MDifficult’s E82 1M Coupe & Ariel Atom 3
Discussion
Chr1sch said:
Fantastic taste, loving both cars, I'm hoping I can go down the M5 route in a few months time
DO IT!Happy to answer any ownership questions you might have. Unless it's about 'traction', that's been done to death in other threads
(Summary of my thoughts: if you want traction, buy a Land Rover) Trustmeimadoctor said:
looking forward to more mini info im trying to convince the mrs its worth spending more on a r56 over r53 gp
It's a tough call I think - the R53 having the benefits of rock-solid residuals and that super-charged motor. The R56 having the benefits of being a more fully-resolved car, much newer and with less miles (meaning you can actually use it a bit more often without crushing the value). Personally, I much prefer the look of the R56 too. Trustmeimadoctor said:
It would be a daily well maybe not everyday but 3 out of 5 work and weekend 70 mile round commute etc
Oooof. I worry that either GP isn't a wonderful choice for that kind of use. Will probably get pretty frustrating during the commute (unless it's B roads rather than motorways!) which might spoil it for the weekends. That's also a lot of miles to rack up if you're going for a GP as something to hold it's value quite well. MDifficult said:
Haha, yeah, that's me! Glad someone's enjoying them. Most of my neighbours are less impressed when I start them up at 6:30 in the morning to go to work. If you're even on the way past when I'm out cleaning them, say 'Hi'
Nice to know there's another GP2 owner in ReadingLoving this thread. I bought a very low mileage (622!) GP2 in October 2015 for much the same price as a basic no spec F56 JCW. I didn't know at the time whether I was doing the right thing replacing my 10 year old and much loved R53 JCW, but can now safely say it was the best car buying decision I've ever made. So much fun, and it never fails to put a grin on my face.
Can't stop driving and enjoying it, last year went on road trips to Cornwall (twice), Scotland, North Wales for the Evo Triangle, and the Loire Valley, including a few bits of Le Mans on the way. Have also taken it on track at Castle Combe and Goodwood, and up the strip at Santa Pod. Plans for this year include the Ring and a few Alpine passes.
No modifications yet, but have an ITG panel filter waiting to go on after its forthcoming service.
Interested to read your tips for dealing with the dreaded MINI interior squeaks and rattles, will have to give them a try.
And really must learn to heel and toe to get the maximum benefit from that exhaust ...
Can't stop driving and enjoying it, last year went on road trips to Cornwall (twice), Scotland, North Wales for the Evo Triangle, and the Loire Valley, including a few bits of Le Mans on the way. Have also taken it on track at Castle Combe and Goodwood, and up the strip at Santa Pod. Plans for this year include the Ring and a few Alpine passes.
No modifications yet, but have an ITG panel filter waiting to go on after its forthcoming service.
Interested to read your tips for dealing with the dreaded MINI interior squeaks and rattles, will have to give them a try.
And really must learn to heel and toe to get the maximum benefit from that exhaust ...
trowelhead said:
Great thread.
I've just bought an F56 JCW over a GP2 - this thread makes me think it was the wrong decision
Cheers, appreciate it. I wouldn't worry too much, I'm sure the F56 is a belter and back seats must come in pretty handy from time to time! I've just bought an F56 JCW over a GP2 - this thread makes me think it was the wrong decision
GP11FUN said:
Nice to know there's another GP2 owner in Reading
According to HowManyLeft the supposed 'only 200 in the U.K.' isn't far off so pretty rare to have a couple in the same town! There's 10X as many M5's on the road and yet I only see one or two a year! (Probably because all the black and silver ones just look like 520d's 
)NeilAndHisMini said:
Loving this thread. I bought a very low mileage (622!) GP2 in October 2015 for much the same price as a basic no spec F56 JCW. I didn't know at the time whether I was doing the right thing replacing my 10 year old and much loved R53 JCW, but can now safely say it was the best car buying decision I've ever made. So much fun, and it never fails to put a grin on my face.
