, just no cutter. But, my supplier doesn't have the 3M Di-Noc Carbon, paying retail for myself :(

I'll PM you when I figure it out...maybe tonight. thanks man

:cool:

I like it. One of the sharper looking Mini's I've seen.

+1, I really dig the simplicity of the color scheme, and the lack of stripes and chrome.

Thank You... I agree...Someone on the stupid MINI board was like "You need some bonnet stripes" :rolleyes:

I was considering a Flat Black wrap on the roof and mirrors.. hmm.

Tell him you went with the new hotness: gray stripes on a gray car. Also tell him you have three stripes, so you're actually one stripe better than him.

I think the mirrors would look good flat black, but I don't know about the roof... I think I'd rather have the glossy paint just to help with stuff like water and snow building up on the rood in the winter.

Instead of doing the mirrors and roof, do the mirrors and that belt-line stripe of chrome under the windows. Also, did any other years come with black door handles? I wouldn't wrap the handles with vinyl, but they might look cool in black if swapping them out is easy.

hmmm... I'll have to do some searcing....I don't think black door handles exist...

I'll probably be powdercoating a wheel black soon. Maybe they could do your door handles for cheap at the same time?

Cody, who is doing the powdercoating? I'm planning to powdercoat my stock wheels prior to next winter.

No idea but I thought I'd start with Metal Master since they did them for me originally. I know they raised the price after they did mine, but:

So I powdercoated the stock wheels. Thanks to Greg at Fine Line Powder Coating, he did a great job. The color is Stone Black and is a perfect wheel black.

Kspeed mounted up a new set of Continental Extreme Contact DWS tires in a 215-45/17 today...It feels great, and looks cool with black wheels. This should be a good performing winter setup..

Oh, don't mind the cone mark on the door. :lol:

Those look great. I'd say it looks meaner, but it's a Mini. :P

Very nice!

For a MINI, it's pretty mean looking.

TWSS?

At least it's not yellow or something :p

Why do you hate Asians?

has anyone driven one of the AWD Minis yet? I wonder if they are just a viscous center with an open diff on both ends or what exactly, and if they have a transmission + seperate transfer case or a combined unit like the subaru ... hmmmm