From BMW 3-series to Mini cooper

[phazer]

I have to be honest, I never really thought the Mini was that awesome, when I saw them on the roads, sure they where funky and cool, but not for me I thought, sitting in my 'E36 323i BMW.
Been a member of the local BMW club for a little bit longer than a year, been to quite alot of AutoX's in my BMW, on skidpans, around racetracks, advance drivers courses etc. Always seeing this Mini's around and the people driving it having loads of fun. So on Monday I got a chance to drive a Mini Cooper for a couple of hours, WOW.....WOW...that's all I can say, I was blown away by the car, it's the most fun, exciting, thrilling car I have ever drove, and I have been in subaru's, M3's etc. around racetracks. I am a total convert now, I want a Cooper, and I want it now. This morning driving my BMW to work the car felt heavy, and lumpy and this is sad, cause my BMW have race setup suspension and a couple of other bolt on preformance mods. The Cooper ruined me for any other car. Going into bends and around circles is absolutly the most fun I have had on four wheels in a long time, and this includes a bit of hanky panky on the backseat of my BMW. So I checked my credit with BMW yesterday, everything is fine, so now I want to know what's the best options I should go for on the Cooper? I am thinking multi-funciton steering wheel, ASC+T, sports seats(can I have this?), 16" wheels, I have read somewhere some people find 17" wheels a bit skiddish on a mini, this true?

[shanemcr]

Quote: Originally Posted by phazer

I... 16" wheels, I have read somewhere some people find 17" wheels a bit skiddish on a mini, this true?

The 17-inch wheels are said to provide better traction, but don't turn as quickly.

The lease on my 330xi is up this summer and I'm switching to a MINI Cooper S w/ JCW.

[Mike Clarke]

Welcome to MINI2 phazer, addictive little beasts aren't they?

Sports seats are a must, the MFSW is OK
SS+ suspension is worth having if you don't mind the harsher ride.

Whatever options you decide on you can be sure that you will have lots of fun in the car.
Oh and when you finally get it we need to see some pics.

[phazer]

Quote: Originally Posted by Mike Clarke

Welcome to MINI2 phazer, addictive little beasts aren't they?

Sports seats are a must, the MFSW is OK
SS+ suspension is worth having if you don't mind the harsher ride.

Whatever options you decide on you can be sure that you will have lots of fun in the car.
Oh and when you finally get it we need to see some pics.

Hehehe...I am sure I will have loads of fun, cannot wait to get rid of the BMW and get the Mini now
I will definatly post photo's, maybe even some video's aswell
Got a website where I have some video clips of me in my bmw etc. http://mentalmayhem.b0x.com under video clips. Sure going to start adding adventures with the cooper clips in there

[phazer]

Anyone perhaps have a photo of the sport seats, I have no idea how they look, and I itching to see how they look.

Also do I have to take the chilli or pepper pack or can I mix and match certain items from them? Or does this depend on my dealer?

[mikeythemikey]

pack is a deal price.. you can add sports seats without the chilli pack i think for about 170

[ChrisBray]

Quote: Originally Posted by phazer

Also do I have to take the chilli or pepper pack or can I mix and match certain items from them? Or does this depend on my dealer?

All the options in the pepper/chilli packs are available to buy separately and as mikeythemikey said, in the uk sports seats are £170 (i've just changed my order to include these).
The only pictures I've seen of the sports seats in the mini literature don't make them look much different from the standard but when you try them on, they are completely different (lot more supportive, bigger wings)
The chilli/pepper packs are not compulsary here but do save you money. Eg the pepper pack is £450 but gives you approx £800 of options.