mini convertible Archives - JCW Adventures

MINI F-Series LCI 2: Everything New On The Second Facelift 3rd Gen MINI

Ali Mir — Tue, 13 Jul 2021 16:50:20 +0000

Sometimes change is good, and to move forward, change needs to be done but hark back to the yesteryears. F-series MINI has been updated again to prolong its life cycle before the 4th Gen MINI arrives in 2023/2024. So here is the full low down on everything that has been changed, updated, nip and tucked or improved in the 3rd Generation MINI model line up.

Here is a full overview of what has changed in this second facelift for the F-Series Model Line up (3-door Hatch, 5-door Hatch, Electric MINI Cooper SE and Convertible):

Simpler to the new front end bumper design
LED headlights now as standard equipment with black/dechrome insides
New side scuttles in a new design
Redesigned rear bumper, LED rear lights in Union Jack design are now standard.
Get Funky with The Multitone Roof – San Marino Blue through Pearly Aqua to Jet Black
New body colours and light-alloy wheels
Newly-designed interior surfaces and air outlets
Redesigned steering wheels with the option to be heated
Multifunctional instrument display with 5-inch colour display
Central instrument cluster with new Piano Black high-gloss surround, 8.8-inch display and modern graphics display as standard
Sports seats in new Light Chequered colour
New Ambient Light option with extended features
Adaptive chassis now features frequency-selective damping
Electric parking brake available for the first time
Active Cruise Control now with Stop & Go function
Greater safety thanks to new lane departure warning and bad-weather light
Piano Black exterior with extended features
New equipment packages allow for even more individualisation

MINI LCI 2 Unique Updates

New Paint Colours

The choice of body paint finishes includes three new colours: Rooftop Grey metallic, Island Blue metallic & Zesty Yellow.

Multi-Tone Roof

The new Multi-tone roof features a colour gradient from San Marino Blue through Pearly Aqua to Jet Black, created with a new painting technique and extending from the windscreen frame to the rear. For this purpose, the three colour shades are applied one after the other in a wet-on-wet painting process. This paint finish, known as Spray Tech, is fully integrated into the mechanised production process at the MINI Oxford plant in the UK.

New Light Weight Wheels/Alloys

New Tentacle Spoke black design, in Scissor Spoke design previously only available for the MINI Sidewalk Convertible, and in a black version of the Pedal Spoke variant previously introduced exclusively for the 60 Years Edition models. 18-inch light-alloy wheels in Pulse Spoke design, with a concentric bi-colour look that creates particularly impressive design accents and John Cooper Works light-alloy wheels in Circuit Spoke black design.

Black Pack

Black Beltline, Black Headlights, Badges and various chrome trim is now available from the factory in piano black finish.

Interior Updates

New to the range are sports seats in the Light Chequered colour variant, which perfectly complement the Zesty Yellow exterior paint finish. The familiar Black Pearl fabric quality is given a new, expressive check look in hallmark British MINI style. The seams at the transition to the black imitation leather of the seat bolsters feature a colour scheme that matches the fabric
of the seat surfaces.

The design of the Colour Line, which was previously selectable as an individual option, is now harmoniously matched to the respective seat upholstery colour. Chrome has been reduced in the trim on the inside to piano black along, and the air vents have been completely redesigned and are now embedded to be flush with the interior surface. New Silver Chequered and MINI Yours Aluminium variant dash trims.

The new 8.8-inch colour touchscreen display has touch-sensitive favourite buttons, and Piano Black high-gloss surfaces are now standard features. The All-new Ambient Light option is a new surface design with laser engraving that optimises the appearance of the LED light ring surrounding the central instrument. The centre console now features an all-black surface in conjunction with a navigation system. The new Sports steering wheel has new buttons, functions and heating options, which works well with the optional digital dash.

Power

All engines now include a petrol engine particulate filter; all model variants comply with the Euro 6d emission standard.

The 3-cylinder engines, each with a capacity of 1.5 litres, are available in three versions with outputs ranging from 55 kW/75 hp to 75 kW/102 hp and 100 kW/136 hp. The 2.0-litre 4-cylinder engine generates a maximum output of 1131 kW/178 hp or 170 kW/231 hp in the two John Cooper Works models. A six-speed manual is still available as standard and a 7-speed Steptronic transmission with double clutch. The John Cooper Works models have 8-speed Steptronic transmission.

The annoying part will be the Cooper S is actually down on power due to emissions from 189 down to 178 bhp.

Handling

New suspension brings handling and rides comfort together to amplify that go-karting handles as the new adaptive suspension, which are continuous frequency-selective damping. An additional valve acting on the traction side takes over, smoothing out sudden pressure peaks within the damper within 50 to 100 milliseconds.

The proof will be in the driving, and I am still divided on the styling with MINI as it not a direction I have like with the 3rd Gen MINI.

I am just hoping the 4th Gen MINI is more driver-focused and less artificial as it will the last version petrol-powered one before the brand goes fully electric by 2030. Hopefully, it won’t be a bittersweet moment towards electric avenue….

Here are my recommendations for MINI UK & Overseas specialist to visit:

Lohen – lohen.co.uk

1320 Mini – 1320.co.uk

Sussex Road & Race – sussexroadandrace.co.uk

Millys Auto – millsysautos.co.uk

TWG Automotive – twgautomotive.co.uk

MiniWorks – mini-works.co.uk

RSI C6 – rsic6.com

Outmotoring – outmotoring.com

ESC Tuning – ecstuning.com

Detroit Tuned – detroittuned.com

My list is made by my own opinions and me speaking to respective companies & other owners worldwide, and this is not sponsored post for full transparency.

If you got the modding bug, don’t forget to check out JCW Adventures Store or Official eBay Store for some stickers for all generations of MINIs or R56 JCW carbon fibre exhaust tips seen on my MINI R56 JCW to support the blog & YouTube channel.

All your support over the years, and please offer that same support by following my Youtube Channel as well : )

As Always, it’s a MINI Adventure. Try to keep up & Stay Safe!

Support the blog by Sharing, Subscribing or Buying from the stores

JCW Adventures Store

Official eBay Store

JCW Adventures Youtube Channel

Facebook

Instagram

The post MINI F-Series LCI 2: Everything New On The Second Facelift 3rd Gen MINI appeared first on JCW Adventures.

Love Hate Relationship: Everything Wrong with the F Series MINI

Ali Mir — Sat, 01 May 2021 15:11:28 +0000

I believe everything has its moment, like when you look back at things like the PlayStation 1 era. You thought the graphics were amazing, and the controls were the pinnacle, but when you go back to play it 10 years later, the feeling isn’t the same, and it’s just all nostalgia. However, there timeless things like music that you can go back to at any point, and it gets you all happy again, like rapping the words to Fresh Prince of Bel-Air theme song lyrics.

I remember being at the GP2 launch with MINI UK and having hot laps in one and thinking MINI can do no wrong. Oh God! how wrong was I when the official pictures came out for the 3rd BMW MINI. How could they get it so wrong?? It looked like they tried too hard as it was an amalgamation of some 1st Gen MINI styling features, BUT it had a Face only a mother could love. So I thought, fine, it is what is. I buy my cars in this order – Handling, Power & Looks, so all this fits in my confines. Like anything, the proof is in the pudding…

Roll on the launch of the 3rd Gen MINI F56 series, and I got to dealer launch with Stratstone, who I did the marketing at the time. I was impressed by the interior, but the looks didn’t look any better in the metal, with the Cooper being the looker for the range. Fast forward again, and I drive the Cooper S manual courtesy of MINI Shrewsbury, and it is a disappointment as it drove like an F20 1 Series BMW.

Then a few months later, I headed out to the US for MINI TAKES THE STATES and drove the F56 MINI Cooper S auto with the JCW Pro kit with the suspension and exhaust with the carbon fibre tips. Again I was left muted as there was no connection again as it all felt forced, like it was computerised to give some involvement. To get some of the R56/R50/R53 magic, you had to buy the exhaust and suspension, which pushes the car in the other territories of price options of the Civic Type R, BMW 135i, Golf R & Focus RS. At this point, the S or JCW is outgunned, and you can’t even say it’s a more involving drive which was the justification for R series MINIs.

Click the link to my UK & USA review of the F56 MINI Cooper S

This brings me on to why I’m not fond of an F series MINI at all, and I will break it down into categories so you can see why there is some love lost with the MINI…

Chassis

All cars are made on a platform to which they share inherently the same DNA with such the Volkswagen Golf platform is a share within the V Dub group, which allows VW to make 200 cars on one platform. Therefore the underlining traits will be the same; therefore, they handle the same and use the same parts, which is why VW can create so many cars and make higher profits. On the negative side is they are dialled in the same to have understeer so everyone can drive it and all and any problems affect all the models.

The heads of BMW/MINI made a big mistake to share the same platform for the 3rd Gen MINI with a BMW given it ruined the looks, and if anything, the go karting feeling went as it drove like a BMW. The main charm of the MINI that it was fun to drive and the feedback you got from the road. A lot of that was dialled away in the F series as it lacks the confident initial turn feel. The F-series feels like a BMW 1-series you would be hard-pressed to tell the difference if someone blindfolded you and put you identical spec engine variates. If I wanted a BMW, then I would have brought one…

The rawness from the R-Series MINI has been lost in this scramble towards refinement as the sense of speed and cabin is now whisper quiet. This is all cool for lower spec like the Cooper or Cooper D/SD, but the Cooper S & JCW franticness is gone, which made you think about your driving and enjoy the aural satisfaction from supercharged whine and turbo noises.

