[Superior S]

Any Mini owners from Finland here?

I now there are some but I have been too lazy to contact or answer your messages, so here goes, if there are any Mini owners from Finland here who would like to have some sort of an unofficial meet exchange thoughts of your car and dealership opinions or something like that please feel free to answer this thread.

p.s damn dashboard noise in my car is driving me crazy !

[Rick38]

Hello Superior S.

I am going to take part in a dutch rally. www.arctic-challenge.nl
Non stop from Holland to Kuusamo Finland.

Wich tyres and wheelsize would you recommend?

[Silakka]

Hello Superior!

I would be wery interested in a Mini-meeting, and I know a few other mini-drivers who probably would like to participate too. Please, send private mail if you get something organized.

P.S. I like your sig! We share the same experiences...


Rick38:
I would recommend 16" or perhaps even 15" wheels (I drive 205/50/16 with studded tyres). You probably need friction winter-tires because studded tires are prohibited in some countries like germany. I think Continental CONTIVIKINGCONTACT 3 won the tests here in Finland, Bridgestone Blizzak:s are a good choise too. Nevertheless I don't think you need to go down to 15" wheelsize if money is not the matter, a narrower tire is a little grippier in snow but in the long run might be a little uncomfortable(floppy) on dry roads.

[Rick38]

Thanks for the advise Silakka,

You would not expect me to have problems with the road clearance if there is much snow?
How do you cope with that where you live?

Rick

[Silakka]

Quote: Originally Posted by Rick38

Thanks for the advise Silakka,

You would not expect me to have problems with the road clearance if there is much snow?
How do you cope with that where you live?

Rick

I have not been driving up north but down where I live (helsinki-surroundings) I have not experienced any problems. I think you'll be safe if your car is not heavilly lowered.

The roads here in Finland are well ploughed and salted, I've seen much lower cars driving around in the winter than what the mini is.

Good winter tires are the key of survival in snow...

Have an enjoyable rally!
- Mikael

[Johan]

Greetings neighbors
Do you guys wan´t me to set up an scandinavian forum on www.coopersweden.se ? A place for us scandinavians to talk to each other?

[XSmall]

Hi - I'm going to be in Helsinki in August, coming in on the Noordam for just one day. How about a MINI welcome caravan??

[Silakka]

Quote: Originally Posted by XSmall

Hi - I'm going to be in Helsinki in August, coming in on the Noordam for just one day. How about a MINI welcome caravan??

Hello!

Sounds good to me, it's still a looong time till August. You'll have to remaind us when the time is closer!


rgrds,
Silli

[nuance]

I'm here o/

A Finnish MINI meet doesn't sound too bad to me. Maybe I'll even build a web page with an entry form to gather a list of possible participants and we could decide whether the time is right based on that.

Superior S - I know how you feel. My MINI is a week old youngster, and it occasionally makes this resonating noise. I managed to make it go away simply by tapping the dash board lightly.

[NunoQO]

Cheers!

One more finn in the game!

[NunoQO]

Hi guys!

Have anyone planned a finnish meeting for this summer? It would be good to see and introduce ourselves to each other and have a barbacue or something there in between... A good idea would be to have it in the same time than those radalle.com or similar track days are held. Another possibility is to visit Neste Rally in Jyväskylä as well... Comments or further ideas?

Summer holidays are closing fast so... Keep posting!

[XSmall]

Quote: Originally Posted by Silakka

Hello!

Sounds good to me, it's still a looong time till August. You'll have to remaind us when the time is closer!


rgrds,
Silli

OK, it's getting closer... our day in Helsinki is Friday Aug 6. Our ship comes in early in the morning and leaves in late afternoon.

[Wile]

Howdy!
This is my first post to this forum.
I haven´t ordered my New Mini yet, still planning '05 MCS. Now driving Audi A2 - which is also a great car. I tested the Cooper S last week and since then the only thing in my mind has been that car. A fabulous machine. The best car ever made? Driveability and agility in corners is just mind-blowing!!! My Audi is very much the same - a great car to drive and own, but no need to say that Cooper S is faster and that´s why funnier car.

Btw, it´s a shame Indi Blue goes away next year. IMHO the best color for Mini Cooper S besides Dark Silver is Indi Blue. My MCS would have been IB with lots of chrome and black roof.