Can't stop driving and enjoying it, last year went on road trips to Cornwall (twice), Scotland, North Wales for the Evo Triangle, and the Loire Valley, including a few bits of Le Mans on the way. Have also taken it on track at Castle Combe and Goodwood, and up the strip at Santa Pod. Plans for this year include the Ring and a few Alpine passes.
No modifications yet, but have an ITG panel filter waiting to go on after its forthcoming service.
Interested to read your tips for dealing with the dreaded MINI interior squeaks and rattles, will have to give them a try.
And really must learn to heel and toe to get the maximum benefit from that exhaust ...
Good to hear I'm not the only one who's becoming addicted! Good luck with the rattles, the good news is that the squeaky parts of the R56 interior come apart very easily. Can't stop driving and enjoying it, last year went on road trips to Cornwall (twice), Scotland, North Wales for the Evo Triangle, and the Loire Valley, including a few bits of Le Mans on the way. Have also taken it on track at Castle Combe and Goodwood, and up the strip at Santa Pod. Plans for this year include the Ring and a few Alpine passes.
No modifications yet, but have an ITG panel filter waiting to go on after its forthcoming service.
Interested to read your tips for dealing with the dreaded MINI interior squeaks and rattles, will have to give them a try.
And really must learn to heel and toe to get the maximum benefit from that exhaust ...
Get cracking on the heel & toe practise, I promise it's totally worth it!
GP11FUN said:
Nice to know there's another GP2 owner in Reading
According to HowManyLeft the supposed 'only 200 in the U.K.' isn't far off so pretty rare to have a couple in the same town! There's 10X as many M5's on the road and yet I only see one or two a year! (Probably because all the black and silver ones just look like 520d's )GP11FUN said:
Have actually spotted a 3rd GP2 which drives around Reading, always driven by a female when ever seen. Is it anyone on this site
Edited by GP11FUN on Thursday 9th March 23:08
A different update this time…
Like many petrolheads, I’ve also had a few motorbikes in my time so I thought some folk might be interested to see what those were. Can’t remember how they fitted into the car timeline (I’m getting old) so they’ll have to have a post in their own right. First up…
Honda NS125R | 1987 | 25 BHP | Top Speed 69 MPH
Image from Google
I was always banned from having a motorbike while I was still living at home as my older brother had had a few misadventures on them and my parents weren’t going to let history repeat itself. But, as soon as I moved out into my own place it was time to take my CBT!
This little Honda had been re-built by a kindly chap in his shed and looked mint in red. I bought it, took my CBT on it and then rode the wheels off it for a few months to get enough experience to take my Direct Access test. Although the kindly-chap had done a good job with the bodywork, the frame itself was bent like a banana and I’m pretty sure the rear wheel tracked about an inch to the right of the front one. It certainly turned left better than it turned right but that two-stroke smell is the best!
If you’ve never ridden a motorbike I heartily recommend everyone have a go at taking their CBT and riding for a few months on a 125. Teaches you more about roads, road users, road conditions and danger perception than you’ll ever learn in a car. With my DAS passed (on the hottest day of the year, sweating absolute bullets and nearly fluffing the ‘turn-in-the-road’ with sweat in my eyes) it was time to buy something I’d been eyeballing since the beginning…
Honda VF400R NC30 | 1992 | 59 BHP | Top Speed 136 MPH
Image from Google
Even today I think the NC30 is probably one of the most ‘right’ looking motorbikes ever made. Small, compact with a single swing-arm and full-on Superbike/GP bike looks of the era. I’d been hankering for one for ages but being import-only they were pretty rare and finding a good one was hard work.
I remember contacting the owner and riding around to their house on my little 125 for a ‘test ride’ straight away. I also remember nearly crashing the damn thing half a dozen times during the test ride because it was SO much quicker than anything I’d ridden to that point. The little V4 motor was a swiss watch and revved like crazy.