Steering, Pedals & Gearbox

Like the chassis points above, the dartiness has been removed, and BMW 1 series DNA has been added. There is some sort of feedback, but not like I know where the wheels are after 2 seconds after the initial input but where the time is of the turn or tyre feedback just simply not there.

i.e. MINI’s unique selling point of driving pleasure has been removed to be a crowd pleasure of the masses.

For anyone who has driven the F56 manual version is the pedals genuinely feel like an afterthought as they positioned in such a way it’s not comfortable and the gear change is something wishy-washy. By the looks of things, it was designed to be an automatic in the first instance than a manual again which is a dying breed. Manual should have been done right as Porsche GT3 still shows it’s still alive and kicking along with Toyota GR Yaris & Ford Fiesta ST across the automotive landscape it is still an item of desire. MINI has often prided itself on selling Manual especially in the USA and for a few model years, they completely took away the option to have a manual.

#SaveTheManual

Sound

With all the refinements that came, the noise with the cabin was muted. Still, sadly the same happened the exhaust with it not producing a natural sound but instead an artificial one either cabin side or the ECU programmed to create some overrun. The worst part is the stock JCW wasn’t much better; another muted affair is made worst because you had to pay to get noise at the tune of £1200 plus with the JCW pro exhaust. JCW pro exhaust is an amazing piece of kit. However, the JCW should have sounded amazing from the beginning.

Turbo Lag

Personally, I like a bit of lag from a turbo as it hards some charm because you have to work for it. There a lot of great older generational cars with turbo lag like the Ferrari F40, BMW Turbo 2002, Ford Escort RS Turbo, Toyota Supra, MR2 & 911 Turbo to name a few. Yes, it annoying when you’re trying to pull away from a junction and nothing happens, but that is always far and in between. F56 virtually gets rid of it completely in all models, but the Cooper & Cooper S power levels are hard to distinguish between, just down to the fact the Cooper is best of the bunch now with that peppy 3 cylinders at around-town speeds it’s on par with the S.

Looks

Yeah, everyone knows this, but they flopped hard, and there is no way around it or any bodykit that would save it…

The 3rd MINI just reminds me of the other automotive misfit, the Mark 3/4 VW Golf, which just a fatter with every generation after the Mark 1 and got worse in all-around fun and desirability.

Individuality

This is one major key where MINI dropped all the balls, and it rebounded and smacked them in the face.

At launch and through the F56 life cycle, there was always a lack of customisation from spec, paint and accessory parts.

It was either too much money or downright cheapening the look of the classic less MINI.

All they had to is get a photocopier and redo the R-series accessory book from the carbon trim, JCW performance part and marketing push.

By not making the parts, they killed their dealer network as they had nothing to sell or anything some wanted to buy or know about, which ultimately killed the desire of the F-series MINI. For other owners and me, I know the fact going into a dealership and looking at the accessories on the walls and demo cars made you want to save up more or think about buying parts later down the line.

The dealers I know said there was no uptake minus the exhaust and no marketing push from MINI themselves. In the days of the 1st & 2nd Gen MINIs, they would be sending out body kits, carbon parts and interior trim on the regular in the UK and around the world but no more. Instead, MINI Headoffice aftersales teams are trying to sell little door lock caps…..

No happy dealers equal poor sales, interest and enquiries, i.e. dealer network needs to be busy and excited about the product in the 6-year life cycle of a car.

Doors & Quirkiness

Just why MINI why why why??? Why did you make a 5-door MINI & drop the suicide door on the Clubman?

The Countryman exists and lets it be that car or the loveable Clubman.

I don’t know what’s more depressing the fact the 5-door outsells the 3-door or the fact MINI sells 5-d00r hatchback exists.

The worst thing was sitting at the launch of the MINI Clubman was them banging about it’s the same size as a VW Golf. If I wanted a Golf I would buy one…

I brought my MINI because it was a small, fun car, and if I wanted a more practical version, I would get a Countryman or Clubman, but sadly they killed the Paceman : /

Sadly the accountants win the battle, and some cars are dropped at the end of the day; it’s a business and money talks.

The buttons and layout were changed, which annoyed me as it had me switching on the fogs lights instead of dropping windows, and the dumb switch for the lights on the dash trim instead of the stalks annoyed me as well. Yes, I am aware I am sounding like an old fart, but the toggle switches and layout was different, which was part of the experience in a MINI. R56 FOR LIFE!

TOO BIG! Please be small

With the SUV craze and cars are getting bigger, but that’s actually laziness of the manufacturers for safety etc.

It’s cheaper to make a car bigger than make it stronger, so they comply with new laws and regulations.

What they should have done with the MINI is to do a Porsche design language of it looks the same as the original and increased the size by 10 to 15%.

Finance

I am not a fan of car finance as it is the idea of renting something and not owning something.

However, personal contract purchase (PCP) is the method the masses use now, and that’s where MINI falls flat as they priced themselves out of the market.

An equivalent A-Class Mercedes, VW Golf or even Parent brand BMW 1-series worked out cheaper, so why would want to have something less ‘premium’ and less car???

There was a time where the BMW 135i was cheaper to fiance than the F56 JCW!?! You get two more cylinders, a bigger boot, more car, rear-wheel drive and the badge to match.

Madness in the grand scale of schemes and BMW sold the 135i by the boatload.

Marketing

Someone that’s worked in marketing for the last 10 years and worked for the worldwide marketing team for Jaguar & Land Rover. MINI push the brand beyond their actual target audience as they move more premium. The majority of people who buy MINI’s are the creative type and don’t like to fit the norm. F-series MINI advertising campaigns are full of LA Hipsters and giving that high-end premium looking which anything remotely the people who buy them who is students, marketing professionals and medical professional in the ages bracket of 22 to 60 years olds. MINI should be stuck to what they did best with the ads as MINI is emotional purchasing decisions, and it’s all about being a fun brand, not a wannabe hipster brand that’s trying to be cool. Everyone loves and remembers the MINI Adventure TV adverts, Funny billboards and print adverts.

MINI Community & Events

This is a weird one as MINI before was all about the MINI scene with it being integrated and doing stuff with them. MINI UNITED was the peak and they took that away and from there hasn’t been much with association only when it is needed for marketing needs. In contrast, if we go towards the dark side of Fiat with the Abarth they have fully embraced ‘the scene’ with the Scorpionship club for Abarth owners so they offer discount, parts, news and events. They literally have Abarth Day which is essentially a copy of MINI UNITED and they went for the 70th Anniversary where on the other hand MINI UK didn’t do anything. MINI USA on the other hand fully lean into the community with the marketing campaigns and doing MINI TAKES THE STATES which happens every two years which is 1 week of road tripping and fun. What better to keep owners staying, upgrading to newer models or performance variates and buying parts than having 300 to 500 MINIs in convoy travelling across the USA it’s essentially a driving billboard to gets press and word of mouth coverage. MINI is the only brand that positions itself as the car brand that comes with friends and they have gone against the grain with that. Get back to being with the MINI community and understand your target market MINI Head Office.

Focus Group.

I truly believe the 3rd Gen F-Series MINI was built for people who didn’t own a MINI before instead to attract more of the masses. I remember a friend of mine being asked to join the focus group for MINI and him recollecting what happened when he was sitting with other people. He was left shocked that they were clearly not MINI owners and instead were moaning about the things that make a MINI a MINI. The ride is too hard, lacks boot space and interior space, and ergonomics is not like other cars. Clearly, you’re in the wrong car if you want all that? It’s like being in an electric car and expecting it to make some noise or a supercar is too loud/raw…

The F-series MINI’s are a better car, but what they did with making it more ‘normal’ but BMW/MINI took away the essence of what a Modern MINI is from BMW’s vision from the 2001 rebirth. The sales figure speak volume as they down to the levels of 2006 with the F-series which is ridiculous when they only sold two models and US dealers there biggest market has been closing doors.

Deep down, I truly hope the 4th Gen MINI brings backs the mojo, rawness and quirkiness as we move to an electric future with MINI becoming an Electric only brand.

Here are my recommendations for MINI UK & Overseas specialist to visit:

Lohen – lohen.co.uk

1320 Mini – 1320.co.uk

Sussex Road & Race – sussexroadandrace.co.uk

Millys Auto – millsysautos.co.uk

TWG Automotive – twgautomotive.co.uk

MiniWorks – mini-works.co.uk

RSI C6 – rsic6.com

Outmotoring – outmotoring.com

ESC Tuning – ecstuning.com

Detroit Tuned – detroittuned.com

My list is made by my own opinions and me speaking to respective companies & other owners worldwide, and this is not sponsored post for full transparency.

All your support over the years, and please offer that same support by following my Youtube Channel as well : )

As Always, it’s a MINI Adventure. Try to keep up & Stay Safe!

Support the blog by Sharing, Subscribing or Buying from the stores

JCW Adventures Store

Official eBay Store

JCW Adventures Youtube Channel

Facebook

Instagram

The post Love Hate Relationship: Everything Wrong with the F Series MINI appeared first on JCW Adventures.

