MDifficult’s E82 1M Coupe & Ariel Atom 3
Discussion
snowley said:
MDifficult said:
No worries, emailed you a link.
Thanks you! these are the exact ones I am watching at the moment - seems a very good price.steve-5snwi said:
If it had been an AGM battery it would need to be coded to the car, well not so much coded but the car told it has a new battery.
Cheers Steve, appreciate the help. I suspected as much. I looked all around the negative terminal to see if I could see the IBS unit but it’s just a basic terminal. Wouldn’t really be an issue as I’m sure my Carly coding app can do a new battery, but pleased to avoid the extra cost.
SteveS Cup said:
Couldn’t disagree with this more! Girlfriend has an F56 which replaced an R56... worst thing she ever did. I hate the interior, feels cheap in comparison.
Love the GP, nearly bought one after going back to an R53 a little while ago! Still want one! Enjoy!! Lovely pair of cars you have!
Cheers mate, thank you!Love the GP, nearly bought one after going back to an R53 a little while ago! Still want one! Enjoy!! Lovely pair of cars you have!
Having subsequently been in a few more F-Series, I think you might have a point. I was initially envious of the quality of some of the plastics and the much more capable iDrive vs the incomprehensible nonsense that’s in mine, but each time I get in one it does strike me as... a bit fussy?
There’s a relative simplicity in the R53 and R56 that’s to be admired but... the stereo is literally unfathomable!
For those of you on the edge of your seats with anticipation I’m delighted to say… I have a working car, and I’m not blind and covered in burning acid. Result!
Any of you with actual mechanical skill may want to stop reading at this point. What follows is an extremely amateur mechanic taking excessive pride in completing an astonishingly simple task
Step 1: Gather together the new goodies:
Step 2: Open the bonnet, remove the weather strip, remove old battery trim (two bolts), yank it out. Disconnect the battery terminals (black first) and the vent hose:
Step 3: Undo the battery hold-down-thingy and pull out the old battery. Vengefully curse it’s uselessness. Grab the Dyson and hoover out the bits of dry leaves. Drop in the new battery, back first, then front.
Step 4: Re-attach the terminals (red first) and the vent hose. Admire the variety of interesting clicks and whirrs that emanate from the engine bay. This sounds promising. Jump into the car and check the ignition comes on. IT’S ALIVE!! (high five self).
Step 5: Turn everything back off, unpack the replacement battery trim and admire that Mini have stuck with the same stupid design of weak and easily-snappable clips. Remind self to be gentle with these in future.
While being extra careful accidentally drop one of the bolts down into the inner wing like a muppet. Waste 10 minutes getting the bloody thing back out again because it’s plastic so no easy magnet fishing. Fit replacement trim and bolt down. Refit the weather strip.
Step 6: Jump back in the car and turn on the ignition, then run through the drivers-window reset process. Minis automatically disable the auto window drop/raise on door open when they detect a poorly battery. Once you’ve a new battery in, you need to reset the window so the car will start doing the auto drop/raise again. 10 second job.
Jump out of the car, connect it to the trickle charger, admire the handy work and order yourself one of these off eBay:
Seriously though, this was a doddle and could have been done in under 15 minutes if I'd not been taking pictures, checking everything 5 times and dropping stupid plastic bolts into tiny inaccessible spaces.
Interesting detour. Time to turn my attention back to the M5 again...
Any of you with actual mechanical skill may want to stop reading at this point. What follows is an extremely amateur mechanic taking excessive pride in completing an astonishingly simple task
Step 1: Gather together the new goodies:
Step 2: Open the bonnet, remove the weather strip, remove old battery trim (two bolts), yank it out. Disconnect the battery terminals (black first) and the vent hose:
Step 3: Undo the battery hold-down-thingy and pull out the old battery. Vengefully curse it’s uselessness. Grab the Dyson and hoover out the bits of dry leaves. Drop in the new battery, back first, then front.
Step 4: Re-attach the terminals (red first) and the vent hose. Admire the variety of interesting clicks and whirrs that emanate from the engine bay. This sounds promising. Jump into the car and check the ignition comes on. IT’S ALIVE!! (high five self).