It’s hard to describe the difference in performance between a 125 and a 400 in car terms but it’s like stepping out of a 1 litre Fiesta and into a Focus RS. Absolutely HUGE jump in performance and takes you from being 'in' traffic to riding 'around' traffic. Owned it for a good few years and obsessed over cleaning, polishing and tweaking every chance I got.
Suzuki GSX-R 600 SRAD | 1997 | 110 BHP | Top Speed 158 MPH
Image from Google
As with the cars, eventually the hunt for more power kicks in but to be honest, this move was more about size. Although the NC30 was an amazing bike and plenty fast enough, I’m 6 foot tall and the Honda was designed for the slightly smaller Japanese gentleman. No problem over short distances but on longer runs it was starting to kill my knees and back. The Suzuki was the ideal option as physically much larger, a bit more power and a little more laid back (if a 600 super-sports bike can be considered ‘laid back’). The increase in size also meant giving pillion rides became an option. Rode the Suzuki for a few years but then the opportunity to own ‘the daddy’ came along…
Yamaha YZF R1 | 1998 | 149 BHP | Top Speed 172 MPH
Actual bike
The idea that today’s litre sports bikes have nearly another 50 BHP and weight less than an ’99 R1 absolutely boggles my mind because this bike was other-worldly quick and a proper handful to stay on top of. I like to think it was also the last of the ‘hairy chested’ litre bikes with proper carbs, no traction control or ABS or even fancy suspension. Just a tiny little frame (almost the same as a 600 of the era) with a whacking great motor and THE best looks of any bike outside a Ducati. I looked after it like a work of art, even treating it to a beautiful Akrapovic carbon & titanium exhaust.
I loved it so much that even after I gave up riding (roads in the South East have become SO biker unfriendly) I kept it in the garage on axle stands and polished, serviced and admired it for another 2 years! Eventually, I had to admit that my days of riding are over and sold it for a profit. I may go back to bikes when I hit my mid-life crisis but I just can’t see myself riding the roads as they are today with 'Iraqi-runway' road surfaces and every-other-numbskull busy texting or peering around the giant satnav plonked right in the middle of their windscreen. Or maybe I just need to go back to a 400 again?
Particularly interested to hear from anyone who either had, or HAS, a 99 R1 or an NC30 - you have my respect (and envy!)
Like many petrolheads, I’ve also had a few motorbikes in my time so I thought some folk might be interested to see what those were. Can’t remember how they fitted into the car timeline (I’m getting old) so they’ll have to have a post in their own right. First up…
Honda NS125R | 1987 | 25 BHP | Top Speed 69 MPH
Image from Google
I was always banned from having a motorbike while I was still living at home as my older brother had had a few misadventures on them and my parents weren’t going to let history repeat itself. But, as soon as I moved out into my own place it was time to take my CBT!
This little Honda had been re-built by a kindly chap in his shed and looked mint in red. I bought it, took my CBT on it and then rode the wheels off it for a few months to get enough experience to take my Direct Access test. Although the kindly-chap had done a good job with the bodywork, the frame itself was bent like a banana and I’m pretty sure the rear wheel tracked about an inch to the right of the front one. It certainly turned left better than it turned right but that two-stroke smell is the best!
If you’ve never ridden a motorbike I heartily recommend everyone have a go at taking their CBT and riding for a few months on a 125. Teaches you more about roads, road users, road conditions and danger perception than you’ll ever learn in a car. With my DAS passed (on the hottest day of the year, sweating absolute bullets and nearly fluffing the ‘turn-in-the-road’ with sweat in my eyes) it was time to buy something I’d been eyeballing since the beginning…
Honda VF400R NC30 | 1992 | 59 BHP | Top Speed 136 MPH
Image from Google
Even today I think the NC30 is probably one of the most ‘right’ looking motorbikes ever made. Small, compact with a single swing-arm and full-on Superbike/GP bike looks of the era. I’d been hankering for one for ages but being import-only they were pretty rare and finding a good one was hard work.
