Here are my tips on how to look after your MINI during non-use:

Battery

As with all modern cars now the power and state of the battery are key for the starting and all electronic in the car with that being said, there are so many ways to look after it.

Invest in a trickle charger to keep the battery topped up that way it doesn’t die and doesn’t cause any faults warning lights and keeps the alarm active

There are two types of chargers:

Dumb – Old school charge which will top up the battery at a cheaper cost as they are similar like any charger but doesn’t know when the battery is fully charged, so it’s up to you to stop it from overcharging

Smart – Moden advance charging unit which adjusts for different types of the battery from acid to lithium so can be used on any car brand regardless of the type of battery. The smart unit is a ‘plugin and forget’ as it will top of the battery then stop charging and will monitor the charge level and turn back on when needed when the battery drops down to a certain level.

Obviously, with both systems there is a price difference ranging from £30 for dumb and £80 above for smart chargers – It will depend on how often you will keep the car on the charge to know which one to buy and maintenance and time should play in the critical factor. Personally, I use a CTEK trickle charger which is the best one you get, and it has never failed me after five years of owning one.

I understand that some people will say let the car idle for 15 minutes which will charge the battery is true. But this will use fuel and depending on your country you can not leave a car unattended when it’s idling, and it’s not a good idea to idle a vehicle in a closed garage due to carbon monoxide risks. I would rather be warm inside and getting on with life as the smart charger did it’s a thing over the winter or eating ice cream in the summer so take your pick.

Tyres

Often overlooked by people as you just expected not to do anything to them, which is a fault of many motorists as they forget it’s the only thing keeping you on the road!

If your car is going to sitting for a long while then pump up your tyres to 15 psi above what they should be, e.g. standard psi 34 – storing psi 49 – this stops flat spots on your tyre as deforming under the constant load of the car on them when stationary. Where possible to move the vehicle forward or back to stop flat stops even more periodically. Leave a note on your steering wheel or dash to remind you to deflate to correct pressure when your car out from storage to drive. If you have more money, you can buy tyre protectors, but you have to jack up the car and place them underneath or invest in a scissor lift.

The age and condition of the tyre play a major factor as well as having cracks, or an old tyre is dangerous as like any rubber over time it degrades, making it unsafe. Use your free time to check for any nicks, cracks, bulges on the inside or outside facing of the tyre. To check the age of the tyre is very simple as it’s a legal requirement of all tyre manufactures. If you look at the tyre sidewall, there will be the manufacture date code such 1519 – where 15 denotes the week of manufacture and 19 represents the year, meaning the tyre was manufactured on the 15th week of 2019. Always a good thing to look when buying new tyres just in general so you can maximise your time with the tyre.

Fluids – Oil, Coolant, Brakes & Fuel

Checking all the fluids are another major point as they key the car running how it should when it fires up from storage, so its best to check their levels, condition and age.

The oil will be a simple one as a dipstick, or the colour of the oil will tell you, but if it hasn’t been changed in 6 months to 1 year, this would be time to change it or learn how to do it as it’s off the road. Once again like tyres or any perishable items oil does go off as it degrades over time so it doesn’t matter if you have done 5 miles or 8,000 miles in a year it will still need to be changed. Remember, £50 of oil is cheaper than a new engine…

Coolant is slightly different to oil as you can visually check it, but it’s harder to tell as you have to think when it was changed/flushed or do a test using coolant test strips which tell you the health of your coolant. If the coolant hasn’t been changed in 2-3 years, look to change it or learn how to do it as it’s off the road as this can be done with ease on a driveway or garage using simple tools.

If the car is stored over the winter inside or outside having a good level of anti-freeze mixture will stop any coolant from expanding and cracking the coolant tank or lines. Same can be said to the washer fluid as it can expanding and cracking the washer fluid bottle due to no anti-freeze additive.

Brake fluid is similar to coolant as well to check it for issues and condition along with assessing whether to change or not.

If you can leave the car in gear only and put stop behind the rear wheels as brakes and especially the handbrake can cease if they are left on over prolonged time which is an issue you don’t want.

Check your brake discs if your car is kept outside as them being steel will cause them to rust.

Often debated topic of how much fuel should you put into your tank when it’s being stored? The simple answer is either full or near on close to top to avoid any issues with the fuel tank or lines. Having fuel in the system stops the riot in the lines or tank and avoids are moisture or oxidation in the fuel or system.

Exterior

Wash your car to remove any dirt or grime etc. to avoid any rust or unwanted mould growth and dry it correctly at points to avoid any issues with changes with the weather.

If you have a car cover, put it on after full cleaning and drying the car all over to avoid any scratches or moisture retention from the cover.

Convertibles or roadster make sure you top is up to stop creases in the fabric.

Interior 

Clean the interior and if possible, make sure there is no damp or spillage on any surfaces as the car. Once it’s locked, it will be breeding ground for any bacteria over time. So clean appropriately either by hand or wet vac and disinfectant kill any unwanted smells or bacteria.

Do open the car periodically to check on any smells or any issues within the cabin.

Also, another perfect time to change a thing that people always forget about it! The cabin air filter which is easily removed by pulling two tabs and inserting a new filter which is a 5-minute job and cheap part buy at £15. Not replacing it every year damages your air-con or heating system just any dirty air filter as your restricting it’s operating efficiency.

If you have a leather dash or surfaces I would advise on covering it as the heat from the sun will cause it to be damaged, crack or peel away if it’s left outside in the summer under prolonged heat.

Getting back on the road

Once you want to take your car back on the road, make sure to follow these procedures to give it the best chance to get it going.

Make sure to unplug your battery chargers and reset the tyres to the correct pressures and reset the tyre monitor sensor, so you don’t get the dash warning later.

Check your oil and coolant to make sure they haven’t dropped before think about starting as the last you want to start a car with no major fluids.

I advise this as there might have been an unnoticed leak or the under trays are hiding a major leak that your unaware or not noticed.

Turn the key one click or press the start button once to allow the fuel pump to prime, which will make an audible noise and let it do it for about 10 seconds then start the car.

A gentle drive around without going for high revs till after about 5 minutes and in the time do test your brakes as the pressure will be low the first time you press them.

Having OBD reader will look at any error codes that pop up and allow you to work out everything from a bulb out or emissions issue.

Hopefully, these tips will keep your MINI in tip-top condition now given it’s not being used or limited usage.

I have started making videos on YouTube to help the MINI community that cherish and love deeply.

So from one MINI owner to another, please subscribe to the channel, so I grow it and help MINI owners all across the world.

The below video is the first of many videos to help MINI owners – I outline on how to maintain an N14/N18 engined MINI.

I am aiming to do a new Youtube Video every month about all things MINI from maintenance to showcasing the best MINIs out there in the MINI community.

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 as seen on my MINI R56 JCW.

All your support over the years has kept the blog going and made it what it is.

So thank you deeply straight from my heart for being a supporter of JCW Adventures.

As Always it’s a MINI Adventure try to keep up & Stay Safe!

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The post MINI Car Tips: How Look After Your Car In Storage, Lockdown or Winter appeared first on JCW Adventures.

The idea of the challenge is to get MINI owners across the world to showcase their MINIs for the world to see. During these times, this will allow the MINI community to grow a strong bond, new friends made, and MINI owners aided.

Naturally, the photo challenge starts in May and will end at the end of the month and please make sure to use the hashtag #MINIMAY in all your photos. I will be looking through the hashtags and share the best picture I see that given day on my own Instagram – D4rkhorse

Hopefully, this will help fight the boredom with the lockdown and with that, I have started making videos on YouTube to help the MINI community that cherish and love deeply.