Step 5: Turn everything back off, unpack the replacement battery trim and admire that Mini have stuck with the same stupid design of weak and easily-snappable clips. Remind self to be gentle with these in future.
While being extra careful accidentally drop one of the bolts down into the inner wing like a muppet. Waste 10 minutes getting the bloody thing back out again because it’s plastic so no easy magnet fishing. Fit replacement trim and bolt down. Refit the weather strip.
Step 6: Jump back in the car and turn on the ignition, then run through the drivers-window reset process. Minis automatically disable the auto window drop/raise on door open when they detect a poorly battery. Once you’ve a new battery in, you need to reset the window so the car will start doing the auto drop/raise again. 10 second job.
Jump out of the car, connect it to the trickle charger, admire the handy work and order yourself one of these off eBay:
Seriously though, this was a doddle and could have been done in under 15 minutes if I'd not been taking pictures, checking everything 5 times and dropping stupid plastic bolts into tiny inaccessible spaces.
Interesting detour. Time to turn my attention back to the M5 again...
lestiq said:
hot tip with the stereo, I have an iphone 4s that I use just for music, the difference in sound quality between it and the newer ones is insane. It was like changing stereos for me. But I agree, it is not exactly a sonic powerhouse!
Yeah, I thought about direct-connecting an old iPod and leaving it in the glovebox, but went for one of these instead:AUKEY Bluetooth 4.0 Audio Receiver for Car (Search on eBay or whatever)
Tucks neatly and invisibly down by the cigarette lighter and connected directly to the USB (for power) and the Aux (for audio). Senses power on/off and iPhones are smart enough to use it for Music but use the car’s Bluetooth for phone calls. Absolute bargain and can’t recommend enough.
Best bit, I can leave the ridiculous stereo in Aux and avoid ever touching it!
Edited by MDifficult on Tuesday 20th February 23:55
tomsugden said:
I've just read your thread for the first time. Small world, this and the pub it's parked outside belong to a mate of mine.
I’d love to know if that car is as much fun as it looks like it is!? If I remember correctly, it’s a fantastic pub. Beautiful views, situated right at the start (or end) of a world-class piece of road, good beer and a golden-retriever. What more could you ask for in a pub? He’s a lucky guy.
A pretty unusual update this time:
Both cars have sat neglected for the last three weeks as I’ve unfortunately busted a disc in my neck and been completely housebound while I go through the process of getting it sorted.
However, being forced to sit in front of the TV for hours on end lead to a pretty interesting discovery about my Mini GP’s provenence. For those of you who’ve read through the whole thread, you may remember that I bought the car from Ben Lowden at Pistonheads and both of us discussed the fact that the car had originally been part of Mini’s press fleet. This was indicated by Mini being the first owner, plus the reg beginning YF62 (which all of Mini’s press fleet started with) and the VIN decode showing option 902 which was a special press vehicle prep.
Both Ben and I had scoured mags and web videos but neither of us had seen the reg of my Mini show up anywhere, so we’d both assumed it’d sat in a Mini dealership somewhere. However, i’ve finally found out what it WAS used for and.. it’s pretty cool!
Okay, so like any petrolhead confined to their bed for weeks on end, I inevitably ended up watching a Top Gear marathon that included Series 20 Episode 6, the ‘Best of British’ episode that features in many people’s favourite episodes lists.
The first segment is Richard Hammond reviewing the ’new’ Supercharged RangeRover Sport and to show just how fast it is, he gets The Stig to do a timed lap of Donnington Park. To show just how fast t, he first gets the Stig to set a lap in a Mini GP….
Suddenly, this camera shot appears. “Hang on… the reg on that GP looks vaguely familiar” says I…
A few seconds later in the episode, any chance that I’d misread the reg was blown away by this head-on shot with The Stig and the correct reg both present and correct…
Well, if your car’s going to be used by any car program, knowing it’s been tracked by The Stig himself is probably the one you’d choose. Certainly the one I would.