The BIG MINI Adventure: MINI TAKES THE STATES Part 2

Ali Mir — Tue, 28 Mar 2017 18:10:58 +0000

I woke to open roads of America waiting for my arrival as donned my JCW ADVENTURES tee shirt with my proud TEAM GB logo on the left side of my chest for queen and country. As I gather my stuff for the road trip ahead, I grabbed my first quick ride to the rise & shine aka breakfast meet point from a family of MINIacs who was glad to see me.
Thanks for the ride Montoya Family in MAX S Cooper!

I grabbed another breakfast burrito as I looked around at the MINIs thinking would be my next ride for the day (Don’t judge me as I loved them as we do not get it in the UK). While I was introducing myself, I decided to bring out the UK flag which I had brought along for everyone that I met to sign to take back as a memento. However, there is something special I have done with it, but I won’t tell you guys until part 5….
I spotted this understated black Cooper S, but my keen eye spotted the rumor JCW Pro exhaust at the time which I had seen online which was a leak of the accessory catalog which I had seen online before the trip. The only thing that was running through my mind is how can I get MINI USA to let me drive this car hmmmmm.

This next person is very important to the whole MTTS trip as she lights up our faces time and time again by waking us up and make us all a family for like. For those who have done, MTTS will know her name Desi is the hostess with mostess. Not only did she make fun of my accent and made me laugh but she was the key to getting this nomad from coast to coast by announcing that I would need a ride every day BOSTON OR BUST!!
Thank you from the top to very bottom of my heart.
She hooked up for my 1st MINI US owner ride with Richard who owns a very unique JCW Clubman which is one of the last few ever to be built. But this was no ordinary JCW by a long stretch as this barely run for this trip with just under 4,000 miles on the clock before the journey started with a lot of option extras. This is arguably the best from the factory spec’d clubmans I have ever seen with JCW & GP2 parts accessories added to make this one subtle, unstated classy modified R55 (Disclaimer – I have a soft spot for the clubman).

Again it was another pinch yourself moment seeing so many MINIs to what would be every morning of a minimum of 500 all meet up at one point for the next stop would be in another state/city. I would be eating, sleeping and driving MINIs for two weeks in a country that I saw in the movies.
Time to snap back to rally as I put my luggage into the back of clubby. This would truly begin my morning ritual of new MINI and new driver every day. I grabbed the route section aka the pace notes which makes you feel like a rally co-driver – Easy Left Over Crest 2 do not cut. So a different car and owner every day hmmmm like I have said before every car has history and every owner has a story. I had to ask Richard about his car history while giving an over why I would travel halfway around the world to this Pilgrimage of your journey with MINI USA owners.
Richard didn’t disappoint with his car history as he was a local around California so he a part of the MINI E project. The MINI E was an in the field electrical car worldwide program which started in January 2012 which formed the base of the development for the BMW i3. It did make me think that a MINI would be the perfect car to be electrified given its low weight and handling which fits the bill. It left me pondering as I am Track Marshall on the weekends at electric go karting track where the karts weigh around 200kg without driver and have a top speed of 35-40mph.
I asked why he brought a clubman and it seemed like he brought one for the same reasons why I would have one. The longer wheelbase, better ride, the barn doors, suicide door and that all important JCW badge. I compliment him on the subtle mods and getting one of the last few JCW clubmans in the world as the dawn of the F generations.

We did stop for short stop for fuel, and we did meet a few characters and MINIs which you will see and read about in due course.
Back to the route as we headed towards a MINI assigned photo opportunity at the Nevada Shoe Tree. The Shoe Trees may be the greatest embodiment of the American Spirit you can find on the highway (free of admission charge, anyway).

A shoe tree starts with one dreamer, tossing his or her footwear-of-old high into the sky, to catch on an out-of-reach branch. It usually ends there, unseen and neglected by others. But on rare occasions, that first pair of shoes triggers a shoe tossing cascade. Soon, teens are gathering up their old Adidas and Sauconys, families are driving out after church with Dad’s Reeboks and grandma’s Keds. Many inscribe messages on the sneakers in permanent marker — greetings, love poems, and life accomplishments.
The shoe tree blooms with polymer beauty. A work of art like this may last for generations, tracing our history by our sneakers . . . As long as the tree doesn’t die or get attacked by shoe tree murderers.
On Highway 50 near Middlegate, Nevada, a lone cottonwood stood, clotted with hundreds of shoes. One tipster told us the first pair was thrown during a wedding night argument by a young couple; later, their children’s shoes were added to it. Whatever its origins, the tree seemed to suck up all the discarded footwear in the county. Sadly, the tree was cut down by vandals on New Year’s Eve, 2010-2011 and another put in its place.

This photo opp allowed me to speak to Briana for a while she signed my UK flag which I brought along for everyone to sign as a memento of this trip of a lifetime as I watched sneakers fly into the air. Briana had brought along a mini MINI for MINI Adventure which was a direct clone of her MINI aka Nirvana.
What Richard did next did surprise me as he had the keys to his clubby and said you can drive…

I was like you sure given you have only just got it, and you only have 4,000 miles on the clock, and we were set to drive on the loneliest highway in the US to Wendover. I was apprehensive about his clubby given how new it was as I didn’t want to wreck his clutch or gearbox so early on with my poor gear shifting technique with my right hand (yes your steering wheel is on the wrong side damn it!!!!).
They were not lying about this being the loneliest highway as all I saw the asphalt on the horizon and nothing on besides the odd truck going the other way which was outshined by a pair of F-18 flying low into the danger zone MURRRICCAAAAA.

This wasn’t the last of the moments we would have as I did get to put my foot down in Richard’s ride as he told me to push on but also I spotted the soon be infamous ‘4 guys and 1 MINI’. These 4 lunatics wanted to ride coast to coast in one MINI but this wasn’t the best thing about them but who they were and smiles they would bring to everyone the trip.
WE SALUTE YOU
I believe this symbolised the community as a whole in the US who are a larger than LIFE set of characters who have been brought together for the love of this little car from the UK.
Along the way, I got see some sights that again have been donned to the movies such as freight trains which ran parallel to the road. I guess it is the opposite given the railways came first as it was these lines that allowed the US to be truly connected on the dawn of the industrial and steam revolution. Sadly there wasn’t any railway crossing for a Dodge Charger and Toyota Supra to race against.

It might be a small thing to US residents but seeing these freight trains in motion will be a memory that will stay with me. We did come across along with one on the move which resulted in us waiting over 2 minutes for this freight train with endless carriages.
We did drive through this small town along the way which to my knowledge was in the middle of nowhere but had a population sign of 100 if that. But when 500 hundred MINIs turned up we more than doubled the population. It bet it was a sight to see for the locals who were in shock. We were welcomed with open arms to this small town so much so the gas station in the town actually lowered the gas price so hundreds of MINIs could fill up. I did personally thank the lady owner for her generosity and gave an insight to MINI TAKES THE STATES.

Not far from this stop we arrived at our next state of Wendover, but this MINI madness will continue into the night for the first party get together. I thanked Richard for the ride and getting me going where I needed to be and putting some miles on one of the last R55 JCW clubmans in the world. But we were but back in the Danger Zone with this parked up Cooper S.

I freshened up and headed out with TEAM GB to the Historic Wendover Airfield which was active during WWII but most notable in these movies such as Con-Air and Independence Day. This gave me another chance to talk to US owners I had spoken to online via various forms.

I finally got to proper speak to Kyle Conner in person following talking to him on FB and appearing multiple times on MINIs on the mind.

But more importantly, I finally got to hear his highly modified Countryman in person. Let’s say it was worth the wait before I retired for the evening….

Carrying on the sense of speed Bonneville salt flats would be our next stop for the next leg of MTTS.
I walked across the road to the rise and shine event which opposite my hotel which gave me some time to buy some merchandise for MTTS. I brought an MTTS grille badge and few other for the keepsake of this transatlantic trip.
Another rise and shine hosted by the hostess with mostest which brought about my next ride with Andrea Jones who slightly reminded me of Emma from Lohen the UK MINI specialist.

Today’s ride would be an R56 MINI Cooper aka FELIX which has his own blog – http://felixgoesalltheway.blogspot.co.uk. The name might mean something to some people as Felix is a cartoon character from the silent film era. The anthropomorphic black cat with his black body, white eyes, and giant grin, coupled with the surrealism of the situations in which his cartoons place him, combine to make Felix one of the most recognised cartoon characters in film history. Felix was the first character from animation to attain a level of popularity sufficient to draw movie audiences.
I was slightly complexed when Andrea said it was a Justa??? I said what do you mean. I was let in on this term used in the US which means that it’s just a Cooper hence the slang term Justa. I was bewildered by this given my first car was MINI One which even more basic with a 1.4-litre engine with a monstrous 89 Bhp. I know a lot of people know I am obsessed with my JCW, but that’s only because I brought it to drive fast on road and track, but I don’t look down on people who drive lower powered MINI as you should only buy what you can afford. To this day, I still miss my MINI One as it taught me how to drive and started all this madness. Started from the bottom now we are here!

They do say everywhere you go take the weather with you…. Sadly stopped play for our salt flats fun as it rained through our trip there : / Undetermined we head on to the salts so we could say we were on the flats and drove on it.

