My Clubvan

[BIRMA]

Picked this up Friday, low mileage 27000 has heated seats, parking sensors and auto wipers.
I've ordered a set of Rota RB alloys that look like the old Mini-lights from yesteryear plus some Michelin PSS tyres.
K&N air filter on order as is a Celtic re-mapp.
It's a great little runaround and a bit different to the CL65.

[BIRMA]

CoolHands said:

Can you take some pics of the back / inside the back pls

It's not very big, 1100mm deep 1100mm wide and 800mm high. My 1/6th scale Armortek tank plus ramps fit in nicely

[BIRMA]

Mr Ralph Jolly said:

BIRMA said:

K&N air filter on order as is a Celtic re-mapp.

I'll be very interested to know your views after these two mods. Please keep us updated?

Will do, there's nothing wrong with the way it goes in standard form. I had my Trafic LWB re-mapped and it transformed the van, sweet spot in torque curve much lower down the rev range plus 4-5 MPG improvement. I do log things like MPG quite carefully on the bigger vans but on the Mini the computer says 45 MPG and that's good enough but I expect after the re-mapp it will improve enough to justify the cost, even if it is over 4-5 years.

[BIRMA]

Mr Ralph Jolly said:

BIRMA said:

justify the cost

How much do these things cost? I'm a bit green to re-mapping, is it a physical chip swap or does the existing chip get reprogrammed?

My last van had the re-mapp downloaded through the OBD port via the guys laptop and cost about £450. I know you can buy units that plug in too.

[BIRMA]

Re-mapp for the Mini is less than £300 so won't take long to recoup.

[BIRMA]

Mr Ralph Jolly said:

BIRMA said:

Re-mapp for the Mini is less than £300 so won't take long to recoup.

How is it installed, do you go to them, they come to you?

I have booked it for them to come to me which is the norm, they are very busy but you can request a spot if there are any cancellations. Did the first part today by installing the K&N air filter, can't say I noticed any difference but combined with the re-mapp should help the engine breath a little better.

[BIRMA]

Mr Ralph Jolly said:

BIRMA said:

installing the K&N air filter

No increase in induction noise?

Not sure about an increase but it does sound a bit different.

[BIRMA]

I had the Rota's fitted today, must say the Michelin Pilot Super Sports have improved the ride and handling. Looking forward to the re-map now. Week-end job will be spraying the callipers silver. The wheels/tyres just stick out a little more than the replacements which also improves the look too.

[BIRMA]

steve-5snwi said:

I'm liking that.

Thanks I'm really starting to enjoy it I took another photo to try to capture the extra width the new wheels and tyres produce.

[BIRMA]

Just an update, had the Celtic re-mapp done today and boy what a difference. It's smoother and the urgency that comes in just under 2000 RPM right to the red line rpm is very grin inducing although I felt a bit of scrambling for grip so maybe a Quaife might be on the books. For anyone thinking of having this done take it from me it's worth every penny of the £295.
I have ordered a Tein active coil-over kit for it and some Yellow Racing six pot callipers and slotted discs for the front and some four pots and bigger discs for the rear to match the front, all in anodised blue so should look nice too.

[BIRMA]

Mr Ralph Jolly said:

I'm tempted, what effect does this have to insurance?

I'll let you know as I've a list to let them know.

[BIRMA]

Well my current insurers were not quite as optimistic/enthusiastic about my modifications as me. Resulting in me having to go to Adrian Flux to get proper cover, so this work all declared has resulted in an extra £300 over what I paid for the van as standard. Not the end of the world but worth noting

[BIRMA]

HorneyMX5 said:

Coming along then! Was nice to chat minis at the pub meet last week.

Indeed it was nice to chat about Mini’s I’m still on the learning curve. With luck all the work on the coil overs and brakes will be completed by the next Pub Club gathering and I’ll bring it along.

[BIRMA]

Final stages of the upgrades almost done now. The Tein active coil-overs are now nicely bedded in and they are superb, being a GPS and speed based system they are smooth when driving carefully then tighten up when you want to enjoy yourself.
The Yellow Racing brake upgrade is superb too I opted for six pot fronts and four pot rears with decent sized discs to boot. I had to buy larger wheel arches to accommodate the additional work and have to do a bit of fine fettling and filling at the weekend.
I'm happy with the re-mapped diesel at the moment but plan after all the modifications to slip a tuned Cooper S engine and gearbox assembly into it in the future. The winter wheels/tyres hide the discs/calipers a bit more than the summer wheels/tyres Rota RB's

Edited by BIRMA on Tuesday 12th February 16:03

[BIRMA]

HorneyMX5 said:

Love this so much. I keep yogi with getting my Clubman Cooper D remapped, but I'm worried it will murder the clutch in short order.

I'm six months into the re-map and don't think there is an issue, besides the benefits of the re-map come in at 2000 rpm so unless you are one of those people who have the bad habit of keeping your foot on the clutch I don't think there is a problem. Despite the significant hike in performance I'm still getting 41 MPG overall on V-Power diesel.

[BIRMA]

DuckSauce said:

Did Celtic tuning come out to do the remap?

I actually prefer your winter wheel setup. Looks pretty good on the coilovers

Yes, you book the tuner and he turns up at your chosen place. I was going to have my CL65 re-mapped by them as my local Mercedes specialist recommended them, it's a first class service.

I'm not a fan of black wheels at all, it was only because these came up on e-bay at a decent price otherwise I'd have bought another set of Rota's.

I'm taking the car down to Southampton to have it aligned and may lower the suspension a bit more.