But it didn’t stop there. Clearly, the TG crew had the car for a few days because it also appeared later in the same episode, when James May decides to take the new London Bus on a ‘trackday’. My GP also appears very briefly in this set-up ‘track day’ gag, along with a number of other cars from manufacturers press fleets (I recognise a blue 911 in particular)…
Now, that’s all exciting enough but, most of you will remember this episode for the finale, when the TG boys fill The Mall in London with the most amazing collection of British vehicles. Initially, there’s a great set of scenes where we see a range of cars (from Ariels to F1 cars) leaving their respective factories to head to London. That includes Mini, with a number of cars (lead by a GP) leaving the Cowley factory in Oxford…
All these cars eventually arrive on The Mall and I can spot a GP very briefly in the background of one of the clips that culminated in this brilliant shot…
You can’t quite see it in the shot but the Mini GP is just about where this red arrow is pointing…
At this point, I’m thinking how awesome it would be if it was my GP in that scene but unfortunately there’s no shots in the episode, or on the web, where you can see the registration. But, then I start searching Youtube to see if any bystanders or press had any behind-the-scenes shots that might show the reg of the Mini GP in the scene, but I could’t find anything anywhere.
But then, the most unlikely source (Shmee) came to the rescue. He shot a behind-the-scenes video of the cars being prepared for the shot and in one blink-and-you’ll-miss-it frame of the video he happened to capture the reg of the Mini GP…
There it is… irrefutable proof that the Mini GP that’s currently sat in my garage was part of one of my favourite moments of Top Gear ever. Mind. Blown.
I know that the general excitement of all this will probably pass most people by, but for a petrolhead confined to his bed with a head full of painkillers, I was absolutely made up!
Both cars have sat neglected for the last three weeks as I’ve unfortunately busted a disc in my neck and been completely housebound while I go through the process of getting it sorted.
However, being forced to sit in front of the TV for hours on end lead to a pretty interesting discovery about my Mini GP’s provenence. For those of you who’ve read through the whole thread, you may remember that I bought the car from Ben Lowden at Pistonheads and both of us discussed the fact that the car had originally been part of Mini’s press fleet. This was indicated by Mini being the first owner, plus the reg beginning YF62 (which all of Mini’s press fleet started with) and the VIN decode showing option 902 which was a special press vehicle prep.
Both Ben and I had scoured mags and web videos but neither of us had seen the reg of my Mini show up anywhere, so we’d both assumed it’d sat in a Mini dealership somewhere. However, i’ve finally found out what it WAS used for and.. it’s pretty cool!
Okay, so like any petrolhead confined to their bed for weeks on end, I inevitably ended up watching a Top Gear marathon that included Series 20 Episode 6, the ‘Best of British’ episode that features in many people’s favourite episodes lists.
The first segment is Richard Hammond reviewing the ’new’ Supercharged RangeRover Sport and to show just how fast it is, he gets The Stig to do a timed lap of Donnington Park. To show just how fast t, he first gets the Stig to set a lap in a Mini GP….
Suddenly, this camera shot appears. “Hang on… the reg on that GP looks vaguely familiar” says I…
A few seconds later in the episode, any chance that I’d misread the reg was blown away by this head-on shot with The Stig and the correct reg both present and correct…
Well, if your car’s going to be used by any car program, knowing it’s been tracked by The Stig himself is probably the one you’d choose. Certainly the one I would.
But it didn’t stop there. Clearly, the TG crew had the car for a few days because it also appeared later in the same episode, when James May decides to take the new London Bus on a ‘trackday’. My GP also appears very briefly in this set-up ‘track day’ gag, along with a number of other cars from manufacturers press fleets (I recognise a blue 911 in particular)…
Now, that’s all exciting enough but, most of you will remember this episode for the finale, when the TG boys fill The Mall in London with the most amazing collection of British vehicles. Initially, there’s a great set of scenes where we see a range of cars (from Ariels to F1 cars) leaving their respective factories to head to London. That includes Mini, with a number of cars (lead by a GP) leaving the Cowley factory in Oxford…
All these cars eventually arrive on The Mall and I can spot a GP very briefly in the background of one of the clips that culminated in this brilliant shot…
You can’t quite see it in the shot but the Mini GP is just about where this red arrow is pointing…
At this point, I’m thinking how awesome it would be if it was my GP in that scene but unfortunately there’s no shots in the episode, or on the web, where you can see the registration. But, then I start searching Youtube to see if any bystanders or press had any behind-the-scenes shots that might show the reg of the Mini GP in the scene, but I could’t find anything anywhere.