So from one MINI owner to another, please subscribe to the channel, so I grow it and help MINI owners all across the world.

The below video is the first of many videos to help MINI owners – I outline on how to maintain an N14/N18 engined MINI.

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

All your support over the years has kept the blog going and made it what it is.

So thank you deeply straight from my heart for being a supporter of JCW Adventures.

As Always it’s a MINI Adventure try to keep up & Stay Safe!

Ali

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

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The post Do It For The Gram: #MINIMAY Photo Challenge appeared first on JCW Adventures.

This list will include a mix of PS4, Xbox One, PC, Nintendo Switch, Stadia & Mobile so you can play on your favourite gaming platform.

The Crew 2 – PlayStation 4, Xbox One, PC & Stadia

The Crew 2 is an open-world game that has land, sea and air cover as you can switch between any time of vehicle anytime you want to give you the vehicle fix while you’re stuck indoors. The open-world is a mix of the US states in a large map which can be covered by a variety of vehicles including cars, motorcycles, boats, and aeroplanes.

The game features a nonlinear story that follows the unnamed player character as they go to become a racing icon in the United States by winning in all racing disciplines available in the game. There are four disciplines: Street Racing, Off-Road, Freestyle and Pro Racing. In Street Racing, the player is assisted by Latrell. In Off-Road, the player is assisted by Tucker “Tuck” Morgan. In Freestyle, the player is assisted by Sofia and her father. In Pro Racing, the player is assisted by Alexis.

MINIs in the game:

2010 – R56 MINI Cooper S

2013 – R60 Mini Cooper S Countryman All4

Both have a rallycross edition to them, and another plus to the Crew 2 is that you modify your car to your liking with visuals to fully race car with engine mods etc.

Need For Speed: Heat – PlayStation 4, Xbox One & PC

NFS: Heat returns to it’s rooted with the latest iteration with racers and police but this interesting take on it all. By day is a certified league of professional racing to climb up the ladder and then switch over to the darkness of the night it’s illegal street racing and avoid the police. The police are on the hunt for street racers, so they won’t let you go easy and they will hunt you down whether your cruising around or in a race and the gloves will be off.

Heat’s key feature is modifying your car to your dreams right down to the colour to the actual exhaust note of the car which can be done in the game or through the mobile NFS Heat Studio app. Your car can also be modified to different disciplines ranging from road racing to drifting so you can have the edge over the competition both online and offline.

The games start with you the player arriving in Palm City for the Speedhunter Showdown, a citywide exhibition which draws in racers to compete in legally sanctioned races throughout the day, and illegal street races throughout the night. Lt. Frank Mercer, leader of the police department’s High-Speed Task Force, announces his intent to ruthlessly pursue and arrest all street racers in the city. Lucas Rivera, a local mechanic and retired street racer, sells the player their first car, helps the player enter their first Showdown race, and becomes their mechanic and mentor for much of the game. Lucas’s younger sister, Ana Rivera (Ana Marte), is a street racer whose crew recently disbanded after a task force raid nearly killed one of her friends.

MINI in the game:

2017 – F60 Mini Cooper S Countryman All4

Gran Turismo Sport – Playstation 4

The lastest run in the longest-running Playstation exclusive real driving simulator from Polyphony Digital on the PS4. This is not your arcade racer but more of sim so your inputs will need to be like how they would be in real life; otherwise, you will crash or spin out. Gran Turismo has always tried to blend the line between real life and the digital world, so there are real tracks, cars and competitions which have FIA approved around the world. The tweaks to your car are all about the suspension, aero, gearing setup etc like you would have in real life in order to gain that extra second on lap time.

Gran Turismo Sport has VR for a feature which is cool to look around cars and there is photo mode to get your clicks to make the best images around the various locations and scenes. Gran Turismo will receive one-off concept cars made by manufactures exclusively to the game which will not be found elsewhere like the Bugatti Vision Gran Turismo.

GT Sport doesn’t have a story mode or anything is just go out there and race on real or original tracks and go compete online to win to be the best and actually become a real racing driver.

MINIs in the game:

MINI Clubman Vision Gran Turismo Concept

1965 – Mini-Cooper ‘S’

2005 – R53 Mini Cooper S

GRID – PlayStation 4, Xbox One, PC & Stadia

This is another return to beloved franchise but more of reboot to bringing back white knuckle bumper to bumper racing. GRID was created by the Codemasters who made the TOCA, Colin Mcrae, DIRT & F1 s they know how to make a great car game.

GRID covers the following disciplines Touring, Stock, Tuner & Invitational which ranges the cars from Hot Hatches to F1 to bring out your inner Stig. The game has an arcade feel to as it allows some liberalities as there is a rewind feature which lets you go back to where you ran out of talent then move forward from correcting your mistake. There is a mix of racing from the day, night and different weather effects so there plenty of locations on the drive on through your career.

There is only visual customisation with liveries on the vehicles and setup of suspension etc to make the most of laps times.

MINIs in the game:

2012 – R56 Mini John Cooper Works

1965 – Mini-Cooper ‘S’

Driveclub – PS4

This one on the list is one of my personal favourite car games of all time. Driveclub gave you all the cars you could dream of and made you feel like you were driving them with the sounds and visuals. There is an arcade feel to the driving, but that was built in to give you some fun straight away so the words easy to learn and hard to master come to mind.

The car list is something to lust about as there is everything from Hot hatches to hypercars, but there are no mods just changing the colour or the liveries.

Driveclub makes up for the lack of changes with the weather effects in the game ranging from sunny days to snow. Along with the best locations in each corner of the world, so one race your racing through the Scotland highlands to Tokyo Turnpikes with a fantastic level of details with lighting, backdrops and the most realistic cars sounds ever with backfires, deeper noise echoing in turns with in-car views outlaying every single stitch in the Ferrari 458 speciale.

Another feature that was added later on was the DLC of having to drive on two wheels if that tickles your fancy with Drive Club Bikes along with the paid-for upgrade to play in VR for more sensory overload.

MINIs in the game:

2013 – R56 Mini GP2

Forza Motorsport 7 – Xbox One & PC

A Microsoft exclusive that runs with the leader of the pack Gran Turismo with giving you real racing to hoon your skills in the digital with fastest cars on the street to every series of racing on the track.

Forza Motorsport 7 features over 700 cars—including new Forza Edition cars, most of which have been brought over from Forza Horizon 3—and more than 200 different configurations to race on across 32 locations at launch, including all from Forza Motorsport 6; a fictional street circuit in Dubai is one of the new circuits and several tracks returning from Forza Motorsport 4 including Maple Valley Raceway, Mugello Circuit and Suzuka Circuit. Two features that are new to the Motorsport title include dynamic weather which changes over the course of the race and customisable drivers.

Don’t be brushed off by this sim racer as it can be tailored around skill level as you can a lot of driving aids on like it show the racing line as a minimum to auto braking for corners to help you learn cars and tracks the easy way.

Most of these games do have an online feature but Xbox wins hands down on the community given the number of laughs I have had in lobbies and racing on the track.

MINIs in the game:

1965 – Mini Cooper S

1965 – Mini Cooper S Forza Edition

2012 – R56 Mini John Cooper Works

2013 – R56 Mini John Cooper Works GP

2013 – R56 Mini John Cooper Works GP Forza Edition

2014 – R60 Mini Monster Energy All4 Racing X-Raid

Forza Horizon 4 – Xbox One & PC

Another open-world car game with an arcade feel, but this includes real cars with added FUN to the world as you go about racing for money, prizes and doing ridiculous with cars like racing a train or Vulcan bomber to a finish point. The aim here is to buy and drive your favourite car in open-world which changes through the seasons yes you hear me right seasons, so it changes throughout your time from summer to snow-filled winter. Every type of racing is here from circuit racing to drag racing on a frozen lake and that’s just the start with the DLC adding more depth and madness to the mix like LEGO world where you can drive lego versions of the Bugatti Chiron.

