Red Rings and a Mini

Posted on by Ian C.

Yes a Mini, not a MINI … Julian at Sublime Restorations just bought this Mini – it looks great and it’ll be very interesting to see what he does with it …

 

Why was I there? To pick up some toggle switch panel rings that Julian had painted Chili Red for me; they look pretty good on the toggle switch panel 🙂


MANY thanks to Julian for doing this – excellent work no matter how small (or big!)

The GP booklet

Posted on by Ian C.

I visited MINI of Peabody today and was given a couple of copies of the US MINI Cooper S with John Cooper Works HP kit booklets, which I have scanned and put in a gallery:


The booklet describes the exterior (remodelled front and rear aprons, side skirts, new rear wing spoiler, 218 horsepower, 18″ light alloy wheels, thunder blue metallic paint with pure silver contrast roof), the interior (anthracite speedometer and rev counter dials with red needle), seating (Grey / Panther black cloth / leather with red stitching, adjustable thigh support, built-in heating, and no rear seats), equipment list (aero kit, a/c, DSC, JCW kit with 16″ breaks [sic], LSD, sports suspension, 18″ light allow rims, on-board computer, CD player radio with MFSW, anthracite interior) and technical data (weight 2649lb, max power 215hp+/-, max torque 180ft lbs @ 4500rpm, max speed >146, fuel consumption 24.7/38.0)

It’s interesting to compare this with the one from England – they are mostly identical but the English version has a few differences, including different units for the technical specs (218 hp UK compared with 215 SAE hp, 245 Nm torque UK compared with 180 ft lbs, etc).
Most significantly, the English car gets Recaro sports seats, not available in USA due to tighter airbag laws.


Also the English booklet doesn’t have the “breaks”/”brakes” typo!

The handling compromise

Posted on by Ian C.

You will remember that I bought new tires for GBMINI#3 a few weeks ago – Avon 205/55R16s, selected from TireRack because of high ratings in comfort, noise, etc.

Well, after a few weeks of driving with them, I can report:
– yes, they are quieter than my previous Pirelli Pzero Neros, and
– they are also an easier ride, slightly smoothing the smaller bumps & hiccups of typical Massachusetts roads

HOWEVER:
I’ve noticed a significant difference in handling when taking corners at speed (particularly noticeable with off-ramps at 45+); the car seems a little unstable, as if it is sliding.
There’s no tire squeal and of course the cars suspension is unchanged – so I’m forced to conclude that the new tire sidewalls are flexing more than the old Pirellis (and of course much more than stock runflats) and that is the effect I’m feeling … it’s a bit disturbing when, for the last four years, I’ve been used to no roll and a perfectly stable behaviour when taking those same corners at the same speeds.
I find I’m now taking corners at slightly lower speeds – 40-45 instead of 50 for example on an off-ramp I take every day …

So I have improved my ride comfort, but at the expense of some perceived handling – important to emphasise that I don’t think I’ve actually lost much grip, but it feels worse/wrong. It doesn’t quite feel like a MINI should feel any more – it’s probably similar to switching from a runflat equipped MINI to one on stock 15″ non-runflats.

Conclusion: I don’t recommend these tires unless you really hate the hard ride, and you never take corners at high speed (but then, why drive a MINI!) … I can see myself needing to do something about this in the next few months!