I remember contacting the owner and riding around to their house on my little 125 for a ‘test ride’ straight away. I also remember nearly crashing the damn thing half a dozen times during the test ride because it was SO much quicker than anything I’d ridden to that point. The little V4 motor was a swiss watch and revved like crazy.
It’s hard to describe the difference in performance between a 125 and a 400 in car terms but it’s like stepping out of a 1 litre Fiesta and into a Focus RS. Absolutely HUGE jump in performance and takes you from being 'in' traffic to riding 'around' traffic. Owned it for a good few years and obsessed over cleaning, polishing and tweaking every chance I got.
Suzuki GSX-R 600 SRAD | 1997 | 110 BHP | Top Speed 158 MPH
Image from Google
As with the cars, eventually the hunt for more power kicks in but to be honest, this move was more about size. Although the NC30 was an amazing bike and plenty fast enough, I’m 6 foot tall and the Honda was designed for the slightly smaller Japanese gentleman. No problem over short distances but on longer runs it was starting to kill my knees and back. The Suzuki was the ideal option as physically much larger, a bit more power and a little more laid back (if a 600 super-sports bike can be considered ‘laid back’). The increase in size also meant giving pillion rides became an option. Rode the Suzuki for a few years but then the opportunity to own ‘the daddy’ came along…
Yamaha YZF R1 | 1998 | 149 BHP | Top Speed 172 MPH
Actual bike
The idea that today’s litre sports bikes have nearly another 50 BHP and weight less than an ’99 R1 absolutely boggles my mind because this bike was other-worldly quick and a proper handful to stay on top of. I like to think it was also the last of the ‘hairy chested’ litre bikes with proper carbs, no traction control or ABS or even fancy suspension. Just a tiny little frame (almost the same as a 600 of the era) with a whacking great motor and THE best looks of any bike outside a Ducati. I looked after it like a work of art, even treating it to a beautiful Akrapovic carbon & titanium exhaust.
I loved it so much that even after I gave up riding (roads in the South East have become SO biker unfriendly) I kept it in the garage on axle stands and polished, serviced and admired it for another 2 years! Eventually, I had to admit that my days of riding are over and sold it for a profit. I may go back to bikes when I hit my mid-life crisis but I just can’t see myself riding the roads as they are today with 'Iraqi-runway' road surfaces and every-other-numbskull busy texting or peering around the giant satnav plonked right in the middle of their windscreen. Or maybe I just need to go back to a 400 again?
Particularly interested to hear from anyone who either had, or HAS, a 99 R1 or an NC30 - you have my respect (and envy!)
Parked the GP next to a close relative in the work car-park this morning. Not sure if technically a 'son' or a 'nephew' but the bloodline is pretty clear.
Really interesting how Mini carried over some of the colour and styling cues from the R56 GP2 into the options menu for the F56 Works. Those wheels are a 5-spoke interpretation of the 4-spokes on the GP2 and the red & black accents seem very much inspired by the GP (although admittedly being the colour pallet of Works in general).
Newer car has a markedly nicer interior but much prefer the outside of the older car - just can't stand the big chrome 'gopping' mouth on the new car. Also, is it me or does the F56 look really under-wheeled?
Really interesting how Mini carried over some of the colour and styling cues from the R56 GP2 into the options menu for the F56 Works. Those wheels are a 5-spoke interpretation of the 4-spokes on the GP2 and the red & black accents seem very much inspired by the GP (although admittedly being the colour pallet of Works in general).
Newer car has a markedly nicer interior but much prefer the outside of the older car - just can't stand the big chrome 'gopping' mouth on the new car. Also, is it me or does the F56 look really under-wheeled?
mikeyb1987 said:
Great write-up on the previous page.
You didn't happen to be around Penrith today, presumably heading back from Hartside cafe? I passed a Mini GP with a number plate beginning YF62. Never thought I'd come across another whilst in mine!