Whatever car you can imagine it’s in the game ranging from James Bond’s DB5 to V10 howl of the Lexus LFA. If any of those cars don’t tickle your fancy you can modify to your heart’s content by taking a Land Rover Defender and shove in big V8 race motor and change it to rear-wheel drive then modify the bodywork or paint to any colour want.

The game is continuously updated for free and with paid DLC of new cars or races so the fun will always continue until the next iteration comes out.

MINIs in the game:

1965 – MINI Cooper S Traveller

1965 – MINI Cooper S Traveller

1965 – LEGO Version MINI Cooper S

2009 – R56 MINI John Cooper Works

2012 – R56 MINI John Cooper Works GP

2014 – R60 MINI X-Raid All4 Racing Countryman

2018 – F57 MINI John Cooper Works Convertible

2018 – F60 MINI John Cooper Works Countryman ALL4

2018 – MINI X-raid John Cooper Works Buggy

Dirt Rally 2.0 – PS4, Xbox One & PC

Codemasters worked their magic as they always do with car games as they made the legendary Colin Mcrae rally games.

Dirt Rally 2.0 is focused on rallying and rallycross across timed stage events on tarmac and off-road terrain in varying weather conditions. The locations for races are in Argentina, Australia, New Zealand, Poland, Spain and the United States, Finland, Germany, Greece, Monte Carlo, Sweden and Wales. There are remastered versions of the stages included in the original Dirt Rally.

The car roster covers 50 cars: World Rallycross Supercars, historic rally cars from the 1960s through the 1980s, Groups A, B and R rally cars, and modern rally cars from the 1990s to the late 2010s.

There is a new weather modelling system changes the level of grip, visibility and the surface of the stages degrades as more cars pass over a stage. The level of detail with damages not only be visual but also mechanical effect so have to fix a race without a wheel or broken gearbox.

MINIs in the game:

1965 – MINI Cooper S

2018 – XITE Racing F56 Mini Cooper SX1

Gear.Club Unlimited 2 – Nintendo Switch

The game is an arcade-style racer which uses the switch controllers to its advantage with the face buttons are used for braking and accelerating. The game has local split-screen with online multiplayer covering more than 250 different races across the four main environments and over 50 licensed cars.

The game includes a story mode as well as a Club feature they can be shared with friends and challenge rival clubs across the world. There is a garage feature so players can upgrade and customise any model of car from the paint and bodywork, or change the performance with engine tuning.

MINIs in the game:

2015 – F56 MINI John Cooper Works

CSR Racing 2 – Mobile (Andriod/iOS)

Custom street racing 2 is a free to play drag racing game on mobile devices. The game is split into five tiers, with each tier introducing progressively faster opposition and vehicles. To move on to a new tier, the player must race and beat the crew boss for the level. After beating the boss of each level, the player will be challenged to a high stakes rematch to which if you win again you win the boss’s car. However, if the player loses, they must give back the gold won from the previous boss race.

The car list ranges from hot hatches to hypercars for straight-line drag races as the racing is limited to 1/4 mile or 1/2 mile races. The game focuses on timing gear changes and use of the nitrous upgrade by tapping the screen, which allows a low barrier of entry to the game so anyone can play.

MINIs in the game:

2015 – F56 MINI Cooper S

That’s my list of car games to get you through the lockdown and I hope to meet some of you online and keep the MINI community going online. If there is any that you know, please chime in the comments or reach out to me on social media.

Gamer Tag Playstation: AM_AUTOS

Gamer Tag Xbox: AMAUTOS

If anyone needs me during this difficult time, please do not hesitate to reach over social media and over the time of the lockdown, I will be reaching out to the community to keep all of us moving forward.

Hope to see you at the next corner for the next MINI Adventure…

Ali

Founder of JCW Adventures

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Let’s get straight to business with the headline figure and MINI are finally leaving the 200 BHP realm with the last 2 Gens JCW & GP2 with the official figures being at their highest at 218 BHP officially. The standard 3rd F56 JCW brought more power to the table at 228 BHP courtesy of extra displacement now with the 2.0-litre engine instead of the outgoing 1.6-litre capacity. The MINI GP3 will use the F56 2.0-litre engine but pumping out 300 BHP which is a massive jump of 72 BHP from the JCW.

God knows how fast it will be now and how it will put down through the front wheels!!!! I predict the GP3 will shave a 1 second of the F56 JCW and hit 0 to 60 in at least 5.4 seconds with some of limited slip differential.

The limited run model will be 3,000 units worldwide which is a 1,000 increase over the last two GPs which only had 2,000 units worldwide. I gather all the original GP1 & GP2 will soon be getting emails/invites like last time to secure their slots and have matching numbers of their current car/s.

MINI didn’t release pricing but let’s look at the MINI timeline:

R53 GP aka GP1 – Original RRP – £22,000 in 2006 – 2,000 units worldwide
R56 GP aka GP2 – Original RRP – £28,790 in 2012 – 2,000 units worldwide

If I use my maths and look at how the price changed over 6 years here are my estimates on how much the sticker price will be:

F56 GP aka GP3 – Estimate – £34,950 in 2020 – 3,000 units worldwide

The price might be lower if they are producing 3,000 units instead of 2,000 so the economy of scales might be on your side but even then expect to pay at least £30,000 for MINI GP3.

Looking at the teaser shots the large front and rear aprons, a striking roof spoiler and the extensive use of carbon fibre will make it to production after all. Engineers have said aerodynamic properties, optimised weight and suspension will be a crucial part of the GP3 toolbox to make the most of the power and go-karting handling as they want to beat the GP2 Nurburgring lap time of 8 minutes and 23 seconds. I think with the aggressive aero and power the GP3 could break the 7 minutes barrier with a lap time of around 7 minutes 45 seconds.

As soon as I hear more information, I will update this post, and hopefully, I can get some seat time with the MINI GP3 with some road and track time.

Since writing this I have now seen the MINI GP3 at Goodwood Festival of speed so here is my walkaround video:

Let me know in the comments or on social media what you think of the forthcoming MINI GP3? Hit or Miss

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With the rise of retro chic and hipsters around the world has changed since the rebirth of the MINI in 2001 which brought the swinging 60s back with it. BMW’s rebirth of the brand brought a new and old generation back to most fun you can have on four wheels. Some were buying it for the small compact size, low running and fuel economy but others just wanting a slice of the Italian job and MINI adventures. Which one are you?

Having been a MINI owner since 2008 with my first car & love my beloved R56 MINI ONE 1.4, it always brought a smile to my face through my university years. I wasn’t part of the MINI scene but I wanted to but didn’t know to get into it. I didn’t break my cherry until attending MINI UNITED 2009 with a friend who told me to buy a MINI. I guess he started this MINI obsession of mine. His first car was a mini which was brought for him when he was 12!!! I am sure you already know the rest with my MINI adventures in my JCW.

Going back to the title question are you a MINI owner or MINIac? There is a clear difference between to the two.

A MINI owner is someone who has a MINI as city car.

A MINIac is someone who owns a MINI to drive around town to have fun.

A MINI owner is someone who cares about fashion and looking good.

A MINIac is someone who buys a car to be different and to project their personality on.

A MINI owner doesn’t get excited seeing another MINI.

A MINIac is someone who checks out another mini and gives them a smile, the nod of approval, flash or does the MINI WAVE.

A MINI owner is someone who brought a small car.

A MINIac is someone who always parks next to another MINI.