It was a little surreal knowing that so many people on this leg of the trip had never driven in the rain?!?! How??? Bloody rains all the time in the UK anyway my other alter ego of RALLY ALI was on hand to help my driver for the day to adjust to driving in the wet *insert pace notes* – a big jump over crest do not lift. I said it’s exactly the same driving in the wet just lower your speed to adjust for lower grip levels and use your wipers accordingly as you need to see where you going. At this point, I was just easing her into the environment and making general chit chat to mellow the mood in the cabin and finding out what she knew about driving techniques.
We arrived at our wet destination which seemed to look like icing on a cake as the salt flats were saturated with the heavy rainfall. But nothing has ever stopped a BRIT from doing what they wanted to do so we drove on to the salts to say we were there and on it. With that ticketed off the list, we headed back on the blacktop as we pointed Felix to our next destination in search of sun and blue skies.

This gave me a chance to teach Andrea some driving tips such as double clutching. I had to do this all the time on my R56 MINI One, so it was time for me to give this Justa a fighting chance in real world driving in the states.
What is double clutching?

Double clutching is when the clutch pedal is depressed while shifting to neutral to match engine speed to the intended gear and vehicle speed, and again depressed for shifting into gear.
This is something you would if you were cruising in 5th and wanted to drop down to 3rd smoothly and pull away rapidly without upsetting the car with a harsh downshift which puts unnecessary strain on the clutch and gearbox. This skill allows all the engine power to be fully utilised on the downshift, so there is no pause in the power delivery which will give you those brief few seconds head start on anything in your or behind you.
We made a brief stop in Helper for a photo op with Alex Rose in her Cooper S who was going all the way as well.

Further, ahead we didn’t realise Alex’s MINI would hit some trouble as the engine management light came on. Like a good co-pilot, I brought my OBD reader for set occasions like this so I could help any MINI owner the best I could. I thought I a MINI broke down on engine fault maybe I could reset and keep it moving till the next safe point. I did work out what was wrong with Alex’s MINI as the thermostat broke which resulted in the engine management light to come on. This was later confirmed by a MINI technician who was one of the support vehicles for this trip.
On a lighter note, the sticker on Felix to this day still makes me giggle.

But later I was on an acid trip after looking at this Clubman.

After I regained conscience and enjoyed my free drink courtesy of MINI USA from Papa Joe’s stop & go we headed back on the road to get our free car wash as did drive on the salts which will eat way at the car.
This automated car wash was like no other I had seen before compared to the ones in the UK. So you can imagine I felt like a 5-year-old all over again going through a car wash for the first time.

From there I was dropped off at my hotel, and I thank Andrea for the smiles on the trip, and I would catch her later tonight for car lovers wet dream as we drooled over someone’s private car collection.
After I had freshened up at the hotel, I drove the Countryman All4 which gave me a chance to see what an Auto All4 S would be like. As everyone else wanted a drink or was tired and given I have never drunk in my life I would be designated, driver. Sooooo All aboard the SS Countryman with Captain lets get a move on. I got the knack of climbing into the wrong side of the car to take the wheel of this machine on the freeway at night which is secretly something I wanted to do for a long time as my childhood playing need for speed and midnight club fills your imagination with so many things.
As we hit the highway to the event destination of Allen Unique Autos, it started to rain and when I mean RAIN I said it as the wipers could not keep up the downpour that slaughtered us in the convoy we connected to. So much so the Countryman did briefly aquaplane as we came off the highway, but I caught it, but everyone thought I was drifting or messing around lol. On a side note to everyone that I do take my driving more seriously when I have passengers on board given I am responsible for their lives as well. I stick to every rule in the book and make everyone feel at ease as I drive smoothly to arrive at our stop on time, but upon request only I can show you a move or two ; )
We arrived safely at our stop that turned me into a five-year-old in a candy store. The sheer vast assortment of cars. I will let the pictures do the talking.

Each car had it’s own mark whether it was a stock to original spec or customised to the owners liking. Like I have said before every car has a story behind it….

MINI Beach Car – Only 15 ever built with one owned by the Queen
Fiat had a successful beach car named the Jolly, so there was clearly a market for a leisure vehicle. Austin commissioned a run of ‘Beach Cars’ between December 1961 and March 1962. 15 examples were made during this period, all Export models with left-hand drive, though there is at least one right-hand drive version known to exist in the UK. 13 of the left-hand drive examples were sent to the United States, where they severed as dealer and distributor promotional vehicles.
The design of the Mini Beach Car, also known as the ‘Riviera Buggy’, was similar to the Jolly, with no doors, no B-pillars, and interior seats made of wicker. The Beach Car were built by hand in-house at Longbridge’s Experimental Department. Four of the fourteen left-hand-drive Beach Cars were finished in Surf Blue with a Snowberry White roof.

One was sold in 2015 for $184,000 at auction.
All these cars were owned by a single person and more importantly by a woman. I salute you!! It’s a shame I never got to meet this person as they wanted to remain anonymous as I wanted to know the history about they were brought, the restoration and why they were modified in certain ways. Either way, thank you for sharing your car collection as I don’t think I will ever see these cars anywhere else.
This evening entertainment concluded and I drove everyone back to the hotel and pondered who would be a ride for tomorrow and what cars we would see along the way.

It was the same routine that we bundled all the bags in the countryman and I would squish into the back seats with a suitcase bigger than me on my lap. Why would you want to change that when it works so well??? (sarcasm). But honesty it was a laugh minus the weight on my thighs.
It was back to last night’s venue as today’s we would heading towards Albuquerque in New Mexico but first without any foods and morning raffles. Sadly our hostess with the mostest didn’t have any clean jokes, so I gave one of mine.
What happens when Batman sees Catwoman?
The dark knight rises
NANANANAAAHAHAHAHA

I did get the mic taken away from me lol I was auctioned again this morning, and this time my ride would be modified R56 MINI Cooper S owned Ross Kopp who was the plastic dip to look like Starsky and Hutch car.
Sadly there was no sliding across the hood today. But walking over to his ride was one of fascination as I saw the half roll cage with go pro and bucket seats which brought a cheeky grin to my face #BecauseRaceCar.

I loaded my suitcase into the back and noticed the MINI UNITED 2012 sun blind and I was like Huh?? You have been to MINI UNITED in France in this car??? Ross was like yeah I move around a lot of work! SMALL WORLD!!!! I guess I probably walked past your then without realising and he was not shy of the track action has he been around the Nurburgring : D
From then on it was talking car mods and what he hadn’t done to his MINI as I brought about the questions about suspension and mapping as I have been looking this for a while. Ross did say his S was running about off today given the altitude coupled with the poor fuel in the state didn’t help as high ethanol percentage isn’t well suited to the map he was running.
Me personally I have never bought into the notion that some guy with a laptop and dyno can approve over what a modern OEM manufacturer with a vast amount of money, time, driven countless miles and R&D has been done to make stable ECU map work anywhere in the world regardless of the climate or conditions. You can screw more power out the engine but what about the other components like the clutch, gearbox, cooling, brakes, etc. Everyone rarely even things about. Then people wonder why their car keeps on breaking when they take it beyond the tolerances there is a fine line between RACE Car and Road car as POWER isn’t everything and this is another key point why you buy a MINI for the Corners.

This why the conversation continued into what suspension are you running and how did you set it up?
Ross’s S was sitting on KW V3 with camber plates which were perfect as I loaded a shed load of questions as I wanted to ask about. I enquired about the chamber rates, compression and how long it is sitting to getting a better picture of how to setup mine. He had worn down his S to around 30mm with added negative chamber for better turn in. Straight away I could tell the ride was a lot better and how planted it felt as you could say the ride was firmer. The things it’s not intolerable in the sense you would tell it was smoothing out the ride a lot better than stock suspension as it wasn’t crashy or unstable.
I was sold on getting coilovers after I sat in Ross’s MINI but I knew I could only for the best in the marker KW as it didn’t want to compromise on quality but that would come with a price so the saving fund would begin for the KWs.

Back to the road trip at hand and we heading toward Russell Stover Candies for some free chocolate!!! So this would be our first stop but not really be being a sweet tooth chocolate fan but I did get interviewed by the MINI USA film crew, and they handed me a go pro and hand mount to film my adventures. I was more interested in getting back to checking out the winning ‘The New Originals’ competition car.
MINI USA held a contest called “Final Test Test Drives” and asked fans to design their very own MINI Cooper S. The winning design, “DeLux” by Alex Coyle, will head to New York to go on display and support the launch of the new MINI. Her design won the competition by getting the most votes online.

‘Lux’ is the root meaning of ‘light,’ explains Coyle. “After I went through all the options I had available to customise the car I went for all the bells and whistles and created what I call a ‘Deluxe’ model. The result was ‘DeLux’”.

So it was back to the road trip heading down 550 into the twisties and mountain passes to Albuquerque. The roads didn’t disappoint, and the weather was perfect for the occasional stop for pictures and appreciate of mother earth.

Again it was something out of the movies for me as we hit this small town amongst the mountains to what seem liked settlement for workers in years gone by.
While we were enjoying the twisties and smiling, we didn’t realise what was happening in front us as the road was shut down. We found through friends and calling each other that there had been a head-on collision with SUV and RV resulting in a fatality resulting the police closing down the road both ways.
I was a quiet moment of thought for me as the harsh reality set in that someone lost their life and open road has many dangers seen and unseen.