But then, the most unlikely source (Shmee) came to the rescue. He shot a behind-the-scenes video of the cars being prepared for the shot and in one blink-and-you’ll-miss-it frame of the video he happened to capture the reg of the Mini GP…
There it is… irrefutable proof that the Mini GP that’s currently sat in my garage was part of one of my favourite moments of Top Gear ever. Mind. Blown.
I know that the general excitement of all this will probably pass most people by, but for a petrolhead confined to his bed with a head full of painkillers, I was absolutely made up!
Edited by MDifficult on Saturday 17th March 18:46
Cheers guys, it’s good to know the excitement was justified! This is the longest I’ve gone without being at work or driving a car since I was 18, so I’m a little worried my marbles are going 
Thankfully, with the weather I’ve not missed much, but I can’t wait to get behind the wheel again as soon as possible
Thankfully, with the weather I’ve not missed much, but I can’t wait to get behind the wheel again as soon as possible
Hey Matt,
Looks a peach (but don’t they all?). Mine’s not gone anywhere near the snow, but great to see you’re not afraid to use it!
Happy to answer any questions you’ve got. Tried to answer some you’ve raised in other GP threads today but happy to help you with anything else in here.
As you can see, I’m pretty beginner with the spanners, but also spend waaaay too much time reading and researching about my cars so might have answers if you need them.
Enjoy!
Looks a peach (but don’t they all?). Mine’s not gone anywhere near the snow, but great to see you’re not afraid to use it!
Happy to answer any questions you’ve got. Tried to answer some you’ve raised in other GP threads today but happy to help you with anything else in here.
As you can see, I’m pretty beginner with the spanners, but also spend waaaay too much time reading and researching about my cars so might have answers if you need them.
Enjoy!
Small update,
The good news is that after 6 weeks on my back and a further two of recovery, I’m now fully operational and back behind the wheel. Protect your necks people! Sit up straight and mind your posture!
First order of business was to get the Mini booked in for a service which was now a month or so overdue (although the only thing the car’s done in that time is gather dust). With a big chunk of the Mini service pack still remaining there’s no money to pay, but handing your car in for a trip on the ramps is always a slightly worrying moment. Thankfully a clean bill of health and oil, filter, plugs all replaced.
The courtesy car Gods were smiling on me too. Rather than the usual 4-door Mini One in some ghastly pastel colour, I was handed the keys to an almost brand new Mini Cooper SD Seven in full “Hotblack Desiato” spec (or “Darth Vader” if you prefer), with black outside (apart from the silver roof, mirrors and bonnet stripes), plus black interior, black leather and black dash inserts.
To quote HHGTTG "It’s the wild colour scheme that freaks me out. Every time you try and operate these weird black controls that are labeled in black on a black background, a little black light lights up in black to let you know you’ve done it.”
I’ve driven a few F56 model Minis now and this is probably the one I liked the most (apart from the engine, more on that in a mo). Despite being bigger than my GP in every direction inside and out, the colour scheme seems to tone down some of the more over-done and distracting elements of the design.
I really understand what people mean when they call them ‘baby BMWs’. Everything about driving this car feels more like my M5 than it does my GP. The iDrive, the head up display, the heater controls, the stalks and dash info is all unnervingly similar to the BMW and a world away from the R56 model Mini. Even the ride and steering feels more ‘big BMW’ that it did ‘little Mini’.
The SD engine does a good job of making it feel reasonably quick too, with good traction and plenty of torque giving you a good shove in the back in the first couple of gears. Sadly though, it’s the classic diesel problem: It feels fun for 1,500 revs at a time and then it’s all over. THUMP-change-THUMP-change-THUMP-change-cruise. Nothing about it really encourages you to enjoy yourself and even on a good piece of road it feels more natural to cruise than to have some fun.