A MINI owner sees their car as a depreciating asset.

A MINIac is sees their MINI as part of who they are and part of their family.

A MINI owner doesn’t know other owners.

A MINIac will know another just by looking a number plate or customisation/mods.

A MINI owner sees their car as object to go A to B.

A MINIac will go for a drive on the roads less taken.

A MINI owner takes a holiday.

A MINIac travels across cities, countries, states, board lines, continents to travel with other MINIac for a MINI Adventure.

A MINI owner will cut you up.

A MINIac will always give way to another MINI even if it’s out of their way.

A MINI owner has their family and friends.

MINI is the only car that comes with friends as standard (MINIacs 2nd family).

A MINI owner will just say they own a MINI.

A MINIac always steer the conversation towards talking about their MINI.

A MINI owner parks up and walks away.

A MINIac will turn around for those few seconds and just stare then take a million pictures.

A MINI owner spec their car for resale value.

A MINIac will spend, spend, spend on their car to give it a personality then spend more money on it taking it to the point that it is unsellable to a point – ahhhh custom mods.

There is a level above this MINIac level which is a CERTIFIED MINIAC who has changed how the MINI community for the better. Their personality has brought even more people together for our shared loves of all things MINI. They may have started a mod, club or a MINI Run which has benefited us all or even set the standard in modifying MINIs across the world which has sparked others to follow or improve on. I have met this few characters from being in the scene for going on 4 years. I am glad I have met them as they truly make the community what it is and I hope to meet many more across the world as my MINI adventures continue…

There is one major thing that bugs me now out on the road as 1st & 2nd Gen MINIs have become affordable to buy. To be precise it saddens me as it used to be the MINI driver was an aware driver of their driving and traffic around them. From what I have seen since the launch of the 3rd Gen MINI I have begun seeing MINIs in areas which I wouldn’t have normally seen them and these owners driving has begun giving us a bad name. The MINI has become one of those “small run around cars’ : (

I have travelled the across boards, countries, continents to do MINI events and nothing really ever changes but the people I meet. I love listening to their stories how this little car changed our lives as we know it. MINIacs across the world have put a smile on my face countless times with the passion and their individual MINIs. This is exactly what has made the MINI community a 2nd family to me with no boundaries. This passion makes us who we are and the reason why we are drawn to the brand and its lifestyle. I am yet to meet a MINIac who hasn’t changed my life in some shape or form.

As always try to keep it’s a MINI ADVENTURE.

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The MINI community is a like second family to me bringing me together with the greatest and NOT NORMAL individuals far and wide together.

Its been 3 years of MINI Madness with my JCW and nearly 2 years since I started my blog.

I brought my JCW unwittingly knowing I would travel across the UK & International to meet with fellow MINIacs.

It was a life changing event when I did MINI UNITED 2012, which gave birth to my blog and created my passion for all things MINI.

Along the way I have gained new friends and followers alike who cant wait to meet me, read or see what I have been up to.

It is the passion of the MINI community which has kept me going through the happy times and the sad ones.

I am truly grateful to call you my friends as all of you are like family to me as your comments and message have always put a smile on my face.

Late 2013 I came across this LITTLE but LARGER than life MINIac called LilCoopr on Instragram.

I have always thought I was the only MINIac writing about his adventures but little did I know this Canadian candy has been at since 2005 ps I do like a bit of competition – www.lilcoopr.com

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. Every time we talk its like an occasion some what reminiscent of when you catch up with an old friend but any communication begins that ‘HEY Ali!’ which always puts a smile on my face : D

Sometimes I would look down to see how long we had been talking to find we spoke for 4 hours or my phone battery is literally dying with 4% battery life left.

I wish I could record half of the conversations we have as hilarity ensues every time we talk.

I wasn’t happy about MINI UNITED not happening in 2014 which I can forgive given the release of the F56. This lead on to the discussions of when would be the next one? Psssst MINI make sure its in Germany as I want to go around the Nurburgring and hit the autobahns

To my amazement Christina has been to virtually all of them expect one!!! She missed out on 2005 in Misano, Italy because of university exams. This means I have physically walked past her a few times without knowing back in 2009 and 2012!!! Its truly is a MINI World.

Here is what makes it even more mind-boggling, she stood a meer few feet away from while Paddy Hopkirk spoke about his Monte Carlo win.  She has actually interviewed GP Garry (one of the members of the fast five) at MINI UNITED 2012 about his infamous speeding ticket in Monaco.  I must have been off somewhere else but I did see someone in quite distinctive pink clothing hmmm

Personally I only work in black. And sometimes very very dark grey

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.

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??

But don’t worry I wont be alone as Christine and Phil of the Fast Five will be joining me to fly the flag for the UK on this trip

We will be more like the 3 amigos this time as only 3 of the fast five will be in attendance

I have partnered with White roof radio to do MTTS 2014,  I will be riding shotgun in a selection of MINIs throughout the road trip.

What is White roof radio???

The World Famous White Roof Radio is Don Burnside, Todd Pearson, Gabe Bridger, Nathaniel Salzman and Chad Miller. Every week they get together and talk about MINI Cooper news and information like they like to do.

Basically its a Podcast about all things MINI which goes live every week with the latest and greatest MINI news. There always seems to something GP related or the topic steers towards that…

The podcast was started by Don Burnside because he wanted to contribute something to the MINI community above and beyond his personal motoring blog and being more curious than the average bear, Don Burnside (db) decided to jump on the podcasting bandwagon.

He started with an awful tour of his site, followed by a not-quite-as-bad review of online music services. But something was missing.

Enter Todd Pearson. He had the same idea about doing a podcast. He actually heard db’s first 2 and had done 1 on his own. He emailed and asked if db would be interested in joining forces. Of course he did! But he was right in the middle of figuring out how to do the intro for #2. So, he ignored him.

Got #3 all finished up with quite a few positive comments. Then db went ahead and contacted Todd about doing that joint podcast he mentioned.

They did #4, which caught the attention of ace MINI news guy Gabe Bridger who kindly posted a link to their first joint effort and shortly thereafter was the first guest of the podcast.

The rest, as they say, is history.

I have spoken to Don over the last few years so its gonna be weird finally meeting after talking to him by email and online

But fear not you will be able to spot me from a MILE away with my infamous black hat and my dashing good looks accompanied by my apparent sexy English accent

Don’t shy away from saying Hi to me as I will be more than happy to talk and see your MINI too

My first question will be ‘Manual or Auto?’ so be ready to answer correctly with Manual ; )

I will be bringing some custom MINI Swag with me so keep an eye out for some random freebies

Sadly my love of my life aka The Misses aka The Dark Knight aka my JCW wont be joining on the MINI BIG Adventure due to the cost of £3,000 to ship her over

Make sure you are subscribed to my Facebook, Instagram and Youtube channel as we will be vlogging, post images and videos of my trip from start to finish.

Our Facebook & Instagram account will be regularly updated with images and info of what I am doing

All that is left now is for me to touch down in San Francisco to go all the way!!!

10,000 plus miles, 18 states, 15 cities, 2 infamous MINIacs, 1 MINI and 1 epic road trip

MTTS Coverage

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The post The BIG MINI Adventure: MINI TAKES THE STATES 2014 appeared first on JCW Adventures.

MINI and Porsche are two brands close to my heart because of their heritage in motor sport and their engineers relentless pursuit for driver focused vehicles.

Yet both the MINI and 911 became icons to many people for various reasons and instantly recognise worldwide to the mass market. But dig deeper into both manufacturers history there is a lot more than meets the round headlights…

The 911 and MINI were ahead of their time from an engineering and design stand point.