After we had waited a diversion was created off the road through a country club and golf course which pop us out further down the road. It was time to make some time up in the twisties but Ross’s MINI wasn’t playing ball as it began to run rough resulting in us back off and cruising the rest of the way.

Our destination was Sandia MINI and we arrived promptly to enjoy their hospitality as they were paying for dinner tonight and they did put on quite the spread & BBQ. But sadly there wasn’t a veg or fish option I opted to go across the road and dine with Phil to catch up his adventures.
We joked and laughed over dinner sharing each others stories and asking Did you see that or this? But it has left me in the sense of reflection after I opened my fortune cookie.

SET THE RIGHT EXAMPLE. IT WILL INSPIRE OTHERS
To this day I still think those are words are still actually sums up what I try to do on a daily basis. There is something inside me that likes making people smile, happy and teach them what they need to know and hear. I love finding out that I am the reason why someone did something, and it improved them. I guess it’s a sense of accomplishment and pride that money can’t buy. It makes me proud and smile every time I hear good news about my friends and family : )

On that note, we headed back to our hotel across the road and got our forty winks. The adventures will continue in Part 3….
Comment, Like, Subscribe, follow or donate
Facebook Page
Youtube
Instagram
Twitter
JCW ADVENTURES Store
Like what you read and want to support the site? Please donate below:

The post The BIG MINI Adventure: MINI TAKES THE STATES Part 2 appeared first on JCW Adventures.

The BIG MINI Adventure: MINI TAKES THE STATES Part 1

Ali Mir — Sun, 01 Feb 2015 19:58:20 +0000

This is my BIGGEST adventure yet in a country I have never visited and only ever seen on the TV screens. I travelled half the way across the world to take part in the biggest mini event in the world which will see me fly to the US to my drive through 18 states, 15 cities in 14 days and cover 5,142 miles all in a MINI. So take a seat in the passenger seat and let me show how one car can change your life as you know it.
This adventure starts on social media but exactly on Instagram where I spend some of my free time talking and posting to my following base. To be honest most are more like friends who happen to live in every corner of the world drive the same type of car and make me smile.

Introducing Lilcoopr aka Christina my female counter part who is cut from the same cloth but has a very different PINK take on all things MINI (Pantone 219 C to be exact). Christina has been in the MINI scene alot longer than me from the early days of the R53 Cooper S right to up to her recent purchase of her new MINI Countryman. She is MINIac through and through with her global trotting for MINI events and for MINI as she actually worked for BMW/MINI Canada. She has actually been to every MINI UNITED except 2005 in Misano, Italy meaning I have walked past her a few times back in 2009 & 2012!!! Its truly a MINI World.
I began speaking to Christina and it was apparent the MINI Passion ran deep as swapped stories on how it all began and our current MINIs. As we Skyped away and sent each other dumb witty messages on every social media platform possible, it was strange to feel such as a connection with someone I had never meant before.

This lead to the discussion of me having the urge to go on a MINI Adventure and wanting to go to the US given 50% of my followers are from the US. I thought there would be no other better way to meet them than on a road trip in a MINI.
Christina told me all about MINI TAKES THE STATES from the destinations and MINI Mates she has made along the way. I was SOLD and the planning began for the trip in 2014 with registration, flights, hotels etc. So we began planning the trip together but with some sadness as MINI UNITED 2014 wasn’t going to happen but it was exciting as I was finally going to meet people I have spoken to over 2 years online.

This is gonna be another trip of a lifetime being surround by MINIs & MINIacs!!! In all honesty who wants to sit on the beach, relax and get a tan. Right?
Can this top MINI UNITED 2012??? I drove on the greatest roads within Europe with arguable the greatest MINIacs ever??
I wouldn’t be alone as Christine and Phil of the Fast Five will be joining me to fly the flag for the UK on this trip. These are the two of six people I cherish the most in my life as they changed my life when did MINI UNITED 2012 as strangers but now are FAMILY. They have been the rock in my hard times and celebrated my triumphs with me so it was right to get some Tees made for this occasion…

Even thought I planned this trip with Christina our aims changed and she would driving from Canada for a bigger cause. She would driving to support the children’s wish foundation – http://www.drivingfordreams.ca
Even thought our goals changed one thing will never change. I will always hold Christina in a special place in my heart as she was there during a difficult time in my life in late 2014 and going into 2015. I will never forget what she did for me and how she shaped my outlook in life and work for the better. I am in indebted to as she doesn’t know how much it meant for her to be by side even though she was thousands of miles away she always put things aside to be there.

I truly believe we meet certain people in our lives who guide and form who we are as individuals. I am glad Christina is one of those significant people.
However this left a BIG issue of me not having a MINI hmmm
I did look into shipping over my JCW but it beyond my reach at £3,000 plus I wouldn’t have my JCW for over a month along with other costs of insurance and hassle of customs. So it was a no go so I would doing the old fashioned american way by hitchhiking all the way from San Francisco to Boston but it wasn’t all pot luck as I know alot of US MINI owners through my website and facebook. I spoke to a few before I left who were more than happy to have me as a passenger and Christine & Phil both had rides sorted with a mother and son combo in blue MINIs.
Before I left the states I given a some free swag by MINI UK team to make the trip easier and I was entrusted with an infamous mascot to take with me….

This little croc is the official mascot of Merseyside MINI Club who is another MINI club I have done a few MINI runs with countless stories to smile and laugh about. I was told to look after this trouble maker and take a lifetime worth of photos for this little critter causing mischief and enjoying the open roads of the US.
Flights and hotels all booked courtesy of the organising super wiz Christine (one of many reason why she is wifey no.1) and I began packing my bags for the journey ahead whilst sorting out the essentials like money, bills, international license permit etc. My phone was non stop buzz of messaging from my MINIacs that I would be coming to the US to meet them.

Before I left for the US I spoke with another MINIac but this one lived in California. Briana is a friend of Christina’s who I skpyed me whilst driving her drop top MINI Cooper S. She was another bag of laughs and smiles and I don’t think I have met anyone who has such a love for animals and has such a cute doggie woggie. OH MY GOD!!!! her and Alice are a perfect match and have shared the limits sky’s of the California sunshine p.s she has an infectious smile : )

This would be Briana’s first MINI event and MTTS which reminded me alot of my 1st MINI event which was MINI UNITED 2009 so I was keen to make her smile and to make sure she made the most of it. I made sure I brought along some stuff to give to the girls as a present as there is no point coming so far and not giving someone something to cherish.

There was one specific person I wanted to meet who I talk to all the time is Philip Casper aka ‘The Blue Ghost’ but there will be more on him later and why he has that nickname. He is another friend I made on Instagram who is all round awesome dude and I can see a great future ahead for him. When we do talk its been very surreal in the sense we talk like old school friends who grew up together. I wish we did as we would have got up to alot mischief but I guess we are cut from the same cloth with his having a bit more MURCIA sewn in.
The night before I left to go to the US I took my JCW out for one last blast before I put her on trickle charge for the basically a month. It was a bitter sweet moment as I knew I may not be to drive in the US even though I got my international license permit. I would never let anyone drive my JCW because its the equivalent of someone giving me their wife for the night.

The night before I couldn’t sleep because I couldn’t believe it was happening that I would be apart of the BIGGEST OFFICIAL MINI ROAD TRIP in the US. This wasn’t helped with the fact I had a early morning flight to the US but meh. My alarm went off and up I got with my bags and hugged my family goodbye my dad drove me to the airport but before I left I kissed my hand touched the bonnet MINI emblem and muttered with my head down ‘This will be the only adventure I cant take you with me’. I arrived at the airport & checked in my bags and wondered around until the second boarding call still thinking about my two friends will boarding their flights soon with us touching down within 1 hour of one another.
The call came and boarded my flight with Aer Lingus. I buckled myself in and flicked through the selection of films and what I saw brought a smerk to my face as the whole Christopher Nolan Batman trilogy and LEGO: The Movie was available!!!! But this was only a short trip to Dublin then on to San Francisco as I would heading through US customs in Dublin and walk straight out in San Fran.

I touched down in Dublin collected by bag and waited in line for immigration & customs which was an hour of my life I wouldn’t get back. I was pointed to the desk of hard nosed american official who told me to stand just behind the line and look directly into the camera and hand over my fingerprints. I didn’t like the fact I had to give my finger prints as it felt like a violation of my civil rights but its their country so their rules but I can understand for security reasons.
I was questioned about who I was, what is my job and what was my business to my visit to which replied whilst popping my iBat on the desk (my iPhone case looks like batman’s face). This resulted in a look up at me with a raised brow with quick question ‘Is that an sharp object?’ Nope is silicone as stabbed my hand batman’s cowl in my palm. As I finished my actions I was handed my passport and told to head forth as soon as I stepped across the line I got ‘Hey Cool case’ with an smerk. I thought from then on its gonna be an awesome trip…
After an hour wait I was back on the plane for lunch which was awesome to be fair as I was served steamed salmon with mashed potato and peas. I think that was the best food I have ever had on a plane even though I have flown first class on Emirates to Dubai a while back. As much as I love food, it was time of me to enjoy the Dark Knight Trilogy for sixteen millionth time! Thank you Mr Nolan for taking Batman movies away from the campiness they were into what the comics did so well at showing Mr Wayne’s alter ego for justice and bring down pain on those who pray on the weak.