Cheers,You didn't happen to be around Penrith today, presumably heading back from Hartside cafe? I passed a Mini GP with a number plate beginning YF62. Never thought I'd come across another whilst in mine!
Nope, wasn't me but was very possibly one of the original press fleet - most of the press fleet started YF62 (you can see if you look back through the old mags and YouTube videos). Thankfully, although mine has the press designation in the VIN decode (basically some additional sound deadening and a double-check of all the nuts), it didn't appear in any press or web content I could find (well, until Ben let PistonHeads have a go!). Supposedly it sat out it's early days in a showroom exhibit rather than have its nuts razzed off by Tiff & Co!
MDifficult said:
mikeyb1987 said:
Great write-up on the previous page.
You didn't happen to be around Penrith today, presumably heading back from Hartside cafe? I passed a Mini GP with a number plate beginning YF62. Never thought I'd come across another whilst in mine!
Cheers,You didn't happen to be around Penrith today, presumably heading back from Hartside cafe? I passed a Mini GP with a number plate beginning YF62. Never thought I'd come across another whilst in mine!
Nope, wasn't me but was very possibly one of the original press fleet - most of the press fleet started YF62 (you can see if you look back through the old mags and YouTube videos). Thankfully, although mine has the press designation in the VIN decode (basically some additional sound deadening and a double-check of all the nuts), it didn't appear in any press or web content I could find (well, until Ben let PistonHeads have a go!). Supposedly it sat out it's early days in a showroom exhibit rather than have its nuts razzed off by Tiff & Co!
mikeyb1987 said:
Ah, everyday is a school day - I didn't realise the press cars came with sound deadening?! There's time where I wish mine came with more!
I may have 'over-sold' the sound deadening! It's not actual sound deadening... just a few 5mm felt strips put between the door skins and the door, around speaker grills etc. It's also entirely ineffective. Great thread. Some similar cars to my history, the escort, calibra and Subaru in particular !
MDifficult, re the M5, I'm considering one having previously had an E39. Probably the best all rounder I've had. Anyway, back to the F10, do you run it with or without a warranty ? I'm not normally risk averse, but I do wonder about the prospect of big bills without the AUC warranty.
MDifficult, re the M5, I'm considering one having previously had an E39. Probably the best all rounder I've had. Anyway, back to the F10, do you run it with or without a warranty ? I'm not normally risk averse, but I do wonder about the prospect of big bills without the AUC warranty.
WindsorRob said:
Great thread. Some similar cars to my history, the escort, calibra and Subaru in particular !
MDifficult, re the M5, I'm considering one having previously had an E39. Probably the best all rounder I've had. Anyway, back to the F10, do you run it with or without a warranty ? I'm not normally risk averse, but I do wonder about the prospect of big bills without the AUC warranty.
Hey, cheers, glad you enjoyed it! MDifficult, re the M5, I'm considering one having previously had an E39. Probably the best all rounder I've had. Anyway, back to the F10, do you run it with or without a warranty ? I'm not normally risk averse, but I do wonder about the prospect of big bills without the AUC warranty.
Touches all the wood in the house...
I run the M5 without a warranty but I think it's a very marginal descision. Ive had some issues with the car, but as it's relatively low mileage (45k) and always BMW serviced (with service pack still remaining) they've fallen into three camps:
1) A thing that just shouldnt fail at that mileage: BMW have covered with some excellent 'goodwill' gestures. I'm only the second owner too.
2) A thing that wouldn't be covered anyway: The previous owner had had the tires changed at a sub-par tire place and they'd cross-threaded BOTH rear hubs. Only found out when I took it in for the rear brake pads. OUCH.
3) A thing I just have to accept and pay for. So far, this is proving to be much less than the warranty costs.
I mentally put the £1,200 a warranty would cost away in a bank account each year and just cross my fingers but, as I say, it's marginal.
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