Another slightly disappointing thing is the clutch which is more like a switch… 5 inches of travel but it’s the bottom inch that does everything - and the SD doesn’t even get rev-matching on downshift (unlike the Petrol version). That said, for someone where fun isn’t important but wants a grown-up little car that’ll be a good steer and does 65MPG it’s clearly a great option.
Not for me though. Jumping (down) into the GP was a relief and the drive home reminded me why Minis need little revvy petrol engines… anything else is a travesty
The good news is that after 6 weeks on my back and a further two of recovery, I’m now fully operational and back behind the wheel. Protect your necks people! Sit up straight and mind your posture!
First order of business was to get the Mini booked in for a service which was now a month or so overdue (although the only thing the car’s done in that time is gather dust). With a big chunk of the Mini service pack still remaining there’s no money to pay, but handing your car in for a trip on the ramps is always a slightly worrying moment. Thankfully a clean bill of health and oil, filter, plugs all replaced.
The courtesy car Gods were smiling on me too. Rather than the usual 4-door Mini One in some ghastly pastel colour, I was handed the keys to an almost brand new Mini Cooper SD Seven in full “Hotblack Desiato” spec (or “Darth Vader” if you prefer), with black outside (apart from the silver roof, mirrors and bonnet stripes), plus black interior, black leather and black dash inserts.
To quote HHGTTG "It’s the wild colour scheme that freaks me out. Every time you try and operate these weird black controls that are labeled in black on a black background, a little black light lights up in black to let you know you’ve done it.”
I’ve driven a few F56 model Minis now and this is probably the one I liked the most (apart from the engine, more on that in a mo). Despite being bigger than my GP in every direction inside and out, the colour scheme seems to tone down some of the more over-done and distracting elements of the design.
I really understand what people mean when they call them ‘baby BMWs’. Everything about driving this car feels more like my M5 than it does my GP. The iDrive, the head up display, the heater controls, the stalks and dash info is all unnervingly similar to the BMW and a world away from the R56 model Mini. Even the ride and steering feels more ‘big BMW’ that it did ‘little Mini’.
The SD engine does a good job of making it feel reasonably quick too, with good traction and plenty of torque giving you a good shove in the back in the first couple of gears. Sadly though, it’s the classic diesel problem: It feels fun for 1,500 revs at a time and then it’s all over. THUMP-change-THUMP-change-THUMP-change-cruise. Nothing about it really encourages you to enjoy yourself and even on a good piece of road it feels more natural to cruise than to have some fun.
Another slightly disappointing thing is the clutch which is more like a switch… 5 inches of travel but it’s the bottom inch that does everything - and the SD doesn’t even get rev-matching on downshift (unlike the Petrol version). That said, for someone where fun isn’t important but wants a grown-up little car that’ll be a good steer and does 65MPG it’s clearly a great option.
Not for me though. Jumping (down) into the GP was a relief and the drive home reminded me why Minis need little revvy petrol engines… anything else is a travesty
Bernie Sanders said:
The last time I had my car for a service I´ve been given a Q3 with a manual. The worst car I´ve ever driven, exactly the same problem with the clutch they don´t seem to care anymore about manuals.
I suspect that the increased torque of modern turbo engines (especially diesels) means less chance of bogging down so they can go for super-quick clutches. Turns the clutch into a switch, requiring much less finesse and making the car easier to drive for numpties. ..also horrible for anyone with any flare in their left leg
Just want to do another update: Although it’s about the history of my GP, it's really a tale of how bloody awesome some car people can be and what a small world we live in. Here we go…
After discovering that my car had featured in one of my favourite episodes of Top Gear (see a page or two ago), I became somewhat obsessed with trying to find out what other adventures it had had early in it’s life. Partly, this was a way to occupy myself while I was stuck in bed, but also because I thought it would be interesting for me, and for any future owners (if I ever part with it!).
To start with, I speculatively emailed the BMW/Mini press office to see if they had any record of PFO, and whether there was any detail they’d be willing to share. If I’m honest, I wasn’t expecting much but a really helpful guy from Mini (I won’t give his name in case he was over-sharing) dropped me a really friendly response. He was able to tell me all of the things my car had done, how it had been looked after and what publications it had been featured in.