After watching Batman Begins it was time for a short nap to catch some Zzzz as I would landing after 6 hours to sunny California. I woke up before we landed to take out my UK sim card to switch to my US sim card so I could use my phone and post things on my social media feeds. Don’t worry I didn’t bring down the plane as my iPhone was in air plane mode so there was the small thing of setting her up once we landed. I touched down in California and the shades came out for the sun and i felt like a boss given I didn’t have to go through customs and headed straight out to arrivals but received a text off Phil saying his flight was delayed for an hour so I gave me time to call the blue ghost to tell him I landed in the US and to round up the boys for the Buffalo leg of the MTTS.
I did the most american thing I could do was order some fries and get some coke to drink while I waited for my iphone to charge as I checked my emails, Facebook etc. It was still a surreal moment that I was in the US to do a MINI event without an actual MINI as I am so used to hoping into my JCW to do events which made it a bitter sweet moment.

Phil arrived so it was time to catch a cab to down town San Francisco to our hotel. I hadn’t seen Phil in a while so it was more of a reunion when met in the back of this crazy taxi Prius as we took in the sights and sounds of San Fran to learn Christine flight had been delayed as well and we wouldn’t see her to late that evening.
Me and Phil checked into the hotel and freshened up and hit the streets for some food and look around the city as we would leaving it the next day to start MTTS. The warm summer weather and cool breeze from the sea was perfect as we walked to the pier as I car spotted various cars along the way but again another surreal moment seeing the trams and the verticality of the hills didnt want me to walk up them on the way back. I was surprised Steve McQueen didn’t snapped the chassis on the Bullitt Mustang or the villian’s Charger didn’t bottom out the shocks as they tear through the streets but whilst this was going on Phil just wanted a ride on the tram to tick of his bucket list. I was in the world of my own thinking about the scene from The Rock ‘Hey man, you just F**KED up your Ferrari.’ ‘It’s not mine.’ ahh great film.
San Francisco at night was one of diversity as we saw street vendors selling food to tickets, roller blading crews etc and knowing the city is know for its liberal views and openness to anything with the rainbow flag originating from this city. Yet this city has seen its harsh moment with scale devastation with earthquakes which I learnt at school but as much as the city has taken it has given back with the bay. It was truly a moment of reflection looking at the bay and where this small car has taken to various places I had dreamed of.

As we walked back the hotel Christine aka Wifey No.1 rang to say she had arrived and would be at the hotel soon which we greeted once we got their then retired to our rooms as we would exploring San Francisco in the morning to do a few tourist things before we depart on our BIG MINI Adventure…
The sun rose over the bay and it was time to taste that Cali life as we all got ready to see all the sites but first thing we wanted to is going see the start point of MTTS which was MINI of San Francisco which would host the opening event and where we sign on to collect our goodies for motoring miles ahead. Luckily our hotel was only 15 minute walk away from the dealership so we walked together on this small milestone as I hadn’t seen Christine in a long while which so it was fitting to walk and talk.

One thing I couldn’t get over was how wide the lanes were and how they were allowed to turn right on red lights!!!! I don’t worry I remembered not to J walk even thought its fine in the UK but I did have a little New Yorker inside of me wanting to shout HEY I AM WALKING HERE! A few blocks and there it was that infamous winged logo with my favourite word written in Coolvetica font representing where many start the MINI adventures. The dealer was closed but I could see them prepping for tonight’s launch party but I could see some cool things and a lift?? Oh there are two floors!!!
Now we had see the dealership it was time to head back to the hotel to meet our MINI ambassadors Amy & Tryon Lippincoott who would taking Phil & Christine on this MINI adventure along with staying with us in hotels. Yet again the MINI community still seizes to amaze me how people who would have never met, meet because of this four wheel wonder and travel together on 5,000 plus mile journey. Amy & Tryon offered their MINIs for co-pilot duties for the trip to take them coast to coast even thought they had never met before.

Amy & Tyron rocked up in the cosmic blue and white Countryman All 4 S Auto outside our hotel where formally introduced ourselves after all the chats on Facebook. We headed down to the bay to go visit the iconic Alcatraz prison which I first learnt about in the film The Rock a great Nicolas Cage and Sean Connery movie. Whilst waiting for the ferry to arrive I got acquainted with Tyron who was clearly a car guy was we rattled off stories of our MINI adventures across France for MINI UNITED and the mods we had done to our cars. The pursuit of speed is a fun one as I learned more about Autocross which doesn’t happen in the UK to what I am aware of which is shame as its easy and cheap way of having fun instead doing a full blown track day.
I did take note on Tyron’s advice on upgrading pads to Hawkeye and running braided lines as he said under hard continued braking the autocross the brakes dont tend to overheat. However we did laugh about my Honda Civic YO days as I drove my mum’s 07 1.6 litre Civic which when I was finished with only panel that wasn’t dented was the roof. for a while before I got my 1st car being my 07 MINI One with the lesser know 1.4 litre with 89 Bhp. God how I miss my MINI One.

Tyron gave insight into life as a medic with the US Military as I always thought you had to be a different breed of person to devote your working life to your country and saving people’s lives. We salute you my friend and keep up the good work.

The ferry arrived and we head on board talking away whilst taking on the sight of the bay and the famous Golden gate bridge which we would be driving over on the next day. We disembarked from the ferry into our self guided tour with ear piece into the world of convicts and 5 by 9 feet cells. The islands has taken many forms with facilities for a lighthouse, a military fortification, a military prison (1868), and a federal prison from 1933 until 1963. Beginning in November 1969, the island was occupied for more than 19 months by a group of aboriginal people from San Francisco who were part of a wave of Native activism across the nation with public protests through the 1970s. In 1972, Alcatraz became a national recreation area and received designation as a National Historic Landmark in 1986.

The United States Disciplinary Barracks on Alcatraz was acquired by the United States Department of Justice on October 12, 1933, and the island became a Federal Bureau of Prisons federal prison in August 1934. Alcatraz was designed to hold prisoners who continuously caused trouble at other federal prisons. At 9:40 am in the morning of August 11, 1934, the first batch of 137 prisoners arrived at Alcatraz, arriving by railroad from the United States Penitentiary in Leavenworth, Kansas at Santa Venetia, California, before being escorted to Alcatraz, handcuffed in high security coaches and guarded by some 60 special FBI agents, U.S. Marshals and railway security officials. Most of the prisoners were notorious bank robbers and murderers. The prison initially had a staff of 155, including the first warden James A. Johnston and associate warden J. E. Shuttleworth, both considered to be “iron men”.

During the 29 years it was in use, the jail held some of the most notorious criminals in American history, such as Al Capone, Robert Franklin Stroud (the Birdman of Alcatraz), George “Machine Gun” Kelly, Bumpy Johnson, Rafael Cancel Miranda (a member of the Puerto Rican Nationalist Party who attacked the United States Capitol building in 1954), Mickey Cohen, Arthur R. “Doc” Barker, James “Whitey” Bulger, and Alvin “Creepy” Karpis (who served more time at Alcatraz than any other inmate). It also provided housing for the Bureau of Prisons staff and their families.
During its 29 years of operation, the penitentiary claimed that no prisoner successfully escaped. A total of 36 prisoners made 14 escape attempts, two men trying twice; 23 were caught alive, six were shot and killed during their escape, two drowned, and five are listed as “missing and presumed drowned”. The most violent occurred on May 2, 1946, when a failed escape attempt by six prisoners led to the Battle of Alcatraz. On June 11, 1962, Frank Morris, John Anglin, and Clarence Anglin carried out one of the most intricate escapes ever devised.

The prison was shut down on March 21, 1963 due to costs as it costed nearly $10 per prisoner per day, as opposed to $3 per prisoner per day at Atlanta.

It was a little surreal walking around the prison since it hasn’t been touch since it shut down as per minor things to make it tourist friendly with signs etc. Just to think there was nothing in the cell but a bed and toilet and you could easy touch both ends if you lied down and stretched out your arms and legs. It was warm but windy summers day and to think that prisons lived in those cells with no air con, tv and barely saw the light of day expect for 1 hour in the yard or just to move to dining hall.
Cell 181 in Alcatraz is where Al Capone was imprisoned
The view from outside the walls was amazing as you looked upon San Fran with a clear view of the golden gate bridge.

We head back to grab some lunch which turned into something impossible as every place on the pier had waiting time of 45 minutes so we head to a dinner near our hotel as I wanted to see that old school I had seen in films.
We got told that the famous Lombard Street had been shut down due to repairs before I left for the states which was a major bummer however we learned that it might be open for a while. Me, Tyron, Christine and Phil jumped back into the Countryman to try our luck…
Behold I our luck!!!

I still cant get over how steep those hills are as you physical pushed back into your seat but back to Lombard street which was over in a minute. It ended up being a minute of slow drive down traffic in first gear given the level of steepness which resulted in me saying it would cool to drive down it in a go kart with some Initial D references. Another thing ticked off the bucket list
Tyron dropped us back off at the hotel so he could go pick up his mum who went to meet a friend. We would be catching them later at the launch party of MTTS at MINI San Francisco. The evening came so a quick freshen up we headed out with our mascots the 3 amigos here to the party to sign up MTTS and meet the people I had spoken online.