The MINI was designed to fit a specific criteria: small dimensions, large interior space, utilise existing parts and cheap to manufacture. The engineering team cleverly engineered the front wheel drive layout to utilise the same oil sump for the gearbox and transmission thus giving a compact design. The radiator was mounted at the left side of the car so that the engine-mounted fan could be retained, but with reversed pitch so that it blew air into the natural low pressure area under the front wing.

The suspension system designed by Dr. Alex Moulton used compact rubber cones instead of conventional springs. This space-saving design also featured rising progressive gave a rate springing of the cones and provided some natural damping in addition to the normal dampers. Built into the subframes, the rubber cone system gave a raw and bumpy ride accentuated by the woven-webbing seats. The rigidity of the rubber cones together with the wheels positioning at the corners of the car gave the Mini go kart-like handling.

Little did British Motor Corporation (BMC) know they would create an icon and a runaway success when all they wanted to do is make an affordable car for the masses during the fuel crisis of 1956.

The Porsche 911 was destined to be a replacement model for the Porsche’s first car the 356. The 911 aim was to be a much more powerful, larger and more comfortable car. Strangely the name would have never came about if it wasn’t for the Peugeot’s trademark as Porsche wanted to call the 911 the 901. Peugeot protested on the grounds that in France it had exclusive rights to car names formed by three numbers with a zero in the middle.

Porsche were seen to be quite mad at the time to have the engine at the back which still doesn’t make sense to this day given the weight out the back. Yet despite this strange layout the Porsche arguable build the worlds best handling cars.

Yes old 911s will kill if you’re not fully focused or back off mid corner hence ‘The Widow Maker’ moniker but the modern 911 is a driver friendly car that will not try to kill you every 5 minutes like Cato from Pink Panther. But the boxer engine was fine engine choice as they offer a low centre of gravity and reduce body roll given the compact and even motion of the engine.

I did say MINI is the new Porsche and meant it as both brands have moved forward through their generations, so has the demands of their owners and customer markets often against their purists wishes…

Both brands have entered the SUV/Offroader market to keep them afloat. This opened the door to the  mass market to increase sales number and profits in the forever diversifying world of 4 door coupe, luxury offroaders, compact SUVs, etc. I personally have no problem with both brands making 4×4 as it just means for money for R&D and performance variant models like the JCW, GP, GT3 RS, 918 Spyper and so on.

2002 saw the introduction of the Porsche Cayenne to cries of Porsche pursuits every saying the SUV would ruin the brand. Yet the model has been a runaway success and the 2nd generation arrived in 2010 with even better credentials. Autocar pegged a 911 against the Cayenne around a track and the difference was shocking given there was only a few seconds between them. Yes an £82,000 Cayenne Turbo was used against a 911 Carrera 4s yet the fatty Cayenne was 1.2 seconds behind it on a handle course.

2010 ironically saw the official unveiling of the Countryman to outrage of MINI fans worldwide but again the model has been success! In 2013 saw the 250,000 Countryman being sold and shipped across the world. A lot of people have said MINI has gone way from what the brand means literally given its name. Yes I didn’t like when I first saw it but I loved the look of its two door brother. The Paceman has that BMW X6 sloping roof line and better looking rear end.

The Countryman has brought the masses and yummy mummies to the brand, however recently I have seen Countryman been taken up by MINIacs who been modding them like crazy. It seems the north hemisphere of the world is where all the Countryman’s live with the US seeing the most tuned ones and finest examples. Another interesting thing was MINI’s own four-wheel drive system called the ALL4 which was another worrying moment for me.  I booked out a JCW Paceman ALL4 for a test drive/review and the drive ability was improved by an early entry full throttle and improved power delivery to the road. There seemed to be no downside to the ALL4 system just the fact this JCW Paceman was £30,000 plus!

Moving on to sport SUV or sport compacts SUV or whatever you want to call them both brands have released their own models. MINI ALL4 drifted in with the Paceman and Porsche gave the world the Macan. However the Paceman hasn’t been popular amongst buyers yet the Macan officially sold out its first year allocation of 50,000 vehicles which gave it a waiting list when it wasn’t even on sale yet!!!

In order to make a more practically or a five door version of their models MINI will introduce the F56 5 door MINI and Porshce gave the world the Panamera.

Another sore subject was the engine changes which were met with pitch forks after the change from supercharged to turbocharged and air-cooled to water-cooled. This change was met with resistance but after the cars were driven by owners and newcomers all worries disappeared on the performance and drive ability side. Yet some will miss theatrics of the engine & exhaust noise and whining of the supercharger.

Another famous heated outrage in both brands was the switch over to electric steering from hydraulic systems where many die-hard owners have said the steering and road feel has been corrupted. The move has been said by both manufactures to be an emissions one as the engine power is being diverted to hydraulic pump for the steering.

Hmmm But what they wont say is the electric ones are cheaper, more reliable and lighter??

However there a lot of other benefits of the electric such as you don’t need Chuck Norris’s arms to turn the wheel and all the electric systems can work in harmony for drive ability with parking being much easier.

I am sure at some point the feel of the hydraulic system will come to the electric system just like how traction control didn’t allow any slip and constantly cut power but now there are adjustable stages of TC.

I have driven the new 911 and compared to the hydraulic steering in the 997 and you will hard pressed to know the difference besides the ease of the turning the wheel. However it is a different ball game with the R50 & R56 where the difference is glaringly obvious to anyone. The gearbox and steering is a workout in the R50 MINI in comparison with the R56 where you change gear and steer with one finger. A worthy upgrade on the R56 would be to upgrade to powerflex bushes installed as the OEM rubber ones are prone to wear if you enjoy the twisties as they give a better steering feel.

Another try by MINI was to introduce the Coupe and Roadster another move Porsche did 1996 which was the Boxster. This move by Porsche saved the company as it allowed new customers to come into the brand via this entry-level model. The Boxster introduced a new way of production efficiency as the car was manufactured using pre-assembled modules including the front and rear suspensions, which were the same components front and rear thus reducing tooling and production costs.

The MINI Coupe & Roadster were both designed on a computer to save time and money in both production and development costs. This method has been key in reducing any delays in production as the coupe and roadster as share the same production line as the hatch. Any change in time of any new MINI leaving the line at every 68 seconds would ruin the just in time production methods and increase production costs significantly.

Like I said at the begin, all these mass market orientated vehicles have allowed both companies to develop and sell limited edition or track focused models for your inner Hoonigan to come out to play. The MINI GP & Porsche 911 GT3 RS are the pinnacle of driver focused vehicles for each brand which both ask for at least 25% percent premium over the normal models. These Halo models have been very effective for the brands to cater to the DRIVERS market whilst bringing people into brand again who can’t afford the upper models. This target group but want a slice of the action so buyers in the lower end models will often opt to buy performance options or accessories.

All the money made from normal variants allows more money for r&d and engineers to be let loose on what they actually secretly want to create as they are not limited by noise levels, fuel efficiency, ride comfort or Miss Evans who cant park so we need it needs a auto park system. You might be wondering why should I pay for the lucky 2,000 to have the ULTIMATE MINI or the Porsche RS models? Because this pursuit of speed is good as this creates a basis of development on the next generation model or facelift models. Motorsport is the proving ground for new technology and the pinnacle of tickle down technology to everyday road cars.

The undertray and aero on your MINIs and Porsches are there because of the motor sport to reduce lift and increase stability at speed. Traction control, Stability control, ABS are all developments from racing to keep the car on road whilst they are fully adjustable on race cars we are all not racing drivers as much as we would love to think. The Top Gear star in a reasonable priced car highlights how much a driver can make a difference in lap time around the same track in the same car.