The good news is that the majority of things PFO did were static displays at press events, Goodwood FOS etc, plus the Top Gear stuff - nothing scary. But what piqued my interest was that it had also been borrowed briefly by Car Magazine.
A quick search of the Car Magazine website brought up one article, a really good twin-test between the Mini GP and the Audi A1 Quattro. You can read it for yourself here: Audi A1 Quattro vs Mini GP (2013) CAR Giant Test
The article clearly had some quality photography but only one image was on the website and that was side-on. No way to tell (or not) whether this GP was my GP:
However, the article was helpful enough to list the photographer. Another quick Google later and I found his website and a few more minutes browsing convinced me of two things:
1. This guy had an amazing job and was a great photographer and
2. This guy was clearly a car nut… maybe he’d be worth an email
So, I emailed the photographer explaining the background and asking whether he remembered the shoot, whether he still had the pictures, whether the car featured was PFO and finally.. whether he’d be willing to let me see the other pictures? I crossed my fingers and waited for a response…
…it didn’t take long. Despite being nearly 10pm I got an email back in less than 15 minutes saying that it was my lucky day! He remembered the shoot, it was my car, he still had the pictures and even included a link so I could download them. I couldn’t really believe it - what a result (and what a fantastic gesture).
POSTSCRIPT: But it didn’t end there. While I was waiting for the pictures to download, I did some more browsing of the photographer’s portfolio and noticed his personal car, a bright yellow, epically modded Exige V6. Not any Exige V6, but one I instantly recognised - I’d been reading his Readers Cars thread right here on Pistonheads since last year! You should read it yourself: 460hp Lotus Exige V6
I’m glad I decided to pull this particular piece of string. Not only did it result in more interesting history for my car and some great photographs, but also reaffirmed what awesome, helpful, friendly people car nuts can be. A massive thank you to the Mini Press team and GFWilliams.
After discovering that my car had featured in one of my favourite episodes of Top Gear (see a page or two ago), I became somewhat obsessed with trying to find out what other adventures it had had early in it’s life. Partly, this was a way to occupy myself while I was stuck in bed, but also because I thought it would be interesting for me, and for any future owners (if I ever part with it!).
To start with, I speculatively emailed the BMW/Mini press office to see if they had any record of PFO, and whether there was any detail they’d be willing to share. If I’m honest, I wasn’t expecting much but a really helpful guy from Mini (I won’t give his name in case he was over-sharing) dropped me a really friendly response. He was able to tell me all of the things my car had done, how it had been looked after and what publications it had been featured in.
The good news is that the majority of things PFO did were static displays at press events, Goodwood FOS etc, plus the Top Gear stuff - nothing scary. But what piqued my interest was that it had also been borrowed briefly by Car Magazine.
A quick search of the Car Magazine website brought up one article, a really good twin-test between the Mini GP and the Audi A1 Quattro. You can read it for yourself here: Audi A1 Quattro vs Mini GP (2013) CAR Giant Test
The article clearly had some quality photography but only one image was on the website and that was side-on. No way to tell (or not) whether this GP was my GP:
However, the article was helpful enough to list the photographer. Another quick Google later and I found his website and a few more minutes browsing convinced me of two things:
1. This guy had an amazing job and was a great photographer and
2. This guy was clearly a car nut… maybe he’d be worth an email
So, I emailed the photographer explaining the background and asking whether he remembered the shoot, whether he still had the pictures, whether the car featured was PFO and finally.. whether he’d be willing to let me see the other pictures? I crossed my fingers and waited for a response…
…it didn’t take long. Despite being nearly 10pm I got an email back in less than 15 minutes saying that it was my lucky day! He remembered the shoot, it was my car, he still had the pictures and even included a link so I could download them. I couldn’t really believe it - what a result (and what a fantastic gesture).