I knew MTTS was in full swing as I saw countless MINIs driving by which put a smerk on my face seeing MINI scene in the US. I was truly at home with all these MINIs around me as we entered into the dealership to sign in and collect our MTTS goodie bag which was a welcome treat as there was a LEGO Mini Mini, MTTS ID & Coast to Coast lanyard, some marketing material, these strange things called Peeps and laundry bag.

I went around to spot faces in the crowd whilst I looked around the dealership to how much bigger it was than a UK dealership. I walked upstairs to see the White Roof Radio crew and introduced myself to the wider group who were WFC road team. I was a fan of the show so it was kind of surreal speaking to them as I often listen to the podcast when I am driving to MINI events or to work. I was waiting upon Todd to mention the GP and wondered when project Roxy will ended and the DBs new car would arrive. I also met the couple to be Sami & Brian and gave my blessing for the day of where two become one as have spoke & met through Kyle with his MINIs on the mind show.

Half the time meeting people I didnt know where to turn as people were saying my name and I didn’t know who they were but they knew me. It was a very strange feeling meeting people who knew about what you get up to in even though they are half way across the world. Then I bumped into Christina and then Briana in quick concessions which was a mini shock as hand been bumping into people left, right and centre. It took me a while to orientate myself for a while as I looked to find Christine who was looking around the MINI Lifestyle selection of the dealership.
The announcements what would be happening with the heads of MINI USA marking the journey ahead of what MTTS is all about with the DJ then spinning his set on a MINI Countryman LIKE A BOSS!!!

I was then dragged to the photo op board by TEAM GB.
I got to mingle with everyone enjoying the free food and drink as spoke with everyone introducing TEAM GB and why we came over to do MTTS. Tony Hawks decided to come down and say Hi to the MTTS but he would be back something for something special to cut the ribbon at the starting line in his own half pipe way of life.

The night came to a close and it was an early start tomorrow so TEAM GB assembled and headed back to our hotel to what would be the drive of our lives but not before I made my LEGO mini MINI.

The sun creep over the hills of San Fran with the rumble of MINIs converging to underpass under the golden gate bridge. TEAM GBs US MINI Ambassadors arrived to pick us up to head to the starting line with being some what compressed into the back with all our luggage. Thank god MINI made the Countryman as I don’t think I would have gotten anywhere the stuff we had in both MINIs even thought Tyron had removed his rear seats as well.
It was like sea of MINIs all getting ushered into this some what of a parking lot with cars and faces I recognised. I had the smerk on my face as I knew this would be my home away from home seeing all these MINIs every stop of the way from coast to coast.

It was straight to getting out my suitcase to find today’s first ride and heading directly to the signing on desk to grab todays badges and freebies. Every stop we would do we would receive a new pin badge to add to make each destination which is awesome small touch. I was then surprised to hear that breakfast would be provided everyday of the trip which made life easier given the early starts every morning, Breakfast BURRRRITTOOOOS for everyone!!!!
The coast to coasters were rounded up (these were the people who would be done the whole leg of the trip) as they want to a photo op as well as getting us to sing the MINI Cooper song.
A big crane took up the MINI USA team who held up boards to the lyrics of the song so we got an idea what we would be shouting at the tops of our voices. Riding around in my MINI COOPER WOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GmHvaSwJO0A
Remember that guy Tony Hawk well he would kick flipping over MINIs to official launch MTTS 2014 but little did I know my first hitch hiking ride would be the first car across the line. I would be any car but an F56 MINI Cooper S Auto driven by MINI USA’s Product Manager Pat McKenna which isn’t too shabby if I do say so.

The chequered flag was waved by the MTTS crew which was met with police escorts locking down cross junctions with bikes and cars with no lookers wondering where so many MINIs came from. I had always had this image of US highways being populated by 18 wheelers, SUVs, pick ups, muscle cars, and the lower rider, ricers & donks.
It had been a while since I had seen so many M&Ms (this is what I call a lot of MINIs) especially one with the steering wheel on the wrong which made it even weirder as I sat what would be my driving seat. It was an interesting drive as I had never mingled with MINI head office and ask a question I thought I wouldn’t be able to ask to gain an insight into MINI prospect as a brand, business and global reach.

From what I gather from Patrick that he was a family man and understood the customer base of US MINI owners by what they wanted and expected from the brand. Even though MINI is a small percentage of car sold in the US around 1% it makes a significant part of MINI sales worldwide only taking 2nd place to the UK with the brand being introduced in 2002 with the Cooper & Cooper S models initially.
This led on to a talk about how US owners have brought into the brand how some loved the marketing, fondness of the British icon and the MINI community. The MINI USA team is much smaller than the UK team but I can see there is a lot more heart there about the brand as they have to try that bit more harder but you could see the MINI USA is very much entwined with the MINI community. Yes there is a marketing angle to MTTS but they are thankful for US population for buying a MINI and making it part of their families just like a pet.

Patrick gave me a real insight into the US owners as MINI has the highest percentage of owners opting for a manual transmission (I shed a tear of joy when I heard this) along with why the standard equipment and options list differed from the UK.
Federalisation of vehicles, import tax and exchange rates plays the first part in bringing a car over to the US as strangely as imports face tougher safety laws which is why the US F56 MINI is heavier than the EURO version thus the higher pricing. MINI USA has to outweigh what options to offer US owners for customer uptake and profit as they have to buy from MINI directly like any other dealership. Therefore options like heated windscreen and having value saving bundles like media package will be a given as that what a customer wants from their purchase. This brings in what to make standard to give value for money but makes it harder in a business case as MINI is a business and it needs to make profit from all the things you tick on the configurator. This leads to why the options are not offered or remove later down the lines as uptake is poor and bottom line doesn’t reflect it like the infamous R56 JCW Recaros which everyone wants but doesn’t due small fortune they cost.

It was a relatively short journey as it was to a new opened Niello MINI dealership in Sacramento which was a quick pit stop.
Me and Patrick grabbed our lunch which was a deli sandwich, crisps and drink.
That on the move lunch hit the spot which was perfect as it gave me time to freshen up and mingle with others and get a closer at their MINI half. I couldn’t get over how MOOOOHHHSSSIVEEE the MINI dealership was, as it was easily three times the height and twice the width.
I caught with TEAM GB and spoke with a few more owners as I walked around looking at sheer amount of passion gone into these MINIs to make them individual and personifier the owner’s personality on four wheels.

This first stop stopped me in my tracks as this long time reader and JCW owner Steve Takahashi made me grin ear to ear. I couldn’t believe what he said to me – The conversation went a little like this
Steve: Hi Ali I signed up to MTTS just to come and meet you
Me: What do you mean? (I had a dumb look on my face at this point)
Steve: I wasn’t sure about buying a MINI and type into Google MINI JCW and your blog popped up and read a few of your posts. I was sold and I ordered my JCW
Me: (there was a pause followed by a moment of disbelief with a handshake) Wow I don’t know what to say but thank you as I didn’t think I affected people that much. I am honoured and humbled that you have come out to see me. Hey MINI where is my commission??
This was all was followed by more disbelief and smiling with looking around saying I cant belief this. I had to see his JCW and see what options he specd and take a few piccies.
British racing green R56 JCW hatch with black roof and ohhh so much WANT of my mine the black xenons. If memory serves me correct this was an 13 model year JCW so it was face lifted model with N18 engine. It looked goooooddd under the Cali. For. Nia sunlight as it reacts the same way my eclipse grey metallic paint under sunlight and really pops out.
After seeing Steve’s JCW I did say to him I hope you enjoying the power and PLEASSSSSSSEEEEEEEEEE Take it to a track! It’s exactly how you describe Ali with the power and sheer amount of fun you can have with the added soundtrack of pops and bangs. It is moments like this that put a smile on face and make the countless hours I have spent on the blog all worth it. Another happy MINI owner and JCW Manic (sorry not sorry for passing the MINI Bug on to you : P).
I spent the rest of my time looking around the MINIs that were on the run there were a few that stood out by a long mile and so did their owners.

I met the larger than life Keli Creighton and Blaze who had seen online quite often
The next MINI I saw made me all patriotic which may well be the best wrap I have ever seen given it looked like paint and it was perfectly aligned was this Cooper S Clubman with the union jack.

Next up was the internet famous gold wrapped JCW Coupe.

There was another photo op with another aerial view for all you see what you were missing lol.

It was time to head back on the road and this time Patrick asked me to drive. I repeatedly asked him are you sure you want me to drive? Its a brand new car and I am still abit weird about all your road rules being wrong as all on they are opposite to what I am used to. I was handed the keys to the F56 S auto which was the perfect way to see how the auto felt as I had driven the F56 S manual in the UK before departing for my biggest MINI Adventure yet.
Here is my review of the F56 S both in the UK & USA
It was abit of surreal amount as steering wheel is on the wrong side and I am not really a fan of auto boxes so this was going to be interesting. I kept saying to myself don’t kill anyone or break the car but Patrick did ease me into driving in the USA.
I started off smoothly away from the dealership with me constantly asking I am in the right lane?, I am allowed to be in this lane and in my mind repeating stay right. My biggest problem was keeping the car in the lane as I would naturally stay to the left in the UK as the fast lane is the far right lane where as in the US its the fast left lane. Yes I know it sounds stupid that I couldn’t keep the MINI in between to white lines but natural reflex was urging me to move across to which the words I am sorry was mentioned a few times as I went over the rumble strips.