If you look at the F56 Cooper S spoiler is reminiscent of the GP2 spoiler with the wings sides for aero another lesson learnt from developing the GP2. Also looking at the forthcoming F56 JCW alot of the performance tweaks are again from the GP2 with the diffuser, wider tyres, bigger brakes, aero tweaks on the spoiler and arches.

Both manufacturers are loved the world over which is key to their success in any segment of their respected markets. Alongside this love for the brands is the customisation options translating into tailored cars which bring greater profit margins. Here is a fun fact – Porsche is the most profitable car manufacturer in the world given the options available and level of customisation owners request or spec. Looking at each brands options list which runs into many categories and sub categories ranging from aesthetics to performance options is a modding bible in itself as you are only limited by your bank balance.

The customisation virtually limitless on the Porsche and MINI with the billions of combinations ranging from paint, wheels, interior trim to creature comforts. I spec’d up at 911 Carrera S with a base price of £76,376 to £106,860 that £30,000 worth of options which roughly the price of the GP2 new in the UK.

Yes I went for the optional two grand paint, sport performance pack another 2k, some nice wheels, bucket seats, some carbon trim bits and some other bits but I skipped the PDK which is actually saved me £2,500. You can clearly see how Porsche’s are hugely profitable given the amount of money you can spend on options.

Would Sir like the Porsche logo on your head rest on your seat? £400 please.

MINI has been top trumped on this part given their aren’t any real performance packages for say unless you get the JCW tuning kit but that’s it! However on cool factor and little trim pieces MINI are up there. There are trims options on inside and out with them being easily interchangeable pieces. From what I have seen from the F56 brochure and marketing material the customisation is going to another level on the F56 with the key fob, mats, roof, side vents etc being available to customise to various tastes.

The Recaros and JCW Tuning kit top are the level of expensive options to spec on a MINI compared to carbon ceramic brakes on a Porsche. The MINI brand has many more small items which can be changed unlike the Porsche where you have sell your misses or kidneys to buy but then have to kill someone to get it fitted to keep the Porsche warranty intact.

If the factory doesn’t supply the parts you want then the aftermarket has always been ready to supply and meet our demands. Anything from rims to subtle upgrades are readily available to enhance the noise or performance of your motor.

If you utter the words Singer, RS, GP or John Cooper Works this induces a smirk or a knowing nod from another owner or enthusiast. They know these iterations are pinnacle of what model is and can be. Owning any of these said models opens doors to world of eliteness amongst other owners where we are kings of the hill and admired for it. Yet we wont look down on other owners as our passenger seats are always open for you join in the fun…

Being an owner of either brand we like to talk about them.

When I mean talk I mean we try to steer the conversation towards our car or event we went on the weekend.

Our owners club are the biggest in the world spanning across continents, all boundaries of life, colour or wealth. Our love for our cars has connected us with most unlikely people together. This love and passion will always continue on as it is passed on to the next generation to pick up the torch to carry. They are unwittingly apart of the family from the moment they are born.

As you can see the two brands are very similar in their ethos as both have roots route back to famous race wins.

Racing is in our blood.

MINI has been a giant slayer by winning in British touring racing and the infamous Monte Carlo Rally whilst in the present day it has won the Dakar Rally with all 3 podium spots on consecutive years.

Porsche has virtually one at least one time in every championship it has enter from 24 hours of Le Mans to Dakar Rally.

Porsche did have some success in the rallying with privateers and factory teams with the most famous rallying wins being in 1968 to 1970 where Porsche won the Monte Carlo 3 years in a row with 1 & 2 positions (don’t worry Mini came 3rd in 1968 behind the 911s). The most strange and wonderful 959 supercar won the Paris Dakar rally in 1984 and 1986.

Both brands love to drive their cars and get them DIRTY!!!!

On a marketing stand point of view both brands don’t really tend to flex their muscle with outright BHP figures but instead to focus on the driving pleasure and everyday usability. Our rivals often laugh at our lack of power but they can’t get away from us on the bends to due lack balance and power transfer to the road.

Lets not forget we have a sense of humour when we advertise.

Then were was the infamous battle between the two brands when MINI USA threw down the gauntlet for a race. MINI lost but not by much. I was disappointed to hear they used a Cooper S when they should have gone for the full fat JCW for the WIN!

Continuing the image theme, when was the last time you got cut up by a MINI or Porsche? Never?

No one will ever say anything bad about you if you own either but you will get more respect if you own a classic…

Next Blog Post: Behind the Lens – Modern MINI Magazine Photoshoot

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The post Is MINI the new Porsche? appeared first on JCW Adventures.

Two months later she was born to take me on my MINI adventures far and wide. It has been over 2 years on I still love her like the day I first picked up her. 2013 was year for celebration for MINI & Plant Oxford as it marked 100 years of car making at plant Oxford and the MINI brand celebrating 50 years of the Cooper S and 250,000 Countryman left the factory.

The MINI brands has taken leaps and bounds since his it rebirth in 2001 when BMW release the R50 to the world. That famous badge and brand power drew in old and new consumers to the brand for nostalgia and the infamous go karting handling. Now in 2013 the brand has expanded with the hatchback not being the only variant with the Clubman, Clubvan, Convertible, Coupe, Roadster, Countryman and Paceman.

There is a lot more choice when you buy your MINI with over a million combinations of parts and accessories no real MINI is truly alike which is big difference from 1959 when only 3 colours were only available Clipper Blue, Cherry Red and Old English White for the first 3 years of production.

Lets bring the lime night back on to me I am always been firm believer that you should always give back to the world. I have saying ‘The way you treat people is the way you feel inside’ and I have searched long and hard to find a charity to work to make a real difference to people’s lives.

I came across the Action for children charity as I was applying for graduate roles. I put my name forward to volunteer for an event called Byte Night which is a sponsored sleep out to raise money and to remind yourselves what millions of homeless people feel every night. The big IT companies employees and high-ranking board member were there for the sleep in with over £1 million being raised that day with events across the UK. After learning more about the Action for children from Kim I will be organising a MINI event in Birmingham which will be my own take on the London job which will happen in April.

Details will follow soon…

Modding bug isn’t too far away too far away from me and I finally picked up the carbon fibre boot handle for my JCW to finish the carbon touches to the outside of my JCW. Installation took 5 minutes as it was just a few torx screws. Too match my shiney new carbon fibre goodies I clayed and waxed the JCW ahead its homecoming to the Factory. Time to bring out the SNOWFOAMMMMM It being ENGLAND it rained on the day : / But on the journey there I spotted a camouflaged Land Rover. He tried to get away from me taking piccies but I was having now of that!! POOOOOWWWWAAAAAAAA!!!!! The closer I got to Oxford the more MINIs I began to see on the motorway and normal roads. As soon as I went to turn right into the plant I spotted the Surrey New MINI (SNM) convoy at the lights and so I slowed down for all of us to roll in together

: D

There was an addition to the SNM family as Vickie had trade in her JCW Clubman for another new JCW Clubman to her spec NOM NOM

She went for the Reef Blue paint previously a exclusive paint to the Hampton edition and then specd the Harmon Kardon system, Chilli and Media pack with championship leather with red door and dash trims.

It is a REAL STUNNER with the colour coded arches in the Reef Blue paint and its been given awesome name of ‘Squidward’

I was filled with excitement as it has been a long time coming for me to do the factory tour as I had watched the National Geographic channel Mega factories documentary on the production of the MINI Coupe & Roadster.