POSTSCRIPT: But it didn’t end there. While I was waiting for the pictures to download, I did some more browsing of the photographer’s portfolio and noticed his personal car, a bright yellow, epically modded Exige V6. Not any Exige V6, but one I instantly recognised - I’d been reading his Readers Cars thread right here on Pistonheads since last year! You should read it yourself: 460hp Lotus Exige V6
I’m glad I decided to pull this particular piece of string. Not only did it result in more interesting history for my car and some great photographs, but also reaffirmed what awesome, helpful, friendly people car nuts can be. A massive thank you to the Mini Press team and GFWilliams.
GFWilliams said:
My pleasure that I could help with a little bit of your car's history, the shoot was on the 19th Feb 2013, so a little while ago now!
Awesome little car, I miss being able to borrow my mate's GP...
Need to find time to update my thread properly, lots of updates to the car as usual!
Looking forward to that update - and if we're ever in the same place at the same time you're welcome to a quick blast as a proper thank you.Awesome little car, I miss being able to borrow my mate's GP...
Need to find time to update my thread properly, lots of updates to the car as usual!
BenLowden said:
Ah man, this is really rubbing salt in the wounds now! How amazing. Need to get a copy of that rig shot off you (as long as George doesn't mind of course) to get printed for my office, looks incredible!
Sorry Ben, wasn't looking to make it worse for you lestiq said:
Sorry to hear about your back! I've been quite lucky with courtesy car bingo, but something tells me it was in the early days when they were hoping I'd trade in quick for an upgrade! I've had a top spec BMW X1, cooper s clubman and a bunch of mini ones. Its a shame you haven't been able to enjoy the car this week, its been a long winter!
Cheers for the sympathy! Thankfully, it's all behind me now (pun very much intended!). I'm out in the Mini today and I've got a great run-out planned for this weekend - genuinely cannot wait.
steve-5snwi said:
Its always nice when others are interested in cars ad are happy to pass information on, I do get the feeling that most people that work with Minis love cars and are happy to help, had your car been a BMW or Audi I bet you wouldn't have received a response.
Totally agree on Audi, but I have to say that the press office guy was both BMW and Mini, so think he’s just a car buff. steve-5snwi said:
We are now a 2 Mini family with my R55 and the wifes F57 convertible, I do love the F57 its so much nicer inside in terms of spec and materials. However i think I prefer the R55 to drive, it feels a bit more nimble, a bit sharper, i prefer the dashboard and having the rev counter right in front of you, Mini with the F series cars would be better off ditching the speedo/tacho and just go back to the R series.
Having said that i am tempted by an F series Clubman S. Oh and top555 is just up the road from me.
Agree on the dashboard, but if you really want a desireable F series Mini, check out the Mulgari Icon02 earlier in this thread. Been to see the first few production models now and it’s proper tasty! Lots of money but very tempting!Having said that i am tempted by an F series Clubman S. Oh and top555 is just up the road from me.
mattf93 said:
Small world... when you got to the bit about the Lotus I knew exactly which photographer you were on about - he seems to have a proclivity for destroying his rear tyres 
Nice that BMW/Mini press office were cooperative with information and george sending you the photos... making me debate whether I need a new laptop or phone back ground now...
Had my tyres changed again to summers and makes a huge difference to front end grip Ive now got Micheline PS4s on - what've you got on your GP now?
Also the AUkey bluetooth thing works a treat thanks!!!
Cheers Matt. I've got Michelin Pilot SuperSports which I'm really happy with and have the same on my M5. That said, with the Mini only really seeing use on dry days, I'm tempted to revert to the standard Kumho Ecsta v70 when these have worn out. Be good to know how you find the PS4s too. Nice that BMW/Mini press office were cooperative with information and george sending you the photos... making me debate whether I need a new laptop or phone back ground now...
Had my tyres changed again to summers and makes a huge difference to front end grip Ive now got Micheline PS4s on - what've you got on your GP now?
Also the AUkey bluetooth thing works a treat thanks!!!
Glad the Aukey working out.. I know there's slightly more integrated solutions out there but they're 5 to 10 times the price!
After weeks of no driving and waiting to get the Mini's service out of the way, it was finally time for the first proper run-out of the year. Seems crazy to be saying that towards the end of April.