[Morty]

Welcome to MINI2


You should take a hyperblue then instead... cool colour too

[Wile]

Thanks for welcoming.

Yep, Hyper Blue is probably the only real choice then. Tempted to go Dark Silver also, but it´s way too common such as Elec Blue also. Indi Blue (the S I drived was IB with white roof) is sooo cool... I just love it.

We´ll see, we´ll see...

[Silakka]

Quote: Originally Posted by NunoQO

Hi guys!

Have anyone planned a finnish meeting for this summer? It would be good to see and introduce ourselves to each other and have a barbacue or something there in between... A good idea would be to have it in the same time than those radalle.com or similar track days are held. Another possibility is to visit Neste Rally in Jyväskylä as well... Comments or further ideas?

Summer holidays are closing fast so... Keep posting!

Greetings,

been a long time since I read this thread. I see _you_ would like to arrange a mini-meet in helsinki for this summer .. I've tried it many times with members on a finnish "mini-forum" (www.omorf.com) but usually end up with only 1 or 2 participants and the result is a cancel. I believe the holiday-season is not the best time for a meet because people usually travel somewhere or spend their time in their "summer cottages".. or whatever.

We should put up a list of finnish members on this forum and maybe move the meet-discussion on a finnish board for further discussion. This thread allways seems to hide itself under all these other threads..

Planning a date weeks ahead is probably not a good idea either with the capricious weather we seem to have here this summer .


I would be more than happy to assist if you're still willing to arrange a meeting for this summer. I have about 3-6 friend's (or friends friends..) who drives minis, add a few finnish mini2'ers in and we have a pretty nice package. You could email me from here, but don't "traditionally" PM me 'cause I tend to forget to watch for new messages.


-Silakka

[jcsinnh]

There are some of us planning a drive from New York City up to James Bay in Canada next February. Temperatures at that time @ -40.

We are pretty knowledgeable about tires but sure would appreciate any other information from those who have done any MINI drives in extreme cold weather. Oil grades, antifreeze levels, morning starting tricks, etc.

Thank you and visit us at the Hudson's Bay thread in the NY/New England section.
Will MINIs run on good Finnish vodka? If not, I'll just have to drink it myself...

[Wile]

I would help, if I could. But no MINI / winters with MINI yet.

Everything will run with a little gulf of vodka. But always remember: do not drink and drive.

[jcsinnh]

Quote: Originally Posted by Wile

I would help, if I could. But no MINI / winters with MINI yet.

Everything will run with a little gulf of vodka. But always remember: do not drink and drive.

A good universal idea. Thanks.

[NunoQO]

Quote: Originally Posted by jcsinnh

We are pretty knowledgeable about tires but sure would appreciate any other information from those who have done any MINI drives in extreme cold weather. Oil grades, antifreeze levels, morning starting tricks, etc.

Well... The first thing you must consider is that you are using a good oil. An oil change could be a good idea before the trip.

Secondly, make sure that your coolant liquid is strong enough and doesn't freeze.

Thirdly, make sure your battery is alive and kicking - if not get a new one.

Then, when it comes to starting your MINI at extrmely cold temperatures I have good news - I started my MINI last winter in northern Finland at a temperature of -33 degrees celsius without any problems (a good battery helps here).

However, you will make your life a lot easier if you install an electric preheater to your MINI and use it for couple of hours before you start. More info about preheaters can be found at www.calix.se and www.defa.no just to mention a few. Furthermore, by using preheater at temperatures below +5 degrees (YES, plus 5!!!) you will reduce your fuel consumption by roughly 1 litre/100 km so it's even environmental friendly while saving some money on the side!

Driving in extreme cold in a MINI is a breeze at least in my opinion. There's enough power in the heater to keep the car warm inside and seatheaters will help a lot also... However, there are couple of things which are a bit annoying at cold temperatures: 1. The gear lever knob gets very cold and you have to drive with your gloves on. 2. Gearbox and suspension seems to take ages to warm up below -25 degrees so they are stiffer than usual. Other than that no problemos at all!

Oh, one thing more... Make sure you have enough washer liquid and that it won't freeze!

Have a nice wintertime on your MINI!

n.

PS. If you can't find out the info from your dealer there, I could check out the dealer here in Finland what they say about proper oils, anti-freeze levels etc.