I wanted to see in person how machines and people put all the millions of parts and billions combinations of options together day in day out. It was made clear from the outset that MINI was proud of the factory that plant Oxford had been producing cars for 100 years given the number of banners and logo plastered everywhere. I gave my autograph at the desk to sign in and grabbed the MINI black overalls for the factory tour and placed all my belongs into a locker, as no cameras or phones would be allowed into the factory. Do not worry! Where I was allowed to take photos I did. First up was the MINI museum which housed all the R56 onwards concepts and other models produced at the Plant Oxford. It was the breath of models and manufactures that stunned me and how tastes, culture and customer demands have shaped the automotive industry over the years. It funny how what once was an option extra is now standard in alot of cars. This hall of fame of how the MINI brand has evolved over the years is amazing from the marketing, advertising, production and worldwide success has brought millions of consumers in to buy that infamous badge. The factory hasn’t just produced car as during the world war parts for machinery and even planes were made. Me being me I decided to take on the robot for a dance off to see who could the best robot dance moves. Sadly robo arm is retired, Pssshhh Excuses. The SNM crew were all called up and bundled into a van to which would take us into the MINI factory to see how this four-wheel pocket rocket was made.

We were honoured to have Ian Cummings as our factory tour guide for the day. You may not know who is he but he has worked at the plant for sometime so he has seen different cars and models begin and leave the plant under his leadership.

The factory is separated into 3 sections:

Body in white – This is where the panels and exterior shape is formed

Paint – This where every individual car receives it colour

Assembly – This is the final stage where all the components come together

A MINI rolls off the production line every 68 seconds Every MINI life starts out in the body of white where robots apply 4,000 points weld to each body shell including adding the roof.

Once the welds are complete a random check is done by a specialist auditor to ensure the body weld are correct.

If are doesn’t meet this checks it scrapped and recycled to begin the process again but a lucky few are given a chance again as they are turned into track cars for the MINI Challenge series.

The body shell continues it life in the body of white assembly line where the bonnet, boot and doors are added.

Each are car is inspected by human using their hands to find any blemishes and to address them if need be. If each major faults are found this information is relayed back to see what caused it and to stop it from occurring again.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m1vWr2ufSbo

After passing inspection the body is continued on a conveyor belt to the paint section. The MINI body which has a chemical bath and a rinse shower to ensure each MINI is dirt free of anything especially including oil and dust before it receives it colour.

An Human inspection is done again to see if they are as clean as possible before the coat dip (primer). Next up is the sealing process where every hole and joint is made water tight by hand (Fun Fact – Every week 4 tonnes of sealant is used).

The sealing continues with the undercarriage is seal with a plastic coating to protect the body of stone, road grime and salt.

The body is then cooled for one hour then dusted by ostrich feather which is strangely still the best way to attract dirt, dust and oil. Now the paint can be applied which is done by both human and robots to ensure every corner of body shell/panels gets painted.

A final clear coat is applied to protect the paint and to give that gloss finish.

Off to the oven the for the MINI to make sure the paint is dried then inspection begins to find any imperfections. If any problems are found they buffered out and once there aren’t any a final buff and wax is done.

Now beings the final production stage at the assembly plant which has 5 major stations with a workforce which is spilt into 2 crews which fix on around 2,000 parts to each MINI.

Each worker has a specific role to complete in a 68 second deadline and 850 individual MINIs leave the factory every day!

Once the MINI hits the production line its given its VIN number and the doors are removed to allow easy access to the inside of the car.

Now the wiring harness of car is fitted which is 1 and half km long and runs from the boot to the engine bay.

Once the wiring has been fitted the dash-board and interior panels are installed, elsewhere whilst this is going the engine is simultaneously being built every minute. Once the engine is complete the engine is loaded on to pre assembled front suspension frame.

The marriage of the body and engine can now begin where robots and human install the engine together. Now all the other major components such as the seats, rear suspension, exhaust and wheels are added on.

The doors come back to the car to be reinstalled and last few touches are now the final touches and badges are applied give the MINI is identity.

All the fluids are added to drive the newly born MINI off the line to be tested to find any squeak or rattles before its put on to trailer to sent to the customer.

Now that I have gone through the process of how your MINI was made its time to let you guys and girls know how it felt to be there and extra surprise for me to see the F56 in production in both 3 door and 5 door variant.

It was a shock to see them there and were told not to look?? So I leaned against the guard rail to see the interior, the finish and to see what options were fitted on to the models.

They were a few Coopers and Cooper S in that Volcanic Orange and Deep Blue which were probably be press and demonstrator cars leave the factory to go around the globe. I am still not sold on those rear lights and lower bumper intakes on the S as they bigger than my head & ego combined. However everything else is on point with increased plushness in the cabin, more toys and options to be had.

Will I buy a F56? Yes but It’s another few years before I take the plunge again on purchasing another JCW as this powerhouse is coming in 2015 and it will be at least 2017 before I put my hard-earned cash down again for one. I will be requesting a custom paint for mine…

Some might moan about the increased sizes but I welcome the longer wheelbase as that extra few inches in the Clubman makes the car handle better on handling and ride comfort front. I fell in love with the Clubman when I had a fully loaded JCW Clubman from MINI UK when I was having a nightmare with mine.

Anyway back to the factory floor, tucked away in the corner were a few camouflaged MINIs which were the 5 door variant Hatch and what is the forthcoming Clubman. Another thing that caught my eye was the lack of the JCW models being made on the production line as I only saw 2 JCW being made which both were going abroad given the different front plate mount.

The tour was finished by Ian Cummings leading us back into the Van to head back to the Museum to gather our belongs. After this we lined up all our MINIs across the 100 years anniversary banner outside the Museum for piccies : D

But where ever I go the press isn’t far behind with their cameras and tape recorders…

But seriously the local paper had come down to take photos of the SNM clubs but sadly the finish article was the total opposite to what we expect.

But sad news was later heard as the R56 Hatch had officially stopped production marking an end of era and but the beginning of another…

After leaving the factory behind I had this sense of pride that manufacturing still occurs in the UK and MINI brand is very much still deep rooted in every generation in the UK. Its one of the reasons why the Fast Five had British flags attached to their aerials with pride at MINI UNITED. No matter where we have gone the red, white and blue flag is our home and those famous 3 colours were donned on the Minis in the Italian Job, which arguable the greatest car film ever!

The R56 will always be the greatest car ever to me given the personal and emotional connection I have my MINI as its more than a piece of metal but an extra of my personality.It has taken me on a journey of a life of lifetime and introduced me to people who I would have never met whilst put a smile on my face.

Thank you R56

Next Blog Post: Is MINI the new Porsche??

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The post MINI Factory Tour: The Last R56 appeared first on JCW Adventures.

Every driver gets that itch every now and then. Its the NEED FOR SPEED. Petrol heads look for the empty road where driver and machine come together just like double clutch down to 2nd just to hear that engine rip.

A driver don’t pick the car, the car picks the driver. It’s a mystical bond between man and machine.

This thirst for speed would be settled on the Castle Come circuit.

Castle Combe Circuit opened just 18 months after Silverstone in the summer of 1950, making it one of the longest established circuits in the UK. Until 1999, the circuit followed its original layout, around the perimeter of the old air base. In that first year, a young Stirling Moss won a race and over the next few years, names like Mike Hawthorn, Colin Chapman, Les Leston, Roy Salvadori and John Surtees thrilled huge crowds.

By the 60’s, several planning constraints had seen the circuit become run down and although the old Brands Hatch company, Motor Circuit Developments tried hard to develop meetings in the early 70’s with Formula 5000 and other major events, planning problems prevented long-term development. However in 1976, the circuit lease was obtained by the current owners and the long road to developing the circuit as a modern national racing venue began. Nigel Mansell, Ayrton Senna, and David Coulthard all won races in the 70’s and 80’s, and by the 90’s, the circuit hosted rounds of most of the national championships.