MrTouring came up trumps with a route he’d spotted in a magazine that ended at Prodrive in Banbury. I used the slightly sketchy instructions and plotted a route into Google Maps that gave us a full loop back home and included some suitable stopping points. Total: 203 Miles. No mucking about then.
Next was the debate around which cars to take. Expecting quiet roads and some twisty stuff we decided to leave the M5s at home and take the Mini and MrTouring’s 944 instead.
Christening it 'TheFour Five Counties Pilgrimage' (Berks, Bucks, Glos, Worcs & Oxon) we started at 6am in Reading, heading through Henley to High Wycombe, the A40 right through Oxford to Cheltenham for our first stop at the racecourse for photos and breakfast. The weather was absolutely fantastic - dry, sunny and cool with low sun through the trees and mist on the meadows.
After the stop, we headed north out of Cheltenham on the A46 before cutting east on the A44 to the epic Fish Hill. The first run up the hill had too much traffic and a little too much wide-eyed cowardice so we trundled (and popped and banged) back down the hill for a second go. This time, the hill was empty and the Mini was in it's element, especially on the tightest and most 'uphill' of corners. Made it even better to see the little 'slice of the 1980's' bobbing and weaving in the rear-view-mirror.
Slowing down and enjoying the beauty of the Cotswolds, we ran straight through to Prodrive in Banbury for some photos and to stretch the legs.
Rather than heading home on the M40, we decided to take the A4260 through Deddington back to Oxford so we could pay a visit to the Cowley plant where my car was born (and lived it's first 6 months). Couldn't really find a great photo location but managed to sneak this one by Gate 8
After that, it was the A4074 to Wallingford, then Pangbourne (with a quick stop-and-gawp at the Astons, Lamborghinis and Bentleys in the dealership there). Finally, a run down the M4 and we were home. 205 miles showing, about 6 hours of driving and absolutely knackered.
All in all, a really great route through some stunning countryside on some great roads. The Mini and 944 were really well matched and both played nicely (although I suspect MrTouring got slightly tired of the popping and banging after 6 hours). We'll definitely have to do this route again... maybe next time we'll give the 'weapons-grade' machinery a run-out instead
MrTouring came up trumps with a route he’d spotted in a magazine that ended at Prodrive in Banbury. I used the slightly sketchy instructions and plotted a route into Google Maps that gave us a full loop back home and included some suitable stopping points. Total: 203 Miles. No mucking about then.
Next was the debate around which cars to take. Expecting quiet roads and some twisty stuff we decided to leave the M5s at home and take the Mini and MrTouring’s 944 instead.
Christening it 'The
After the stop, we headed north out of Cheltenham on the A46 before cutting east on the A44 to the epic Fish Hill. The first run up the hill had too much traffic and a little too much wide-eyed cowardice so we trundled (and popped and banged) back down the hill for a second go. This time, the hill was empty and the Mini was in it's element, especially on the tightest and most 'uphill' of corners. Made it even better to see the little 'slice of the 1980's' bobbing and weaving in the rear-view-mirror.
Slowing down and enjoying the beauty of the Cotswolds, we ran straight through to Prodrive in Banbury for some photos and to stretch the legs.
Rather than heading home on the M40, we decided to take the A4260 through Deddington back to Oxford so we could pay a visit to the Cowley plant where my car was born (and lived it's first 6 months). Couldn't really find a great photo location but managed to sneak this one by Gate 8
After that, it was the A4074 to Wallingford, then Pangbourne (with a quick stop-and-gawp at the Astons, Lamborghinis and Bentleys in the dealership there). Finally, a run down the M4 and we were home. 205 miles showing, about 6 hours of driving and absolutely knackered.
All in all, a really great route through some stunning countryside on some great roads. The Mini and 944 were really well matched and both played nicely (although I suspect MrTouring got slightly tired of the popping and banging after 6 hours). We'll definitely have to do this route again... maybe next time we'll give the 'weapons-grade' machinery a run-out instead
Edited by MDifficult on Monday 23 April 11:29
Gassing Station | Readers' Cars | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff