My Works MCS 1 month in... Advice needed

1484 Views 8 Replies 8 Participants Last post by Delongi, Jan 27, 2005

GeordieDave

Discussion Starter · Jan 23, 2005

Well i've had Bert for a month now and he's also exactly a year old.

I Loves:
Way he looks (and way people look at him)
Blinding accelerating esp on the twisty bits. Gives you such a grin...
The way he sounds.. (Severn Bridge tollbooths, window down, 0-60 in not much. Hoooowwwwlll)

Sat Nav

Not so keen on:
Fuel economy (totally my fault!!!)
Appalling gearchange when he's cold (often takes two hands!)
Harsh ride (brings out the sqeaks and rattles)
Very heavy parking
crappy handling*

* Now this might surprise you but i'm not that impressed with the handling and here's why:

Horrendous tyre squirm under braking (and yes the pressures are all good).
Crappy grip around corners and when pulling away. I appreciate the roads are greasy at the moment but 200bhp is not a lot through the front wheels nowadays (Golf GTi, Type-R, Astra, Alfa etc) but i just can't get any power down without the traction control ruining my day, and even whipping it around a roundabout at lowish speeds makes you worry about the front end going bye-bye.

this all leads me to suspect it the bloody Dunlop run-flat tyres on the fella may be the problem. Trouble is, do i try some Toyo T1R (or similar) to try and get me some grip and control back or is this just the way a MCS Works behaves?

It was a toss up between a TT225 and my mini and i think i made the 'cool' choice but i remember lovingly driving v fast in my old Audi S3 and never worrying about losing grip ever. Sure it was a quattro but i'd still expect a lot better from a works mini.

Any comment or advice on whether a new set rubber might cheer me up?

Cheers all

Dave

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ABG

· #2 · Jan 23, 2005

I've had a Works for over a year now, always on Dunlop runflats, recently upgraded to 210 bhp and the car has no problem at all with roundabouts. And that's in Milton Keynes, where you have them on 70mph dual carriagways at intervals of (usually) quarter of a mile all over the city. The DSC can cut in, so in the dry I turn it off.

Gearchange is great although I've had a whalen shift machine from day one, so maybe the etar weight helps
Ride is firm but seems fine - ours has no squeaks rattles etc.

Maybe you should try sticky tyres - at least they are cheaper

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Rick38

· #3 · Jan 24, 2005

GeordieDave said:
Well i've had Bert for a month now and he's also exactly a year old.

I Loves:
Way he looks (and way people look at him)
Blinding accelerating esp on the twisty bits. Gives you such a grin...
The way he sounds.. (Severn Bridge tollbooths, window down, 0-60 in not much. Hoooowwwwlll)
Sat Nav

Not so keen on:
Fuel economy (totally my fault!!!)
Appalling gearchange when he's cold (often takes two hands!)
Harsh ride (brings out the sqeaks and rattles)
Very heavy parking
crappy handling*

* Now this might surprise you but i'm not that impressed with the handling and here's why:

Horrendous tyre squirm under braking (and yes the pressures are all good).
Crappy grip around corners and when pulling away. I appreciate the roads are greasy at the moment but 200bhp is not a lot through the front wheels nowadays (Golf GTi, Type-R, Astra, Alfa etc) but i just can't get any power down without the traction control ruining my day, and even whipping it around a roundabout at lowish speeds makes you worry about the front end going bye-bye.

this all leads me to suspect it the bloody Dunlop run-flat tyres on the fella may be the problem. Trouble is, do i try some Toyo T1R (or similar) to try and get me some grip and control back or is this just the way a MCS Works behaves?

It was a toss up between a TT225 and my mini and i think i made the 'cool' choice but i remember lovingly driving v fast in my old Audi S3 and never worrying about losing grip ever. Sure it was a quattro but i'd still expect a lot better from a works mini.

Any comment or advice on whether a new set rubber might cheer me up?

Cheers all

Dave

Well Dave,

I would suspect you have hit a Mini with bent braking discs.
When compared to an S3 I am afraid that there is a huge difference in traction.

So it bottles down on your usage. Do you use the car at every corner for acceleration?
Or are you happy with a cool fun to drive car? What I am typing here must come as no surprise to you.
You must have testdriven the car and found out how it behaved before you bought one.

Identity wise I would rather be seen in a Mini JCW than in an S3 which just signals that
one is paying much for a technologically superb car.

Keep on enjoying
:dark:

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abs0lutely

· #4 · Jan 24, 2005

Mhmm I lost traction last night and the DSC didn't even cut in :\ Eric Prydz should be imprisoned for conspiracy to make MINI drivers go too fast around corners (Call on meeeeeeee).

Neither of my MINIs have been as stuck to the road as people would lead you to believe. Still, for what it is, it's a great car.

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bigbaddaboom

· #5 · Jan 24, 2005

Gear change will improve as the car gets more miles on it.
Ride is better without runflats or with 16" alloys. Performance tyres will help but you'll still understeer if you try and put the power on to early in the turn. Actually that is part of the fun, because if you get it just right, the liftoff oversteer can be loads of fun as you slide around a roundabout.
Since my 'broken' power-steering pump was replaced, parking has been fine, also very little whine from the steering and the car feels lighter on its toes
If you've been driving 4wd for a while you'll need to relearn to drive a fwd (when its cold) especially with 200+ bhp. In the wet modulate the throttle when coming out of turns or trying to accelerate hard and feel what the car is doing. You'll get what the MINI is all about and start grinning

I had a bit of a to do with a Golf 4motion in the wet the other day, I was wheel spinning in third, so he was able to stay in touch....until I got into 4th.

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DrJ

· #6 · Jan 25, 2005

Changing to T1-R's was a revelation for me. Huge difference in grip and feel although I think you're going to just have to take it on the chin that a fwd car won't have the same traction out of tight bends such as roundabouts as a rwd motor.

Gear box is firm but will loosen with time and I also recomend the Whalen for a better shift feel.

Get your car on a track, get some professional track handling instruction (no matter how good you think you are), get the traction off and then start to explore the handling. It really is one on the finest fwd cars on the road

Sadly your T1-R's might meet an early grave

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Delongi

· #7 · Jan 26, 2005

I have a Cooper S Works with the 210bhp upgrade and Toyo Proxes T1S rubber. My partner has an S3 (210bhp). In very wet conditions we'll take the S3 - it is the safer car - you can put down the power much more effectively in the S3 in the wet out of slow corners/roundbouts than you can in the Works. That said the Works on Toyos is better that the Pirelli run-flats it had originally but it can still be frustrating/entertaining in the wet when you want to make decent progress and you can't because the power is spun away. That's where you need to use the throttle to balance power with traction.

In the dry if I had my way we'd take the Works every time. Contrary to what my partner believes it is the more entertaining car to drive, has far superior steering feel and body control and is several tenths quicker than the S3 between 30-70. The S3 in 5th/6th does feel to have more pull though (199lb ft v 180lb ft).

Someone mentioned lift-off oversteer. Interestingly I haven't managed to induce as much oversteer in the MINI on the road as I can in the S3 and come to think of it with my partners previous Toyota Celica or my previous car a TT. Even on track the Works with standard suspension feels pretty neutral but I did get it out of shape on one ocassion albeit unintentionally....see pic. I was still on the run-flats then..

Delongi

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Bilbo Baggins

· #8 · Jan 26, 2005 (Edited)

GeordieDave said:
Well i've had Bert for a month now and he's also exactly a year old.

I Loves:
Way he looks (and way people look at him)
Blinding accelerating esp on the twisty bits. Gives you such a grin...
The way he sounds.. (Severn Bridge tollbooths, window down, 0-60 in not much. Hoooowwwwlll)
Sat Nav

Not so keen on:
Fuel economy (totally my fault!!!)
Appalling gearchange when he's cold (often takes two hands!)
Since you say the car is a year old, can I assume it is broken in? If so, then you should have thedealer take a look at the shifting problem. It should be smooth as butter regardless which shift knob you have. I am running a very light Momo knob and even when it is -20c out the shifting is smooth. By the way I have a short shift kit installed and if anything that should increase the effort
Harsh ride (brings out the sqeaks and rattles)
Very heavy parking
Heavy parking sounds as though your powersteering pump is on the fritz
crappy handling*

* Now this might surprise you but i'm not that impressed with the handling and here's why:

Horrendous tyre squirm under braking (and yes the pressures are all good).
Crappy grip around corners and when pulling away. I appreciate the roads are greasy at the moment but 200bhp is not a lot through the front wheels nowadays (Golf GTi, Type-R, Astra, Alfa etc) but i just can't get any power down without the traction control ruining my day, and even whipping it around a roundabout at lowish speeds makes you worry about the front end going bye-bye.

this all leads me to suspect it the bloody Dunlop run-flat tyres on the fella may be the problem. Trouble is, do i try some Toyo T1R (or similar) to try and get me some grip and control back or is this just the way a MCS Works behaves?

It was a toss up between a TT225 and my mini and i think i made the 'cool' choice but i remember lovingly driving v fast in my old Audi S3 and never worrying about losing grip ever. Sure it was a quattro but i'd still expect a lot better from a works mini.
It sounds like there at least two issues here. First, tyres. Runflats are notoriously slippery and harsh riding, so a tyre upgrade is a good choice. Second, wheel spin. Get yourself a Limited Slip Differential installed. A Quaiffe unit is probably the best aftermarket unit, certainly the most widely available. With that installed, you will be coming out of the corners like a rocket. The DSC will not be cutting in unless you do something silly

Any comment or advice on whether a new set rubber might cheer me up?

Cheers all

Dave

Have fun, keep it safe, keep the shiny side up!