Today, the circuit boasts modern facilities for competitors and spectators, and the resurfaced and now reshaped circuit providing what is generally recognised as providing the closest circuit racing in British motorsport.

For those who watch the DRIVE TV will notice Chris Harris is regularly hooning about here.

John aka Joda who works at Castle Combe track and Mercedes-Benz world needed some help getting some MINIs to the show so I was more than happy to help.

We follow each other on IG and he regularly post some awesome pics at work with all the tasty motors he drives on track and road.

Everyone had seen the pictures I posted up on my blog last year and the fun I had so a lot more members were willing to pedal to the metal this time. This would which add to the excitement on the day.

I helped organise the event but I was last to arrive at the meet point to a plethora of MINIs awaiting for some HOONING.

We all headed out together in convoy to Castle Combe circuit to what is a mainly classic Mini event as its organised by Mini World.

There was a new upgrade to the Fast Five

Phil had decided to leave THE BEST CLUBMAN Ever behind and step up his game

Mr Kitchen was always the odd ball out of the Fast Five but in a good way given his different tastes and preferences. Mid afternoon I received a text off Phil saying he is buying a new MINI!!! I was like WHATTTTTTTTT

It’s a JCW!!!!

Hatch or Roadster??

Coupe : D

Should I get Harmon Kardon?? Hells Yeah

Phil was interested in my stand point of Roadster as he looked for to my 1st car review – MINI Cooper S Roadster

I was glad he got JCW given the problems he had with tuning with Cooper S

I am sorry but the JCW is better than S in its power delivery and performs effortlessly compared to the S. The JCW has the stopping power to match and that Extra 20bhp makes a huge difference in light car.

Like I said Phil likes being that bit different so he went a NOT NORMAL colour choice this time around – Metallic Kite Blue

(Photo credit to Felt Tip Felon aka Lee with a UNIQUE Clubbie – Feature coming soon)

The banter had already begun as we parked up on our stand as everyone was gunning for GP Garry plus Mr King had bone or two to pick with him with their long-standing grudge after MINI UNITED 2012 Go Karting racing antics. No hair nets getting in the way this time LOL

I had promised Jay that he could ride shotgun with me when I went around the track to show him what the JCW was made of and for him to step up his game to get one.

We all headed to sign on for some track time to get our safety briefing and helmets

On the way back I noticed these three familiar Minis from a BIG film which involved a trip to Italy for some gold bullion

Hang on guys I got an Idea…

There was no messing around this time as we all dawned our helmets and I suction mounted the Go Pro to bonnet

My Co Pilot was ready to

GP Garry was already

The Bandit aka Mr King was right behind him

Christina aka Wifey No. 1 was ready

MINI Toque member Overboost was primed and ready

Here is the complete line for the MINI heading on the track

Time for a quick selfie before I headed out #NoFilter

The Sussex road and race crew we were up front leading the pack

I rolled out expecting the 1st lap to be a sightseeing/warm up lap but the pack up front thought otherwise as I sat behind track keeping to track etiquette of not overtaking on the corners and sat back for the back straight to let the JCW loose.

I tucked in behind Overboost on camp corner before the back straight to slipstream him as knocked it down to 3rd and winded out the revs to redline to 4th.

With 4th gear dispatched I roared past him and eyed the familiar rear lights of Christine’s JCW who slowed down to let me pass as she knew I wouldn’t be messing around.

Now I had some time to make up some for lost ground behind traffic and my warm up lap. So it was time to keep it nice and neat and keep to the racing line as it was more a race with the clock and skill to catch up Garry & Mr King.

I headed around with full concentration and only asking Jay if he was alright when it reined in the JCW on the brembo brakes on the back straight to see if he was ok with the speeds I was going at.

All was well as I went around when I spotted an R53 Cooper S in my rearview trying to pass and with this being an open track day there was no passing on a corner. I found this numpty mounting the kerb trying to overtake me on last corner before the back straight.

He went to overtake then found out the JCW is no match on the back straight leaving him behind. I braked after doing 110mph on first corner and following the racing line to find this time this bonehead next to my door mid corner.

What happened to track day etiquette??? It was made crystal clear in the briefing not to overtake on the corners on multiple occasions

So I back of the accelerator and let them him pass because the last thing I wanted was accident on track with a passenger onboard. I slowed down and short shifted to leave a gap before building the speed up again.

It was back to chasing down the lads upfront.I don’t know what happened to this Red Cooper on track as the owner either lost their sense of redirection or get scared of my arrival of the JCW in their rear view as they drove into the run off section of the track.

Was James May driving???

Having passed the Cooper next up was another MINI Mate Dawn in her JCW called ‘Sapphire’ which is gracing the front cover of Modern MINI Magazine now!!!

She is another owner who loves her JCW  to bits and coming from an R53 Cooper S she has been the MINI family and community alot longer than me.

However she was passed on the back straight with me taking the JCW to 120mph before braking for the 1st corner. But sadly time is cruel mistress as after completing this lap and seeing Phil & Garry in my sights the chequered flag was waved signalling an end to the session for a cool down lap.

I had a little natter with Jay on the cool down lap asking if was scared at any point as he held on to the overhead handle most of the time around. Well at least he knows now that I can DRIVE and that he needs to hurry up and buy a JCW!

I noticed I was alot quicker this time around and given I got more speed on the back straight and what I was taught at Goodwood sank in from the instructor. But there is still room for improvement in technique.

Well if any of my readers want to jump in the JCW for a quick spin I am always more than happy to oblige so don’t be shy

Next up was walk around the club stands to see what tastes were about

All of these are photos below are from my very close friend of mine who I love to bits. Sammieeeeeeee has been awesome friend to me and has taken the BEST photos of my JCW to date. She has that MINIac enthusiasm like I do when some utter the word MINI. But for the love me I don’t know how she wears those shorts all year round???

Here is a link to the facebook page and website for her MINI photography called MINI Madness

So please go over send her some MINI Love

MINI Madness – FB Page

MINI Madness – Website

I will be doing a full post on her very soon…

Enough talking here there are MINIs

I had promised earlier in the day Phil my carbon fibre rear diffuser off my JCW for his coupe so I handed it over. He asked if I would install the carbon fibre door handle overlays which I was more than happy to do. To be honest the fit and finish was fantastic on them given he only spent around £60 for the pair which left me thinking at some point I will have to get some on my JCW at some point.

Phil has been loving his JCW Coupe so far as it gets way better fuel with pops and bangs on demand. I asked him how it felt to make the move over from the S to the JCW. He reaffirmed the JCW just has that more effortless power delivery to it and more eager to get up and go.

I unwittingly have his Coupe a name when I called it the ‘Blue Turtle’ because of its roof, so now the JCW Coupe is called Leonardo after the blue mutant ninja turtle.

All of the fast five all have JCWs now so no hanging around even more now ; )

Eagle eyed readers will be wondering about Mrs King aka wifey no.2 R53 Cooper S? Lets say she made the upgrade to an R56 JCW to (more information to follower later with lots of piccies)

All that was left now to do was watch the professional take the classics Minis around and make it look easy as they were full throttle all the way around.

The angles they were coming into cause trail braking was insane as it did result in a few spin offs which is all part of the fun.

This brought the day to a close with a parade laps to finish off this track action filled day and it being the UK it had to rain. But this didn’t dampen our spirits as the classic & modern MINIs all rolled out together : D

After the track day I was left with a dilemma as I wasn’t happy with the JCW suspension and brake feel. So I had a quiet word with my wallet and we came to agreement to give Lohen at visit for enhancements and coilovers.

Next Blog Post: MINI Factory Tour – The Last R56

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