After about 15 minutes of driving on the hang of it and started to relax enjoy to what would be a mile marker of the behemoth journey that was upon us. This where having Patrick as a co pilot helped as I had no clue where we were as he point out a lake we driving parallel to was Lake Tahoe which is a large freshwater lake in the Sierra Nevada of the United States. At a surface elevation of 6,225 ft (1,897 m), it is located along the border between California and Nevada, west of Carson City. Lake Tahoe is the largest alpine lake in North America. Its depth is 1,645 ft (501 m), making it the second deepest in the United States after Crater Lake (1,945 ft (593 m)). Additionally, Lake Tahoe is the sixth largest lake by volume in the United States at 122,160,280 acre·ft (150,682,490 dam3), behind the five Great Lakes.
From what I saw from the car there was plenty of SUVs packed with tourists, adrenaline junkies and families waiting to make the most of the area.
I finally got to used to driving on the wrong side and began enjoying myself and relaxing. I was actually thankful I was driving an automatic for once as I didn’t know the roads and Waze app was my route guidance. The MINI is truly tiny compared to cars on the road in the US which made it even more fun when you hit the twisties on the roads to Reno aka “The Biggest Little City in the World”.

We arrived in Reno in good time with a quick switch a roo as Patrick dropped me off at Resort Harrah’s Reno which was actually more of a casino than hotel (before you ask I don’t gamble). I headed up and packed a few things and put everything else on charge in double room and I couldn’t get over how big the bed as it could easily sleep 5 people without a question.
Headed down straight afterwards after refreshing myself for tonight’s entertainment which was courtesy of MINI USA. MINI USA had hired out a local bowling alley which is probably a bit of loose term because it MASSIVE like everything else in the US. This bowling alley was called the National Bowling Stadium was actually Bowling megaplex with a 4-story lobby, 78 tournament-quality lanes & Stadium Club with full bar. It took a while to soak in given the sheer size of this place but this where I would pick up more freebies as such the free pin button, food and drink voucher. I used this night to socialise with everyone and too work out how to get a ride for the next day as it was familiar and unfamiliar at the same time talking to people I have spoke to online and now face to face on their side of the world.

It was a great night of laughs and a lot talking as told everyone I was from the UK with my two friends who were more like family. Obviously I show everyone pictures of my JCW and told them about my website and how I came about travelling across the world just to do a MINI event.

But this BIG MINI Adventure had only just begun….
The BIG MINI Adventure: MINI TAKES THE STATES 2014 Part 2
Comment, Like, Subscribe, follow or donate
Facebook Page
Youtube
Instagram
Twitter
JCW ADVENTURES Store
Like what you read and want to support the site? Please donate below:

The post The BIG MINI Adventure: MINI TAKES THE STATES Part 1 appeared first on JCW Adventures.

MINI Cooper S Roadster Review

Ali Mir — Mon, 15 Jul 2013 17:50:16 +0000

The British are infamous for their two-seater front engined convertibles. Perfect layout for pure driving pleasure? The open top adds to the excitement of the aural fixation from the engine, exhaust, road and elements. It’s all ironic given it rains 70% of time in the UK with our climate, yet the convertible is THE most popular type of car to have. Who can blame us when we came up with the formula and created perfection with the E Type Jaguar.

Our beloved MINI has decided to enter this market after offering all those many smiles per hour in hatch form all these years. MINI created the Roadster by chopping the top off the hatch, raking the windscreen, adding a fabric top, chrome roll bars and a pop up spoiler to keep it planted at speed. But has this spoilt or added to the formula??

Lets start at the facts and figures for the Cooper S Roadster. Up front is the 1.6 litre 4 cylinder turbocharged engine developing 184 BHP and 240 NM of torque which sprints the two-seater forward to 62 mph in 7 seconds flat. With the roof taken off, extra support was needed to stiffen the body which has added 35 kg over the hatch

Don’t worry this added weight hasn’t blunted the performance or the feel of the MINI, don’t forget this is still a MINI just with open top for added fun. Everything is familiar inside the cabin with circular themed interior, funky toggle switches and a caricatured speedo. The exterior still has that loveable look of the Hatch with the round headlights, go faster viper stripes and dual exhaust exhausts at the rear.

The Roadster was fitted with the following options: pepper white paint and black viper stripes, sports pack – JCW bodykit, 17′ cross spoke challenge alloys, sports steering wheel with red stitching which followed on to the gaiter and handbrake trim. Interior wise there was gloss black trim, black punch leather heated seats, air con/climate control, chrome interior trim, Bluetooth, MP3 CD player with DAB tuner and rear wind deflector.

If you have been in a MINI before its business usual. The interior is all the same with the toggle switches, circular features and the caricatured central speedo which means you can’t get away with speeding.

On the road the MINI feels the same as the hatch with that cheeky charm of that go karting handling and the grin that comes with driving a MINI whether it be at 5 mph in traffic or 60 mph on the B roads. The run-flat Continental sport contact 3 tyres didn’t ruin the ride or handling which surprised me as own a JCW which has firmer suspension. All the roads I took the Roadster on it rode very well so much so I wouldn’t advise getting rid of them. My minor grumble is about the chassis came when I hit a pothole as I felt the scuttle shake through the wheel but that’s the only time I felt it though.

I took the Roadster on the back roads, town roads and the motorway to get a feel for the chassis and why people are obsessed with open top driving. I am not a fan of convertibles as I believe its type of car is suited to a hot girl and no guy looks good in one. Chopping off the roof ruins the chassis, dynamics and adds weight to car blunting the performance. Plus I cant see why you would give more money for all that, just to be able to lower the roof to have the wind in your hair.

Yet it all made sense when I dropped the top on the MINI which is done by a handle then by holding down the toggle switch which shuts away the fabric top. The MINI Roadster is a looker with its raked windscreen and pop up spoiler adding to sportingness of it all. I had a cheeky grin on my face, when I admired the roadster for some shots.

Lets move on to where it counts the driving and how it makes you feel. I test drove the Roadster spirited fashion on the roads I love and it just gripped when chucked into S bends and there was no torque steer or anything thing!!! It was like a ninja tip toeing on the asphalt and dash forward to slice its next bend.

I was grinning ear to ear with sport button activated as the pops and bangs on the over run were fantastic and steering weighting is perfect for more road feel and every input from the loud pedal is sharpened. There are no excuses for you not to put your foot down to hear the exhaust rasp and feel how well sorted the chassis dynamics are.

If don’t have a car that doesn’t pops n bangs then your missing out!!!

[youtube=http://youtu.be/gkwOUUsJG0U]

The ECU has been programmed to dump fuel into the exhaust when you lift the throttle in Sport mode which causes it to explode making the petrol’s head favourite noise!! You can tell its been programmed as there is slight delay before it comes then its 3 pops in quick concession

I finally realised what everyone bangs on about with convertibles as I had my ray bans on, system turned up, sports button on, spoiler up, the top down and the beautiful clear blue sky above me. I don’t know if there was something in the summer air but I couldn’t stop grinning as I drove the roadster like a right poser.

I understood that the open top adds to the fun of driving as the wind through your hair, exhaust being more audible, the wide open windscreen and the stares of jealously as I drove past onlookers like a movie star.

Driving a convertible is all about how it makes you feel as you drive it and how other see you just like when you wear a savile row suit, you buy to look good and everyone else to tell you’re looking dapper.

As the MINI is a front wheel drive car and the iconic roadster MX-5 being rear wheel drive. Is the front wheel drive layout taking away from the experience? Why would buy one over the best-selling roadster of the last two decades? Here is the reason to buy one – you will grin like a five-year old on Christmas day with all their presents.

You might think the dynamics of the MX-5 would trump the MINI but hang on a second the 1.6 Litre MINI is nearly a full 1 second quicker the 2.0 Litre sport model in the Mazda and returns better mpg plus its cheaper to tax. Then we look at the boot space the MINI space dwarfs the MX-5 with 240 litres of space compared 150 litres.

If we were kids in the playground the MINI beats the MX-5 in top trumps on every level but we are adults so the money comes into play. Yes the MX-5 is cheaper and it will feel it compared to the funky interior of the MINI but the MINI is cheaper where it counts on the running costs with it’s clever start stop function, low emission and fuel sipping engine.

Review score: 4/5

Secretly I didn’t want to like the Roadster as it’s a convertible but I feel in love with its extra charm it has over the hatch. With prices starting at £20,940 for the Cooper S it’s not cheap for a 2 seater small car. Its beautiful silhouette and looks by passers-by will win you over.

[youtube=http://youtu.be/jZJ_vQsVuWc]

Next Blog Post: The M.I.R RUN

Comment, Like, Subscribe, Follow or Tweet me

Twitter: Mr_M1R

Instagram: d4rkhorse

Youtube Channel: AMAUTOS7

The post MINI Cooper S Roadster Review appeared first on JCW Adventures.